Madness & Truth

On this page I collect some of my best articles, blog posts, graphics, photos and videos for anyone interested. Visitors are welcome to scroll through in chronological order or to use the link in the sidebar to example particular categories. Most of the entries here link away to the original website’s article.

To see some of my favorite work, follow the links below:

• To read coverage of the legislative process, check out some of my stories here on South Dakota’s 2011 budget battle, a look at a controversial abortion bill and a preview of speeding ticket legislation.
• For campaign coverage, read “Split over stimulus defines candidates” and “Abortion on the ballot.”
• I’ve written heavily on campaign finance. Some of my best articles there include “Noem’s financial support mounting for re-election campaign,” and “Deep-pocket PACs fund local legislators,” while the blog post “Noem raised $15,000 from Boehner fundraiser” is an odds-and-ends collection of information I pulled out of a single campaign finance report.
• After a local poll came under fire for alleged inaccuracies, I wrote an extensive blog post looking at the firm’s methodology, including question order, weighting, and the polling firm’s past results.
• Much of my work has been about subjects other than state and federal politics. For municipal government coverage, read my series on a small town’s debate over shifting to a new water supply.
• If you want to read my work on breaking news, try “Police identify officer killed in the line of duty,” or a look at families preparing for imminent flooding.
• Some of my favorite feature articles include  ”Reuniting brothers,” “Rapid City native on long road to recovery from IED explosion,” and the news-features “Muslim students get help juggling school and faith” and “Reva residents rally to save local post office, community.”
• I’ve appeared multiple times on local radio as a political commentator.

These highlighted articles reflect just a subset of the collection in my portfolio, which are themselves just a subset of my total work. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s education reform plan passed a key Senate committee Thursday after significant changes, overcoming growing opposition from the education community. (Rapid City Journal, 02/23/2012)

I appear as a commentator on South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s “Political Junkies” segment of their “Dakota Midday” show, discussing bills before the state Legislature.

Last Tuesday, the South Dakota Senate passed Senate Bill 130, which would require school districts to enact bullying policies.

Within minutes, Sen. Todd Schlekeway publically congratulated the bill’s prime sponsor from his desk on the Senate floor – but he didn’t have to interrupt debate to do it.

Schlekeway’s congratulations came from his Twitter account, @tschlek. “@danlederman Thanks for your leadership on SB 130!” Schlekeway, R-Sioux Falls, tweeted to Sen. Dan Lederman, R-Dakota Dunes.

Similar incidents are increasingly common in the South Dakota Legislature, as social media tools like Twitter and Facebook become part of the legislative toolkit. (Rapid City Journal, 02/21/2012)

Harsh words and accusations of lying preceded a committee walkout Friday morning when a Republican lawmaker again clashed with Rep. David Lust.

Rep. Stace Nelson, R-Fulton, left the House State Affairs Committee after exchanging words with Lust, R-Rapid City, during a testy hearing. Nelson repeated accusations from last year that Lust and other Republican leaders had behaved unethically before he and Lust accused each other of lying. (Rapid City Journal, 02/10/2012)

A bill to increase and restructure the 911 surcharge fee on phone bills passed a South Dakota Senate committee unanimously Wednesday after widespread support from local governments, telephone companies and public safety officials. (Rapid City Journal, 02/09/2012)

Fierce opposition from the state medical community torpedoed two bills that would have let parents opt out of vaccinations for their children.

Supporters of the two bills said many parents have concerns about vaccines and should be allowed to exempt their children. But doctors and other medical community representatives argued this was based on junk science and would endanger public health. (Rapid City Journal, 02/07/2012)

A group of riled-up ranchers, who were hoping the Legislature would let them sue the state over prairie dogs, went home disappointed Wednesday. (Rapid City Journal, 02/02/2012)

South Dakota lawmakers won’t see a controversial anti-abortion bill some activists wanted to bring this session, but that doesn’t mean abortion won’t be on the agenda next month in Pierre. (Rapid City Journal, 02/01/2012)

Personality conflicts and ideological disputes among Republican lawmakers have led to two of them being banned from the party caucus. (Rapid City Journal, 01/27/2012)

Dozens of legislators want to replace South Dakota’s venerable state flag with a design by a Spearfish artist.

