Our View: Week in review

CHEERS to the new football stadium that will be constructed in Alexandria. Scheduled to be ready for this fall’s football season, the stadium will give Hanson High School fans a modern venue, complete with 600 seats, concessions stand, press box, bathrooms and storage. The project — which will cost between $250,000 and $300,000 — will be completed after several years of discussion and will be paid for with capital outlay funds and donations. A five-figure anonymous donation has been among the early highlights. We love progress, both in Mitchell and the region, and consider this a worthy, lasting project.

CHEERS to Mark Puetz, who was part of a contingent of South Dakotans to visit congressional offices last week in Washington to show support for clean-energy legislation. Puetz, of Mitchell, went on the junket to “talk about different aspects of the American Power Act and the importance of efficiencies within the bill for the buildingtrade industry, and especially for Puetz Corporation.” Clean energy is the future, and there’s no reason the Mitchell region cannot be at the forefront of that development. Large wind farms are sprouting from our region’s landscape, with local residents receiving direct benefits. Local businesses, too, are at the forefront of this movement, and Mitchell Technical Institute is playing a part, training students through specialized wind-energy programs. Yes, the Mitchell region should be the capital of South Dakota’s clean energy industry, and with efforts already under way, along with those like Puetz’s trip to Washington, we feel we’re on the right path. Whether or not the pending legislation is right for the country remains to be seen — Sen. John Thune is against it, for example, because he thinks it will raise energy prices — but it is at least advancing the conversation, and we’re happy to see a Mitchell resident taking part.

HISSES to the river barge industry on the southern Missouri River. Whereas we have opined often about our disdain for industry — which negatively affects upriver recreation — we last week read yet another report about the lack of barges hauling goods on the lower stretches of the river. One towboat pilot was quoted in the report, by The Associated Press, as saying “you may not see a boat for a whole week.” And that volume of traffic should still be considered vital enough to take water from the thriving upriver fishing and recreation industry? It’s asinine.

CHEERS to an Associated Press report that crime in the United States has dropped dramatically since 2009, which bucks a trend that links high crime to a poor economy. According to the report, property crimes and violent offenses each declined about 5 percent, marking the third straight year of declines. National experts warn it doesn’t necessarily mean Americans should feel safer, but it’s good news nonetheless.

CHEERS to Tim Reisch, who last week was named one of 40 emerging state leaders from across the nation selected for the Toll Fellowship Program, sponsored by the Council of State Governments. Reisch, a native of Howard, will take part in a weeklong seminar in Kentucky in August. Reisch is the South Dakota secretary of corrections.

Tags: our view, opinion