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The Daily Republic

The Daily Republic •

TUPPER: Not all laughs come from the comics

The comics page isn't the only source of laughs in the newspaper business.

Sometime since I started working in the industry 12 years ago, I began keeping a file of clippings that I labeled "Comic Relief." The file includes headlines with double meanings, stories with typos that comically alter the meaning of a sentence, and so on.

The latest addition to the file was an email from a reader taking me to task for an increase in the number of grammatical errors in the paper.

The complainer lost a
The Daily Republic •

SETH TUPPER: We raise hell because it’s our duty

“It is a newspaper’s duty to print the news and RAISE HELL!”

So says a calligraphed and framed sign given to a former Daily Republic publisher years ago by a loyal reader. The quote is from 1861 and is attributed to Wilbur F. Storey, who that year purchased the Chicago Times.

The sign hangs on a wall in what we call our newsroom lounge. It’s there partly for comic relief, but it’s also a reminder of our duty as journalists to fight the good fight on behalf of readers.

In that spirit, we’ve be
The Daily Republic •

TUPPER: More words, meanings and whatnot

In March, I wrote a column about words and phrases that are specific to our part of South Dakota.

I got lots of feedback, including suggestions of words and phrases that should have been included. I enjoyed reading them all and set many aside for a follow-up.

Today, perhaps thanks to the holiday lull, the time for that follow-up has finally arrived. Below is an addendum to my original South Dakota Dictionary, with the sources of the new words and phrases credited for their contribution. If no
The Daily Republic •

TUPPER: Daugaard's comparison has valuable, and unintended, lessons

We tend to think our federal government's budget, debt and deficit problems are beyond our grasp. The numbers seem so big and the solutions so difficult that it's like pondering the infinite nature of the universe. Spending even a few moments thinking about it is a frustrating exercise in futility.

That sense of frustration has led many of us to relinquish hope that our country will ever get its fiscal house in order. We've lost faith in our politicians and our process.

He hasn't solved the pr
The Daily Republic •

Daily Republic wins judgment against city

A judge has ordered the Mitchell City Council to refrain from using attorney-client privilege as a blanket justification for closed meetings, thereby resolving a lawsuit filed three years ago by The Daily Republic.

Circuit Judge Cheryle Gering's judgment adopted the newspaper's interpretation of state law. The newspaper successfully claimed that the open-meetings law does not allow a public body to close a public meeting for the sole purpose of conducting a private discussion -- known as an "ex
The Daily Republic •

Mitchell's George McGovern, 1972 presidential nominee, dead at 90

George Stanley McGovern, who rose from small-town roots in Avon and Mitchell to the highest heights of American politics, died Sunday morning at a Sioux Falls hospice facility from a combination of medical conditions associated with his age. He was 90.

Though he was known mostly for his unsuccessful 1972 presidential campaign, McGovern was more than that. He was an accomplished student and debater during his school days in Mitchell; a World War II bomber pilot decorated with the Distinguished F
The Daily Republic •

TUPPER: South Dakota's words, meanings and whatnot

We recently received a South Dakota-tailored news release about the fifth edition of the Dictionary of American Regional English.

In the lead paragraph of the release, somebody tried to cleverly string together all of the South Dakota-specific words in a few sentences:

"Look at that soak -- he's kaput after his night of debauchery. You might have to put him in an Irish buggy before going out in the waterspout to take him home, kitty-corner from the train station. If you rubber on his phone cal
The Daily Republic •

OPINION: Three yards and a cloud of political dust

The way some Republicans describe it, the Environmental Protection Agency is lurking behind every post, rock, tree and tall stand of grass in the countryside, waiting to persecute a farmer for kicking up a little dust with his tractor.

During a speech at a June Republican fundraiser in Mitchell, U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., fueled the EPA paranoia with the kind of wild accusation that has come to characterize so much of politics in this tea party era.

"The Environmental Protection Agency is
The Daily Republic •

Surviving Mathis child says father is innocent of murders

Though some people believe John W. Mathis murdered his wife and two of his children 30 years ago, he has support from a crucial source.

