The legislative session is starting to feel a lot like the snow and this winter – a little deep and long. Fortunately, the end of both, are not that far off! Important bills in the House this past week: HJR1003 – is a resolution to let the voters decide if... Read more

Jon Ivar Asgrimmson was born to Asgrimur and Thorhuldur (Jonsdottir) Garibaldson on December 7, 1942, in Akureyri, Iceland. He grew up in Iceland and also lived in Bexhill on Sea, Englund. Jon enlisted in the Air Grounds Services in Iceland and obtained a degree in business from Menntaskolinn University of... Read more

As I mentioned last week, your Appropriations Committee heard the revenue projections and chose a revenue target for the remainder of fiscal year 2019 which ends June 30, 2019; and fiscal year 2020 which begins July 1, 2019. Those numbers reflected a conservative optimism for continued growth in the next... Read more

When four year-old Prya walks in the door and sees a coat hook with her name on it, she knows she is home. Or at least at her second home. In case she harbors any doubts, the toddler can gaze up at her framed photo gracing the hallway or melt... Read more

Sharon Zettlemoyer, aka Ms. Z, will travel a long way for music. She grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, which is part of the New York City metro area, but sits midway between Albany and the Big Apple. She moved over 1400 miles from her hometown to Wilmot to take... Read more

As I’ve mentioned before in this space, I serve as the lead Co-Chair on the Joint Appropriations Committee, the budgetary committee of the South Dakota Legislature. If we’re doing our job well, rarely will you hear about our work until the end of the session when the budget is presented.... Read more

Shopko announced the closure of 139 more stores today. The list includes the Milbank store which will close May 12. The new list of South Dakota stores and their expected date of closure includes: Milbank – May 12 Sioux Falls – 41st Street – May 12 and Arrowhead Parkway –... Read more

This week at the South Dakota Legislature, your Appropriations Committee began looking at some of the larger agencies that have control of a larger portion of the total budget. Most of the week was spent hearing from the Board of Regents and the 6 Universities and 2 special schools that... Read more

The big news this past week is probably the “gun bill”. Senate bill 47 (SB47) passed the House 43-27 on its final stop in the legislative process, and was signed into law by Governor Noem at her first official bill signing ceremony on Thursday. The Governor had clearly campaigned that... Read more

This week at the South Dakota Legislature, the Appropriations Committee had a very busy week. As we continue with our agency budget hearings, Governor Noem delivered her budget presentation on Wednesday. Since then, we’ve been working out the differences, charting the changes from former Governor Daugaard’s Budget, and discussing how... Read more