The grumblings are getting louder.
It's a presidential election year, and the coverage of debates, primaries and the "he-said, she-said" is already getting exhausting.
With two high-profile candidates in Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and nominee Hillary Clinton, who's leading the Democratic field, it feels like each major TV network has daily coverage of the banter, blaming and name-calling.
It surely feels revved up even more this go-round, so we've got a long seven-plus months to go before a new president is chosen.
Hard to believe anyone would want to get into politics these days, right?
ADVERTISEMENT
Well, last week we heard some refreshing news that a student at South Dakota State University who is graduating this year plans to run for the Legislature.
Caleb Finck, 23, announced his intention to run for District 19's state senator spot, and while we know little to nothing about his policy opinions, we commend him for considering politics at such a young age.
As representatives of their local constituents, legislators have an important duty to uphold by making and amending our state's laws. As with any Congress, there should be a variety of lawmakers - young, middle-aged and older - to determine what's best for the overall body of the people. (Aside from age, there should be a variety of legislators represented by political party, sex and race to keep a fair, balanced Congress.)
During this year's session, there were 13 legislators between the ages of 24 and 35. The largest age demographic make-up for South Dakota was between 55 and 65, at 33 legislators, or about one-third of the group. Another 30 percent of the legislators were 66 years or older.
Based off the numbers, South Dakota needs more young people to get involved in politics and grow an interest in becoming politicians.
Young people can bring in fresh, new ideas, and they have a different perspective.
To be clear, we're not endorsing Finck - a Tripp resident - to become District 19's senator. People should vote for candidates based off their political agendas and ideas.
We just think it's pretty awesome to see someone so interested in politics at such a young age.
ADVERTISEMENT
Others should take note.
