Out-of-State Painter Gets Governor Portrait Contract

Detail, official portrait of South Dakota Governor M. Michael Rounds, by Richard R. Miller, 2010

After announcing his proposal to make South Dakota education even poorer, outgoing Governor M. Michael Rounds strolled down the hall of our august State Capitol to unveil his official portrait.

The press release on the portrait says the painter, Richard R. Miller "has a deep connection to South Dakota." He painted the portraits of Governors George S. Mickelson and Walter Dale Miller... and that's about it. Richard Miller was born in Canada. He emigrated to our side of the Great Lakes in 1957 and now maintains studios in Michigan and Tennessee. He has also lived in New York City.

No tax dollars were harmed in the creation of this painting... but the staff and friends who donated saw their South Dakota dollars leave the local economy.

We do get a nice painting in return. Artist Miller provided some sneak peaks of the portrait on his website back in June. It's very lifelike, and very blue. But did we have to include the little lapel pin?

Visit Miller's gallery, and you'll see the picture is an improvement over the Mickelson portrait, but you can't beat the portrait of good old Walter Dale, out north of the Capitol in his big white hat under that big blue Pierre sky. (Notice, speech students, that Governor Miller doesn't have his hands fig-leaf-clasped in front of himself and thus looks more forceful.) Now that's a South Dakota portrait. The artist must have drawn extra inspiration from the name.

Guest Column: Axe New Gym, Spend $10M on MHS Needs, Not Wants

When I toured my alma mater last week, Madison High School principal Sharon Knowlton said more than once that the proposed $16.9-million new gym and renovation project is the only way to accomplish all of the architectural changes the high school needs.

Orland organic farmer Charlie Johnson begs to differ. Below is his commentary, which appeared in last night's print MDL:

First of all, let us provide a few facts before the discussion. A bond issuance is collateralized by the taxable value of real estate within the taxing entity. There is no deferment for cases of unemployment, poor crop years, declining income, sour economy, etc. The bond commitment is for 25 years. Most home mortgages taken out today do not extend out that far. A $16.9 Million bond issue averages about 48,000 per MHS student (16.9 million /350). For every registered voter in Madison school district, the average commitment is $2600 (16.9 million/6500).

By estimation, property tax levies will increase 11.3% (2/11.3) on bare agricultural land in Orland Township. The increase just on school levy will be 26.5% (2/9.1). For an owner occupied home in Madison the increase in levies will be 9.7% (2/20.6). The increase in school levy will be 21.9% (2/9.1). These percentages could change slightly in future years as property valuations fluctuate and tax requests by all entities change. It would be an accurate statement to say that property tax increases will be anywhere from 8% to 20%-perhaps more. The impact will vary from agricultural land to commercial to residential. The same can be expected for property located within Madison versus property in one of the townships. Keep in mind also the capital outlay fund and levy (3 mills) is committed in large part for 12 more years to pay for the recently built elementary school.

A former friend and county commissioner, Bud Giles, on many occasions pointed out that there is a difference between wants and needs. He stressed also there was importance to know the difference. Elected officials have the responsibility to aggressively address the needs while prioritizing wants as time and resources become available. Like most projects, the MHS facility project is a combination of wants and needs. We need to provide safety and function of the school building by improving lighting, ventilation, wiring, plumbing, and other upgrades. We want to improve programs by relocating and expanding rooms, adding additions, and building a new gym. There is no excuse for failing to take care of needs. There is nothing wrong inherently wrong in bringing discussion to a well planned, prioritized list of wants. Reality is that you have the money. Never should accumulating wants be placed on top of needs in an attempt to justify the latter.

Within this sobering commentary, I offer a 4 part recommendation to the MHS facility project.

1. $16.9 million is too high and unrealistic. Cap the bond issue at $10 million. Even at that figure, we are doubling up on debt for the school district. Is it prudent for the district to implement a financial step that most households and businesses would not consider? If the facility project carries on a higher figure, it must do so with private money or other sources.
2. Regardless of how the bond issue is decided, take the responsible steps to provide safety and function of the building by taking care of the upgrades that are needed. Many of the voters who opposed the spectator gym in 2007 felt the need for improvements at MHS was more important.
3. In the area of wants, consider a fine arts annex to provide more room for band and chorus. Do not destroy a perfectly good wooden floor gym as a spiraling attempt to justify a new spectator gym. Adult recreation programs use the present gym space extensively. Providing practice times for all sports at all grade levels, boys and girls is a premium and plus for proper programming. Eliminating a fantastic gym floor is wrong regardless of whether a spectator gym is built or not.
4. The spectator gym is a definite want and should be funded with other sources. Supporters of a spectator gym may want to consider a partnership with the city of Madison to develop a vision of a true events center that will attract and cater to events throughout the year.

