The South Dakota Legislature passed legislation Friday that improves the Partners in Education Tax Credit Program. Governor Noem, a strong proponent for expanding educational opportunity for children, is expected to sign the bill into law.

• Senate Bill 175 passed the Senate on 30 – 5 vote and passed the House yesterday on a 60 – 9 vote.
• The bill removes the requirement that an eligible student needs to have attended a public school in the prior year or that they be entering Kindergarten, first grade or ninth grade.
• Now any income eligible child in any grade, including one already in private school, is eligible to receive a scholarship.
• The bill is on its way to the Governor’s desk, and she is expected to sign it into law.

As part of its March Planning Webinar series, the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition will host the Diversity Tools and Salinity Discussion at 1 p.m. CST on March 17. This free webinar will offer a discussion led by Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota State Soil Health Specialist Kent Vlieger on the benefits of biodiversity, the economics of saline soils, and the tools and programs available to help producers manage soils with high salinity. With a dry spring predicted, this year could offer conditions favorable to planting saline areas in fields and pastures, so now is a good time to start planning for their management.

To learn more about this webinar, which is being provided with assistance from NRCS South Dakota, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources and South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts, visit tinyurl.com/Mar17-salinity.

The Winner School Board will hold their next meeting, Monday, March 8th at at 7:00 pm in room 200 of the Winner High School building located at 431 East 7th Street.  Agenda items must be submitted to the Superintendent by the first Wednesday of each month.

As part of its March Planning Webinar series, the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition will host the Living Roots Tools and Cover Crops Discussion at 1 p.m. CST on March 10. This free program will offer a discussion on cover crops, the benefits of keeping living roots in the soil year-round, and instructions for using the Midwest Cover Crops Council’s Cover Crop Decision Tool. With the growing season soon to begin, now is the time to plan for this year’s cover crops.

To learn more about this webinar, which is being provided with assistance from NRCS South Dakota, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources and South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts, visit tinyurl.com/Mar10-covercrops.

The Winner City Council will meeting this evening at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers.

The Gregory City Council will meet this evening at 6:00 p.m.  at Gregory City Hall.

The Chamberlain City Commission will meet at 6:00 p.m. at the Chamberlain City Offices.

Governor Kristi Noem signed House Bill 1034, which simplifies youth hunting and fishing requirements in South Dakota.

“2020 was a tremendous year for youth hunting and fishing in South Dakota, and we’re building on that for the future,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “The goal of this legislation is to get more young people involved in our outdoor way of life at an early age so they continue those experiences long into their adulthood.”

House Bill 1034:

• Provides consistent age requirements across all youth licenses for those under the age of 18;
• Allows resident and nonresident youth to fish without a license;
• Allows nonresident youth age 15 and under to participate in the mentored hunting program with a resident sponsor;
• Clarifies small game license and deer license requirements for youth.

In 2020, South Dakota saw increases in youth and first-time hunters. The state also sold a record number of licenses for youth-mentored hunting. And South Dakota saw increases in youth combo licenses as well as resident and nonresident fishing licenses.

 U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) supported a resolution to President Biden’s COVID-19 relief package to require the administration to provide accounting reports on unspent COVID-19 relief funds from previous bipartisan packages.

“Congress has dedicated more than $4 trillion to pandemic recovery and relief but data suggests there is nearly $1 trillion unspent,” said Johnson. “I have requested more information on these unspent funds from the White House and received no response as to when they will be allocated to assist struggling Americans and small businesses. H. Res. 127, requires the administration to turn over all documentation & accounting of what existing COVID related funds remain unspent.”

“As Congress debates an additional $1.9 trillion package, transparency regarding existing funds is critical. If President Biden’s bill passes, relief efforts will have cost every American $17,000. With vaccine developments and COVID cases on the decline, we need to start thinking seriously about the lasting economic impact additional stimulus may cause our country. Simply put, we need this information before asking American taxpayers to foot the bill for trillions more in stimulus.”

The South Dakota Soil Health Coalition will host a Planning Webinar Series on Wednesdays in March. The first webinar, Resiliency Tools and Drought Discussion, will be held at 1 p.m. CST on March 3. This free program will feature a climate outlook, an explanation of Natural Resources Conservation Service’s South Dakota Drought and Grazing Tools, and a discussion with SDSHC directors on how to build drought resiliency into agricultural operations. With the entire state currently in some stage of drought, this webinar is the perfect chance to begin planning for dry conditions this season.

To learn more about this webinar, which is being provided with assistance from NRCS South Dakota, South Dakota State University Extension, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources and South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts, visit tinyurl.com/Mar3-drought.

The “Chase the Ace” promotional event will begin Monday, March 1, 2021 at 5:15 PM CST which is sponsored by the Gregory Dallas Chamber of Commerce.

One can purchase $5 tickets each week to be entered. One ticket will be drawn each week. A person gets to draw a card out of the deck. (if they aren’t present, someone in attendance will draw for them) if it is the Ace of Spades, they win 50% of the pot. if it is not the Ace of Spades, they win 10% of that weeks ticket sales and the remainder goes into the pot. you can watch each week on Facebook Live or at that week in person location. Tickets can be purchased from Suzanne Braun at 831-9773, Chamber Board Members, or at the location of that week’s drawing.