Opinion

This week, the 20211egislative session came to a close. In South Dakota, we keep things short; the session lasts a maximum of 40 legislative days. Every bill gets a hearing, its opportunity to be weighed and vetted by the 105 legislators that you elect to serve you in Pierre.

While Democrats have tried to sell their recently signed $1.9 trillion spending legislation as a COVID relief bill, the truth is it isn’t one.

Temps are rising and the sun isn’t setting at 4:30 in the afternoon — that can only mean one thing — Daylight Saving Time (DST) is here.

Because I’ve been fortunate enough in the last twenty years to pursue tiger fish and plains game in Africa, Caribou in the Artic, moose in British Columbia, red stags in New Zealand, elk in New Mexico and Wyoming, and waterfowl and wild boar in Argentina, people are asking me, “Wiltz, what’s next?”

Whenever someone is admitted to the hospital, they are asked to stipulate their “code status.” Levels of code status include full code, meaning resuscitate and intubate if required; as well as various combinations of do not resuscitate (DNR) and do not intubate (DNI).

Dear Editor, As I sit in my living room on the north side of Avon, I see several wind turbines. The temperature is 8 and the furnace is going almost nonstop.

Do you know anyone who had influenza this past year? Chances are you do not. Sure, plenty of people had the “stomach flu” with vomiting and diarrhea, otherwise known as gastroenteritis. Some people had colds and others had COVID-19. But cases of influenza this season have been exceptionally low.

At the time of this writing, it appears that House bill 1140 will become law. It will “handcuff game wardens” according to my friend John Cooper, former GF&P Secretary from 1995 to January 2007. I believe John, and I believe the former GF&P people who have been critical of the bill.

Last summer we heard the prediction that by the end of 2020, we would have a safe, effective vaccine to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which had only been discovered, of course, in December 2019, before causing countless deaths and mayhem in the world as we knew it. I must admit, I was skeptical.

I’ve learned a lot from my patients over the years. Sometimes, the lessons are learned as I walk beside them through struggles, both medical and non-medical.