Opinion

Launching a week of work

Published by admin on Thu, 09/26/2019 - 9:05am
In 1879, a 16-year-old boy told his parents he wanted to learn how to build machinery. He moved nine miles away from his parents’ farm to take an apprenticeship as a machinist at a shipbuilding firm in Detroit. From there, he went on to become an engineer for the Detroit Edison Company where he developed plans for a horseless carriage. Twenty-four years after accepting that apprenticeship, Henry Ford established the Ford Motor Company.
We see it through Henry Ford’s story, and we see it time and time again: work-based learning works.

Autumn yearnings

Published by admin on Thu, 09/26/2019 - 9:04am
With acknowledgement to Joshua and his column in last week’s issue, I must agree that fall has always been my favorite season too. 
(Admittedly, with the short, cool summers we’ve had here recently I’m starting to think my preference may be changing to that other season, but that is a subject for another day.)

SLIC-e can only be called a total fiasco

Published by admin on Fri, 09/20/2019 - 10:25am

For the record, we were never in favor of the State of South Dakota selling the former STAR Academy property. The facility was an effective means of dealing with troubled youth and getting them back on the right path. That is, until former Gov. Dennis Daugaard decided to close the place and send these troubled youth back to their communities where many of them got in trouble again and reentered the judicial system.

Preventing suicide

Published by admin on Thu, 09/12/2019 - 9:26am

People don’t like talking about tough things – things that make us uncomfortable or sad. Things that make us feel small. Things that are heartbreaking.

The most wonderful time of the year

Published by admin on Thu, 09/12/2019 - 9:25am
It’s fall, which means it’s football season—the best time of the year.
There’s just something about the sound of pads popping, the smell of freshly cut grass, players and coaches barking out plays and encouragement that gets my adrenaline going. You can have your Christmas (for which I have no doubt decorations will be in stores this week or next), I will take the beginning of football season as my most wonderful time of the year.

Lawlessness pervades our society today

Published by admin on Thu, 09/05/2019 - 9:50am
We continue to be amazed at the lawlessness being condoned in our country today. One example is so-called sanctuary cities where illegal immigrants are being harbored and protected by city officials who are actively hostile toward federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents whose job it is to round up these people and see that they are deported.

Flood coverage almost wasn’t

Published by admin on Thu, 09/05/2019 - 9:47am
The Flood of 2019 is something I hope I never see again. But in all honesty, I’m grateful I got to see it.
Funny how things seemingly hinge on random circumstances.
I had stayed after 5 p.m. at work that Friday while everybody else had left for home except for Charley, who was in his office.
When the phone rang, I answered it. 
“Is Jason there?” the woman’s voice said on the other end of the line.

Younger people have different values today

Published by admin on Thu, 08/29/2019 - 9:31am

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released last Sunday had some surprising, and maybe some not so surprising, results. It found that younger Americans place much less value on what their counterparts of 20 years ago  did.

Credit where credit is due

Published by admin on Thu, 08/29/2019 - 9:28am

From our vantage point at the newspaper where so much news and advertising flows through our building on a weekly basis, it is fairly easy to see who and what is making a difference in our small community. The recent flash flood of Aug. 2 brought much of this to the forefront and there were not many surprises.

Congratulations are well in order

Published by admin on Thu, 08/22/2019 - 9:34am
If you had told anyone that two weeks after the destructive Aug. 2 flash flood the community would have raised over $10,000 for flood relief, they probably would have said you were crazy. The amount raised as of press time this week is actually just a hair over $12,500. That’s the money that the Long Term Recovery Group will be using to help those in financial distress from flood damage.