What Can Green Do for You? Find out at Renewable Energy Workshops This Weekend!

Update 16:04 CST: Postponed! With the nasty ice and snow coming this weekend, organizers have decided to wait for another weekend to ask our speakers and interested audiences to brave the highways and talk about our energy future. (See? Environmental activists are perfectly reasonable! ;-) ) When we reschedule, Madville Times readers will be nearly the first to know!

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The South Dakota Legislature is responding favorably to the Public Utilities Commission's Small Renewable Energy Initiative. Perfect timing for a series of renewable energy discussions taking place this weekend here in East River. Dakota Rural Action, Plains Justice, and the Center for Rural Affairs are hosting three public fora on how South Dakota can increase local ownership of renewable energy.

Note: these programs aren't just some eco-green singalong about saving the planet. As more communities (and our PUC) are realizing, renewable energy is about the green we all agree is good: money for local economies. As scheduled speaker Duane Ninneman says, "University studies have shown that local ownership of wind energy provides several times the economic benefits to local communities that outside corporate ownership does."

Want to learn more about how your community can take more control of its energy and economic future? Pick a program and come participate!

• Brookings: Friday, January 22, 6 p.m. Rotunda A on the SDSU campus. Speakers:
  
  • Duane Ninneman, Sage Research and Consulting
    
  • Paul Blackburn, Plains Justice
    
  • Pat Spears, Intertribal Council on Utility Policy
    
• Sioux Falls: Saturday, January 23, 1 p.m., Oak View Library, 3700 E. 3rd Street. Speakers:
  
  • Robert Byrnes, Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems
    
  • Paul Blackburn, Plains Justice
    
• Yankton: Saturday, January 23, 6 p.m., G.A.R. Hall Art Gallery, 508 Douglas.
  Speakers:
  
  • Robert Byrnes, Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems
    
  • Paul Blackburn, Plains Justice

I'm part of the committee that has organized these programs (and three more coming later this winter!). I'm excited that more people around South Dakota will have the chance to have conversations with these experts and with each other about the eco-green and econ-green benefits renewable energy can have at the local level.

Poll: Madison Needs More Groceries

The latest Madville Times poll says that, among you eager readers, a second grocery store should be Madison's main retailer recruiting priority.

Question: What sort of new retail store does Madison need most?

clothing/shoes	16 (16%)
grocery	38 (38%)
Wal-Mart/big discounter	26 (26%)
sports/outdoors	8 (8%)
movies/videos/games	4 (4%)
other	6 (6%)

Total votes: 98
Poll conducted 2010.01.13–19

Discussion about this poll has been lively. As some readers have suggested, the main conclusion here could be that if you're an entrepreneur and you want to make money in Madison, a grocery store is your best bet.

Madison had two grocery stores until 2004. The second store, the old Chuck's/FoodPride, failed to keep up with the updates and expansion at Spies/Jubilee/Sunshine, and appeared to lose in the competition for Madison's grocery dollar. But Chuck's/FoodPride had drawn enough of the market to survive for decades. It didn't close until Dan Roeman, owner of both grocery stores, decided to consolidate his operations.

A second grocery store may not be the easiest route to local entrepreneurial success. Dan Bohl observes that Madison shoppers can get groceries at six stores in Madison. We can also get darn good local meat at Jack's Meat Store and even the pawn shop. But I get the impression local shoppers aren't looking for another store where they can pick up a few specials. They're looking for a big one-stop grocery store where they can get everything they need for a week's eating and for Christmas dinner.

Folks miss the old Jack and Jill, and if Campbell Supply decided to sell the building and let someone reopen a grocery there, it might make a go. But the brief life of Maria's Mexican Grocery indicates shoppers are looking for something bigger, a new store on a scale that might fit in that big, inviting gap between Lewis and Montgomery Furniture. For an entrepreneur, a whole new building of that size, designed to compete head-on with Sunshine, is a lot of risky overhead.

