From the Argus, it appears dogs belonging to Dr and State Senator Blake Curd were involved in a serious dog biting incident:

The woman was walking near the 1300 block of South Elmwood Avenue at around 7 a.m. when she encountered two Tibetan Mastiffs, one male, one female, said Capt. Greg VandeKamp of the Sioux Falls Police Department.

The woman had bites to both legs and her right arm, and was treated at Sanford USD Medical Center. Police think the male dog bit her.

State Sen. Blake Curd and his wife Debbie own the dogs.

“We are distraught over what has happened and thankful it wasn’t worse,” Blake Curd said in a statement to the Argus Leader. “We hope for all to recover quickly and applaud the quick actions of the Sioux Falls Police Department, EMS personnel and Milo the animal control officer who responded to render assistance in this unfortunate circumstance.”

Read it all here.

We certainly hope everyone involved is ok. That’s scary stuff, and but for the grace of God, could happen to any of us. As domesticated as they are, dogs are still animals.

South DaCola took a few minutes off from hating on everyone this afternoon, and posted that the new Executive Director for the SDDP is identified as Suzie Jones Pranger.

No, I haven’t really heard of her either. But, there is this video out there floating around which gives the impression she’s been involved in some of the Dem campaigns in the past:

And this LTE, which someone pawned off on her to sign in 2010 during the Herseth campaign.

Her curriculum vitae matches up with what I’d heard was the background of the person coming into the job, so I have no reason to question it.  Although, why would a past chair of USD Women in Law choose to become the ED of the South Dakota Democratic Party?  That’s like signing up to captain the Titanic after it hit the iceberg.

Ah, youth and exuberance. (It takes a few bruises before they become callused and cynical like most campaign veterans).

Thune Selects Family for 2015 Angels in Adoption Award
“The Fite family is more than deserving of this award, and I am honored to select them.”

(Pictured from left to right: Chloe, Tami, Clare, Cody, Cate, and Aaron Fite)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today announced his selection of Aaron and Tami Fite of Platte, S.D., and their family for the 2015 Angels in Adoption Award presented by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, of which Thune is a member. This award recognizes the outstanding contributions of men and women across the country who have opened up their hearts and homes to children in need of a family.

“The Fite family is more than deserving of this award, and I am honored to select them,” said Thune. “Aaron and Tami graciously opened up their home, accepting the medical challenges that would come with Cody’s and Cate’s adoptions. Their selflessness has truly been an inspiration to me as well as to members of their community.”

Aaron and Tami were inspired to start a family of their own through adoption while serving on a short-term mission trip in Central America. When they arrived home to South Dakota, they were told about Cody, an infant with Down syndrome who was in need of a family. Eleven years later, Cody is now an active athlete in the Special Olympics, competing in basketball, track, and softball.

In 2006, the Fites received a call about a baby girl, Cate, who was also in need of a family. Cate suffers from a severe neurological disorder called semi-lobar holoprosencephaly and was adopted by the Fites shortly after she was born. Cate has overcome many medical obstacles during her life. Even though she cannot walk or talk on her own, she can walk in a Mustang walker and talk with her eyes through an Eyegaze communication tool. Recently, at a surprise retirement party for Cate’s personal paraprofessional aide, Cate thanked her teacher via the use of the Eyegaze.

After eight years of marriage, the Fites discovered they were miraculously pregnant in 2009, and Chloe was born in 2010. When Chloe was 10 months old, they became pregnant again, and Clare was born in 2012.

“Families have so much love to give, and when families open their hearts to what God has in store for them, it can bring immeasurable joy and growth to a family in ways they never dreamed possible,” the Fites say. “Our adoption story has inspired us to have a Christ-like love for people who are different, for children who are deemed ‘not worthy of life,’ and we are so grateful for the awareness about individuals with disabilities our children have helped bring to our community, churches, and schools. Cate and Cody have taught us more about Christ’s unconditional love and the spirit of perseverance than we ever thought possible. Cody and Cate prove that every life matters and that there is potential in even the worst of circumstances or when the odds are completely stacked against a child.”

