Thank you...

...for your vote, for your confidence in me, for your encouragement and help in so many ways, your prayers, and especially your friendship.  We appreciate all of you!  We’ve spent the last couple of days picking up signs.  It’s such a great reminder of all the supportive people we’ve met along the way over so many campaigns. If I missed yours, call or email.  Please keep sharing your ideas, opinions, and thoughts with me.  South Dakota has some challenges ahead, but I know that the leadership team you have elected is anxious to work with you to solve them. Thank you!

I’m counting on your vote tomorrow!

Thank you for joining my email list or sharing opinions and experiences as a facebook friend. Your interest and support has been so encouraging during this campaign.  Tomorrow each vote will be critical so if you know someone in District 13 who may be undecided, please give them a call.  Assure them that I will be an effective and respected voice for them in Pierre. 

Thank you!

District 13, these are your words…

In my recent postcard (shown below) to voters in my district, I used quotes from people whom I’ve met going door to door.  I couldn’t have stated my positions any better than in their words. The voters have made this the most interesting door to door campaign ever.  They are engaged, informed, and passionate in their beliefs.  As I stated in my postcard, there are experts in so many areas and they understand that their involvement can and must make a difference in our country and in our State. 

 

 

Do you know a South Dakota high school student?

If so, encourage them to go to SDMyLife.com and register in the My Future, My Prize contest.  The grand prize is an HP Elitebook 2740p Tablet PC, backpack and HP office Jet Printer 4680 plus a large variety of runner up prizes.  Contest ends November 15.  South Dakota’s Department of Education is sponsoring this free contest to encourage students and parents to log on to this valuable website—“all to help you plan YOUR future.”  SDMyLife.com offers “a ton of career exploration resources.  Build your own portfolio, and start planning for your life after high school today.”  (SDMyLife, SDDOE)  Thanks to HP and Riverside Technologies, Inc. for their donations.

“Quit blaming each other,”

was the impassioned plea from Keith Moore, Director of the Bureau of Indian Education, at the 7th annual Indian Education Summit. He asked the hundreds in attendance to “heal from that history; it doesn’t get us anywhere.” Keith, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, initiated the Indian Summit when he served as South Dakota’s Director of Indian Education. He began serving as the Director of BIE in June following his appointment by President Obama.

I had the great pleasure of working with Keith during my years in the legislature. His singular focus was always on the kids and their educational success. He was willing to challenge both Natives and non-Natives if it improved opportunities for kids.  South Dakota and the nation are truly fortunate to have him in this position.  He commented that his work will be guided on the 3 principles of: “learning, quality leadership and service to our people,” and as one of his elders advised, “wrapped in spirituality with prayer and thought.”  

Hot off the Press…

Check out my 8^th edition of Just Give Me the Facts, my campaign newspaper filled with information that affects us all.  Where does the money come from in our budget and where do we spend it? Why do Sioux Falls and South Dakota consistently rank at the top for entrepreneurs and business development? Where do our property taxes go? What’s a neutrino....and why do we care? Where are the jobs? How is South Dakota reacting to federally imposed ObamaCare? What are the 30 million reasons to keep the Trust Funds solvent?  What’s the status of the education lawsuit against the State? …..and lots more!!

Download Just The Facts

Thanks to the Teen Age Republicans (TARS) who came to Sioux Falls this weekend...

...and help distribute our message to our voters in some of our precincts.  Your energy and commitment inspires and energizes all of us.  We are truly grateful to you, your advisers and sponsors and especially your parents. I hesitate to start mentioning names as there are many that make this possible.  But I want to congratulate and thank Dusty Johnson for leading this great group and for being recognized as the “best” TAR state adviser in the country. His energy is contagious and they have all caught it!!!  Also, Samantha Walder, an advisory board member, who served as my intern during a legislative session a few years ago.  She was great then and I’m sure continues today as a great teacher. Thanks to all!  Dave and Bonnie, the food was wonderful again. You all should be proud of these committed and informed young citizens.  I walked with two “future legislators” from Kimball.  They assured me they had been doing this for “years” and looked forward to the time when they were actually old enough to vote.  I need to have them with me when I visit with people twice their age who “just don’t care to vote.”  We all feel younger, grateful, and hopeful after spending a day with TARS.

The silent majority are silent no more…

I’ve always had great conversations with the voters of District 13 and have learned a great deal about many topics.  But this year, their level of engagement on policies has a new intensity.  People are talking, asking questions, and looking for answers.  They have definite opinions.  One woman, who was very informative, had great insight and real concerns about the 2000+ pages of Obamacare.  She will be a great resource. One gentleman asked--where is the oversight?  Who determines if each agency, state and federal, is getting the return on their resources?  Who determines their performance criteria?  One woman, who expressed great concerns about the exploding federal deficit wondered, “When did the sense of entitlement replace the sense of pride?”  Door to door is so valuable as it is an opportunity for individual citizens to "lobby” and for me to learn.

Students have changed education…

...was an observation by an innovative educator with whom I had a very interesting conversation.  She noted that technology is their world and you can’t have them come into the classroom for 6-8 hours a day and “turn them off” from technology. If you do, you will literally “turn them off.” She believes that integrating technology into every classroom for every type and age of student is offering more and more opportunities for success.

 In the 2009 publication Technology Counts, South Dakota ranked at the top in their “use of technology.”  Interestingly, in their 2010 publication, State comparisons were eliminated and instead they are “spotlighting school-and district-level data...on the growth of online curricula, opportunities for online course taking, the use of multimedia digital content, online assessment, and school policies on cell phones, iPods, wikis and blogs, and various forms of social media….” (http://www.edweek.org/media/edtechstats.pdf)  With all of these possibilities, I agree with her conclusion that we must “keep educating our teachers.”

We are looking forward to the return of snow and winter…

...was the surprising, but understandable, comment from a homeowner who once again was flooded with water and sewage.  I visited with so many truly discouraged homeowners this weekend who wondered “how could this happen again?” ** Those of us who had water only were the fortunate ones.  Many dealt with the total loss of basement furnishings as sewer water came in.  As I was going door to door in the southern part of my district, the signs of garbage bags, rugs drying, garages full of furniture, and smell of bleach were everywhere.  While exhausted from a weekend of miserable cleaning, some still found a silver lining.  One woman commented that she had 10-12 people helping her salvage her basement.  Another commented that at least he really got a chance to know his neighbors better.  But everyone wants it to never happen again.
     
** Interesting numbers from the city--the city’s waste water system is rated for “collecting, treating, and discharging” 21 million gallons a day; they can peak higher than that and often do; they average 15 million gallons a day; and on Friday July 30 had 54 million gallons go through the system.

Sioux Falls city website:  www.siouxfalls.org has brochures and videos with information dealing with Sewer Backup, Proper Sump Pump Discharge and much more.  They will also be having more informational meetings dealing with these flooding issues.