Regardless of the outcome of the bond issue, the sad commentary is that education as a whole will continue to suffer as funding levels fail to provide enough money for adequate salaries and resources for our educators. We are asking an 18th century tax system to provide for 21st century education and it is failing miserably. If only persons eligible under the times in the 18th century were allowed to vote on the facility project bond issue, the bond issue in Madison would be decided by whites who were male and property owners. How about that for progress?

Sincerely,
Charlie Johnson
Madison,SD

MHS Puts New Gym Plans on Facebook

The Madison Central School District is finally taking my advice and adopting interactive Web tools to market its message. The district has put up a Facebook page on the "Facility Project."

Obviously Darin Namken is keeping his vow not to get involved with any new push for a new gym: if he were involved, he'd have gotten his Bulldog Media employees to storm up a fancier name than "Facility Project." Building a Bulldog Future!... Jump for the Gym!

The site includes the bullet list of costs you see in the image at right (click to enlarge!). $2.9 million for the gym, $2.5 million for fine arts. We see there in plain numbers the traditional misprioritization of putting athletics over the arts. We appear to be spending more on a new gym we don't need than on any other item in the project. Boy, we could make those other improvements a lot better if we just skipped the gym and diverted those funds to a nicer theater, better science equipment, a dedicated debate room (we used to have one, until the mid 1990s, when computers took over)....

My neighbor Charlie Johnson does some quick math: $16.9 million for 360 high school students... that's just under $47,000 per student. Make of that figure what you will.

The architect drawings do show the new classrooms the project will bring. Boy, all those new rooms would make it even easier to host a big event like a debate tournament. Hmm....

...Meanwhile, West Central is spending $4 million on a new 2100-seat gym. As my esteemed MHS literature teacher and classicist Martin Connor said, you can tell a society's greatest priorities by looking for its largest buildings. Our grand temples to athletics affirm the jockocracy.

New Gym? How About New Fine Arts Building...

...and an Events Center at 34 and 81?

There's nothing like the prospect of raising folks' property taxes by hundreds of dollars to get the creative juices flowing. I've proposed my alternative construction and school schedule to save Madison Central School District taxpayers millions of dollars and avoid the need to build a new high school gym. My neighbor Gerry Lange sees philanthropy as a better funding source than a tax hike in a shaky economy.

Now neighbor Charlie Johnson offers another alternative that strikes my fancy: demonstrate our educational priorities by skipping the new gym and building a fine arts annex:

In the whole scheme of things, why don’t we just build a brand new fine arts annex to the west side of the high at a fraction of the cost of the plan proposed. Then leave the present PE gym in the high school as is with some updates to the locker rooms. The way it is now we are using music and band as pawns to tear out gym space so we can justify 8 million plus for alumni basketball seating.

Charlie hits the nail on the head. Our school district has concocted a deliberately complicated architectural shell game, removing an entirely practical phys ed and athletic practice space, shoehorning a complex of classrooms and performance space into it, and thus making it seem that we just have to build another sports space. This is semi-blackmail: give us our new gym, or we'll say you killed the new facilities for music and theater!

If we're determined to build new space, why not keep the old high school gym for the purpose it serves and build new arts space from scratch to better meet our students educational needs?

Charlie isn't wholly against building a new gym. He just thinks our school tax dollars ought to focus on schooling, not varsity sports and bigger bleachers. He thinks an events center would be a fine development for Madison, but that such a facility ought to be a joint project of the city, college, and private donors, with the school district chipping in to rent the space for occasional big games. There's even a great spot for such an event center, right on the corner of Highways 81 and 34.

Think of it: instead of tucking a big events facility away in northeast Madison, in the middle of a residential neighborhood where basketball parking and traffic clogs neighborhood streets, we could have a spectacular events center right on the highway, where everyone who comes through Madison will see it. Now there's a sports facility I could get behind.