Still, the big risk of a big grocery may be the hopeful new retailers best option in Madison. Consider that the second-most chosen option in the poll was a Wal-Mart or other big-box discounter. Specialty stores didn't register as highly as I thought they might. Maybe the closing of so many specialty shops over the last twenty years—Burg's Shoes, Glen's bike shop, every women's clothing shop, even J.C. Penney's—has created such pessimism that Madison shoppers don't think anything but a big store can survive here.

I'm still short on capital, so I'm going to leave it to other entrepreneurs to decide what risk they want to take here in Madison. But I'm happy to provide some data to help you brave business folks decide where to place your bets. Good luck! And stay tuned... more local market research to come!

SB 71: Kloucek, Dems Fight for Small-Town Drivers License Stations

Kloucek Pokes at Executive Branch

Senator Frank Kloucek (D-19/Scotland) is on the job for small towns. After South Dakota's executive branch closed 15 small-town drivers licensing stations, he's proposing Senate Bill 71 to reopen those stations, not to mention reassert the Legislature's authority on such matters.

Our man Rep. Mitch Fargen (D-8/Flandreau) is on board as a sponsor. So is Sen. Scott Heidepriem (D-13/Sioux Falls). Heidepriem's sponsorship is interesting, given that the small-town closures were done to divert resources for expanding drivers licensing services for his own Sioux Falls constituents.

There is one Republican among the sponsors, but the rest are all Democrats. Once again, Frank Kloucek and the Dems lead the charge as the true defenders of small-town South Dakota.

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Related: Senator Kloucek is also sponsoring SB 72, which adds an English language requirement to drivers license exams.

But here's a real kicker: Kloucek's SB 73 would provide funding for six full-time interpreters drivers license station interpreters, two each for Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Aberdeen. Where does he find the funding for these interpreters? By cutting six FTE's from the FY2010 appropriation for the Office of the Governor.

HB 1087: Counties Get Unlimited Fine/Sentence Power... and Ex Post Facto Laws?

Now that the Democrats are no longer in charge in Washington, maybe the Glenn Beck club can turn their attention back to state politics, where the real battle against big government is.

Of interest: HB 1087, more questionable legislation from Rep. Mike Verchio and his West River colleagues (all GOP except for Sen. Maher). If I'm reading this bill right, HB 1087 expands the power of county governments in two remarkable ways:

1. HB 1087 eliminates the current maximum fine ($500) and jail time (30 days) counties can impose for violations of their ordinances. This amendment sets no new maximum.
2. HB 1087 allows "retrospective application" of county ordinances if non-municipal county residents face an "imminent threat" to health and/or safety. In other words, ex post facto laws: the county can change the law and come arrest you for doing something that was perfectly legal when you did it.

Now I don't imagine Lake County is going to start imposing life sentences for violating building permits. But there may be some naughty behavior on which counties need to be able to turn some tighter screws.

But I'm at a loss for coming up with a jutification for granting counties ex post facto power. The closest I can come: suppose Hyperion builds its refinery, and then the county commissioners see it really does turn the county into a barren, smog-ridden hell. They pass new refinery siting regulations, retroactively revoke Hyperion's permit, charge them a billion dollars to reinstate... but no. I can't justify busting anyone, not even the corporate raiders at Hyperion, for committing an act that was perfectly legal when they committed it.

Sponsors Verchio, Schmidt, and Kopp have been known to run with the "Citizens for Liberty" crowd. CFL is all about limited government. HB 1087 removes limits on government. What do Verchio et al. stand for?

Lange to Offer Corporate Income Tax Bill

Democratic candidate for governor Ron Volesky advocated it yesterday on Dakota Midday; my neighbor Rep. Gerry Lange (D-8/Madison) is getting ready to submit it again to the state legislature: a corporate income tax!

The argument is simple: we have a structural deficit. We have national corporations like Wal-Mart and Menards that pay that tax in almost every other state in which they do business. Those corporations take our dollars out of our state to pay taxes in other states. Why not get a piece of the action and keep more of our money here in South Dakota?

And as you all gin up your arguments that taxes kill business (taxes actually help business), remember: if you pay a state corporate income tax, I think you get to deduct that on your federal tax return.

