LANCE CARSON

Carson wearing heart pump in effort to battle illness

State Rep. Lance Carson took part in Saturday’s cracker barrel despite a continued battle with his health.

By Tom Lawrence , January 21, 2013

Rep. Lance Carson hospitalized for blood infection

Rep. Lance Carson, R-Mitchell, is being treated for a blood infection at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls.

By Ross Dolan , June 13, 2012

Legislators, public focus on budget during cracker barrel

The state wants to provide the money sought for education, social services and other programs, state Rep. Lance Carson said Saturday. “It’s not a situation where we’re not listening to people, not listening to causes,” Carson said during the first of two cracker barrels in Mitchell this winter. “The state does not have the money."

By Tom Lawrence , January 29, 2011

Vehle, Carson, Rozum have their minds on state’s bottom line as session begins

The three legislators from Mitchell say balancing the state budget will be the primary job during the 2011 legislative session.
The session opens at noon today for the first of 38 scheduled work days.
Sen. Mike Vehle and Reps. Lance Carson and Tona Rozum are among the 105 legislators — 35 senators and 70 representatives — who will discuss and debate state government for the next three months.

By Tom Lawrence , January 11, 2011

Vehle to propose tax, fee hikes for roads

State Sen. Mike Vehle, R-Mitchell, will try to raise the state’s gas tax and two other fees to pay for road maintenance. Vehle said this week he is preparing a package of bills to increase the gas tax 3 cents in 2011 and three cents in 2013. It’s currently 22 cents and would go to 25 cents in 2011 and 28 cents in 2013 if Vehle’s bill is approved.

By Tom Lawrence , December 04, 2010

Reports show wide variance in campaign finance

District 20 legislative candidates show a great disparity on how they raised money — and how much they raised — to run for office this year. The pre-election filing deadline for campaign finance reports was Oct. 22. State Sen. Mike Vehle, R-Mitchell, raised nearly $15,000, with almost half of that coming from political action committees (PACs).

By Tom Lawrence , October 30, 2010

District 20 state House race: Three vying for two seats representing Aurora, Davison

Lance Carson
Rep. Lance Carson, R-Mitchell, has spent two terms serving in the state House of Representatives.
He says he’s ready for a third.

By Austin Kaus , October 28, 2010

State House hopefuls focus on budget at public forum

State budget issues topped a discussion Tuesday night between the three candidates for two seats in the state House representing District 20.
State Rep. Lance Carson, R-Mitchell, fellow Republican candidate Tona Rozum and independent candidate Becky Haslam fielded questions and offered their views on a variety of subjects during a forum sponsored by the Mitchell Area Chamber of Commerce Governmental Affairs Committee.
About 75 people attended the two-hour forum, which included discussions of the county auditor’s race and the city of Mitchell land designation vote on Nov. 2.

By Tom Lawrence , October 20, 2010

Lawmaker: Parade bill would be ‘knee-jerk’ reaction

A local lawmaker says legislation that may be introduced by state Sen. Frank Kloucek in the upcoming legislative session is a knee-jerk reaction to a Wagner parade incident.
Kloucek, D- Scotland, recently announced plans to introduce a bill that would require an outrider — a single horse and rider that helps keep a team of horses under control — with every team of two or more horses in a public parade. The announcement came only days after three people suffered injuries when two mules pulling a wagon were spooked and ran into Labor Day parade spectators in Wagner.

By Austin Kaus , September 09, 2010

MTI farm program to expand next year

After being at death’s door a year ago, the Farm and Ranch Business Management program at Mitchell Technical Institute will, with support from private industry, not only survive but expand in the 2010-2011 school year. “The resources that our instructors provide to individual farm families in helping them achieve success are invaluable. I firmly believe this expansion will be a great asset for the entire state when completed,” said MTI President Greg Von Wald in a news release.

By Ross Dolan , July 09, 2010

Opinion: First time state revenues have decreased since 1930s

As we saw legislative session open, it was well known that to avoid a structural deficit we would have to reduce the governor’s budget by $32 million to $45 million. The governor had proposed using “rainy day” funds of about $30 million to balance the budget. That would have left the State with less than $70 million in the “rainy day” reserve accounts.

By Lance Carson , March 16, 2010

Local legislative delegates say budget to take up final days

A possible windfall from the federal government and a tenuous budget in general will make for an interesting final few days of the 2010 session of the state Legislature, lawmakers said at a Saturday forum in Mitchell.

By Austin Kaus , March 15, 2010

Opinion: South Dakota will get through these hard times

As we enter into the last 14 days of the session, things are shaping up to meet the challenges of balancing the budget.
Serving on the Appropriations Committee, all department hearings have been completed. I believe the legislators have a good handle on what it is going to take to get the state through this deficit budget. We saw the state income drop 3.5 percent in 2009. With 2010, we are starting out between $10 million and $11 million under estimates, the challenge is enormous.

By Lance Carson , February 24, 2010

Beware of ending tax cuts, local legislators told

Concerns that a pending bill could put the brakes on area wind farm development topped discussion topics at Saturday’s legislative cracker barrel session Saturday at Mitchell Technical Institute’s south campus.
The event drew nearly 50 people to hear reports from District 20 Reps. Lance Carson and Noel Hamiel and Sen. Mike Vehle — all Republicans from Mitchell.

By Ross Dolan , February 22, 2010