Cara Hetland

Diana Untermeyer, author of “Qatar: Sand, Sea and Sky.” Qatar, a country jutting off the Arabian peninsula into the Persian Gulf, stands as a stable and relatively open society in a region mired in conflict. Qatar is also a vital military and economic partner for the United States. Untermeyer lived in Qatar for three years while her husband served as the U.S. ambassador. While there, she became active in women and children’s programs along with getting involved in conservation, arts and health.

President Barack Obama has proposed raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour and indexing it to the cost-of-living by 2015.  According to the White House, eighty percent of workers who would benefit from the president's proposal are 20 years of age or older.  And the wages earned by the workers who would benefit from this plan make up 46 percent of their households' income.  In this segment of Dakota Midday we’ll hear from Acting Secretary of Labor Seth Harris followed by David Owen, President of the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry.   

Tom Sorensen, Associate Dean of the USD School of Law. Beginning Monday, March 18, the South Dakota Supreme Court is in session for three days at the University of South Dakota School of Law. The justices will hear several oral arguments during the March 2013 Term of Court at the law school courtroom, including three oral arguments on Monday, March 18: State of South Dakota vs. Briley W. Piper, 9 a.m., Russell Englund and Mary Englund vs. Paul Vital, 10 a.m., and State of South Dakota vs. James Duane Riley, 11 a.m.

A Minnesota based company is expanding in South Dakota.  Eagle Creek Software Services already has a technology center in Pierre and now it is promising 200 new jobs in Vermillion.  The company president says he hopes to add 800 more jobs within five years.  Ken Behrendt says his company will help design IT classed to be taught at the University of South Daktoa as a way to train future employees.  Behrendt says he's looking for students who are looking for a career.

For many, a child’s first birthday is about balloons, gifts and cake.  But for one Sioux Falls couple, tragedy is forcing them to celebrate in a different way.   Quinn Noel Terhorst was born in the early morning hours on March 12, 2012.

  “I had 28 hours of labor,” says Alison Terhorst.  “She was very laid back and happy.  Our first born and the joy of our lives.”

But in July, at just barely four months old, the joy turned into sorrow.

Several hundred people gathered in a theater near Sioux Falls to watch and cheer a rocket blasts from a California Launchpad.  The Landsat Data Continuity Mission or L-D-C-M is a joint project between NASA and EROS Data Center in South Dakota.  The satellite aboard the rocket will provide digital imaging of the earth.  

Just before noon central it was all systems go.  As the engines roar to life just 15 seconds before launch the crowd in a theater at the EROS Data Center watch a large screen showing a live shot from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Twenty-two years after nine-year-old Rebecca O’Connell was found raped and murdered, the man convicted of the crime was executed.  Witnesses Tuesday night watched Donald Moeller die by lethal injection at the South Dakota State Penitentiary.

Dave Kranz and I had a deal.  He would do a taped interview with me about his memories of George McGovern and I would hold the audio until after George McGovern died.  

At the beginning of the interview Dave jokes that McGovern would probably outlive us both.  

It was always fun for me to watch Dave Kranz work.  I was always in awe of him and his ability to know everyone and everything.  He could walk through a line of people and tell you story after story of everyone he recognized and how they're connected to certain politicians. 

The execution of Eric Robert was carried out last night at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. Robert pleaded guilty to the April 2011 murder of Ronald Johnson during a failed escape attempt. Robert asked to be executed and waived his appeals. Monday's execution was orderly and precise.

 Tonight (October 15, 2012) at 10:00 PM Eric Robert is scheduled to die by lethal injection at the South Dakota State Penitentiary.  During the execution the media will await witness statements in the Ronald J. Johnson training center.   The place named for the victim of Robert’s Crime.    Attorney General Marty Jackley has already spoken this morning to the family of Robert “RJ” Johnson.  Johnson was murdered during a failed escape attempt last April of 2011.

By Victoria Wicks

Voters in a number of states have to produce some form of identification when they go to the polls, a requirement opposed by those who say the law disenfranchises specific groups. South Dakota requires a government-issued photo ID but allows people without the document to vote after signing an affidavit. For today’s Dakota Digest, SDPB’s Victoria Wicks explores these issues and other state laws that affect voters.

For more information on voting or registering to vote in South Dakota, click on the following sites:

The State Geologist says a major oil boom is unlikely in South Dakota.

Derrick Iles with the South Dakota Geological Survey says the Bakken Formation, which produces most of North Dakota's oil, doesn't extend very far into this state.  

Iles says South Dakota just doesn’t have the same amount of oil as its neighbor to the north.

South Dakota’s education report card shows the state’s high school completion rate dropped slightly this year, but education officials say it’s mostly flat. South Dakota didn’t see a huge increase in the dropout rate, but the state didn’t make any significant improvements in keeping more students on track. Educators around South Dakota try to curb dropout rates by encouraging students to stay in class.

Ross Chapin talks about his program  Pocket Neighborhoods.   Ross Chapin is an internationally acclaimed architect, land planner and author from Whidbey Island, north of Seattle.  He has designed dozens of neighborhood plans across the US and Canada.  He is also the author of the book Pocket Neighborhoods:  Creating Small Scale Community in a Large Scale World.   

Brooke Orcutt is a Plain Green Conference committee member.  She discusses the conference and projects throughout the year.

Lisa Taylor  talks about her program City Farming For Everyone!  Lisa Taylor is the author of Your Farm in the City:  An Urban Dweller’s Guide to Growing Food and Raising Animals.  She lives in Shoreline, Washington and spends most of her days growing and eating plants with children.  She is the Children’s Education Program Manager for Seattle Tilth. 

Matthew Hein discusses Energy Audits:  How to Capitalize on Their Value.  Matt Hein is an Energy Engineer and analyzes energy systems.  

 
Summer Camp is a fond memory for many of us in South Dakota.  Nature trails, lakes and bonfires still take us back in time.  But for many with disabilities it’s an experience they cannot relate to--until now. 

Joy Nelson has two passions – 1880’s history and horses
 
 “I was horse crazy since the time I could talk. …  My parents have the old movies they dressed me up like the little girl I’m supposed to be but I’m dressed up in my cowboy hat and boots and belt on riding my rocking horse with my dress on – it was always there,” says Nelson.