Weekly Column

Over the last week, many schools across South Dakota resumed classes – both in-person and online. This marks the beginning of a sense of normalcy many of our kids are experiencing for the first time in several months.

The last several months continue to serve as a reminder of services critical to all Americans. Two of those services have been on the forefront of my mind recently: The United States Postal Service and local newspapers.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act – this bill authorized a critical pandemic program for American families – the Farmers to Families Food Box. Since March, more than 62 million families across the country have received food boxes.

South Dakota is home to outstanding universities and technical colleges that are leading the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) fields that so many students are pursuing. These students have an opportunity to receive a first-class education right here in South Dakota.

With all eyes focused on the pandemic, whether or not kids will head back to school in August, and concerns about unemployment, it's easy to miss the wins of the week.

Politicians are people, too. Unfortunately, in today's highly partisan environment that can be hard to remember. Cable news fosters the idea that officeholders, especially those in the other party, are worthy of our derision, rather than our respect or empathy.

In March, when things went from 0 to 100 at the beginning of the pandemic, our health care system was forced to adapt quickly on so many levels. With patients no longer allowed to visit hospitals in-person for regular appointments, we needed a solution – and fast.

August is just around the corner – can you believe it? It is almost hard to process. For more than five months, most of the country has had their K-12 aged kids at home, full-time. Five months.