Rep. Bernie Hunhoff, D-Yankton, and more than 80 other lawmakers support HB 1235, which would adopt a flag featuring a sunburst, a Native American medicine wheel and concentric blue circles. It was designed in 1989 by Dick Termes of Spearfish. (Rapid City Journal, 01/26/2012)

I appear as a commentator on South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s “Political Junkies” segment of their “Dakota Midday” show, discussing bills before the state Legislature and recent announcements involving the state’s Congressional delegation.

When Paula Smith went in to get a new driver’s license several years ago, she thought she was ready for the elevated documentation requirements.

When she finally got the license, she felt like “a hardened criminal.” (Rapid City Journal, 01/24/2012)

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin came extremely close to running for Congress again this year.

But in the end, the tug of a “chatterbox” of a 3-year-old son outweighed the allure of soapbox for the former congresswoman.

On Saturday, Herseth Sandlin announced that she would not be running for office in 2012. This forecloses the chance of a rematch between Herseth Sandlin and Rep. Kristi Noem, the Republican who unseated Herseth Sandlin in 2010 – a rematch Herseth Sandlin seriously considered. (Rapid City Journal, 01/22/2012)

Thousands of Pennington County residents have permits to carry concealed handguns.

If Rep. Don Kopp gets his way, they won’t need a permit.

Kopp’s HB 1015 would let any South Dakotan who can legally carry a gun, conceal their handgun without having to get a state-issued permit. (Rapid City Journal, 01/16/2012)

Rep. Mark Kirkeby plans on bringing back a controversial bill from last year’s legislative session.

Kirkeby, a Rapid City Republican, plans legislation that would allow officials to deny state assistance to people who test positive for illegal drugs. (Rapid City Journal, 01/16/2012)

Gov. Dennis Daugaard proposed sweeping reforms Tuesday to the state’s K-12 education system, including annual $5,000 bonuses for the state’s best teachers, more bonuses for math and science teachers and an end to the venerable institution of teacher tenure. (Rapid City Journal, 01/11/2012)

Last year, Sen. Stan Adelstein proposed his own alternative to Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s sharp cuts to education and health care: a three-year summer sales tax increase Adelstein said would raise $50 million and avoid most of the cuts.

It landed like a lead balloon.

Now Adelstein, R-Rapid City, is trying again, and he believes he might have better luck. (Rapid City Journal, 01/07/2012)

Speeding tickets already cost drivers money. Soon they could cost the worst offenders their licenses.

Rep. Steve Hickey, R-Sioux Falls, has a bill prepared to put speeding tickets on the “point system,” where motorists get points on their record for moving violations and too many points results in a suspended license. (Rapid City Journal, 01/01/2012.)

Anti-abortion groups plan a major push next year in the South Dakota Legislature to ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy.

The bill is called a “fetal pain” measure and would be based on a similar bill passed in Nebraska in 2010. Such a bill would declare that fetuses can feel pain after 20 weeks of development and that it is illegal to perform an abortion after that point. (Rapid City Journal, 12/26/11)

Jeff Barth might have another hare to contend with.

When the last congressional fundraising quarter ended at the close of September, Barth had raised a mere $7,800, most from himself and his family. With incumbent Rep. Kristi Noem collecting $285,000 in that same period, Barth admitted he wasn’t going to reach financial parity with Noem.

The race, Barth said, would be the “tortoise and the hare,” with himself in the role of the slow, steady tortoise. Barth said he hoped to raise $150,000 before the (then still theoretical) June primary.

Today, Barth’s primary opponent Matt Varilek gave notice that he wants to be a hare, too. (Mount Blogmore, 12/13/11)

Next year’s South Dakota budget calls for more than a million dollars in supplemental funding for the state’s legal fund, including small fees for several high-profile cases but the potential for big expenses defending a controversial abortion law. (Rapid City Journal, 12/11/11)

South Dakota has money to spend on schools, medical providers and state workers, Gov. Dennis Daugaard declared Tuesday — and proposed what he termed a cautious way of spending it. (Rapid City Journal, 12/07/11)

As South Dakotans settle in to the cold of winter, one major “freeze” is about to end.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard and legislative leaders of both parties all agree that it is time to give state employees a raise.