Assertive Women and Blogs: More of Both, Please!

If you're a regular blog reader, look at your subscription list. Whom do you read every week? And how many of those blogs are written by women?

I just checked my Google Reader: male authors outnumber females roughly 2 to 1.

The question of why women don't appear to participate in the blogosphere as much as men arose when Dr. Schaff and I appeared on South Dakota Public Radio a couple years ago. It continues to occur to me as I look at what I read in the South Dakota blogosphere, what's available to read, and what I see in my comment box: generally more guys than gals.

I've hypothesized that women just aren't as interested in what often feels like the verbal equivalent of marking trees (while mocking dead-tree journalism... mix that metaphor!).

But danah boyd, one my favorite smart bloggers (Joe Bartmann likes her, too!), suggests a sexual double standard may push women out of the often assertive push and shove of blog discourse:

Amidst the questions of women's assertiveness, we must also call into questions our interpretations of the messages they put forward. Cuz many women are immediately labeled "bitch" the moment they speak with the kind of assertiveness that would be considered average for men. And that double standard also sucks. If I'm honest with myself, I've definitely gone out of my way to look young and cute and fuzzy and lovable in order to avoid that label. And to smile even when I don't feel like smiling. Because, in many environments, if I look as serious as I feel, my message does not get across. Of course, this can also be a costly signal because plenty of other folks have dismissed me for being young. I've found that it's a sin to be young in academia while it's a sin to be a serious woman in the tech industry. Needless to say, my identity development is mighty confused [danah boyd, "whose voice do you hear? gender issues and success," apophenia, 2010.01.19].

boyd notes that she has always been assertive with her opinions, and has "never deflated them with "I may be wrong but I think...'" (the same German-Norwegian-Lutheran self-deprecation I tell my speech students to avoid). Everyone should aspire to boyd's confidence, but we need to make room for that confidence in civil discourse by not branding women as arrogant just for speaking the same way men do.

Read boyd, read the Clay Shirky article that got her thinking, then tell me—unapologetically—what you think.

SB 65: No New License Plates!

A million here, a million there... pretty soon, you've balanced the budget!

Governor Rounds has proposed what looks like a reasonable idea for saving a million bucks. In State Senate Bill 65, he has requested that we skip redesigning our license plates this year and stick with our current plates for another five-year cycle. Skipping the redesign frees up $1,000,000, which the Governor wants to transfer to the prison industries revolving fund.

The only people who might be disappointed by this budget move are license-plate collectors... and while I'm no aficionado, even they might not be so bummed. These flat plastic plates just don't seem as kitschy-cool as good old raised-character metal plates.

But hey: if Governor Rounds can find a million-dollar savings that hurts no one, where else in the budget might we find some savings by making do with what we have?

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Update 2010.01.21 11:06 CST: SD-DMV director Deb Hillmer tells Bob Mercer this measure will give counties more money for road and bridge work, since the state won't have to deduct money from license fees to pay for new plates. (Mercer also corrects a mistake on timeframe he wouldn't have made if he had read this post first! ;-) )

SB 24: Russell Olson Votes for Big Government in Education

Hey! It's my first Russ Olson Raspberry of the 2010 Legislative session! Whoo-hoo!

Republicans hate big government... except when they can use it to push around the people they don't trust. State Senator Russell Olson (R-8/Madison) proves this point with his vote in committee today for Senate Bill 24. This measure allows Pierre to establish standards, timeframes, and even a recommended form for teacher evaluations. SB 24 also creates a more complicated teacher licensing system.

Lake County's favorite Republican had a perfect opportunity to stand against the creeping crud of centralized government control. Senator Olson could have made a real stand for local control. He could have said, "Hey, those principals and superintendents are good people! I bought them donuts during the last campaign! I trust them to properly evaluate their teachers."

Instead, he voted right along with Democrats Sandy Jerstad and Ben Nesselhuf to expand Pierre's control of education.

Where is the brave Tea Party candidate who will challenge Senator Olson for his state senate seat and fight for real limited government?