Events Center Team Lacks Input from Event Planners

It looks like Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether has a case of LAIC-itis. This malady, familiar to all residents of Madison and Lake County, causes public officials to pursue their own agenda for economic development without involving the citizens who would actually drive that economic development.

I base my diagnosis on the roster of folks Mayor Huether picked to help choose a design firm for the events center the mayor wants to build:

[from Ben Dunsmoor, "Downtown Group, Mayor Clash at Meeting," KELOLand.com, 2010.11.08] The team includes five men from from the different schools in town and the Sioux Falls Sports Authority:

• Mark Lee: University Center
• Willie Sanchez: University of Sioux Falls
• Frank Hughes: Augustana College
• Jeff Kreiter: Sioux Falls School District
• Mike Sullivan: Sioux Falls Sports Authority

It also includes these five department heads from the City of Sioux Falls:

• Mike Cooper: Director of Planning and Building Services
• Darrin Smith: Director of Community Development
• Don Kearney: Director of Parks and Recreation
• Tom Huber: Acting Director of Finance
• Mark Cotter: Director of Public Works

Good to see my Lake Herman neighbor Mark Lee on the list!

Then again, maybe it's not. Mark Lee is a good guy, but he probably won't be directly responsible for bringing any events to the new events center. The campus he oversees offers part-time classes for part-time students but, as far as I know, little in the way of entertainment or social programs that would require a big events center. Likewise for Augie and USF: they have their own performance centers for their campus activities. The school district and the sports authority might run some big events in a new facility; the five city employees on the team almost certainly will not.

Forget the fretting the Mayor Huether stacked the team with people he can boss around. The real problem here is the absence of convention planners. Where are the folks who host the Big Boys Toy Show, the farm and craft shows, and the other vendors who hawk their wares at the big weekend extravanganzas? Where are the political parties that might bring conventions and political rallies? Where are the artists and community theater folks who might organize arts festivals at the events center? Where are the people who will actually put this building to work?

Granted, the folks on the above team are just picking the design firm, not doing the design themselves. But let's hope the design firm will look beyond the team that gives it this plum job and seek input from all stakeholders.

Local Conversations about Arts and Everything Else

A couple of local conversation starters:

The Madison Area Arts Council somehow finagles space on the Lake Area Improvement Corporation website to talk about the arts as economic development. Is this a sign the LAIC is ready to open its ears to creative economic development? Or is this just more window dressing from an economic development corporation determined to maintain the status quo and tell artists (as the moneyed powers behind the ill-designed Dakota Prairie Playhouse did) that "We don't need your kind"?

Of course, the LAIC article, part of its all-new all-digital communications, doesn't include a comment section for the public. The LAIC should take a cue from the South Dakota State Extension Service, which is hosting community conversations in 80 towns around North and South Dakota throughout November.

The nearest Projects and Possibilities session will take place the Howard 4-H Building on Wednesday, November 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Three hours is a hefty conversation... and a tough block of time to schedule. Middle of the day is a tough time to catch working folks; the crowd will likely skew older. Let's hope Howard High School lets students out to participate in this conversation as a civics field trip.

Community participants will upload their notes on their meetings to the Citizing website for more public discussion. Notes from the Aberdeen and Redfield meetings are already online. If you can't make a meeting in your town, you can take the project survey online... but just as you would if you went to a meeting, you have to put your name to your words and sign in via a valid Facebook account. The Extension Service agrees with me: nymity promotes better civil discourse.

James "Doc" Miller Receives SCASD Distinguished Service Award

James "Doc" Miller, recipient of the 2010 SCASD Distinguished Service Award

I confess: I participated in some local hoodwinkery during the past couple weeks. I participated in a secret plot to get Madison High School English teacher James "Doc" Miller out to Spearfish last weekend to receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Speech Communication Association of South Dakota. Mission accomplished: reports from out west say Doc had no idea this award was coming.

This award should be no surprise for anyone who has followed Doc's career. The press release below summarizes a few of his accomplishments.

