Opinion

Nothing sweeter than new babies and new grass

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Last week, I brought home three orphan lambs to bottle feed, and this week I was expecting the sheep I brought home last month to begin having babies of their own. My old flock is still at the old place, and won’t start welcoming babies until May, but we’ve been keeping the new little flock at our barn in town as a kind of quarantine (safety first!) but also because they were supposed to start lambing April 11th. Since weather can shift from balmy to blizzardy in a matter of hours this time of year, keeping them close seemed like a good idea during their lambing period.

Pain - It’s no joke

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There is an old joke where a man walks into his doctor’s office and says, “Doc, it hurts every time I do this. What should I do? To which the doctor replies, “Simple, don’t do that!” While the advice seems trite and maybe even insulting, like most jokes, there is some truth in it.

SD Democrats celebrate President Biden’s latest booming jobs report

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South Dakota Democratic Party Executive Director Dan Ahlers released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the U.S. economy added 303,000 new jobs in March, once again exceeding expectations and bringing the total number of jobs created under President Biden to over 15 million: “President Biden has built the strongest economy in the world from the middle-out and bottom-up. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, South Dakota has created 34,500 new jobs, including 481 jobs in clean energy. The state has also seen nearly 34,000 applications to start new businesses. Thanks to President Biden’s leadership, South Dakota has one of the lowest lowest unemployment rates at 2.1%. This administration is also lowering costs for South Dakotans, including $68 million in home energy rebates. Nearly 200,000 seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries in South Dakota are also saving money on prescription drugs. This November, voters will remember that the Biden-Harris Administration is truly helping South Dakotans where it matters most.”

The sound of fleecy lambs in the early morning

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Little Pasture on the Prairie Early last week my husband got a text message. It read: “Does your wife want some bum lambs?” A fellow shepherd and rancher in the midst of lambing was being overrun by triplets and needed to find them homes.

Getting National Security right

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I often say that if we don’t get national security right, the rest is just conversation. Getting it right requires demonstrating not only the strength to deter threats from materializing in the first place and maintaining the capabilities to defeat them, but also the will and credibility to hold such threats accountable. In this era of complex challenges, securing our nation requires a holistic approach that encompasses defense, border security, and energy security, among other elements.

Recipe of the Week

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Ingredients -1 (8.5 oz) box of Corn Muffin Mix -1/3 Cup Milk -2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted -1 Large Egg -2 Teaspoons Taco Seasoning -1/2 Cup Corn - Canned, Fresh or Frozen -2 Cups Shredded, Cooked Chicken -1 Cup Red Enchilada Sauce, divided -1 Cup Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese, or a blend of Cheddar and Jack Cheese, or Mexican Cheese -Fresh Cilantro Leaves Recipe 1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Biden’s budget balks at reality

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For a lot of Americans, making a budget means making tough choices in order to live within their means. But President Biden’s recently released budget seems to lack similar trade-offs. In fact, what the president put forward is a progressive wish list that promises the same reckless tax-and-spend policies that have led to an inflation crisis that is still going three years later. The president’s refusal to acknowledge reality puts our fiscal future in peril.

Letter to the Editor

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What you are about to read may shock you and it sure as heck should stir up about as much outrage, blindsidedness, and deception that a SD born and raised landowner can take! First, those outrageous, false tv ads about protecting landowner rights have purposefully aired as total misinformation to intentionally sway folks to believe that SD landowner rights are being held in the state government’s, Summit Carbon’s and its supporter’s best interests. Second, our state government majority leaders, backed by Governor Noem have outright betrayed us all by touting and reinforcing these same untruths everywhere in the media and in the legislature.