Governor Kristi Noem issued the following statement in response to multiple news agencies requesting that she release the investigative file into the fatal crash involving Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg and the late Mr. Joseph Boever.

“I have seen the entire investigative file, and the public deserves to see it so that they can learn the truth of what happened. The House has the sole constitutional power of impeachment, and they have the responsibility to see this process through in a timely manner.

“Here, you will find the letter that my Secretary of Public Safety sent to House Speaker Spencer Gosch in September, handing the file over to him. The House impeachment resolution states that ‘all members of the House of Representatives shall have nonpublic access to all information gathered by the select committee.’”

Governor Kristi Noem announced that the state has taken possession of a 2015 King Air 350 after an extensive, nationwide search. Combined with the sale of two state-owned planes in 2021, the deal saved the State of South Dakota $3.31 million compared to what had been budgeted. The savings will be reverted to the State General Fund.

“It’s our duty to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, so my goal from the beginning was to purchase the best plane for the state’s needs at the most affordable cost. We achieved that,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “This plane is newer, safer, and will save the taxpayers money in the long run in maintenance costs.”

In 2021, the legislature appropriated $5 million, plus the proceeds from the sales of the King Air 200 and one King Air 90, for the purchase of a new plane. The State retained the services of aircraft broker Verity Jet for $195,000. The net proceeds from the two planes were as follows:

• King Air 200: $1.81 million (appraised for $1.73 million)
• King Air 90: $1.24 million (appraised for $1.12 million)

Despite having nearly $8 million available for the purchase of a new plane, the Department of Transportation secured a much newer King Air 350, including all upgrades for just $4.7 million, and the state took possession of that plane last week.

Additionally, purchasing a newer plane saved the state at least $1.5 million in pending maintenance costs on the two planes that have been sold.

A photo of the King Air 350 can be found here.

Inspired by what they learned through 4-H, when working on a project around the Reich home or ranch, a question the family frequently asked was, “is this fair-worthy?”

“4-H encourages its members to be the best they can be,” Ree Reich explained. “Nobody is the best they can be at something the first time they do it. … You cannot be the best without practice and perseverance. That is what 4-H is about.”

A mother to four, Reich served as a 4-H leader for 40 years and remains an advocate and volunteer fundraiser for the organization. Recognized for her volunteer efforts and service to the community, Reich was named the 2022 Eminent Leader in Agriculture, Family and Community by the SDSU College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and the SDSU College of Education and Human Sciences. She will be recognized during an honoree banquet Jan. 28, 2022, and her photograph will go up in the Eminent Leader Hall of Fame Gallery, which can be viewed at https://www.sdstate.edu/eminent-leaders-honorees. It joins more than 350 portraits of Eminent Leaders.

Reich became involved in 4-H when she and her husband, Tim, returned to her hometown of Belle Fourche in 1978. Shortly after they moved into Reich’s family home, a childhood friend invited them to join Valley View 4-H Club. Reich quickly signed them up.

“We desired solid friendships for our children – here we were bringing teens and pre-teens to this community for the first time,” said Reich of their now-grown children: Mark Todd Reich (deceased), Heather Heckmann, Angela Reich and Holly Main.

A stay-at-home mom, Reich saw benefits beyond friendship in 4-H involvement. “One day I mentioned to my mother that I should be doing more for the community, and she said, ‘Ree, you are raising citizens for your community.’ I thought about that so many times over the years. As a parent, you don’t just raise children, you raise citizens. 4-H raises citizens through various ways, such as public speaking, service to community and learning by doing,” Reich said.

Reflecting on this and many conversations with her parents, Ruth and David Richards, Reich credits them with instilling in her integrity and a desire to give back. “I had great examples in my wonderful parents,” she said. “They taught me to be a volunteer. You have to be taught to give back. That’s what my parents did. That’s what 4-H does.”

In addition to serving as a 4-H leader of Valley View 4-H Club, Reich also served as a 4-H county and state judge and still serves the board of the Western Family Consumer Science Show.

Even after retiring as a 4-H leader, Reich remains an active advocate. In 2017, she helped launch the Redwater Youth Leadership Fund. One hundred percent of donated dollars go to fund 4-H youth scholarships to cover expenses so Butte and Lawrence County youth can participate in national leadership opportunities. The organization’s main fundraiser is a pitchfork fondu hosted during the Butte Lawrence County Fair.

“In her youth, our daughter, Holly, qualified to go on several national trips. Those opportunities changed her perception of where she could go in life. They gave her so much insight,” Reich explained. “This fund helps provide similar experiences to other youth.”

In addition to 4-H, music is another way Reich gives back to her community.

