an editorial by Gazette Editor, Garrick Moritz
Hello readers. It’s rare that I’ll publish an editorial or a column myself. Usually I let others talk. I feel that’s my job. This time, I figured I should chime in with my two cents.
First, I want to thank the members of the Commercial Club for electing me as Vice President again. I had several comments from members who said that they like me in the job, and that it’s a task I’m well suited for. I’m not sure about that, but I am happy to serve the interests of the people who live and work in the Garretson area in any way I can.
What you may not know is that recently I was also elected to serve on the board of the South Dakota Newspaper Association. Last year, the SDNA General Manager Dave Bordewyk gave me a call. He asked if I would consider serving on the board. SDNA is 122 newspapers strong, from communities throughout the state. My dad, my grandpa and my great grandpa have all been presidents of the association in their time and all are in the SD Newspaper Hall of Fame.
Does that inflate my ego at all? Truthfully, it intimidates me. On my wall are three portraits of better men than me, and I try to live up to the standards and practices they taught me. I told Dave that, yes, I would serve, though I wanted to clear it with my wife and full business partner here first. (Let me tell you a rule about the Gazette and our work here- if Carrie doesn’t like it, it doesn’t happen, and the paper would be up for sale tomorrow without her.)
I’ve been serving on the SDNA Board since our convention last April. One of the things we do every year is Newspaper Day with the South Dakota Legislature. I’ve gone several times in the past, from when I was a little kid until now. But since I’m a board member now, I really felt that it was important I be there. So, after the paper was printed, mailed and out on store shelves, I headed off to Pierre.
(On the way, I made it to Madison to see our GHS students perform at the Regional One-Acts, and was happy to see that my daughter Morgan, as well as her friend Amber Hulscher and Amber’s sister Molly Hulscher, got acting awards on the very same stage where I got an acting award as a sophomore at Faulkton High School. Hats off to Mrs. Brown and all one-act cast and crew. We have some very dynamic and talented students here in Garretson, and it’s a badge of pride for the community.)
After doing board business we first had press conferences with the legislative leadership, both majority and minority, then a lunch with the legislators and a conference with the Governor.
I was pleased to see representative Tom Pischke at the luncheon. He and I have a mutual friend that he went to high school and I went to Augie with. We only chatted briefly, since our press conferences with the legislative leaders went long, but I was pleased to see him there.
I did not see Jon Hansen at all, sadly, and I don’t believe he attended. In our board and First Amendment Committee briefings, one of the bills that Hansen proposed had come up in discussion. This bill would basically ban commercial surrogacies in South Dakota.
This bill is like many bills that have come up this year that SDNA board members talked about at length. Bills of “conscience” that are likely to be challenged on constitutional grounds. I understand and agree that we don’t wish to traffic people as a commodity (slavery has been outlawed for quite some time now), but at the same time, when you do a blanket ban like this it has the potential to hurt people more than it helps.
As an example, I know a couple who had extreme difficulty having children. The dad is an Iraq war vet and the mom is a banker. Good law- abiding, taxpaying people with strong morality, patriotism and values. People whom you want to see bring children into the world. Having children was extremely difficult for them. I know surrogacy was an option they discussed. In the end, their treatments worked and they didn’t need surrogacy. But these people deserve, like anyone who wants to have kids, a shot at being a parent. So, the question I have for Mr. Hansen is this- could this bill do more harm than good to South Dakota families? Is that a question you asked yourself before you proposed it? Regulate certainly, but ban, why?...
The same thing with this transgender bill everyone keeps talking about. Following a pattern of behavior from some house legislators, this bill seems to be a solution in search of a problem. The argument that it’s a “bill of conscience” is pure sophistry. To me, having a conscience means having beliefs, but not trying to enforce or coerce those beliefs on others if it has the potential to do them harm. It’s careful consideration of facts, and trying to do the most good with the least amount of harm. Just saying.
Let’s not even get into the issue of deliberately passing legislation of questionable constitutionality, like the riot shield bill that was thrown out and has come back again. The practice of late seems to be, let’s spend money we don’t have on bills we don’t need just to make a point. The daylight savings time bill... I can’t believe that has gotten any traction at all. Yeah, I hate springing forward as much as the next guy, but really.
As for the transgender bill, a legal firm has offered to take the State’s case pro-bono if this law passes and is challenged. So what?! First, why should we the people allow a private firm to take up a case meant for our elected State’s Attorney? It’s quite literally his solemn task and responsibility to represent our state on legal questions. The State’s Attorney takes an oath of office and is beholden to the government and the people. A private firm is a private firm, out for their own interest, not the people’s business. Second, how many times has the legislature passed legislation like this only to have it struck down in the courts? The answer is, sadly, far too many times. Just because we have one of the most open systems of legislative proposal doesn’t mean retrograde ideas have merit. Some legislators must enjoy wasting time and taxpayer money, I think. Thankfully the SD Senate seems much more sensible than the House, and it is my hope that they may kill many of these more erroneous matters out of hand.
