ITBC, Heinert move ten buffalo to Taos Pueblo

In 2012 Democrat Martin Heinrich defeated Republican Heather Wilson, his predecessor in Congress and today thanks to efforts led by Sen. Heinrich bison have become America's National Mammal.

Now, with cooperation from Democratic former South Dakota State Senator and Sicangu citizen, Troy Heinert more bison are coming home to the Nations. With Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland in attendance and in cooperation with Colorado State University the Rapid City-based InterTribal Buffalo Council just moved five yearling bulls and five heifers with Yellowstone genetics to the Taos Pueblo. 

“We commonly refer to bison as buffalo due to historical and linguistic reasons. When European settlers first encountered the bison which resembled the buffalo they were familiar with from other parts of the world they began calling the bison buffalo. This term became widely used in the English language. Many of our tribes had their own names for bison in their respective languages. However as communication between our people and European settlers increased, the term buffalo became adopted more broadly. So, the term buffalo is deeply intertwined in our history as a symbol of cultural identity, spiritual connection, resilience, and the challenges faced by our people in the face of colonization and environmental change.”

Almost 37 years ago, Frank and Deborah Popper’s collaborative academic article was published in a small magazine for planning professionals. On March 27 the couple visited Montana State University in Bozeman for a public presentation and discussion about how things have changed since their article was first published. [Buffalo Commons authors look back at evolution of their Great Plains bison concept]

The Oakland Zoo just sent fourteen more buffalo for a total of 38 to the Blackfeet Nation. But, whether it's American Prairie's bison grazing on Bureau of Land Management ground in Montana, the US Department of Agriculture killing cattle on the Gila or feds shooting goats in the Tetons socialized grazing just isn't enough to keep some Republicans happy. 

It's time to rewild parts of the Mountain West by connecting the CM Russell Wildlife Refuge in Montana along the Missouri River to Oacoma, South Dakota combined with corridors from Yellowstone National Park to the Yukon in the north and south to the Rio Grande through Nebraska, eastern Colorado, western Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas.

ip image: buffalo graze at Wind Cave National Park in occupied South Dakota.

Watch the ITBC video at their Faceberg page. 

Learn more at the Missoulian.

South Dakota still addicted to gambling

According to WalletHub, gambling has become a leading source of anguish and despair in my home state with a high suicide rate and few avenues for treatment. The state is tied for first in the number of casinos and machines and second in overall addiction to the poison.

It also has a high prevalence of gambling through lottery tickets, with the 10th highest lottery sales per resident age 18+. South Dakota has legalized betting on fantasy sports, regular sports and horse races, and it allows gambling machines to be put in stores. With so many different legal ways to gamble, it makes sense that many residents have a problem. The grip that gambling has on the Mount Rushmore State is evident in the fact that it has a high number of Gamblers Anonymous meetings per capita. [Most Gambling-Addicted States (2024)]

The reasoning is hardly mysterious. It’s all about the money video lootery, a too big to jail banking racket, a medical industry triopoly, prostitution, the Sturgis Rally, policing for profit, sex trafficking, hunting and subsidized grazing bring to the SDGOP destroying lives, depleting watersheds and smothering habitat under single-party rule.

Gamers visiting Deadwood in March dropped $127.2 million in machines, on tables, and sports betting for just over an eight percent increase compared to March 2023. Thus far this year, the collective handle in Deadwood is $358.3 million, up less than half a percent, compared to the same period in 2023. [Black Hills Pioneer]

When i was still playing Ricky Jacobsen, Chuck Baumann and Jeanette Fraser took their own lives after losing everything in Deadwood's poker games. No doubt there have been others.

Brookings listened: rainwater harvest encouraged

It’s probably better than nothing but stormwater from city streets is every bit as toxic as runoff from ag, maybe more. #ecocide #southdakota #redstatefailure #sdleg https://t.co/V6JxvwGbJE https://t.co/SKyL5HuNd2

— interested party (@larry_kurtz) December 7, 2021

Yes, the Big Sioux River is a sewer of biblical proportions. 

For every 1” of rain and 1,000 square feet of surface (roof, driveway, etc), about 620 gallons of fresh water are generated. The graphic on the right is of snow water equivalent.

Not that those twenty gallon barrels are going to slow much stormwater but it's a start.

Starting Monday, April 22, 2024, City residents can register for and pick up a voucher at the Engineering Division office in Suite 140 of the Brookings City & County Government Center at 520 Third St. Vouchers are limited to one per residential property and are for City of Brookings residents only. A total of 40 vouchers will be available on a first-come, first-served basis until they are gone. [2024 Stormwater Incentive Program]

Let's see: Brookings owns a research park, the hospital, the liquor store, the water, the phone company, the power company, an entertainment venue, the golf course, it's home to South Dakota's largest public university and a federally subsidized cheese and dairy industry.

Expect a contested Republican convention

My working hypothesis means a floor fight at the Republican convention in Milwaukee between Nikki Haley and the other candidates since she has the second most delegates and Trump is toast. 

Kristi Noem knows it, too and is doing her utmost to trump Haley and win the nomination at a contested convention by winning a majority of the 2,284 delegates and keep an unaffiliated Liz Cheney out of the race as a spoiler.

So who’s the best Veep choice? My guess is Andy Biggs, a rabid Trumper and a Mormon from swing state, Arizona who could also bring Nevada with him. 

Devastating as it sounds there is gossip that Mrs. Noem could become Interior Secretary in a Haley cabinet.

What do y’all think?

pic.twitter.com/qjwBuIyGPW

— Ashleigh London (@ashleighlondon) April 22, 2024