Monthly Archives: March 2020

By Sen. John Thune

The coronavirus is obviously a front-and-center issue for Americans in every corner of the country, and effectively fighting this outbreak will require an all-of-the-above approach. U.S. health officials are working around the clock to continue learning as much as possible about the virus, how to mitigate the spread, and how to protect our loved ones. The highest levels of the federal government are focused on keeping the American people safe by ensuring health care professionals in communities around the country are well-equipped in this fight.

This is a serious situation, but you don’t need a medical degree to help work toward our collective goal of ending this outbreak as soon as possible. There are things that every South Dakotan can be doing today to help lower the risk of spreading this disease, and I would encourage anyone who is looking for comprehensive information about coronavirus “dos” and “don’ts” to visit www.coronavirus.gov or www.covid.sd.gov.

For the rest of the story, pick up this week’s edition of the Winner Advocate or subscribe to the Winner Advocate at 1-605-842-1481!

The spring sports season has been cancelled through April 5 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic according to the South Dakota High School Activities Association.

Practice for spring sports is a “local decision” with the schools asked to make the decision based on CDC guidance, state guidance and the number of participants.

Monday’s decision does not impact the length of spring sports season and does not pertain to non-SDHSAA activities such as baseball, softball and rodeo.

“Much of the future of our events rest on the guidance from state and federal entities and what you are able to do as a school,” said SDHSAA executive director Dan Swartos.

“We are not trying to hold off on decisions, we are trying to take in all available information before making a decision and that information is constantly shifting.

I know you are all wrestling with the same type of decisions locally and I wish you well in that process,” said Swartos.

Track and field boys tennis, girls golf and Class B boys golf are all impacted by Monday’s announcement. This arrives three days after Gov. Kristi Noem ordered the postponement of the state basketball tournaments.