I did have a nice conversation with SD Senate Majority Leader Kris Langer, who is our local Senator. She’s been a regular advertiser and is very proud that independent journalism in Minnehaha County seems to be growing rather than shrinking. With two new papers springing up in our neighboring communities (and specifically her home of Dell Rapids) in the last two years, things are looking bright.
I also met up with Skylar Borglum, PhD, a Republican SD Senator from Rapid City, at the luncheon. Ms. Borglum will be challenging US Senator and former Governor Mike Rounds in the upcoming primary. Overall, I can say I really liked her. She was smart, funny and has a good heart and a good head on her shoulders.
She made some great points during our conversation. First was how dismal she found Senator Rounds’ extremely low attendance for voting on the Senate floor. Granted, his wife has been very ill, but that’s all the more reason that it’s maybe time for someone new. She felt simply that he wasn’t putting South Dakota’s interests first and wasn’t doing his job very well. She said that she, “...wanted to represent all of South Dakotans. I don’t care if they’re Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, Jewish, Muslim or Jedi Knight. Our state’s people are good and unique and I love them all.”
I thought that was the right attitude. Also, those of you who know me know what a big Star Wars fan I am, so the fact that she made me laugh and smile while talking politics, and actually made me feel good and hopeful, is the way of a true Jedi.
Then we arrived at the press conference with the Governor.
Gov. Kristi Noem made some opening remarks and then opened the floor for questions.
Letitia Lister of the Black Hills Pioneer, who is our current association president, had the first question. In the Governor’s State of the State address she talked about making an on-line portal for governmental documents. A lot of it sounded very similar to work we’ re doing, and have planned to do, in the future with publishing public notices. Already,
every public notice we publish is in an online archive at sdpublicnotices.com that is free for anyone to search. We are also looking at broadening and expanding those tools for the “Google it on your phone” world we find ourselves in nowadays. To us, as an association, if the Governor’s office wants to make it easier for local city councils, county commissions or school boards to post their info online, we’re happy to use the resources we already have in place and that are in development to make that easier. She of course agreed to have our staffs meet in the not too distant future to talk about it.
Then came the tough questions. Jack Marsh, currently of SD News Watch, quoted a campaign mailer that was circulated by Gov. Noem’s campaign. That letter, signed by her, used language that Jack and I frankly found offensive. It was more of the same dirty rhetoric that has come down from on high, and it’s just as ridiculous. It’s been spat at journalists for time out of mind. That they’re untruthful, biased, and such. In the past, we’ve heard terms like Yellow Dog and Muckraker. Today it’s Fake News and Enemy of the People. Just terms to describe people who deliver inconvenient truths that those in power would rather not have you question them about.
I talked with Jack about it afterwards. I have a lot of respect for him. He knows my dad, and knew my grandfather, and he cares deeply about the truth. He cares a lot about South Dakota and making our state a better place in which to live.
Jack believes following that line of rhetoric, that the media is untruthful and that you can’t trust them to tell the truth, is dangerous and destabilizing to society. He’s not wrong. Often in this job you must speak truth to power, and speaking truth to power is not always easy or very nice.
I can say that everyone I have ever known or have associated with as fellow SDNA members are local, good-hearted journalists, who do their best by and for their communities, wherever and whenever and however they can.
SD News Watch is a non-profit that has been working hard at increasing the amount of investigative journalism in this state, a position that has recently gone by the wayside as newsrooms have cut staff. SDNA recently made a deal with SD News Watch to make our General Manager, Dave, their Executive Director and to mutualize some of SDNA’s office resources for SD News Watch. I voted for that decision, and wholly stand by it. It’s a good partnership. Many of the legislators, both at the state and even the national level (see Dusty Johnson’s column in this paper) agree that the work SD News Watch has been doing has been good for our citizens.
I don’t doubt that Gov. Kristi Noem also cares a lot about South Dakota and making our state a better place in which to live. I’m sure she hasn’t liked the local media very much when they run stories about her family and how much they get paid working for her administration. She’s certainly made her governorship into a family business, and since there are a lot of family businesses in South Dakota, I myself having grown up in one, I won’t hold that against her. Fellow SDNA board member LeeAnne Dufek of the Hamlin County newspaper in Castlewood has said to me that she and her community have a lot of love for Gov. Noem, and I respect her word and judgment.
So, my unsolicited advice to the Governor would be this. Stay away from this line of rhetoric. It’s historically been tried and it has failed time and time again. It may net you short term gains, as do a lot of things in this age of clickbait, soundbites and catchphrases; but it doesn’t serve you as a stateswoman or the people you serve in this great state. Be forthright, and the truth will always be your shield. The truth shall set you free is not just good advice, it’s biblical. It’s what I believe at the very core of my soul. It’s what every good journalist should believe, and what every elected official should believe. We may not all agree on the many issues of the day, but these are small things by and large. Take a page from Voltaire, “I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death of your right to say it!”
So that was my time and my thoughts from the legislature this week. But if you have questions and concerns yourself, you should go and talk to your legislators yourselves. They’re doing an open public coffee at the Pizza Ranch in Dell Rapids this Saturday starting bright and early at 9 a.m.