The Fites will be invited to join Angels in Adoption nominees from around the country at an awards banquet sponsored by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute in Washington, D.C., in October.

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It’s political button time again, as I just received this rare button in my mailbox today – and I couldn’t be happier with it at $2.50.
This political button commemorates a visit by then First Lady Hillary Clinton to the Great Plains Summit on rural health care, held in Lennox, South Dakota on Feb 18th of that year.

It didn’t mean much then, and has not been a popular pin, but as time and ambition march on, it’s becoming a bit more desire able among collectors of South Dakota political memorabilia, mainly driven by it’s presidential connection.

Among collectors of local items, this pin is now trading in the neighborhood of $20, and should only go higher if Hillary is the nominee for the Democrats as expected.

State items with a presidential nominee connection tend to increase in value over time due to rarity, and I’d guarantee they didn’t make a lot of these.

I’d only look for it to increase in value over the years. Nothing I’d base a retirement on, but give it ten years, and it might be trading at higher level than it is now.

If you look at the map in this story, several South Dakota sites were cited by the NSA as having cyber attacks directed at them by China.

Any thoughts on what secrets the Chinese were after? Because one of them looks to be in the vicinity of Wall Drug. And they may have stolen secrets about Jackalope manufacturing.

Does anyone else believe the “Cecil the Lion” story has reached the “ridiculous” level at this point? In the latest this morning, CNN is reporting that Zimbabwe is now calling on the US to extradite the Minnesota Dentist because, in part, of facebook outrage:

Zimbabwe has started extradition proceedings and hopes the U.S. will cooperate, said Oppah Muchinguri, the African nation’s environment minister.

Walter Palmer “had a well-orchestrated agenda which would tarnish the image of Zimbabwe and further strain the relationship between Zimbabwe and the U.S.A.,” Muchinguri said.

and…

Muchinguri said that there was also much outcry in Zimbabwe and that nearly 500,000 people had called via Facebook for Palmer’s extradition.

“We are taking this issue seriously,” he said, adding that Palmer should be tried in Zimbabwe for his alleged offenses.

Read it here.

They’re calling for his extradition because of a “tarnished image,” and “facebook?” That a government official even cites it is horrific in it’s ridiculousness, and should give any American strong pause in whether or not to consider traveling to that country. Ever.

At this point in time, it appears that if anyone did anything wrong, it might have been the guides/people arranging the hunt, and any role the hunter had in luring the lion, and directing the circumstances of the hunt is still in question.

At least, to the point where far more information and evidence is needed for anyone to pass judgement, unless their intent is to hate big game hunters in general.

And putting it in context; this story came out right about the same time as yet another round of video footage alleging Planned Parenthood is illegally trafficking in human body parts in the United States. Yet, we don’t see Jimmy Kimmel weeping over that one.

I guess I’m feeling as if this story has reached a worldwide social media feeding frenzy at this point, with everyone proclaiming “facts be damned,” at the same time when there are far more important things to get all worked into a lather about.

What’s your opinion?

According to the Mitchell Daily Republic, Elizabeth May’s call for a special session seems to have fallen a bit flat:

May sent out a petition to state legislators to engage in a summer session in Pierre, but received only 13 signatures supported the special session. Of the three legislators from the Mitchell area, all three declined to sign the petition.

Rep. Joshua Klumb and Sen. Mike Vehle, of District 20—which includes Aurora, Davison and Jerauld counties—said the special session to address education is premature.

” … We already have a Blue Ribbon Task Force of legislators and other people to take a look at several of the education issues,” Vehle said. “I think to call a special session before that body is even through with this study, I don’t understand the reasoning.”

and..

“One, you’re probably not going to solve anything, and two, it would be an expensive waste of time,” Vehle said about engaging in a special session before the task force completes its study.

Read it all here.

I’ve heard various anecdotes such as the organizers of the call for the special session were a bit miffed that leadership didn’t pick up envelopes. And one legislator I spoke with was being harangued by a tea partier over her declining to sign on.

But facts are facts. And 13 out out 105 is barely 12%, putting this idea down in the history books as an idea which didn’t work.