Excerpts from recent South Dakota editorials

Rapid City Journal, Nov. 9

Success will require optimism, support

Congratulations to Rep. Kristi Noem on becoming South Dakota’s first woman governor. The young women of this state can now more easily see their own paths to the state’s highest office. Everyone benefits when each of us stretches our aspirations.

Congratulations are also due to the winning team of state Republicans. Prosperity is the shared goal of Republicans and Democrats alike, even if they disagree on the formulas. Voters have selected from the competing strategies, and we should all hope the winning vision yields success.

Serious obstacles were waiting regardless of who won. Agriculture struggles. Soybeans planted with the intentions of feeding Chinese hogs and chickens now pile up outside of grain bins. We hope Gov. Noem can help convince President Trump to speedily achieve the best possible settlement and put an end to this trade war with China.

Methamphetamine, meanwhile, continues to fill our costly but necessary state prisons. We’d like to hear more about how the new governor and incoming Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg can reverse this trend, protecting citizens and saving lives while also saving dollars.

During her campaign, Noem stressed the necessity of filling a big hole in mental health services. She noted that untreated mental health problems have crowded our jails, increased homelessness and ruined lives. The need is especially acute West River. While it may be difficult to find funds for a West River mental health hospital, perhaps there’s a creative interim solution that better meets patient needs without vastly increasing costs.

The deepening political divide in Washington, meanwhile, will leave South Dakota increasingly to its own devices. Let’s hope there is a sane path forward to agreements on a new farm bill and infrastructure financing. Our farmers need help, and so do our roads and bridges.

Dusty Johnson, incoming delegate to the U.S. House, has undoubtedly begun reading the Senate version of the farm bill. The House version he read over the summer faded with the House Republican majority. South Dakota farmers will need certainty when they begin preparing for next spring. Johnson will need every ounce of his considerable energy, likability and pragmatism to achieve maximum wins for state farmers.

Meanwhile, the defeat of IM 25, the tobacco tax proposed to fund technical schools, won’t make it easy to create the skilled workforce our state businesses demand. The Journal opposed the tax, mostly because it added a financial burden on people whose addictions already cause them to struggle with bills. To ensure a bright future for our children, we must somehow limit the rising costs of tuition for all post-secondary education. Noem has proposed advancing private-public partnerships to help build our skilled workforce. We’re hoping businesses around the state stand ready to lend assistance and expertise.

The quicker we can move past the divisiveness of the recent campaigns the better. The more optimism we can maintain, the more likely we will succeed. There’s too much at stake. The problems are hard. Success will require contributions and encouragement from everyone.

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American News, Aberdeen, Nov. 10

Ageless Adam Vinatieri continues to wow us with his leg

Pride pumps through our veins when a South Dakotan does well on the national stage.

Adam Vinatieri, age 45, has been providing us with prideful moments for decades during his 23- season NFL kicking career.

Born in Yankton, educated in Rapid City and kicker-interned in Brookings, Vinatieri is now the all-time NFL scoring leader. He has scored 2,550 points in 345 games — either three or one point at a time.

Vinatieri was a solid kicker at Rapid City Central High School and South Dakota State University. However, he was better known for his punting abilities than field-goal making skills. He once lost his field-goal job for the Jacks to a defensive lineman.

But he was athletic, determined and focused. Plus, he had a cannon hidden in his right kicking foot.

One of the coaches who helped unleash it was a man who used a wheelchair his whole life. Doug Blevins used his mind instead of his legs to become the kicking guru who kick-started Vinatieri’s pro career by teaching him to become a better and more accurate kicker.

That led to a European football team tryout which led to an NFL tryout. But Vinatieri almost didn’t survive his rookie season in 1996.

He missed four of his first seven field goal attempts in the pros. His New England coach, the no-nonsense Bill Parcells, basically told his team, the press and his rookie kicker that he was one kick shy of a pink slip.

Vinatieri produced, and has continued to do so.

Vinatieri began to reach legendary status in the 2001 season. In a downpour of snow at night in New England, Vinatieri kicked a 45-yard field goal against the Oakland Raiders to force overtime. Vinatieri then kicked the game winner a few minutes later.

He then made the winning 48-yard field goal on the final play of that season’s Super Bowl XXXVI against the St. Louis Rams. Vinatieri’s clutch kicks led the Patriots to their first championship and helped launch a dynasty.

Two years later, Vinatieri made another Super Bowl winning kick from 41 yards with four seconds left to lift New England past Carolina. Vinatieri and the Patriots won the Super Bowl again the following year in 2005. Vinatieri was part of his fourth Super Bowl-winning team in 2007 with Indianapolis.

Soon to be 46 in a few weeks, Vinatieri is now the oldest player in the NFL. But he certainly is not acting his age.

“I never thought I’d play that long,” Vinatieri told reporters after his record-breaking game on Oct. 28 when he helped his Colts defeat Oakland 42-28. “I never thought I’d be standing here talking to you guys about all-time records. But I love my teammates — all of them — for the last 20-something years, unselfishly going out there and helping me do my job. A lot of great memories along the way. I think that’s the best part about this day — less the record and more that we got the record in a win.”

Vinatieri has pretty much convinced the world of two things: he is a future Hall of Famer and the greatest kicker in the history of the sport.

Thanks for taking us and the rest of South Dakota on this journey, Adam.

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Madison Daily Leader, Madison, Nov. 13

Hot Springs could be great veterans spot

Gov.-elect Kristi Noem has suggested that Hot Springs, South Dakota, could be developed into a vacation destination for military veterans, and we think it’s an excellent idea.

Hot Springs is already home to a veterans hospital, started more than 100 years ago as a sanitarium for those suffering from rheumatism or tuberculosis. More recently, the hospital has adapted to treat veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as alcohol and drug disorders.

Treating veterans with these conditions is becoming more important for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Hot Springs facility has the potential to grow in importance to the VA.

The remote location (only 7,000 people live in Fall River County), modest winters (statistics show Hot Springs has the warmest winters of any South Dakota city) and natural beauty (the Black Hills National Forest, Wind Cave National Park and the Buffalo Gap National Grassland are nearby) make it a very attractive destination. The people of Hot Springs have great respect for retired and rehabilitating veterans, which would help as a tourist destination for veterans.

We aren’t sure what it would take to see the vision to fruition, but we’d like to see it happen. The state Department of Tourism and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development will need to work with Hot Springs officials to put together a successful plan. We urge them to pursue the idea.