Opinion

Back in 1960 when I first came to South Dakota, road hunting for pheasants was a very popular activity. It amounted to driving country roads, spotting a rooster in the ditch or the first few corn rows, getting out of the car and flushing the bird, and then taking the shot.

South Dakota’s values and beliefs are rooted in our agricultural heritage and our boundless natural resources. Together they drive our economy, feed our families, and provide world class outdoor recreational opportunities.

JOHN 8:3-11 "And the Scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery: and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

2020 has been a year to remember, seemingly for all the wrong reasons. COVID-19 devastated families across our country. In other states, violent riots and looting tore communities apart. And it seems like political divisions are only increasing.

When I teach medical students, I always remind them that we will see people on the very best days of their lives and the very worst days of their lives. As a result, we will see every range of emotion in our patients and feel every range of emotion ourselves.

ECCLESIASTES 1:9,10 "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there anything whereof it might be said, see, this is new?

I’m going to begin today’s column with a seventies story from my first book, A Dakota Rod and Nimrod. I think you’ll enjoy it. Christmas was at our house that year, and my sister and her family from Palos Heights, a Chicago suburb, were spending the holidays with us.

Depending on where you live, it looks like we may not have a “picture perfect” white Christmas this year. It seems fitting given the many things about 2020 which were not what we imagined, let alone “perfect.”

Dear Editor: Dec. 30 is the deadline for people to renew their expired South Dakota driver licenses and ID cards!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. As I write this, it’s the last day of Hanukkah, Christmas is right around the corner, and the New Year comes shortly thereafter. I know my family is excited to celebrate Christmas and spend some time together.