Permit me to add that Doc Miller means a great deal to me. I participated in seven of his theatre productions at MHS. He taught me sophomore speech and composition. During my brief tenure as a teacher at MHS, Doc provided invaluable mentorship. Doc hired myself and another former student, Toby Uecker, to help him run the Karl E. Mundt Dakota Invitational Oral Interpretation Contest, and when he stepped down from directing that contest, he entrusted that event to us. In every interaction I've had with him, on stage, in the classroom, or at contests, Doc has always exhibited a passion for giving students the opportunity to excel.

Doc Miller is a vital asset to our school district. Here's what his fellow professional have to say:

Long-time educator and stage director James “Doc” Miller was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Speech Communication Association of South Dakota at their annual banquet and business meeting, held September 10 at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center in Spearfish.

A graduate of Northern State University and with a Masters from South Dakota State University, Miller began his teaching career Polo, SD, and joined the Madison community and schools in 1976. While he has had his share of classroom accomplishments, the association’s award focuses on his achievements and contributions in the field of drama.

As theatre director at Madison, Miller helmed nearly 70 productions, many of them for the State One-Act Play competition. Under Miller's direction, Madison HS has garnered over twenty State Festival superior play rankings and numerous individual and ensemble acting awards. As one colleague put it, “Doc Miller has affected more lives, spotlighted more students, created more stars, and if not stars at least more confident students than any of us have a right to wish for.”

A former student applauded Miller’s inclusive program that welcomed every student who wanted to participate. Parents chimed in with praise for Miller, stating that he created a program that enabled students to “grow in their own skills” that “help form a well-rounded individual and that have a surprising amount of relevance to the real world outside of high school.”

In his position as play director, Miller has also served the SDHSAA by serving on various ad hoc committees, chairing numerous Oral Interp and One-Act Play events, and helping run tabulation rooms at state events.

The Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to a deserving member of the Speech Communication Association. Selection is considered from among the membership, and a committee of past recipients nominates and votes on the current honoree. Many of Doc Miller’s colleagues were on hand to shower him with praise for this achievement [SCASD press release, 2010.09.14].

Weekend Reading for Madison's LAIC Board

Hey, Dustin Williams! And Linda Salmonson, Mark Stoller, DeLon Mork, Jerry Johnson, Chris Giles, Karen Lembcke, Doug Knowlton, Jeff Bloom, Mike McDowell, and Floyd Rummel. Yeah, you. All of you. You're the board of directors of the Lake Area Improvement Corporation. You're supposed to be boosting economic development here in Madison and Lake County. Quit reading the boring reports Dwaine Chapel submits. If you want to know how to fix Madison (and that's our shared mission), here are some things you should be reading:

1. Why Rural Communities Need Artists. Mike Knutson brings back some great lessons from the Midwest Rural Assembly. Among those lessons, Knutson points out the importance of the arts to economic development. Art isn't just a couple John Green prints hanging in the lobby. Art is the force that brings visionaries to town and keeps them here to help solve problems.
2. Progressive on Purpose: The Levelland, Texas, Economic Development Corporation has a blog. Their executive director, Dave Quinn, uses it to post local news and photos. He communicates with the public. He invites comments. He takes negative feedback and responds to it in a way that invites more discussion. Dustin Linda, DeLon, et al., your executive director does not do that. Your executive director should.
3. Economic development depends on government. LAIC board, how many of you are Republicans? How many of you are lapping Kristi Noem's talk about how government is too big? Read last night's paper, the story about Kevin Streff's success with Secure Banking Solutions. Highlight the sentences that remind us SBS got its start in the Heartland Technology Center, a project built on tax dollars. SBS's new facility is planned for the tax increment finance district created by the city to use tax dollars to cover the developer's infrastructure costs. Yesterday's MDL article reminds us that SBS has thrived in part thanks to grants from the National Science Foundation and the USDA. SBS's expansion and jobs are great for Madison... and they wouldn't exist if we ran our country according to the anti-government rhetoric of some of your favorite Republicans.
   

Happy reading! The Madville Times is happy to help.

Wanted: Artists to Reimagine Community, Build Future

Somewhat related to my morning comments on walking, parking, and Madison's proposed new gym, here's the Tweet of the Day from the Midwest Rural Assembly happening right now in South Sioux City

Grow more artists, not just corn and athletes. Artists are the ones who reimagine a place, help create the future.

—Becky McCray, rural economic development guru, 2010.08.16

Brookings Summer Arts Festival: Who Needs Parking?