Mathis' surviving child, Duane, now 30 years old, proclaimed his father's innocence Friday in an interview with The Daily Republic.

"I don't believe he did it," Duane Mathis said in his first-ever interview about the murders. "If he did it, I wouldn't still be here."

Growing up with John Mathis as a father was tough at times, Duane acknowledged. He called his
The Daily Republic •

TUPPER: We want an answer on Mitchell City Council's closed-door meeting

During a deposition Thursday at the Davison County Courthouse, Mitchell City Attorney Randy Stiles made an important admission.

Under questioning from The Daily Republic's lawyer, Jon Arneson, of Sioux Falls, Stiles said all discussions covered by attorney-client privilege are permissible in an executive session, even if those discussions fall outside the parameters of what state law defines as acceptable executive-session topics.

Setting aside the legalese, Stiles apparently thinks he can go
The Daily Republic •

South Dakota's Rep. Noem does not name cuts when questioned

When asked three times Thursday by The Daily Republic to say what spending she wants to eliminate from the federal budget, Rep. Kristi Noem punted twice before citing a set of proposed environmental regulations she wants to forestall.

Later in the day, her spokesman said she supports numerous cuts, including reductions or eliminations in funding for high-speed rail projects, cap-and-trade technical assistance, and subsidies for the Washington Metro rapid transit system.

Noem, R-S.D., conducted
The Daily Republic •

Opinion: SOS for small towns

Last week, Gov. Dennis Daugaard referenced the largely forgotten name of Robert S. Vessey to make a point about the fleeting nature of power and fame.

Daugaard, addressing the Legislature during his first State of the State address, said it was 100 years ago when Vessey became the first governor to deliver a State of the State address in the then-new Capitol building in Pierre.

Like Daugaard, who delivered his speech in that same Capitol building, Vessey was elected to office by a wide margin.
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75% of S.D. lawyers work in four counties, leading to rural-lawyer shortage

After seven years of practicing law in Las Vegas, Anita Fuoss made an uncommon career choice.

Rather than continue climbing the ladder in a big-city firm, she returned to her native Jones County, South Dakota -- population 1,193 -- to open her own office.

Why Jones County? Besides considering it a good place to live, Fuoss noticed there was only one lawyer in the county who was nearing retirement age. Lawyers in nearby counties were in their 50s and 60s.

"It seemed, demographically, like it w
The Daily Republic •

To shave or not to shave: That's the question facing mustachioed politicians

There's another drought that's much longer and, some would argue, far more alarming.

It's been 78 years since South Dakota -- proud, western, cowboy-rich South Dakota -- has had a governor with a mustache.

This election year, though, hope is renewed. Out on the rolling grasslands west of the Missouri River, there rides a cowboy politician seeking to reconnect his state with its hairier past.

His name is Ken Knuppe, and he has a set of lip curtains that stretch to his chin.

"I'm not gonna sha
The Daily Republic •

New tourist spending studies are $2.6 billion apart

Two new estimates of spending by tourists in South Dakota are $2.6 billion apart, purportedly because of a difference in the definition of a tourist.

Both studies were commissioned by the state Office of Tourism, which released the results this week. The study by former University of South Dakota professor Michael K. Madden says spending in 2009 was $963 million, but the study by IHS Global Insight, of Lexington, Mass., says it was $3.6 billion.

Madden, of Buffalo, Wyo., said the difference ca
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Meal's on Daugaard; free suppers help GOP candidate spread word

Does the way to voters' hearts go through their stomachs?

Dennis Daugaard hopes there's a connection. The Republican gubernatorial hopeful has been providing free suppers in communities throughout the state since early November.

Along with a free meal, attendees get a campaign pitch from the candidate and a chance to talk with him one-on-one.

"I'm enjoying it immensely," Daugaard said by phone Friday as he prepared to host a supper in Lennox. "It's real grassroots politics, and I enjoy that a
The Daily Republic •

Spearfish couple revive commercial brewing in South Dakota

SPEARFISH -- When Carolyn Ferrell's husband said he wanted to give up his career in cardiovascular research to start a brewery, she took it surprisingly well.