Donald Moeller Shows Death Penalty Costs Too Much

...So Does Risk to Innocents

A couple weeks ago, I posted on the American Law Institute's withdrawal of the death penalty from its model penal code. KELO's Don Jorgensen follows up with a conversation with State Senator Sandy Jerstad and lawyer Scott Abdallah about the cost of the death penalty.

Senator Jerstad agrees with me that capital punishment is bad budget policy as well as bad moral policy. Jorgensen reports that Donald Moeller, who's been on South Dakota's death row for nearly two decades, has cost us $1.5 million. Mr. Abdallah, who prosecuted Moeller at his second trial and defends the death penalty, says housing inmates can cost $20K to $30K. Hmmm... by those numbers, if we'd just skipped the death penalty and thrown Moeller in the deepest hole in the pen... 20 years, $30K... that would be $600,000. By Abdallah's numbers, Donald Moeller would have to live for 50 years to rack up the imprisonment costs that we've spent in 20 years trying to kill him.

But Abdallah is ready to concede the cost argument and still argue for capital punishment: "If the death penalty deters one, just one innocent human life in South Dakota, the value of that certainly out weighs the cost," he tells Jorgensen.

I'm not sure my Republican friends would like that "spare no expense for innocent life" argument applied to the health care debate (we don't care if people die from lack of insurance; we can't raise taxes!).

The follow-up question Don Jorgensen should have asked was, "But what if capital punishment kills just one innocent person?" We will likely never have evidence that the death penalty stopped a particular crime. We may find evidence that a prisoner we have killed is innocent. However, even if Abdallah were right about deterrence and I (and the American Law Institute) were right about flawed death sentences, which would you rather have on your hands: a sin of omission (Joe Criminal kills an innocent man because the state didn't threaten execution) or a sin of commission (the state executes an innocent man)?

The death penalty has financial and moral costs that we should not bear. Perhaps Senator Jerstad will favor us with a bill to repeal SDCL Chapter 23A-27A.

R. Blake Curd Can't Tell Time: SHS Live at 3 Mountain, 4 Central

Dr. R. Blake Curd once again proves he's in such a rush to issue press releases and score political points that he doesn't have time to check his facts. Dr. R. Blake Curd tries to turn Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin's public appearance in a Mount Blogmore online chat this afternoon into fodder for his conservative shouters.

Unfortunately, he gets the time wrong. Had Dr. R. Blake Curd taken the time to read the simple announcement from Mount Blogmore, he would have seen SHS will be live online this afternoon at 3 p.m. Mountain, 4 p.m. Central.

I hope Dr. R. Blake Curd tells time better at the doctor's office....

Thank a Farmer... for Bringing Federal Dollars to South Dakota

Over at South Dakota Magazine, editor Bernie Hunhoff goes all "Harper's Index" on us and posts a list of South Dakota's rankings in various categories. One number that stands out: South Dakota ranks fourth in government payments per farm—$10,162.

That tidbit fits with the maps in this Iowa State University study which shows, based on 1990s data, an overlap between the states with highest per-farm income and farm employment and higher levels of government support.

So thank a farmer... for helping maintain South Dakota's status as a welfare state. And next time you're at a Tea Party, be sure to ask the fellas in the tri-corner hats if getting rid of all that dirty money from Uncle Sam includes eliminating the farm subsidies on which South Dakota agriculture survives.

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Update: But let's not paint all farmers with the welfare-queen brush. The 2007 Family Farm Report from the USDA Economic Research Service notes that the a majority of farms (61%) get no government help... and a disproportionate share of the farms that do are big operations raising traditional commodities.

Madison Retail: What Do We Need? Vote Now!

Don't forget, the Madville Times poll on local retail needs is open for your vote until breakfast time tomorrow. Madison shoppers, whether you live here or drive here, if you haven't posted your vote, do so now! Tell your friends and shopping pals, get those votes in!

We'll discuss the results tomorrow and forward the results to our Chamber and the ever-diligent LAIC.