I've mentioned my Madison neighbors' obsession with parking. Whenever I suggest some interesting public event or project, like turning the Masonic temple into a community cultural center, one of the first things Madisonians say is, "Oh, but what about parking? There isn't enough parking!"

To which I say, nuts! Consider the wildly successful Brookings Summer Arts Festival. They expect over 75,000 people to come to Pioneer Park this weekend. There is most certainly not 75,000 visitors' worth of parking in Pioneer Park. Do the BSAF organizers scale back? Heck no! They figure if they offer a quality program, people will find a way to get there. And do visitors stay home?

Heck no!

They just park a half mile down both sides of both lanes of Highway 14 and hoof it. Or a block east of Main Street, which was the closest open spot I could find in town.

Or the free market (in the form of a guy with a cell phone and a four-foot stick) kicks in and offers a solution.

Or folks ride their bikes (a sight like this does my pedaling heart good!). Or they ride the shuttle bus.

As thousands of people will attest, the walk is worth it.

When there are bagpipes, you know you've got a good show.


My daughter liked the dancers.


I liked Sonic Screwdriver, as much for the quality of the music as the irony of a surf band from the prairie.

The Brookings Arts Council raised some money with its face-painting station.

This butterfly blue reflects the prairie sky, not this little one's spirits.

These big windchimes surely got a workout during last night's thunderstorm.

Art certainly doesn't have to be useful.


Ron Colbert does some interesting four-piecers (quadriptychs!).


"Simple Gifts" by Curtis and Loretta on mandocello and harp.


Ecuador Manta plays guitar and pipes. Drop some money in that jar!

The National Children's Study crew from SDSU hosted a craft booth where kids could make ladybug ornaments...

...or something generally resembling a ladybug. Far be it from us to stifle creativity. We also saw a glider towed and released overhead. Gliders fill us with disco fever.

Prairie, lake, elevator, buffalo....

No ugly mugs here!

Alexandra Burg's work may unlock some deep thoughts.


Morris Johnson, folk artist, just makes me laugh out loud... and that's a good thing! Go, crabs! (Note the political symbolism, escaping the red bucket for the cool blue waters of freedom and Democracy! Wahoo!)

Chicken or fish... admit it: there is some South Dakotan in your life who would absolutely love having one of these Morris Johnsons on his or her wall.

Art must always leave room for fun.

Be the happy mullet: dance for the sheer joy of being alive.


It's not a summer festival if someone doesn't start a hacky circle. And the ladies hack in! Set me!

You can always flush out some pheasants at a South Dakota arts festival...

...or more fish (a bit more naturalistic than the Morris Johnson works above)...

...or perhaps a goose in progress.

And then a mix of real and abstract from (I think!) Franklin Arts of Sioux Falls.

The Brookings Summer Arts Festival wraps up today (Sunday) at Pioneer Park in Brookings. Bring your walking shoes and sunblock, and enjoy a grand Sunday afternoon of ourdoor art and music.

White Night in Madison Tonight!

This evening's forecast: south wind 20 mph, temp around 80°F, humid, but clear sky, no thunderstorms in sight. Be glad of that breeze: it'll keep the mosquitoes away at Madison's first White Night event tonight on South Egan at the Brickhouse!

The Madison Area Arts Council has lined up five musical acts to perform from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. There will be artists on the street creating art before your very eyes. (There is something magical about present at creation.) You can sit on the curb, walk by the railroad tracks (watch for trains!), and treat Main Street like your living room.

Come downtown tonight, enjoy a legal beverage, and watch midsummer twilight settle oh-so-slowly over our fair city.

Third Place Nights Opens April 21 at BrickHouse

The Madison Area Arts Council announces date and time for its first Third Place Nights event. Wednesday, April 21, 7–9 p.m., Lake County's creative types will gather at the newly named BrickHouse to paint, sculpt, knit, write, philosophize, and engage in other creative activities.

I'll admit, I tried painting in front of an audience once at Art in the Park. It didn't go well. My creative processes generally require seclusion, an absence of distraction.

But in that setting, I was surrounded mostly by spectators, not fellow creators. Surrounded by a roomful of artists gathered for the same purpose, painters and writers can inspire each other, share and reinforce the creative vibe.

