Once again our young explorer Steven has taken to the roadways of South Dakota. Be the first to guess where this photograph was taken and you can win your choice of our book, South Dakota Photographed, or a one-year subscription to the magazine (if you don’t already subscribe).
Click on the photo to enlarge. To enter [...]
The Yankton City Commission voted 6-3 on Monday night to accept ownership of the old double-decker Meridian Bridge once it is converted by stimulus dollars into a unique pedestrian/biking “path” across the Missouri River.
The question of whether as much as $5.5 million of federal transportation enhancement dollars should be spent on the vintage structure has [...]
While googling about for some information on the ghost town called Go To Hell Gulch, we discovered the full text of an amazing history book written more than a century ago by Rev. Peter Rosen. He titled it The Black Hills of South Dakota.
Rev. Rosen served as a missionary in the mountains, traveled extensively for [...]
Summer activities are on the wane, but that doesn’t mean you need to put away the canoes and kayaks. This is a splendid time of year to enjoy South Dakota’s many rivers and lakes.
A few days ago, our circulation director Jana Jonas Lane took the office kayak from Yankton to the St. Helena boat ramp, [...]
By John Andrews
Sometime between 1885 and 1912 Ole Olson carved his name into the wall of a granary on his family’s homestead southeast of Langford. It remained there for nearly 100 years and not a soul knew about it. Family members found it in 2003 when Ole’s nephew Harlan and his wife Karen converted the [...]
Progressive on the Prairie, a South Dakota blog, has a report and a link to a very interesting article in the Chronicle of Higher Education about why too many rural communities are struggling.
It’s a very long report but the condensed version is that rural states invest a lot of time and energy in the [...]
By John Andrews
South Dakotans have many ways to greet each other, and as a lifelong resident of the state I’ve probably experienced them all. On the road it’s a friendly wave, sometimes with the entire hand although a quick raise of the pointer finger is acceptable. In person I’ve gotten a light pat on the [...]
By Bernie Hunhoff
South Dakota Magazine was just in the planning stages 24-plus years ago. As soon as we had a few hundred subscribers and a little cash in the bank, we looked for someone to do the work so I could roam around South Dakota and have all the fun.
So we advertised for a worker. [...]
By Bernie Hunhoff
I betcha I’ve written 10 million words in my careeer and this is the first time I’ve written anything about socks. But I’ve written about mystery writer Kathleen Taylor. She’s a sweetheart of a lady who lives in a big, historic house in Redfield, S.D.
Some years ago, I bought some expensive photo bulbs [...]
By Bernie Hunhoff
Seems like everywhere I turned yesterday, there was more bad news for small towns in South Dakota.
State government wants to close driver’s license exam stations in 17 county seat towns, and several outraged small-town citizens gave me an earful. They say it’s not the biggest issue in town, but symptomatic of [...]
By John Andrews
While staying at Custer State Park last weekend, we rose early Saturday morning and went in search of breakfast.We found the best on that side of the Missouri at Baker’s Cafe in downtown Custer. The cafe doubles as a bakery and serves cinnamon rolls the size of hubcaps. No joke.
I didn’t order a [...]
Our youngest staffer, Steven, occasionally travels South Dakota on an all-diapers-paid expense account and since he often brings a photographer along we now conduct this popular contest called “Where’s Steven in South Dakota?”
Be the first to note where the photo was taken (we need the name of a building) and win your choice of either [...]
We are generally opposed to election-fixing, but in this case we’ll make an exception. The new Yankton bridge has been nominated for a top national award by the American Transportation Association. The winner will be selected by judges, but there is also a People’s Choice Award and the winning state gets a grant for [...]
By Bernie Hunhoff
Photo: Bill Dougherty and his friend Ted Kennedy.
Anyone who has spent much time in Pierre has become a friend of Bill Dougherty. Oh, he may have opponents. But I don’t know of any enemies. For those who don’t know him, Bill worked at the stockyards in Sioux Falls for many years. He became [...]
By Bernie Hunhoff
For the better part of 18 years, I taught our son Chris how to catch grounders and hit a curve ball and throw a spiral but for reasons obvious to those who know me, I didn’t teach him how to swing a golf club.
So how do you account for the story in today’s [...]