Nominations are now open for the 2021 Rural Dakota Pride awards sponsored by South Dakota Farmers Union to celebrate rural volunteers.

“Volunteers are how things get done in rural communities,” said Karla Hofhenke, S.D. Farmers Union Executive Director. “This award is one way our organization celebrates citizens who give of their time and talent to support their communities.”

Nominate a volunteer today

As the state’s largest agriculture organization, S.D. Farmers Union understands the integral role healthy communities play in supporting our state’s family farmers and ranchers.

“South Dakota’s agriculture producers and their communities are closely connected. In good economic times they both prosper. When times are tough due to low commodity prices or extreme weather conditions, they both feel the pain,” said Doug Sombke, SD Farmers Union President. “The Rural Dakota Pride honor is one of many ways SDFU works to show our support for both.”

Do you know someone who gives of their time or talent to make your community a better place? Nominate them today by visiting sdfufoundation.org and filling out the online nomination form. Nomination forms can also be requested by contacting Hofhenke at Karla@sdfu.org or calling the South Dakota Farmers Union state office: 605-352-6761.

Nomination deadline is July 10, 2021. Learn more and meet the 2020 Rural Dakota Pride Honorees by visiting www.sdfufoundation.org.

There was a Burke School Board Election on Tuesday. There were 7 people running for 3 positions (three year terms) for school board:

Chad Bauld

Kolt Schonebaum

Justin Hood

Holly Mosterd (incumbent)

Lindsey McCarthy (incumbent)

Tamra Glover (incumbent)

Jon Smikle

Chad Bauld, Justin Hood, and Lindsey McCarthy won the three positions with 248, 169 and 147 votes respectively.

The Winner City Office is currently accepting applications for an accounts payable clerk. The job offered competitive  pay, incentives and benefits.  Applicants must have some financial experience. To apply call the city at 842-2606. The closing for this job is June 17^th.

“South Dakota Strong ” by Governor Kristi Noem

South Dakota has the strongest economy in America. In fact, a recent study by Moody’s Analytics says that South Dakota is one of only 2 states to be in a stronger economic position than we were before the pandemic. That’s no small deal. At a time when other states are still struggling to recover from the devastating shutdowns imposed on them by shortsighted politicians, South Dakota is thriving.

Our unemployment rate of 2.8% – the lowest in America – means that every South Dakotan who wants a job should have little problem finding one. In fact, there are ten job openings available for every South Dakotan currently receiving unemployment. WalletHub took notice of this by declaring that South Dakota is the #1 ranked state in America to find a job right now.

This has led to a tremendous bit of good news: more South Dakota teenagers are joining the workforce than in recent years. This means that our kids will learn the dignity of earning a paycheck. They’ll realize life skills that they otherwise may not picked up until years later. This will pay tremendous dividends down the road as our teenagers blossom into adults.

For South Dakota workers who had been looking for the opportunity to start a new career, there is no better time than right now. Folks across the state are in serious need of hard-working employees, and South Dakotans have hard work and determination in spades. If you’ve been nervous to take that leap, I’d encourage you to seriously consider whether now is the right time to launch a career that can lead to years of success.

Our tourism industry is soaring. Wall Drug broke its single day record for sales this Memorial Day. Our visitation numbers are on pace to break annual records. Visitation to our state parks in particular is far above what it was last year – when we broke the previous record. People are paying attention to South Dakota, and they like what they see.

We have opportunities to continue building on this success. Sioux Falls was just named the #1 city in America for young professionals, and the city will only grow stronger as this economic growth continues. I’ve always said that South Dakotans have grit. They’re strong. And thanks to their hard work, South Dakota’s economy is strong, too.

Governor Kristi Noem announced that certain South Dakota state-inspected meat processors will have the opportunity to ship their meat across state lines. South Dakota and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have entered a Cooperative Interstate Shipping (CIS) agreement, which opens these new market opportunities for South Dakota producers.

“Our food supply is a matter of national security, so we need to increase diversity in the supply chain to offer more options to Americans,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “For too long, meat producers have been shortchanged due to anticompetitive practices in the meatpacking industry. These new opportunities will expand their options and allow them to ship South Dakota meat across state lines.”

