Category Archives: State

By The Mail-Sun, Sheldon Iowa
SHELDON, Iowa — Former Tripp County resident Jack Duffy was surrounded by old friends and admirers during a return to the northwest Iowa town where he worked for more than three decades.

The longtime director of education at East Elementary School in Sheldon, Iowa, came “home” for the dedication of the Jack B. Duffy Reading Room in his honor on July 3. Dozens of people attended the event and seized the chance to say thanks to a man who devoted three decades to the school.

By Sen. Billie Sutton

The Blue Ribbon Task-Force on Teachers and Students that was created by Governor Daugaard, of which I am a member, kicked off its first official meeting on July 7th.

There are 26 total task force members from all across South Dakota, half is made up of legislators and half is made up of members of the general public.  The other 13 members are legislators and Governor’s office staff. As you can see, the task force is made up of a very diverse and qualified group of caring South Dakotans. We are lucky to have local Superintendent Erik Person from Burke on the task force. He will be a valuable asset representing the small schools in our district. This group definitely has its work cut out for it as we move forward in solving South Dakota’s teacher shortage crisis. I am excited for the opportunity to address unanswered questions and find solutions to make sure we keep and attract the best and brightest teachers to our state and cement the success of future generations.

 
The overarching goal of the task-force is to answer this question:
What possibilities are there to meaningfully fund education for our kids and our communities? 

In order to answer this question we will have to take into account the 151 separate school districts and 128,294 students educated in our schools. Every school district has unique needs and challenges, which makes accomplishing meaningful reforms a complicated task. It’s a worthwhile and rewarding task, though and I believe education should be the most important focus of both the legislature and the general public as 1/3 of our state’s general fund budget goes towards funding K-12 education.

 
Early on in this process the Governor laid out three goals for education that I wholeheartedly agree with. As South Dakotans, we should all want:
A quality system of schools focused on student achievement;
A workforce of great teachers; and
An efficient, equitable funding system that supports those goals.

A map of cattle trails and a life-size statue of James A. “Tennessee” Vaughn astride a horse dominate the Founders Room at the High Plains Western Heritage Center in Spearfish.

Cattlemen like Vaughn were significant in developing the open range and cattle operations in South Dakota and Wyoming.

The High Plains Western Heritage Center  celebrated the Great Western Cattle Trail Event and the National Day of the American Cowboy on July 3 -5 with a Western art show, saddle displays and American cowboy displays. The Western Heritage Center is participating in the Great Western Cattle Trail Project, part of a nine-state effort by the Great Western Cattle Trail Association to identify the general route of that trail. The Great Western Cattle Trail ran from Texas to Dakota, Montana and Wyoming territories. Concrete markers on the High Plains Western Heritage Center’s grounds identify the trail’s route and an extensive floor display at the museum tells the trail’s story.

In the years after the Civil War, from the 1870s to the early 1890s, Texas cattle outfits drove their herds north to summer pasture to finish them for eastern markets. According to historian and author Paul Higbee of Spearfish, the land in Texas was overgrazed and the High Plains area offered outstanding grass.

Economics were also a factor, he said. The cattle were used to satisfy federal contracts on the reservations.

As a trail boss, Vaughn was credited with bringing more longhorns up the trail than any other trail boss. One of Vaughn’s responsibilities would be to advance the herd to determine grass and water sources and report back to the drovers to set up night camp.  A trail boss was responsible for the safety of the cattle and had to be skilled in working with both cowboys and the owners of the cattle outfits.

The usual trail drive formation was made up of 11 positions of riders.  Some cowboys were in charge of the herd of horses from which cowboys selected their mounts. There was also a cook.

It took an average of 90 days to travel from Texas to the forks of the Grand River in South Dakota’s Perkins County.

While most cattle herds on the trail numbered 2,500, Vaughn sometimes trailed twice as many.

Vaughn was born on July 22, 1851, in Lebanon, Tenn. He went to Texas in 1866, at age 15, and was hired as a cowboy by the Ellison Brothers outfit at Lockhart, Texas.

Vaughn made the first of his nine trail drives in about 1873, driving cattle for the Driskill Cattle Company from Texas to Wyoming. He would be with the Driskill outfit for 18 years before working for A.J. “Tony” Day, general manager of the Turkey Track. Both the Driskill and the Turkey Track were large cattle outfits that had operations in western South Dakota. Vaughn later drove horses to Canada.

Vaughn married Ella Bacon Dorsett in Idaho on Christmas Day, 1887. The newlyweds moved to the Spearfish area, living with Ella’s adoptive parents, David and Amanda Dorsett. In 1904, the Vaughns moved into a house in Spearfish. They raised seven children.