“After three years of salary freezes and some job losses in public employee ranks, it’s important to try to give them some relief from frozen salaries,” Daugaard said last week. (Rapid City Journal, 12/04/11)

I appear as a commentator on South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s “Political Junkies” segment of their “Dakota Midday” show, discussing the news of a former South Dakota governor’s brain cancer, a state GOP presidential straw poll and a referendum to raise the state sales tax.

Former South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow announced Friday that he is dying of brain cancer.

“I know it’s over. I know I’m at the end of the trail,” Janklow told reporters Friday in Sioux Falls, where he lives. (Rapid City Journal, 11/05/11)

(Produced by David Montgomery, Rapid City Journal, 10/29/11)

Last fall, Silver City resident Jeff Sugrue received a letter from Pennington County he had never seen before: an order to have his home’s septic system pumped and inspected.

A year later, those letters are no longer novel for rural county residents. Under the county’s 2010 septic ordinance, thousands of county residents are required to have their septic systems inspected at least once every six years.

Since last August, around 750 homes have received those letters from county informing them that it was their turn to inspect their systems.

County officials say the results of those inspections are startling: more than 150 violations ranging from broken baffles to sewage rising to the surface.

“We didn’t expect a lot of these leaking tanks,” said Brittani Molitor, the county’s water protection coordinator. (Rapid City Journal, 10/23/2011)

A dispute between two rival groups of landowners near Hill City could end up entangling everyone — and Pennington County — in expensive litigation over a narrow dirt road through the Black Hills. (Rapid City Journal, 10/22/2011)

On Aug. 18, House Speaker John Boehner hosted a fundraiser for Noem at the Minnehaha Country Club. Tickets cost $250 per person ($500 per couple) for breakfast, and $500/$1,000 for breakfast and a photo reception with the Speaker. On Aug. 19, Noem reported raising $15,190 — all but $440 of which was in multiples of $250. The $440 donations were from around the state and country — one from Rapid City, one from Nebraska, one from Ohio, etc. — while the rest of the day’s donations were all from people from eastern South Dakota. Noem’s campaign wouldn’t confirm that that day reflected the Boehner fundraiser, but it seems like a reasonable conclusion to draw. (Mount Blogmore, 10/15/2011)

After releasing poll results showing high approval for Gov. Dennis Daugaard and opposition to a statewide sales tax increase, the Nielson Brothers Polling company put out their third wave of numbers this week from a Labor Day poll — and ran into a firestorm.

These numbers, focusing on Rep. Kristi Noem, were mostly positive for the first-term Republican. Around 55 percent of South Dakota voters approve of Noem, and in an election against a generic Democrat the poll shows Noem winning 59-25.

It was the third question that stirred things up. Despite Noem romping by 34 points over a generic Democrat, the NBP poll showed Noem losing by almost 20 points — 58-37 — in a rematch against former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. (Mount Blogmore, 09/24/2011)

There is no piece of paper declaring Reva — a sprinkling of buildings alongside S.D. Highway 79 in remote northwest South Dakota — to be a town. But don’t try telling the proud ranchers living among the Harding County buttes surrounding Reva that they are not part of a community. (Rapid City Journal, 08/31/2011)

• Postal Service says closing Reva office would save $80,000 over decade (09/04/2011)

On Tuesday, Minnehaha County Commissioner Jeff Barth will officially announce his candidacy for Congress. Barth’s been running for more than a month, having filed paperwork in early July.

In what I’m sure is completely coincidental timing, another Democrat released a video Monday saying he’s thinking about running.

