Rapid City Journal, Jan. 10
Noem’s speech had little for the Black Hills
Gov. Kristi Noem served up a predominantly rural assortment of hors d’oeuvres for Tuesday’s state of the state address. The annual speech typically sets up expectations for more serious fare in the legislative session.
Noem’s tray was heavy on rural issues - promoting pheasant habitat, rural broadband, agriculture and rural housing. A few mystery canapé’s piqued interest for the Black Hills, such as her big - if undisclosed - plans for Hot Springs, vague references to improved mental health care, and an initiative to stare down methamphetamine.
Rapid City and the Black Hills earned specific mentions related to the importance of Ellsworth Air Force Base. The state must ensure Box Elder, Rapid City and the Black Hills region are equipped to capitalize on Ellsworth’s rapid expansion as the B21 replaces the B1, Noem said. We can all hope the transition to an advanced Air Force bomber stimulates the local economy.
A few expected items were conspicuously missing. Noem said she hears from state parents who lie awake at night and wonder if they are a medical emergency away from financial disaster - and that was the entirety of her discussion about health care.
Noem said lawmakers wouldn’t raise taxes or needlessly grow the government. Both of those morsels were expected as they featured large in her recent campaigns.
The emphasis she placed on expanding rural broadband was surprising. Half of South Dakota counties have rural areas where one in four people lacks broadband access, Noem said, announcing intentions to close this high-speed internet gap.
Rural broadband has been a perennial focus. The South Dakota Dashboard recently released a report that concluded rural connectivity in this state significantly exceeds national averages. This was despite the fact that, with fewer than five residents per square mile, deploying fiber costs on average $3,571 per resident in rural regions compared with about $26 per resident in densely populated Sioux Falls.
To improve pheasant habitat, meanwhile, Noem proposed voluntary funding solutions, such as premium hunting tags and conservation themed license plates. Yet she also praised and promoted ethanol expansion, which has been a primary driver in the conversion of pheasant habitat to cropland. It’s hard to fight market trends, but maybe voluntary funding measures can somewhat slow habitat conversion.
Noem said the search was on for the “Next Big Thing,” hoping to repeat Gov. Bill Janklow’s credit card coup of the early 1980’s. There aren’t a lot of winning lottery tickets lying on the ground, but maybe South Dakota will get lucky again.
To ease the gap in affordable rural housing, Noem announced a pilot project where communities of less than 5,000 people could purchase prison-built modular units to rent at affordable rates. Rapid City, meanwhile, deals with serious affordable housing issues.
To address the shortage of skilled workers for the state’s workforce, Noem said she would promote high school career weeks, “when every high school student will get out of the classroom to experience a day on the job.” It’s always worthwhile to spend time with a truly interested student, but few businesses can spare the time to shepherd apathetic students present only to fulfill class requirements. Tuition support for technical schools might be more productive.
Meanwhile, Noem proposes every high school graduate be able to pass the United States citizenship exam - a proposal that drew the loudest cheers from lawmakers. Democracy depends on an informed citizenry, but another government-mandated test seems a strange choice after all the effort to repeal nationally mandated tests. Teaching to the test - memorizing rote facts and figures - does little to promote true understanding. As a side note, it might be interesting to find out how many legislators could pass this test.
Overall, Noem’s presentation left her Black Hills public wishing for something more substantial. Perhaps the Legislature will serve up some real meat and potatoes.
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Madison Daily Leader, Madison, Jan. 9
Noem speech presents startling meth picture
Gov. Kristi Noem presented her first State of the State speech Tuesday and included a startling picture of the methamphetamine crisis plaguing our state.
We all hear about meth in South Dakota, and some of us even hear about how it has grown into a statewide crisis. But not many heard the statistics Noem presented.
In 2011, there were 402 meth arrests in South Dakota. Those arrests led to the seizure of approximately 4,300 grams of meth. Look ahead seven years to 2018. We have gone from 402 arrests to 3,366 - and that doesn’t even include December 2018. The amount of meth seized in these arrests has increased from approximately 4,300 grams to nearly 40,000 grams - a nearly tenfold increase.
