After a visit about aches, pains and various medical issues, a patient was commenting on getting older. Similar to other patients, I expected him to say something like, “It’s no fun getting older.” To my surprise, the patient said, “I’m 85. That means I have a lot to be thankful for.”
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Some years ago Jerry Hnetynka and I hired guide, Dave Williamson for a days musky fishing on Minnesota’s West Battle Lake. Dave supplied the lures, rods and reels, and I became acquainted with the Shimano Calcutta big casting reel- the finest fishing reel I have ever used. Though I don’t like spending a lot of money on equipment, I bought myself a Shimano Calcutta. That reel has proven invaluable in recent years and I look at it as a precision instrument. That night Jerry and I took trophy muskies, myself using that Calcutta reel.
Read moreHere in South Dakota, we are repeatedly getting asked to turn over our land to private companies in the name of public use. Landowners, including those who feed their families (and this country) with the production of agricultural products, are being asked to open the gate and hand over the keys. The use of eminent domain has certainly become, before our eyes, a modern legal problem.
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I’ve never been the type to settle for “good enough.” No matter what I’m doing, I try to strive for excellence. That’s all the more true when it comes to policies that impact our kids. Everything that I do as Governor is to make our state safer, stronger, and healthier for our kids and our grandkids, and I want to set the bar. We should set an example for the entire nation and send the message that South Dakota pursues excellence for our kids.
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For students with allergies and asthma, back to school means more than getting their backpacks filled with paper, pencils, and any needed odds and ends. Keeping your child safe and healthy involves creating a proactive plan to be implemented both at home and at school. Allergy doctors refer to these plans as “control programs” because the goal is prevention and control.
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Rail to trail update: At the last meeting in Pierre, the supporters said they would be very transparent with information about the rail project. That has not taken place. After two failed proposals, the third was to do a feasibility study. To date, they have not applied for a grant to pay for this study. The only way a rail can be changed to a trail is if the State 'rail banks' the rail. They do this only when they know a train will never use the track again. If the supporters had done their homework, they would know the rail from NAPA Junction to Ravinia has not been rail banked, which means no trail. It would be interesting to know how much of the $5,000 from the Tyndall Development Corporation has been spent on a project that isn't feasible. Most landowners might get some money if the rail is changed to a trail. I took a copy to a state official who said it won't happen, throw the letter away.
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