We'll test that out Wednesday, April 21. Come on down, set up your easel, and have at it!

Poet Laureate David Allan Evans in Madison Monday!

Poetry! Manly poetry!

The Madison Area Arts Council is bringing South Dakota poet laureate* David Allan Evans to town on Monday, March 29. Evans will offer a presentation on "Midwestern Themes in Art and Literature." He'll also sign copies of his latest book of poems, This Water, These Rocks. And if you ask really nicely, he might even read a poem or two, like his classic "Pole Vaulter."

Evans himself was a pole vaulter before he was a poet. He attended Augustana College on a full-ride football scholarship. He taught for years at SDSU, teaching writing and poetry to honyockers like me who derived a bit too much mirth from the last line of Maxine Kumin's "Excrement Poem."

Monday night—show starts at 6 p.m. at the Madison Public Library. Be there for some heavy-hitting poetry and intelligent conversation about art, literature, and our land!

*laureate: that's an honored person, not a lasso.

Online Crackerbarrel: Lange on Budget, SDPB, and More!

You ask, Gerry Lange answers! Here are Rep. Lange's responses, unedited and uneditorialized, to the other seven questions submitted in the Madville Times online crackerbarrel:

Question #1, from Michael Black: "All of South Dakota wants to know why the budget was put off until the last couple days of the session. It's the most important job of the legislature yet it seems that it received the least amount of attention. How can you justify weeks of inaction? By devoting more time to the budget could we not come up with a better package in the end?"

Rep. Lange: "The budget process is long and tedious with every agency, department, and university presenting their cases for more resources. Revenue estimates are projected, but never certain. Federal expenditures are especially unpredictable this year. That's why we are spending an extra day next Tuesday for wrap-up and vetoes. There has been 'action' on the budget throughout the session. Some bills have been run, like the one to fund the Homestake Mine experiments. We Democrats prevented the two-thirds majority required for this special bill because we objected to the source of that funding. It will be funded in the general bill, but not from moneys we thought should go to education and health care. Your concern, Mike, is a perennial one. Thanks for asking."

Question #2, from Neal McIntyre: "Why put off the decision on the budget in anticipation of possible bailout by the federal gov't once again? This only makes the state more dependent on the federal gov't. Call the bluff of the federal gov't, streamline our budget, and live within our means."

Rep. Lange: "Similarily, Neal, we agree that delay and dependence on the federal government is not good policy; the alternative, to tax ourselves is considered even worse by the powers that be here in South Dakota. 'Living winthin our means' makes sense for us who grew up with that ethic, but times have changed, I'm afraid, with the credit card and pay-day loan mentality prevelant now."

Question #3, from Steve Jacobsen: "I'm curious about the amendments to cut the budget of South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Do you know which lawmakers introduced these amendments? Why is this such a difficult thing to find out?"

Rep. Lange: "Steve, it should be on record who decided to cut SDPB. Probably happened in the Appropriations Committee or the Governor's office. It has happened before, along with proposed cuts in the Arts Council, but were later recinded. The public has to 'howl' loudly to get our attention. Threatening retaliation in the fall might work, too!"

Question #4, from Linda McIntyre: "Why did no one address no bid contracts?"

Rep. Lange: "Linda, ending 'no-bid' contracts is a key plank in Sen. Heidepriem's platform, endorsed by all of us Dems."

Question #5, from Steven Kant: "I would like to know if the legislature was aware that they would be expected to finance the Sanford Science Lab to the tune of over 5 million dollars while the State and the Federal agencies worked their magic! Seems like a huge amount of money to be allocated while all levels of education are experiencing freezes and cuts."

Rep. Lange: "Steven Kant: I think we were aware of the needs at the Sanford Lab, but, in our view, money should have been no problem. There are plenty of economic development funds available which are constantly revolving as businesses pay back their loans. If we could get our incarceration problem under control, the five million for the new prison in Rapid City would have been better invested in research."

Question #6, from Curtis Price: [see separate post!]

Question #7, from Chris Francis: "The Madison Area Arts Council has been vocal advocates of the Arts, and we've been actively serving our community for well over 40 years, providing for and improving the quality of life for everyone within the Madison Area and beyond. What do you see as the Arts & Cultural needs of the Madison Community, and surrounding communities within your district, and how do you think that this programming should be supported, from the private sector, from the city, or more from the state and federal levels?"