Some of the increase is likely due to increased law enforcement, but no one can argue that meth abuse hasn’t grown.
And in our opinion, no one can say that meth use is a “victimless” crime. People are dying. Families and communities in South Dakota are being destroyed.
We’re alarmed, saddened and angered to hear about the rapid growth in meth abuse and the damage caused by it. We can add “fearful” as we consider the possibility of that growth rate continuing.
We talk with local law enforcement and hear awful stories. Our criminal justice system - from law enforcement officers and courts to jails and treatment facilities - are strained by meth.
This problem should define the 2019 legislative session and the first years of the Noem administration. We need a full-effort attack on the problem, using resources to turn back the tide. Noem is right in saying it will take strong efforts in prevention, education, enforcement and treatment.
We’re eager to hear the debate in the Legislature as lawmakers work to establish and fund the best methods to win our state’s war against meth.
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Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan, Jan. 7
Noem’s Promise To ’Future Generations’
Meet the new boss: South Dakota has a new governor, as Kristi Noem took the oath of office Saturday in Pierre.
It was a historic moment as our state officially swore in its first female governor. However, this sense of history may have felt muted for some of us, which is the feeling you may have gotten when someone who’s been a political household name in this state for eight years and who hails from the party that’s controlled the executive branch for 40 years is elected governor - it’s more like “same as the old boss,” in a way.
That being said, Noem’s inaugural speech touched on numerous familiar themes, but one point in particular has a lot of possibilities.
She said people have asked her how she wanted her governorship to someday be remembered. “To that end, when this is all over,” she said, “I want to be a governor for the next generation.”
She elaborated, ” … whether it’s tackling the meth crisis that is hurting so many families and children, strengthening our schools and revitalizing civics in the classroom, keeping taxes and regulation low, or creating more habitat for wildlife so that our hunting traditions can be passed on - the north star that I want to follow with each decision I make as governor is the impact on the next generation. How does this policy, this legislation, this program, impact the next generation of South Dakotans?”
This represents a broad - and potentially ambitious - vision.
For instance, the drug problems in this state stretch beyond meth. Opioids are becoming an increasing issue, as well. Also, do we deal with these problems by getting those addicted more help, or do we make even tougher laws that emphasize incarceration over treatment? This debate may be looming shortly in Pierre.
Another issue facing the next generation is economic opportunity in this state. This, too, is quite expansive. It’s not simply about making sure there are good-paying jobs that will either attract young people to this state or that will keep them here. It’s also about finding enough workers so that the next generation of entrepreneurs can actually make a go of it with their ideas. South Dakota is blessed with low unemployment, but that’s also come to mean it’s cursed with a lack of workers for so many open jobs, including openings in the Yankton area. If we don’t have the workers, how can we grow economically? That’s a critical issue everywhere, and the Noem administration needs to start addressing it as soon as possible.
Certainly, education is important to the next generation, which is on the front lines of this issue. This matter ranges from addressing teacher pay and teacher shortages to determining whether the notion of state-funded preschool education should be considered a practical investment. (Here’s a hint: yes.) If the next generation is a priority, this issue is arguably where it all starts.
The situation on the state’s Native American reservations must be confronted head-on. Poverty and drugs are rampant, and it often seems that hope is just a worn-out myth. Working with the next generation in mind includes helping the current generations on tribal lands and reversing this destructive cycle as much as possible.
There are other issues - ranging from the rising suicide rate and climate change to highway infrastructure and high-speed internet access - that will also impact the next generation. These cannot be forgotten.
The fact that Noem mentions the impact on the next generation as the legacy she hopes to forge is not unimportant. It sets a higher bar than many people (including, perhaps, the new governor herself) might realize.
Here’s hoping her vision is more than rhetorical and that her governorship lives up to that promising vow.
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