Under CIS, state-inspected facilities can operate as federally inspected facilities, under specific conditions, and ship products across state lines. Without CIS, a state-inspected facility is limited to sales within its own borders. Processors interested in the CIS program should contact the Animal Industry Board at 605.773.3321 or visit https://aib.sd.gov/.

“The Animal Industry Broad is excited to help bring CIS to South Dakota,” said State Veterinarian Dusty Oedekoven. “Our meat processors and producers need options, and CIS gives them another pathway for getting South Dakota products to market.”

In addition to South Dakota, there are 8 states currently participating in CIS – Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

There were two school board elections for the Chamberlain School District and the Todd County School District that took place on June 8th.

For the Chamberlain School Board Election, the following school board positions were voted upon:  one school board member for District 1: seat a for a two year term of office; one  school board member at-large for a three  year term of office.

Those running for the positions were:  District 1: Seat A: Amos Isburg, Mitchell Franklin; at-large: Keith Reuer, Aaron Wisenbaugh.

Amos Isburg defeated Mitchell Franklin for the district 1, seat A position 75 votes to 9 votes.

Keith Reuer defeated Aaron on Wisenbaugh 291 votes to 65 votes for the at large position.

For the Todd County School Board Election, the following offices were voted upon:

Two school board members residing anywhere in the district to be elected for three (3) year term. Those running included:

Michelle Allen

Troy “Luke” Lunderman

Heather Frederick

Justin Klein

Shelley means

Linda Bordeaux

Michelle Allen and  Linda Bordeaux won the two positions with 165  and 139 total votes respectively.

There will be two school board elections today for the Chamberlain School District and the Todd County School District .

The election polls will be open from seven o’clock a.m. to seven o’clock p.m. central daylight time today.

For the Chamberlain school board election, the following school board positions will be voted upon:  one school board member for district 1: seat a for a two year term of office; one  school board member at-large for a three  year term of office.

Those running for the positions are:  District 1: Seat A: Amos Isburg, Mitchell Hranklin; at-large: Keith Reuer, Aaron Wisenbaugh.

The polling place in each precinct of this district is as follows:  Chamberlain Community Center (Brule Count);  St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Fort Thompson (Buffalo County) Oacoma Community Center (Lyman County)

For the Todd County School Board Election, the following offices will be voted upon:

Two school board members residing anywhere in the district will be elected for three (3) year term. Those running include:

Michelle Allen

Troy “Luke” Lunderman

Heather Frederick

Justin Klein

Shelley means

Linda Bordeaux.

The polling place in each precinct of this district shall be as follows:

O’Kreek Precinct: O’Kreek School

Mission/North & South Antelope Precincts Rosebud Precinct: Todd County Elementary School Rosebud School

Parmelee Precinct: Community Center

Bordeaux Consolidated Precinct: Spring Creek School

St. Francis Consolidated Precinct: Community Center

Lakeview Consolidated Precinct:  Lakeview School

Jeanette Consolidated Precinct: Littleburg School

There will be two school board elections tomorrow for the Chamberlain School District and the Todd County School District .

The election polls will be open from seven o’clock a.m. to seven o’clock p.m. central daylight time tomorrow.

For the Chamberlain school board election, the following school board positions will be voted upon:  one school board member for district 1: seat a for a two year term of office; one  school board member at-large for a three  year term of office.

Those running for the positions are:  District 1: Seat A: Amos Isburg, Mitchell Hranklin; at-large: Keith Reuer, Aaron Wisenbaugh.

The polling place in each precinct of this district is as follows:  Chamberlain Community Center (Brule Count);  St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Fort Thompson (Buffalo County) Oacoma Community Center (Lyman County)

For the Todd County School Board Election, the following offices will be voted upon:

Two school board members residing anywhere in the district will be elected for three (3) year term. Those running include:

Michelle Allen

Troy “Luke” Lunderman

Heather Frederick

Justin Klein

Shelley means

Linda Bordeaux.

The polling place in each precinct of this district shall be as follows:

O’Kreek Precinct: O’Kreek School

Mission/North & South Antelope Precincts Rosebud Precinct: Todd County Elementary School Rosebud School

Parmelee Precinct: Community Center

Bordeaux Consolidated Precinct: Spring Creek School

St. Francis Consolidated Precinct: Community Center

Lakeview Consolidated Precinct:  Lakeview School

Jeanette Consolidated Precinct: Littleburg School