“Growing up, there wasn’t anything I ever wanted to do but teach music, and I was spoiled enough to get do that,” Reich said.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of Wyoming, but becoming a homemaker was her career of choice.

For more than 40 years she has helped with church services at the Belle Fourche long-term care facility, played French horn in the Belle Fourche Cowboy Band, shared a weekly Bible study in their home and has given many gallons of blood. For many years she sang with a volunteer group called Mixed Company, and now she directs a senior choir in Spearfish.

“Volunteerism is a bit of selfish act,” Reich said. “We all know that when we volunteer, we receive more than we give.”

To purchase tickets to attend the 2022 Eminent Leader Banquet held on the campus of SDSU, Jan. 28, 2022, contact the Office of the Dean of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences at 605-688-4148 or email angela.loftesness@sdstate.edu.

Governor Kristi Noem announced the text of two pro-life bills to protect unborn lives. The first will ban abortions once a child’s heartbeat can be protected; the second will ban telemedicine abortions in South Dakota.

“Every human life is unique and beautiful from the moment it is conceived. Every life is worthy of our protection, worthy of the right to live,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “We hope that this year’s March for Life will be the last and that the Supreme Court will finally protect every unborn life. But until that comes to pass, these bills will ensure that both unborn children and their mothers are protected in South Dakota.”

Governor Noem previewed her heartbeat legislation last year when she directed her Unborn Child Advocate to review South Dakota laws and ensure that we have the strongest pro-life laws on the books in South Dakota.

Governor Noem blocked telemedicine abortions via executive order last year. This procedure happens when a woman is prescribed a pill to perform a chemical abortion over the phone or internet. Chemical abortions are a dangerous procedure that are four times more likely to cause the woman getting the abortion to end up in the emergency room.

Over the last decade, abortions have declined by approximately 80% in South Dakota. Last year, Governor Noem signed eight pro-life bills into law, including a ban on abortions based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome and a bill to protect children born alive, regardless of the circumstances of that child’s birth.

The Gregory  Dallas Chamber of Commerce/BID/Horizon Annual Meeting will take place Monday, January 24th  at 621 Main Street in the  Party Room for social time and appetizers from 5:45-6:15 with the meeting to follow.

• 9:30 a.m.: Legislative committee meetings and vendor booths open
• 11:30 a.m.: Welcome by Social Services Secretary Laurie Gill
• Speaker: Sara Sheppick, Department of Social Services
• 12:00 p.m.: Lunch in the Rotunda – the public is invited to attend
• 2 p.m.: Children’s Day Announced in House and Senate Chambers
• 4:30 p.m.: Movie Screening: “Starting at Zero” at the Discovery Center

The Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science at South Dakota State University welcomed two new faculty members during the fall 2021 semester. Dr. Gazala Ameen joined the department as an assistant professor and Dr. Shyam Solanki came on board as a research associate III.

Dr. Gazala Ameen

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in horticulture at Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University in India in 2010, Ameen pursued both a master’s and Ph.D. in plant pathology at North Dakota State University. While at NDSU, Ameen carried out applied research on fungicide sensitivity of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and cloning and characterizing two resistance genes in barley. Graduating with her Ph.D. in 2019, Ameen continued these projects during her postdoctoral research at Washington State University before coming to SDSU.

Ameen’s responsibilities at SDSU will include building an interdisciplinary research program to address the fundamental questions of host-pathogen interaction and how to devise strategies of management of plant pathogens through her research findings. Her position also offers the opportunity to teach a core course on Introductory plant pathology for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Ameen looks forward to building her research program and working with students at SDSU.

“My mentoring and teaching philosophies have the core value to hopefully transfer the thrill of research and passion of plant pathology to the next generation of young students at a land grant university like SDSU,” Ameen said.

Dr. Shyam Solanki

Like Ameen, Solanki also received his bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University. He then went on to obtain his master’s degree in biotechnology from South Asian University, India, in 2013 and his Ph.D. in plant pathology from NDSU in 2018. Through his Ph.D. and postdoctoral research, Solanki focused on three pathosystems: barley-wheat stem rust, barley-Fusarium head blight (FHB), and soybean-Sclerotinia stem rot.

At SDSU, Solanki’s research focuses on plant-microbe interactions and soybean and cereal crop diseases, including the investigation of Diaporthe, a fungal pathogen of soybean causing the stem canker disease, and the deadly fungal pathogen, stem rust, which impacts cereal crops.

“Through my cutting-edge research work at SDSU, I am hoping to make an impact on our growers and stakeholders,” Solanki said. “Utilizing my specialization on functional genomics aspects of plant-microbe interaction, I aim to devise innovative plant pathogen control strategies, a crucial aspect of precision agriculture.”