Rep. Lange: "Chris Francis, my belief is that a civilization defines itself by the level of arts it is willing to support. The decision by the Chester school board to teach the violin to fourth graders illustrates what visionary leaders can do for a community. (I've been talking it up trying to get something started here.) Madison, too, is on the cutting edge, but does not get the support it deserves. Enhancing the arts should be the mission of all levels of government, reinforced by private philanthropy, of course. Like Andrew Carnegie said, 'any man who dies rich dies disgraced!' ....something like that. "

Question #8 from Cory Allen Heidelberger: "The Madison Daily Leader reported last week that the proposed budget includes cuts in tech spending for the schools, including the DDN videoconferencing network and the K-12 Data Center. Please shed some light on just what these tech cuts will eliminate and what impacts that will have on the state budget, on local schools, and on DSU (which is involved in managing the k12.sd.us domain and services).

Rep. Lange: "Cory: 'YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!' There'll be a blood bath this fall if all of these vital program are cut...or at least, there ought to be that 'moment of truth' for any politician so myopic as to shift this state into reverse at a time like this!"

New Poll! Name Madison's Arts Center!

The Madison Area Arts Council is conducting a poll to pick a new name for the Community Arts Center. Not that there's anything wrong with "Community Arts Center"—that's the current name and one of the options in the poll, for you lovers of the status quo. But some folks (at least seven, as of my current reading of the poll) think that name sounds a bit generic, and too much like the "Community Center," Madison's wonderfully successful exercise in fitness and socialist job creation.

We used to have the Firehouse Art Gallery; names floating about in the poll are BrickHouse and FreightHouse, but the poll is taking other suggestions. Be creative, be snappy, be contextual! One word is probably better than more, but maybe you can surprise me. Think of a name that will distinguish the facility and fix it in visitors minds.

By the way, notice that the Madison Area Arts Council website is one of the only websites in town actively seeking public participation. Extra kudos for that! Not one of Madison's other "community" websites does that. Boggles me that CommissionSoup/Bulldog Media hasn't figured out how to build a comment section for the city yet.

SDPB Faces Budget Cuts? Let's Hear from the Office

[Warning: Heavily redacted, due to a friend's request and the apparent absence of First Amendment rights for state employees.]

Last night Jim Clark celebrated the ninth anniversary of his program, Jazz Nightly, on South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Today I learn from Mr. Epp [edit] that our legislature may rain on Uncle Jimmo's tenth year by only partially funding our statewide public broadcaster.

Why does this matter? [Permit me to describe] SDPB's community-building function best:

When it comes to creating a culture that is uniquely South Dakota, SDPB is it. Commercial radio and TV are just fountains for national content that rarely includes talent from this part of the country. Shows like "No Cover, No Minimum" showcase regional talent on a statewide broadcast network, for free [words I now claim as my own]

Legislators, SDPB is an investment, not an expense. It is the only broadcast source for classical music and jazz and extended news programming. It is one of the few broadcast media outlets that brings any focus to South Dakota artists and events. And lately, Paul Guggenheimer's noon program been bringing us the best conversations on the dial.

Yes, the Legislature faces a hard task in balancing the state budget. But let's not let them make SDPB an easy target. Let's keep an eye on that budget process and protect one of South Dakota's finest educational and cultural resources.

--------------------
To learn more, go to savesdpb.org.

See also David Montgomery's investigation of the possible cuts at the Capitol.

Square Dancers Coming to Madison Saturday

Ah, who needs a silly old debate contest? Madison's landed a square dance festival!

MDL reports the South Dakota Square Folk and Round Dance Association will hold its Winter Square Dance Festival right here in Madison at the City Armory Saturday, February 20, from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. The dancers have association meetings, then hold an evening dance session starting at 7:30 p.m., featuring Madison's own Don Nugent as caller.

I'll miss the fun, since I will be judging debate in Sioux Falls. But expect big checked-shirted and frilly-skirt crowds at the Dairy Queen and Skippers Saturday!

I'd provide more links... but is anyone surprised that the square dance association does not appear to have a website?