She knew how much passion he would bring to the new venture.

"Jeff is very serious about his beer," Ferrell said this week.

Turns out her faith was well-founded. Two years after opening Crow Peak Brewing Company in Spearfish, Jeff Drumm has taken on new partners, is building a bigger facility and plans to begin distribution in a few mon
The Daily Republic •

Ballooning, Mitchell pilot says, viewed as 'something kind of magical'

A phenomenon swept Mitchell during the calm, cool evenings that blessed the city so many times this summer.

On sidewalks and porches, in parks and on the lake, somebody would suddenly stop working or playing to gaze upward in amused wonder.

"Look," the call would come from the first spotter. "It's a hot-air balloon!"

One-by-one, heads would turn to see which balloon was flying that night, and to imagine how things might look from up there. All around the city, as a balloon floated slowly acro
The Daily Republic •

Audits show that many towns don't have enough oversight of finances

In Veblen, most everybody knew Tamra Joyner.

The mayor had known her since Joyner was a girl.

There was no reason to suspect that Joyner, the finance officer, was stealing from the city. At least not until the town got a loan from the federal government and, in the process, was required to undergo an audit.

LaVonne Jacobson, Veblen's mayor then and now, recalled this week what it felt like to be confronted with evidence of the betrayal.

"I was left speechless, to tell you the truth," she sai
The Daily Republic •

Hippy's Bleeder Chain: Octogenarian hits road, sells son's invention

At an age when most men are winding down, he's combining all three of those loves into a new passion: Selling a fishing lure invented by his son.

You could say he's caught his second -- or third or fourth -- wind.

"I'm kinda tickled," said Hit, an 84-year-old widower from Mitchell. "It gives me something to do, because I'm all by myself. And I'm doing it to help my son more than anything."

Hit's 45-year-old son, Jim, of Lincoln, Neb., is a physician and angler. Because of those dual identitie
The Daily Republic •

'People executed are in your hands,' author says at DWU

Sister Helen Prejean, author of the book-turned-movie "Dead Man Walking," sees irony in Christian support for the death penalty.

Pointing to a cross in the Sherman Center at Dakota Wesleyan University as she began her lecture Thursday morning, she reminded the audience that crucifixion was perhaps the worst thing that could happen to someone who lived in Jesus' time. He died for sin on the cross, Christians believe, so that others wouldn't have to.

Yet many who profess faith in Jesus support t
The Daily Republic •

Doctor issues apology, indicates he plans to keep his job

A Mitchell surgeon is indicating he will keep his job following controversial statements that he is now apologizing for.

In a letter to the editor published on Page 4 of this edition, Jerome K. Howe offered an apology for "language which was inappropriate." He also wrote that he "will be out of the office for a while" but is "committed to continuing the practice of medicine in Mitchell at Avera Mitchell Surgical."

Trish Delaney, Avera's local vice president of marketing/fund development, said
The Daily Republic •

Surgeon resigns from hospital board of directors after controversial comments

A local surgeon has resigned from the Avera Queen of Peace Board of Directors following controversial comments he made to the editor of The Daily Republic.

Jerome K. Howe submitted his resignation from the board, and the board accepted it, Avera Queen of Peace's Trish Delaney said Monday afternoon.

When asked whether the resignation was forced or voluntary, Delaney, vice president of marketing/fund development, said she did not know.

"It's been given to me officially that Dr. Howe has resigne
The Daily Republic •

Police, hospital look into doctor's remarks

A racial slur and threatening comments made by a local doctor to the editor of The Daily Republic are being investigated by the local police and hospital.

Jerome K. Howe, a surgeon employed by Avera Queen of Peace, made the comments during a March 6 phone conversation with Daily Republic Editor Korrie Wenzel and during a one-on-one meeting Monday in Wenzel's office. Wenzel recorded the Monday conversation and told Howe that he was being recorded.

Howe was upset about an editorial written by We
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