Monthly Archives: July 2018

The success of Scottish director, Steven Lewis Simpson’s adaptation of best-selling novel, Neither Wolf Nor Dog​, defies logic—Hollywood logic that is. It was audience-financed with 18 shoot days, a tiny crew, a 95-year-old star and a self-distributed release that started in small towns and is outperforming Hollywood blockbusters in numerous multiplexes.
The film “Neither Wolf nor Dog” is being shown in Winner at the Pix theater. The film opened at the Pix on July 27 and will run until Aug. 2

It has a higher audience score on Rotten Tomatoes than any big Hollywood movie out at the moment; 4.7/5 – 95%. The film has had a longer theatrical run than any other US film released in the past decade and has become the most successful non-Hollywood Native American film in years.

Shot on Pine Ridge, the film has steadily rolled out through the nation, remarkably passing the 150th theater mark within only 15% of the country. South Dakota has proportionally had the most theaters per-capita – an equivalence of 5,185 theaters nationally.
Oklahoma Film Critics Society’s Louis Fowler named ​Neither Wolf Nor Dog​ the number one film of 2017. The film was extended for three weeks in Spearfish due to demand and was the top performing film its first week, beating five big Hollywood movies including the ranking top 3 in the US.

Based on the best-selling Native American novel by Kent Nerburn, ​Neither Wolf Nor Dog​ takes audiences on a deeply moving road trip through contemporary and historical Lakota life and culture. Its humor is wry and pulls no punches, introducing deep characters and poignant vignettes that challenge the viewer to see the world a bit differently.

South Dakotan Dave Bald Eagle stars in the film. He was born in Cherry Creek in 1919 and around 10 years later participated in Deadwood’s Days of ‘76 parade for the first time. He attended the majority of them until he passed away last year aged 97. For a time, his obituary was the most-read feature in the world on the BBC. NPR’s All Things Considered team debated whether Bald Eagle was “the world’s most interesting man.”

Dave was a veteran and was left for dead on D-Day. The other star Christopher Sweeney is also a prominent veteran and a recipient of the Silver Star when a Marine in combat in the Gulf War. The cast is filled with amazing Native actors, Richard Ray Whitman, Roseanne Supernault, Tatanka Means and the wonderful Zahn McClarnon, who most recently has been a star of the TV series Westworld. Local cast from Pine Ridge includes Harlen Standing Bear Sr, Yellow Pny Pettibone and Dawn Little Sky (whose husband was the famous Native actor, Eddie Little Sky).

Nebraskans in the north-central part of the state may have felt a little rumble Saturday morning.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 3.5-magnitude earthquake about 10 miles north of Valentine, Neb., right on the Nebraska-South Dakota border.

The earthquake happened at about 2:11 a.m. and had a depth of about 6 miles (10 km).

There were no reports of injuries or damage.

Nebraska’s last earthquake was less than a month ago when a few were recorded in Custer County, including a 4.2-magnitude quake.

PIERRE, S.D. – The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting has been awarded to the State of South Dakota by Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The GFOA’s Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment.

“This is the second consecutive year this certificate was awarded to the Bureau of Finance and Management (BFM), which is responsible for completing the State’s annual financial statements” Gov. Dennis Daugaard said. “However, the achievement of this award would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of every accountant in state government, including that of our independent auditor, the Department of Legislative Audit.”

The State’s CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel of GFOA staff and the GFOA Special Review Committee to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story. South Dakota earned the highest grade of “proficient” status in all seventeen grading categories.

This achievement comes after South Dakota state government closed the 2018 budget year with a $16.9 million surplus, while both Fitch and S&P recently reaffirmed South Dakota’s AAA Issuer Default Rating with a stable outlook.

PIERRE, S.D. – Last week Standard & Poor Global announced that it has reaffirmed South Dakota’s AAA Issuer Default Rating with a stable outlook.

“By sticking to conservative budget practices and keeping our reserves at 10 percent of our annual budget, South Dakota continues to benefit from the highest rating possible from S&P,” said Gov. Dennis Daugaard. “It’s been hard work to achieve AAA status during my time in office. I am very proud to say that not only have we been able to reach this status, but we have also been able to maintain it.”

In the report, S&P reflects on the state’s expanding and diverse economy, strong economic trends, well-funded pension system, low debt, strong level of reserve funds, and our conservative and balanced budget requirement as key reasons for reaffirming the state’s AAA. The state general fund budget for fiscal year 2018 ended with a $16.9 million surplus, from both lower expenditures and higher revenues than budgeted. S&P has reported a stable outlook for the state’s fiscal year 2019 with structural budgetary alignment and strong economic metrics.

S&P awarded the state a AAA rating in 2015. Fitch reaffirmed the state’s AAA rating for a third time last month and Moody’s is expected to renew the state’s ratings next month.

Credit ratings give potential bond purchasers a measurement of state performance and credit worthiness. Upgrades typically allow issued bonds to carry a lower interest rate, providing interest savings to issuers as well as the State of South Dakota and taxpayers.