State One-Act Play Festival: Love from Stage and Seats

Our hosts, the Brandon Valley HS Theatre Company, look for love under the Northern lights in Almost, Maine by John Cariani.
Photo Credit: SDPB

I'm in Brandon this weekend, judging the State High School One-Act Play Festival. Aside from at home with my loves, there's no place I'd rather be this weekend.

I've judged twelve Class AA shows so far, four to go today. I've also managed to catch some Class B comedy, including a peppy performance from the Montrose cast and a quirky, crisp, absurdist show from Philip. I'd catch Anne Elisa Hanson Brown's first Madison one-act this noon, but we Class AA judges give critiques while Class A shows happen (alas!).

I've participated in ten State One-Act Festivals: three as an actor under James "Doc" Miller, one as his tech assistant, and five as director at Montrose. My first turn at the State One-Act judges' table is a thrill, a joy, and an honor.

I'm spending the weekend with hundreds of kids performing 45 shows in arguably South Dakota's finest performing arts facility. Some shows are the best theater you will ever see in South Dakota. Some shows are just a bunch of jittery kids doing the best they can with what they have and trying not to fall off the edge of the stage. Some are both. All are treasures.

The State One-Act Festival surrounds us with gifts and giving. The gifts are not just inside the students, the talents and the skills hard-won through practice, practice, practice. The gifts are the shows, the love the performers give to their audience. The gifts are the attention, the witness the kids give as an audience to their peers on the stage. The gift is their desire to come to Brandon this snowy weekend for no nobler purpose (and maybe there is no nobler purpose) than to create art.

Theater is love. Come see some today.

Lauren Pelon, Musical Historian, Performs at DSU Saturday

My friends at the Madison Area Arts Council are providing some free entertainment and education Saturday night. Lauren Pelon, musical historian, plays two millennia worth of musical instruments, from the archlute, cornamuse, hurdy-gurdy, pennywhistles, Kiowa courting flute, to the electric wind instrument and MIDI-pedalboard. (No word on whether she'll be adding laser harp to her repertoire... but she should!)

The Madison Area Arts Council is bringing Ms. Pelon over from Minnesota as part of its ongoing Chautauqua series to brighten and enlighten our lives. Saturday night, January 16, 7 p.m., Tunheim Building at DSU.

Why I Love Interp: Students Ask for Encores

As I'm judging the big George McGovern Invitational Forensics Tournament (follow on Twitter! #mcgovdb8!) in Mitchell this weekend, I recall with pleasure a scene from a Region interp contest in Harrisburg Tuesday that reaffirms my love of high school speech activities.

Region Interp contests can get pretty tense. Kids compete plenty hard at the weekend invitationals, but at those contests, you get to perform several times, and there's always the consoling thought that if we don't win here, we can go back, practice, and take another swing at finals next weekend. At Regions, students get one shot at the stage. The top kids in that one-shot performance go to State; the rest go home, done for the season.

There were two boys from Vermillion who presented a duet parody of Twilight. It was sharply executed and funny, skewering one of the most popular elements of contemporary teen mythos. I got to judge that Duet round, and I ranked the Vermillion boys first, complimenting them on producing a performance that wasn't just a competent interp performance but a real crowd-pleaser, the kind of show that could build buzz at a contest.

Talk about buzz. A couple hours later, I handed in my final ballot for the humor round, grabbed my hat, and headed for the door. In the commons area, I saw a crowd of interp contestants—lots of eager young people in black suits and skirts, a seeming hybrid congregation of Broadway hopefuls and MBAs. They were gathered around the two boys from Vermillion, who were performing their duet again. It wasn't a round; there were none of us adults writing critiques or marking ranks. Kids who'd missed the Duet round (Prose and Oratory happened at the same time) had heard about the Vermillion boys' duet and asked them if they'd perform it again. The Vermillion boys, surely flattered and recognizing a great chance to practice in front of an audience, acceded to popular demand. As I walked by, I saw kids from other schools running over to join the crowd and watch this funny impromptu performance.

Now think about this: when's the last time you went to a football playoff game and saw kids from one team asking the kids who just beat them to demonstrate their flea-flicker again, just for their enjoyment?

I love interp and all the speech events that I judge in South Dakota. I get to see kids making good speeches. More importantly, I get to see kids making connections, sharing their skills, and developing true respect for each other and their talents in the heat of competition.

High school speech contests: still the best way to spend a weekend!