Matt Varilek, Sen. Tim Johnson’s economic development director, had been the target of a “Draft Matt Varilek for Congress” campaign. In his Monday video message, Varilek said his “interest is high” and “has only gotten higher” due to the Draft Varilek movement. (Mount Blogmore, 08/22/2011)

A series of articles in the Rapid City Journal covering an incident where two police officers and a gunman were killed, and a third officer wounded, in a sudden shootout:

• Police identify officer killed in the line of duty (08/02/2011)
• Neighbors ‘can’t believe’ shooting would happen in their neighborhood (08/04/2011)
• Shooting suspect had long history of trouble (08/04/2011)
• Police officer Tim Doyle released from hospital (08/10/2011)
• Armstrong an officer ‘who truly cared’ (08/11/2011)
• Thousands pay respects to slain RCPD officer (08/12/2011)

The Pennington County Commission is taking aim at a citizen whom commissioners and county employees say has become abusive and harassing. (Rapid City Journal, 08/03/2011)

The debt ceiling debate continues to shift by the day (if not hour), with yesterday’s bold proposal becoming today’s old news. So it was interesting to get a detailed picture of the debate Wednesday morning from Sen. John Thune.

In his weekly conference call with reporters, the questions on the debt came fast and furious. And Thune struck a conciliatory tone.

Thune said it’s essential to raise the debt limit (rebutting the position of people like Texas Gov. Rick Perry) and that the bill to raise “is not likely to be perfect” — but that “at this point in the process we can’t allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.” (Mount Blogmore, 07/27/2011)

The state of South Dakota has spent more than $14 million this year fighting the flooding Missouri River but expects to get much of that money back from the federal government. (Rapid City Journal, 07/25/2011)

Rhetoric is toughening and new proposals are proliferating as Congress stares down an Aug. 2 deadline to raise the country’s debt ceiling.

On Tuesday, House Republicans passed an aggressive “cut, cap and balance” bill that includes “substantial cuts in spending,” a cap on federal spending as a percentage of the economy, and a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget, limiting spending and making tax increases more difficult.

The bill has the support of South Dakota’s two Republican members of Congress, Rep. Kristi Noem and Sen. John Thune.

“A lot of thought and work went into it,” Thune said Wednesday. “The reason I believe it’s the right solution is it focuses on both the immediate, near term and the long term.” (Rapid City Journal, 7/21/2011)

On Sen. Tim Johnson’s conference call a few moments ago, I asked the Democratic senator about the news that one of his staffers, Matt Varilek, is thinking about running for Congress.

“Matt is a great guy,” Johnson said. “He’s a very capable individual. It’s up to him whether to announce his future plans, but I think highly of Matt.”

Not too surprising. But I asked Johnson a followup — would he support Varilek if he ran? (Mount Blogmore, 07/20/2011)

If you take the public pronouncements of America’s political leaders at face value, the chances of a deal to raise the debt ceiling seems pretty slim. Republicans, who control the House, have ruled out a “clean” bill that raises the debt ceiling without any deficit reduction provisions. Democrats, who control the Senate, say they won’t do a deal that doesn’t include “revenue increases,” usually understood to mean some combination of raising tax rates or more comprehensive tax reform that changes our tax system. But Republicans say they won’t do a deal that DOES include revenue increases.

With two sides setting mutually exclusive terms for the debate, things would seem to be hopeless.

But a closer look suggests that a deal will get done. (Mount Blogmore, 07/07/2011)

Forget Barack Obama, Mitt Romney or Sarah Palin. As the 2012 presidential campaign heats up, a Rapid City man is making an independent run for the highest office in the land. (Rapid City Journal, 07/03/2011)

… and how Alan came just short.

That’s the topic I took a swing at in today’s Journal, putting the election results from Tuesday and from the first round into a spreadsheet and seeing what patterns I could determine.

The big takeaway was “a city divided.” As City Hallways commenter Don Frankenfeld told me, “If we had a homogenous city, you’d expect roughly the same proportions from one district to the next. The fact that some precincts were in the neighborhood of 70 percent for Hanks and other precincts in the same setting were in the neighborhood of 70 percent for Sam says something about a divided city.” (City Hallways, 06/30/2011)

The long and bitter campaign is over. Now it’s Sam’s turn to lead. (Rapid City Journal, 06/29/2011)

• Kooiker, Hanks results point to divided city (06/30/2011)