by Joe | Jun 9, 2026 | Local History, Political/government
South Dakota just conducted an important primary election that will likely determine who becomes our next governor. Yet hundreds of thousands of citizens were prevented from participating, not because they were ineligible to vote, but because they did not belong to...
by Joe | May 24, 2026 | Political/government
Our traditional model has left many wage earners behind. The populist alternatives could make that worse. South Dakota likes to tell itself a simple story: low taxes, small government and fiscal discipline have produced one of America’s best-run states. There is truth...
by Joe | Feb 25, 2026 | Local History, Political/government
Change rarely happens by accident. It begins with a clear vision of what is no longer working and a willingness to imagine something better. Without that kind of ambition, change doesn’t come to us, we are simply overtaken by events. For years, many of us hoped the...
by Joe | Jan 19, 2026 | Local History, Political/government
One hundred thirty-seven years ago our state founders placed the capitol in Pierre because it lay near the geographic center of a young frontier state. That decision fit a time when travel was slow and the population thin. The facts that justified it no longer exist....
by Joe | Nov 18, 2025 | Political/government
South Dakota has 150+ school districts, including nine inside the Sioux Falls metro area. That’s not efficient, it’s expensive. South Dakota has over 150 school districts. That is an extraordinary number for a state of fewer than a million people. And nowhere is this...
by Joe | Nov 2, 2025 | Local History, Political/government
Once a model of civic unity, the city now suffers from fragmentation and complacency. It’s time for leadership that brings us back together. Decades ago, Sioux Falls had something rare, a civic spirit that felt both personal and powerful. It wasn’t just about growth...