The South Dakota Grassland Coalition (SDGC) sees the many challenges that Ag producers are currently facing.  That’s why they are excited to announce a solutions-focused event in Ft. Pierre, South Dakota: Tuesday, February 15 through Thursday, February 17.  They extend a personal invitation for you to join Joshua and Tara Dukart of Seek First Ranch in western North Dakota along with other area Ag producers and professionals who are interested in creating a more profitable agriculture business and a more desirable lifestyle through Regenerative and Holistic Management practices.  All family or team members ages 14 and up are encouraged to attend.

The Dukarts teach and speak throughout the US and internationally. The Soil & Water Conservation Society selected Joshua as their Harold & Kay Scholl Excellence in Conservation Award recipient in 2017. Cattle Business Weekly presented Joshua with a Top 10 National Industry Leaders award in 2015, and Joshua was recognized as one of North Dakota’s Top 40 Professionals Under the Age of 40 in 2012.  As educators and practitioners, Joshua and Tara aspire to not just conserve, but regenerate landscapes and ranching businesses.  They believe wealth can be strategically generated in a variety of ways: biologically, financially, and socially.

Typically, the 3-day session costs $400 per participant. However, a National Resource Conservation Service partnership allows the SDGC to offer the 3-day course to members for just $150 to include tuition, materials, lunches, and refreshments.  [If you are not currently a SDGC member, your investment of $185 will also include a one-year membership to the SDGC.] Because they see tremendous value in all members of your operation participating, the cost for each additional family or business member is reduced to $50.

Location:  Drifters Grill in Ft. Pierre, South Dakota

Date & Time: Tuesday, February 15–Thursday, February 17 from 9:30AM – 5:00 PM.

Doors open at 9 AM. Seating is limited.  Contact Dan Rasmussen today to hold your spots: 605-685-3315 or the33ranch@gmail.com

Flyer and additional information available at sdgrass.org and SeekFirstRanch.com

The South Dakota State University Crops Judging Team finished third and fourth at the two national finals collegiate crops competitions held last fall. The team placed fourth at the Kansas City Royal Contest held on Nov. 16 and third at the National Collegiate Crops Contest held in Ames, Iowa, on Nov. 19.

Collegiate crops competitions consist of three parts: grain grading, seed and plant identification and seed analysis. These components require students to grade grain samples, identify 200 seed and plant samples and analyze seed samples for contaminants, which they also must identify and classify.

The 2021 team members include: Miranda Smidt, agronomy student from Brookings, South Dakota; Aubrey Weishaar, agronomy student from Lemmon, South Dakota; Dalton Howe, agronomy student from Redfield, South Dakota; Jackson Cramer, agronomy student from Warner, South Dakota; and Miguel Mena, agronomy student from Harlan, Iowa. The team is coached by Dr. Brent Turnipseed and assisted by Rachel Geary, plant science master’s student from Elk Point, South Dakota, and Johnna Jorgensen, plant science master’s student from Mount Vernon, South Dakota.

Individual results from the contests include:

• Kansas City Royal Contest
• Smidt: 10^th overall and in grain grading and seed and plant identification, fifth in seed analysis
• Weishaar: 11^th overall and in seed analysis, ninth in grain grading and seed and plant identification
• Howe: 12^th overall and in seed and plant identification, 11^th in grain grading, 13^th in seed analysis
• Ames Contest
• Smidt: seventh overall, first in seed analysis, eighth in seed and plant identification, 10^th in grain grading
• Weishaar: ninth overall, sixth in seed and plant identification, eighth in grain grading and seed analysis
• Howe: 12^th overall, sixth in grain grading, 11^th in seed analysis, 13^th in seed and plant identification

In addition to competing, team members had the chance to tour agricultural facilities near Kansas City and Ames.

“My favorite part about being on the crops judging team is that we are all competitive people,” said Smidt. “It pushed me to further my knowledge in areas where I wasn’t as strong suited. Not only that, but then being able to take that competitiveness nationally and even take home first place individually in seed analysis made all the hours of studying worth it.”

The SDSU crops judging team has continually proven the great amount of skill and expertise that lies within the university’s Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science on the national level.

“Crops judging was more than just about the competition to me,” said Weishaar. “I learned how important it is to grow with my team and to help each other along the way.”

The Winner City Council will meet tomorrow evening (Tuesday,  January 18th) one day later than usual due to the Martin Luther King Holiday at 6:30 p.m.  in the Winner City Council Chambers. Please note meetings are typically the first and third Monday of each month.