Rapid City Journal, May 20
Wildlife bill could be boon to state
South Dakota voters hear it often. If elected to Congress, the candidate promises to go to Washington, D.C., and “fight, fight, fight for the home team.”
It’s what the electorate wants to hear and expects. One way senators and representatives can demonstrate that commitment is to funnel more federal dollars into the state.
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act presents such an opportunity. The bipartisan legislation, which has 53 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, could pump as much as $16 million a year into the state to preserve and enhance wildlife habitat, which would benefit pheasants, fish and the other wildlife that are so vital to the state’s economy.
The legislation, however, is getting a tepid response from Rep. Noem and Sens. Thune and Rounds, according to South Dakota News Watch.
Noem, who is running for governor, is not among the 21 Republican co-sponsors, despite the fact her campaign platform includes a section called “Preserving Pheasant Hunting” that talks about the need for habitat management “without raising taxes.”
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act does not increase taxes at the national level nor require local tax increases. The proposal shifts $1.3 billion a year in federal royalties on energy and mineral extraction to the states that are required to make a 25 percent match. This means South Dakota would have $21.5 million to spend annually on one of its most important industries that has the additional benefit of enhancing the quality of life for the many outdoor enthusiasts who live here.
What’s not to like about a plan like that?
Matt Morlock, the acting director of the South Dakota branch of Pheasants Forever, said the legislation would benefit the state greatly.
“More funds out there means good things for all wildlife in South Dakota,” he said in the News Watch report. “What we do for other wildlife species, ducks, deer or non-game species, it’s going to benefit pheasants.”
He went on to say that outdoor recreation generates $1.3 billion a year in spending in the state, which indicates any investment in the outdoors pays big dividends to local businesses.
Sen. Thune, meanwhile, wants to see what other programs might be diminished before he decides if he will support the legislation. This comes after he voted earlier this year for a tax overhaul that the Congressional Budget Office has reported will raise the national debt by $1.9 trillion over the next 10 years. The federal budget for fiscal year 2019 is $4.1 trillion with $1.1 trillion allocated for discretionary spending.
Sen. Rounds makes no mention of the legislation on his official website or in any tweets he has sent recently.
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act still must be approved by the House and be considered by the Senate. So, there’s still time for our Congressional delegation to study the legislation and then explain their positions on it.
At this point, however, it clearly seems like a win-win scenario for the home team if it becomes law.
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Madison Daily Leader, Madison, May 17
Regents are smart to include many in search
The South Dakota Board of Regents is launching a search for a new executive director to replace Michael Rush, who is leaving the position later this month.
The Regents have put together a large search committee to conduct the process of sorting through applications and resume’s, calling references, interviewing candidates and hiring the new executive.
As you can read in the article, the search committee is very large at 25 members, with representation from a broad range of participants in the higher education system.
For those who criticize the concept of committees doing important work, this looks like it could be Example A. But we disagree with the critics: The broad representation on the committee is its strongest characteristic.
Presidential searches within the Regental system are also large, and we’ve seen firsthand the value that each of the constituents bring. Faculty, staff, alumni, students, legislators, fellow presidents and others all contribute to the process, and each brings a different perspective.
The two most recent presidential searches at Dakota State University that used the completed search process with full committees were both great successes in choosing Douglas Knowlton and Jose’-Marie Griffiths.
We’re very confident that the assembled search committee will pick a fully qualified person for the Executive Director position. The diverse nature of the committee will pay off.
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American News, Aberdeen, May 24
Enter six-man football with caution
Six-man football is nearing the goal line in a possible return to South Dakota high schools.
The South Dakota High School Activities Association Board of Directors recently approved the first reading of a proposal that would add a six-man classification beginning in the fall of 2019. A vote on final approval of the proposal is scheduled for the board’s June 7 meeting.
There are currently three divisions of nine-man football in the state. Six-man football would replace the smallest nine-man division. One division of six-man football would leave state high schools with two divisions of nine-man and its current four classes of 11-man football.
South Dakota has a rich history of six-man football:
- Claremont holds the high school national record of 61 six-man football wins in a row from 1947 to 1953.
- South Dakota was one of the leaders in the nation in its number of six-man teams in the 1950s, including a whopping 110 such teams in the state in 1952.
- The state had six-man football from the 1930s to early 1960s. Eight-man football in South Dakota begin to rise in popularity in the mid-1950s through the early 1970s when nine-man took over. Eleven-man football has been around since 1899 when state newspapers declared Spearfish as South Dakota’s first state football champion.
The good news about the rebirth of six-man football South Dakota?
It would allow football to continue in some of the state’s smallest communities. And some of those towns have a rich tradition in football.
Also, six-man football could be a safer option because it requires less athletes to be on the field at a time. A number of football teams have been battling low numbers in recent years.
Heated debates over the safety of the sport and the rise in popularity of other fall sports such as soccer has cut deeply into football numbers.
Some South Dakota communities have been fielding nine-man and 11-man teams with only a handful of kids. It is pretty tough to field a nine-man team with 12 or less athletes, but fielding a six-man team would provide possibly safer options.
Plus, several states that border South Dakota have six-man teams, which might help with travel costs and filling out schedules.
Also, some schools in South Dakota are so remote, consolidation is not an option. So it is either six-man football, or no football.
However, we have some major concerns as well.
We are a big believer in consolidation and co-ops. We worry that a return to six-man football might lead to a breakup of some schools already co-oping and on the road to consolidation.
Often, the consolidation of schools is a painstaking process.
We want our smallest of schools to stay together and continue coming together so our children can have more opportunities on the sports fields, in the arts and in the classrooms.
We understand bigger is not always better. And often, neither is a smaller enrollment.
Safety is a major concern as well. The national debate over whether football is a safe sport is a real thing.
We know there are communities out there hanging on to football teams with only a handful of kids. Some are playing physically immature freshman athletes, or younger, who should not be on a varsity field.
Maybe we are debating the wrong issue?
Maybe we should be debating that there be a mandatory number of children before a South Dakota high school can form a football team? Or that there must be 20 or more athletes available in order to form a nine-man team and 30 or more to form an 11-man team?
We understand the SDHSAA’s looking for options to get more kids involved in more activities such as football, music and drama.
That is their job. And the value of extracurricular activities is an extremely important part of education.
But sometimes, sports overwhelm common sense.
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