Category: Commentary

Commentary, Government2 Comments

What Noem’s shot heard around the world says about her approach to problems

Gary Dickson

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s upcoming memoir reveals that she shot and killed her healthy 14-month-old German wirehaired pointer, Cricket, due to unruly behavior. This has sparked controversy and calls into question her responsible dog ownership. The governor’s attempt to portray herself as a tough problem-solver clashes with this action. The story has garnered significant attention, both in social and traditional media. Continue reading What Noem’s shot heard around the world says about her approach to problems

Agriculture, Commentary, Environment1 Comment

Farm insurance unfairness: Taxpayers foot the bill, but only for the ‘golden crops’

Gary Dickson

Farmers in Iowa face challenges getting insurance coverage for agritourism due to high premiums and limited options. The federally subsidized insurance largely benefits large-scale commodity crops, leaving smaller-scale farmers with limited support. Calls for reform and reduced subsidies highlight the disparity, with Republican lawmakers advocating for increased support for the “Golden Crops.” The author questions the fairness of taxpayer-funded support for crop insurance while essential public services remain underfunded. Continue reading Farm insurance unfairness: Taxpayers foot the bill, but only for the ‘golden crops’

Commentary, Justice3 Comments

The media should shut up about the Trump jurors

Gary Dickson

I was astounded Tuesday evening when I turned on CNN and saw anchors and analysts revealing details about the seven jurors picked so far in the first criminal trial of Donald Trump.

There weren’t any names or faces revealed, but many other facts were. At the risk of compounding the error, but citing one example to make the point, here’s how CNN described a juror.

“The third seated juror is a corporate lawyer. He’s originally from Oregon. He gets his news from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Google. He’s a younger man who’s never been married and doesn’t have kids.” Continue reading The media should shut up about the Trump jurors

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To whom it may concern

Gary Dickson

I’m back with another installment of To Whom It May Concern, my multi-topic opinion column about the goings-on in Siouxland, South Dakota, the nation and the world. I’d been meaning to write this earlier – like last month – but things kept getting in the way. Like my health. I had a cold which turned into a bad sinus infection that kept me in bed for most of a week with a fever. Now that I’m almost 71, stuff like that seems to hit me particularly hard. It sucks getting old. But don’t cry for me Argentina, I’ve rebounded, for the most part. Continue reading To whom it may concern

Commentary, Government, Politics8 Comments

Immigrants are not the problem. Don’t believe the propaganda.

Gary Dickson

My folks floated over the pond with the cattle down below in steerage. One was an indentured servant, another a prison guard, others were among an army of Irish who helped drive the Native people off the Mississippi River near Dubuque to claim the lead mines. Still another branch settled the sloughs around Emmetsburg about the time the last Dakota were being driven out.

Immigrants. Good and not so good. The Mulroney brothers were not a welcome sight to the existing indigenous people when Fort Dodge was still a fort.

It cannot be avoided. It’s who we are, a nation of immigrants determined to write a new story for ourselves: That we came by it all fair and square; we did not. That we earned it; we stole it. And now that we are in control, we would rather keep others out. Until we need the cheap labor. Continue reading Immigrants are not the problem. Don’t believe the propaganda.

Commentary, EnvironmentLeave a comment

Warmer weather at Okoboji: What it means for the lakes and those who use them

Gary Dickson

The ice on Spirit Lake went out this year on March 3.

From 1944, when the record-keeping began, through 1981, the ice went out in the latter half of April about once every third or fourth year.  Since 2001, the ice has gone out in the latter half of April only once.

Looking at it another way, the ice cover on Spirt Lake has been decreasing in terms of how long it lasts each year for the past quarter-century or so.

The obvious conclusion is that the water temperatures in the Iowa Great Lakes are getting warmer, a result of ongoing global warming, which is part . . .
Continue reading Warmer weather at Okoboji: What it means for the lakes and those who use them

Commentary, South DakotaLeave a comment

The cost of free land and either-or history

Gary Dickson

Some white South Dakotans love to talk about their generational connection to the land. I’m one of them: a proud, fifth-generation descendant of Dakota Territory homesteaders.

The federal government awarded nearly 100,000 parcels of free land to South Dakota settlers via the 1862 Homestead Act and successive rounds of related legislation. Modern South Dakotans celebrate that legacy in myriad ways, including an annual State Fair ceremony honoring farms and ranches owned by the same family for 100 or more years.

Too few of us pause to consider how that must sound to Native Americans. Their connection to the land spans hundreds of generations and thousands of years. Before any white settler rushed to claim free land in western South Dakota, the federal government broke a treaty that promised to reserve all of that land as a Great Sioux Reservation. Continue reading The cost of free land and either-or history

Commentary, GovernmentLeave a comment

Sunshine Week: Support local journalism

Gary Dickson

Sunshine Week is March 10-16, and this year, there’s an even greater need for you to get involved.

Sunshine Week annually celebrates freedom of information laws in every state. It also salutes efforts by good government advocates and journalists to use and ensure the effectiveness of those laws to get the information we need as self-governing citizens.

The name is a play on the commonsense words spoken more than a century ago by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, that “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” Continue reading Sunshine Week: Support local journalism

Commentary, Siouxland6 Comments

To whom it may concern

Gary Dickson

I’ve been wanting to write a multi-topic opinion column for some time. It’s not that I haven’t let my personal views seep into my reporting about various activities earlier. For example, you might want to look up one of my stories about the Union County Commission to see what I think about their workings. I admit that my writing isn’t always objective. So what? I own this site and I don’t get paid to write, photograph or post the stories that appear on it. So there.

You might consider this column in a similar light to Frank Costanza’s “Airing of the Grievances” on the classic Festivus episode during the Jerry Seinfeld Show. During that episode, many might remember, Frank — who was George Costanza’s father — stands up and shouts, “I’ve got a lot of problems with you people! Now you’re going to hear about them.” I loved Frank.

Continue reading To whom it may concern

Commentary, Government, South DakotaLeave a comment

Regret signing that petition? Republicans are here to ‘help’

Gary Dickson

Ever since the South Dakota Legislature dismantled the voter-approved anti-corruption measure known as IM 22 in record time, lawmakers and the people who back-initiated measures have been locked in a battle of the ballot box. Lawmakers try to throw up as many roadblocks to ballot access as they can while ballot measure backers are intent on getting multiple issues in front of voters. 

Through the years, Republicans in the Legislature have tried many tactics to make success tougher for ballot measures. Continue reading Regret signing that petition? Republicans are here to ‘help’