His obituary stated that “Mr. Vaughn had the reputation of being able to take a herd of cattle over the long trail and have them arrive in better condition than any other trailboss on the range.”

An Old Timers’ Annual Picnic was started in 1925 as a way for cowboys to get together. Ed Lemmon wrote that Vaughn attended the Old Timers’ Picnic at Bixby, near the present-day town of Bison, in 1932 and called him an “outstanding figure.” Lemmon was an early-day cattleman after whom the town of Lemmon is named.

Vaughn was active in the Oddfellow Lodge, the Spearfish Social Club and the Congregational Church in Spearfish. He died at his home in Spearfish on Jan. 8, 1934.

“The present generation can scarcely conceive the life that these heroes of the plains lived and loved,” wrote Vaughn’s son, Ernest, in a 1976 article that appeared in Black Hills area newspapers. “Though ever flirting with danger, they blazed the trail, they opened the way and led the men ever on toward better things.”

Sit yourself down, and prepare to be entertained! Bert Davis, the Coppertown Clown is coming to the Burke Stampede Rodeo on July 17^th, 18^th and 19^th at the Burke Arena in Burke, SD!  He’s armed with a wacky sense of humor and a wonderfully trained group of dogs and performing in front of a large rodeo crowd is ‘old hat’ for this veteran entertainer, rodeo clown, barrelman and specialty act.  His stage is a rodeo arena and his cast of players bark and howl; his quick wit, award winning comedy routines and ability to interact with a crowd offers up the promise of tear rolling laughter for his audiences.

Bert Davis, often dubbed the “Clown with all the Dogs” reached the third round in the TV show: America’s Got Talent (2010); they were the only animal act to make it to Las Vegas.  Known as the “Muttley Crew” this act features 10 rescue dogs, adopted by Bert and his wife, Frannie, all of whom are superbly trained tricksters.  His great dogs were recognized by National Geographic in 2002 in a television documentary titled: “Dogs with Jobs”, and Bert has appeared in numerous PBR telecasts and the CMT documentary: “Stomped and Gored”, plus a variety of other television features.

While Davis is a courageous and hilarious performer; it is his numerous dogs that truly endear him to the spectators. Those sidekicks, with their high energy antics make Bert, the Coppertown Clown, one of the best and most-traveled animal specialty acts in the industry.  They have gained international notoriety by performing in five provinces of Canada, 41 different States and in Australia.

Not much can throw a funnyman who has faced rampageous bulls on a daily basis for the past 38 years.  What keeps this extremely courageous and hilariously talented performer going those thousands of miles, year in and year out?  Well, it comes from the heart&ldots;  Garth Brooks sings “It’s the roar of the Sunday crowd” in Rodeo.  But for Bert Davis, the Coppertown Clown, it is the roar of any crowd.

Follow Bert Davis and Davis’ Muttley Crew on Facebook.  Website:  www.coppertownclown.com.

Pierre, SD – Referendum petitions for Senate Bill 177, “An Act to establish a youth minimum wage.” have been validated and filed with the SD Secretary of State’s office. The referral process required that Senate Bill 177 needed 13,871 signatures in order to be referred to the vote of the citizens of South Dakota in the November 2016 general election.

According to state statute 2-1-16 the Secretary of State’s office is required to perform a 5% random sampling of the signatures submitted. The random sampling process was overseen and reviewed by Secretary of State staff to check the signatures for completeness and to ensure the signatures were registered voters in the county they stated on the petition.  Following the sampling, it was determined that 17,077 signatures were valid.

This referendum petition will be Referred Law 20.

Raelyn Hlavka, daughter of Randy and Chanie Hlavka of Rapid City, was one of ten South Dakota kindergarteners to win the Lewis and Clark Reading Council Young Authors Extravaganza contest. Her story was “Someone was in the doghouse and it wasn’t the dog.”

The ceremony was held June 13 in Chamberlain.

Raelyn is the granddaughter of David and Kathy Hagen of Winner and Rick and Linda Hlavka of Rapid City and the great granddaughter of Charlotte Colson of Winner and Mr. and Mrs. Emil Hlavka of Gregory.

A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard: 

At the beginning of the Revolutionary War the individual states were not united by a national government and they lacked a symbol that could unite them. Instead, there were many flags. An attempt to unite the states fighting for independence under a flag that held resemblance to Great Britain’s was not successful. Instead, the Second Continental Congress determined it was time to part with Great Britain’s emblem entirely and establish a new national symbol for a new nation.

