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National Ag Week is being celebrated across the country March 16–22, recognizing the vital role agriculture plays in providing food, fuel and fiber for communities everywhere.
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We started out our Monday with a couple of House bills that were sent back to us from the senate with an amended version that they had passed. The first, HB1200A was a DO NOT CONCUR BUT SEND TO A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE vote. The second HB1209A was also DO NOT CONCUR BUT SEND TO A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. They would both be heard on Wednesday. We tabled a couple of bills and passed eight with a lot of discussion.
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Week 9 is over, and the 2026 legislative session is in the books. With our first calves already on the ground, I’m ready to trade long floor sessions for calving night checks, feeding chores and more time back home with Lauren, Michael, and Catherine.
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As I’m writing this on Saturday afternoon it’s hard to believe there are only four days left in the Session and by the time you read this it could be over. I’m hoping to be finished with our work on Wednesday, which would be a day early. We are close on the budget and property tax plans but just wait, now that I’ve said it, the wheels will fall off. We finished Ag Committee on Tuesday, and I am proud of the work we did this Session. The committee heard testimony on some difficult and emotional bills and in my opinion, they handled them professionally and with dignity. We heard and discussed the Senate bills this past week and have more on Monday, so let’s talk about some of them. We voted to create the County and Township infrastructure Fund to help control unobligated moneys, along with a 5-million-dollar appropriation for R.A.I.F. which is the Rural Access Infrastructure Fund. We’ve been trying to get this done for a few years now along with the Townships and County’s Lobbyist and it feels good to finally get it over the finish line. We made it illegal for candidates for office from taking contributions from foreign nationals, not that I believe it’s a problem in South Dakota but better safe than sorry. We will be purchasing a new airplane for the SD Highway patrol for 5 million dollars; I voted against this appropriation for these reasons. First, when the federal government uses our airplane, they don’t reimburse us, and they use it frequently. Second reason was they told me it’s a 3-million-dollar airplane with a 2-million-dollar camera and equipment which sounded absurd to me, I asked for a list of the equipment and didn’t receive it. I did support the 5 million appropriations to local and rural firefighters, and it passed; this should help our local departments purchase some new equipment they need. SB 124 passed and will put a 5-year moratorium on Cell Cultured protein, if you remember the House and Senate passed a bill earlier that banded it completely, but Governor Rhoden vetoed it. This is the compromise bill, I voted for it, so we got something, but I liked the complete band better, I still don’t understand why the Governor vetoed it, but I guess you can ask him. SB 198, which would have forced school boards to adopt a cell phone usage plan during school hours failed, I didn’t support it because the Administrators in District 21 told me they already have cell phone plans. I fought against SB 76 which allowed the state to loan 30 million dollars out of South Dakota Housing fund to Sioux Falls and Rapid City’s airports. That is not what we originally appropriated these funds for; they were meant for housing and that is where they should stay in my opinion. I know this column is short this week, but I’ll save explaining what happened with property tax relief along with the budget next week. If I tried to explain every plan that was still alive when I left Thursday it would take the whole paper and besides, I’m not sure which way it will go, but it’s always like this the last two week. Have a great week and please contact me if you have any questions or concerns at 605-680-0304 or Marty.overweg@sdlegislature. gov. Thanks again for your support, Rep. Marty Overweg
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GoldStandardPiratesoftheWeekare:PK-4:TenleyVanWinkle,5-8:Sydney Johnson, and 9-12: Abby Gretschmann. Great job Students! Courtesy Photo
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The Wagner Lady Raiders are once again headed to the Class A State Basketball Tournament after a strong defensive performance in Irene last Thursday night.
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Vo n i Hubb e l l (Finck), graduate of AHS class of 2012, has built a life that reflects growth, faith, and dedication to both her career and her family. During her high school years, she was actively involved in volleyball, basketball, choir, and band. Like many students, she had big plans for her future. She intendedtoattendUSDtomajor inEnglishEducation—andshe followedthroughwiththatplan immediately after graduation.
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