My Blog

  • Federal Jobs Bill Money

    As reported by the Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan this week, the State of South Dakota is set to receive roughly $23 million from the federal government. This money is part of a jobs bill passed by Congress this summer. The stated intent is to prevent teacher layoffs by funneling one-time money into local school districts.

    Governor Rounds has decided not to call the South Dakota Leglislature into a special-session to consider appropriating that money this calendar year. Instead, Governor Rounds has decided to defer the appropriation of that money until the 2011 Legislative Session.

  • Matt Michels to join Daugaard ticket!

    It is with great enthusiasm that I post this blog today! I am very proud that Republican gubernatorial nominee Dennis Daugaard has chosen my friend and Yankton's own Matt Michels as his running mate.

    I am proud not only of Matt and what he has stood for since long before he entered the world of public service, but also of South Dakota because I know that our next Governor and Lt. Governor will be of the highest quality.

  • Week in Review (May 22nd)

    Greetings!

    School is out and summer is fast approaching. Primary elections are less than three weeks away, and the Republicans have some very important primaries this year. We have several great candidates, many of whom have taken the time to visit Yankton on multiple occasions.

  • Week in Review (May 8)

    Greetings!

    Wow, spring is going fast! Commencement celebrations are going on today at our universities and will begin taking place at our high schools across South Dakota over the next few weeks. Congratulations to everybody who is graduating this year! I am thankful for and proud of your accomplishment.

  • Week in Review (April 24th)

    Greetings,

    I want to begin by wishing our juniors and seniors well tonight as they head off to prom. I hope you all have a fun, safe evening. I also want to thank everybody who has joined the facebook group. I really appreciate your interest and support!

  • Week in Review (April 17th)

    Greetings!

    Thank you for checking out the website. I am really happy with the improvements we have made. They make the site even more user friendly than in the past. I hope this site can be a good means of information for constituents.

    Along with regular blog posts, editorials, poll questions, and other updates, I will be posting a weekly review each Saturday morning beginning today.

    This last week was a busy one. On Tuesday, US Congressional candidate Kristi Noem was in town meeting with supporters and talking with local media.

  • Meeting with Governor Rounds

    Greetings,

    Governor Rounds and Public Safety Secretary Thomas Dravland were in Yankton today to talk with Yankton County citizens about the current flooding in South Dakota. I was in attendance along with other local officials and concerned citizens. The meeting served two primary purposes. The first was to educate about what is currently happening and the second was to gather ideas about how to improve conditions moving forward.

  • Yankton VFW Auxillary Meeting

    Greetings,

    On Monday evening, District 18 legislators met with members of our local VFW and VFW Auxillary. We do this every year at this time, and both meetings I have attended have proved valuable. This year's meeting was one of the best crackerbarrel-type dialogues we have had with a group of citizens in my two years as a legislator.

  • Day Two Overview

    Greetings District 18,

    It is clear, even this early in the session, that the mood of the Legislature is more somber than last year. I believe this is appropriate given the difficult decisions we will have to make over the next two months.

    With economic forecasts projecting only modest improvement over the next 18-24 months, combined with the fact that South Dakota will lose $70 million in stimulus money for FY 2012, it is crucial that the we pass a budget that is structurally balanced for FY 2011.

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