One year after the Declaration of Independence was adopted the Second Continental Congress established a national flag. The resolution pronounced that “the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white” and that “the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

Decades later, a conflict over slavery and state sovereignty erupted. The North and the South could no longer resolve their differences. Those in the South rejected the flag that had united the country since its origin. Southerners replaced the American flag with their own flags: three successive confederate flags that would set their people apart from the United States.

Although the Civil War nearly tore our nation apart, we eventually emerged as a better and stronger nation. The tenets of the Declaration of Independence – that ALL men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights – could finally be realized with the elimination of slavery. And because of the Civil War, Americans began to fly the American flag. It wasn’t until Northerners began displaying flags as a symbol of their allegiance and patriotism that it became commonplace for individuals to fly flags at their own homes.

By the time of World War II, the United States was among the most prosperous and prominent nations of the world. The country had grown and the flag then contained 48 stars. As a world superpower, the United States joined the fight against the Axis Powers and led the Allies to victory.

With the admission of Alaska and Hawaii to the union, our flag became what it is today –a flag with 50 stars. Today our flag represents the American way of life. It is a sign of relief, an emblem of hope and a symbol of freedom. The flag stands for the fight for independence, the triumph over slavery, the crushing of Nazism and the containment of communism.

This Independence Day, I hope you’ll take the opportunity to thank the men and women who have worn the uniform of our United States, united under the flag of our nation. Because of them, and those who went before them, we won our independence, and are free.

Join us for a real cattle drive on July 15th and 16^th as part of the Burke Stampede Rodeo.

To begin the cattle drive riders are asked to contact Chris Cernetisch who will be the trail boss. Call Chris at 830-0473 for more information or to sign up for the drive.  On July 15th all those participating in the cattle drive will gather at the Doug and Sandy Stukel Ranch North of Burke for a trail ride to the historic Red Rock on the Missouri River. On July 16th the herd of longhorn cattle with calves at side will be driven from The Justin and David Johnson Ranch, north of Burke, into Burke for the Annual Cattle Drive down Main Street at approximately 4:30 P.M.

The Longhorns will then be driven to the Burke Arena in time for the Chuck Wagon Feed and Idol Contest. You won’t want to miss this great opportunity to relive the days of yesteryear at an authentic cattle drive.

This year’s Stampede Rodeo is the 26th Annual and promises to be one of the area’s finest rodeos, so make plans to attend one of the three performances on July 17th, 18th and 19th. All performances will begin at 7 p.m. Don’t worry about supper because the Burke Rodeo Club will be staffing the refreshment stand featuring their famous roast beef sandwiches, nachos, drinks and much, much more.

Autumn Simunek of Hot Springs was crowned Miss South Dakota 2015 Saturday night.

She is the daughter of Kelly and Diane (Harter) Simunek, who grew up in Colome and now live in Hot Springs.

The new Miss South Dakota platform is “5 stars for serving those who served.” For her talent, Simunek performed the classic pop vocal “Hallelujah.” She is the second former Miss South  Dakota Outstanding Teen in a row to win the title of Miss South Dakota.

Simunek won the preliminary talent award Thursday night. She is a 22-year-old senior at the University of South Dakota. She also won the $1,000 Miss America Community Service award, top fundraiser award, state quality of life scholarship, Children’s Miracle Network maker award, as well as $10,000 from the Miss America organization for the Jean Bartel military awareness scholarship.

Simunek will represent South Dakota at the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, N. J., in September.

The South Dakota Retailers Association (SDRA) Board of Directors created a new scholarship honoring a past president of the organization recently at their annual board retreat.

Tom Morrison, a former SDRA board member from 2002-2009, serving as Board President in 2007, was general manager of the JC Penney store in Rapid City and passed earlier this month. “Tom was a firm believer in the Scholarship Program and the opportunities it creates for young people studying careers in retail,” said SDRA executive director Shawn Lyons.  o ignored

The scholarship, which will come from the overall Jerry Wheeler Scholarship program, will be an additional $500 annually for SDRA’s top scholarship recipient.

SDRA’s Jerry Wheeler Scholarship program is designed to encourage and support students studying for a career in retailing. Since 1992, SDRA has awarded 215 scholarships totaling over $137,900. The scholarship program is named in honor of former SDRA executive director, Jerry Wheeler, who started the program. To learn more about the Jerry Wheeler Scholarship program or the Tom Morrison Scholarship, please visit http://sdra.org and click on training and click on “Scholarship Program.”