VIEWPOINT | As the U.S.A. turns 250 next year, South Dakotans can celebrate, too
Guest column by Ben Jones
As the calendar turns to 2026, you’ll start noticing more and more things devoted to celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday. From the state’s Christmas tree in the Capitol to school events, a state and local effort is underway to join this national celebration of this significant milestone in our nation’s history.
Why should we celebrate and commemorate a document signed in Philadelphia 250 years ago? To me, that answer revolves around engaging with who we are and what it means to be an American. Apple pie, Superman, and baseball are all American, but the Declaration of Independence’s words are the very definition of what Thomas Jefferson called, “the American Mind.”
SCOUTING REPORT | Failure or freedom, pet cemetery, South Dakota's elite runner
Advocacy groups and politicians love to grade the successes or failures of various governments and their officials. Report cards are an easy – if not entirely honest – way of making a point to the public about issues they care about. Most of us, through our education experiences, understand an A from an F.
