Broadcaster Press 3 December 11, 2018 www.broadcasteronline.com Progress In Adjacent State Students Offered Transparency South Dakota Tuition Advantage By Gov. Dennis Daugaard As Americans, we are privileged to live in a free society where we can elect our own leaders. Democracy only works, however, when government is transparent and open about its operations, so that the people can vote based on good information. When I ran for governor eight years ago, I promised to be open and transparent. It is an easy promise to make as a candidate, but it takes real work to carry out once in office. Looking back today, I am proud of the progress we have made. Shortly after taking office, I changed state policies to make more economic development information public, including invitation lists for the Governor’s Hunt. Governor Rounds had created open.sd.gov as a state portal for financial information, and we added even more information to that site. The following year, the attorney general and I convened an Open Government Task Force to reevaluate state laws. Governor Rounds had signed legislation creating a “presumption of openness” in state records, and in the years that followed, we found ways to provide even more information. I was pleased to sign several pieces of legislation from that task force. Of course, open government is about much more than the law. A meeting can be open, but if you can’t get there, or you can’t find out what happened, it isn’t open to you. A record can be public, but if you can’t find it, it isn’t open to you. Much of my emphasis over these past years hasn’t been to change the law – it has been to take meetings and records which are legally open, and make them open to the public. How have we done that? We have made open.sd.gov better than ever before. We have made it a central portal for information about state government, and we have linked from it to other state government sites. At the suggestion of a newspaper reporter, we created rules.sd.gov. For the last twenty years, our state legislature has had an excellent, easy-to-use website to follow the legislature and track legislation. There had been no similar system to track proposed administrative rules, and so we created one. At my request, we also created a central portal for boards and commissions. I found, personally, that it was sometimes difficult to find basic information about state boards and commissions. When are they meeting? Where are their minutes? Who is on the board? So in 2015, we created the boards and commissions portal. This is a central portal for all state boards and commissions. You can find meeting dates, minutes, and membership information. You can also find their board packets and financial statements. In 2017, I proposed legislation that makes use of this online portal mandatory for boards and commissions, under the law. I want to be sure that, even when I leave office, boards continue to make their information accessible. Another aspect of that portal is internet streaming of meetings. I was very pleased that public broadcasting launched SD.net, which works hand-in-hand with the portal and makes streamed meetings easy to find. I know members of the media appreciate the ability to cover these meetings through streaming, and it makes it easier for the public and the press to listen to these open meetings. Openness isn’t always easy. Sometimes other values come into play – privacy of individuals, security, law enforcement, or government efficiency are all competing values. Sometimes the government and the news media can disagree about how to balance these interests. For that reason, I was particularly honored earlier this year to accept the “Eagle Award” from the South Dakota Newspaper Association on behalf of the many state employees who have worked to make these improvements. The work still isn’t done. It will never be done. Governor Rounds made important improvements and I’ve tried to build upon them. I know Governor-elect Noem has ideas for doing even more. As South Dakotans, we can all be proud that we are having the right conversation and heading in the right direction. Adjacent State Students Offered South Dakota Tuition Advantage ABERDEEN, S.D. – New students from adjacent states will soon experience the South Dakota Advantage, a tuition program that state public universities will offer, starting next summer, to new freshmen and new transfer students from six surrounding states. The South Dakota Board of Regents adopted the new tuition policy in action taken Wednesday at its meeting on the campus of Northern State University. “Our goal is to grow enrollments, meet South Dakota’s workforce needs, and bring additional financial resources to our universities and the state,” said Regents President Kevin Schieffer. “Our data show 30 percent of non-resident students stay in South Dakota to pursue a career after graduation. This is an important demographic for us to engage.” The adjacent state tuition program, to be called the South Dakota Advantage, offers new freshmen students and new transfer students from Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Colorado a tuition rate equivalent to the resident undergraduate rate set at each South Dakota public university. Minnesota is not part of the new program since the state of South Dakota Detention Math By Daris Howard The math teacher was trying to teach about solving story problems using variables, but no one was listening to her because Dean was too busy making fun of the problem. “. . . and does anyone ever ask why Janet had forty watermelons? No, they just . . .” “Dean,” the teacher said sternly, “I’m trying to teach a lesson here. And do you know why I can’t?” “Because you don’t know the material?” Dean replied with a smirk. Dean soon found himself sitting in detention waiting for the principal. When the principal came out of his office, he looked at Dean and sighed. “Here it is the first week of school, and isn’t this already the second time this week, Dean?” “Third,” Dean replied. “But who’s counting? I’m sure not. I can’t seem to get anywhere with numbers.” “Mrs. Sanderson says that is because you tell too many stories,” the principal said. “Well, maybe if I understood what the X she was talking about, she would know Y,” Dean replied. Dean laughed at his joke, but a person has to see the variables X and Y written to know for sure why it’s funny. Yet the principal seemed to catch it and even laughed. “Dean,” the principal said, “you’re a smart boy. There’s no reason you should be having this much trouble in math.” “I guess it’s just that the teacher and I are not connecting,” Dean said. They talked for a while longer, and then the bell rang. “Head to your next class,” the principal said. “And try to not make my office your permanent residence.” The next day when Dean walked into math class, he was late. He had to do chores and missed the bus. The teacher was not allowed to mark a student late if they rode the bus and the bus was late, so she asked, “Dean, did you ride the bus?” “Nope,” Dean said. “I rode a camel.” When the principal walked out of his office and saw Dean sitting there, he sighed. “Class only just started, Dean. How could you be here already?” “The teacher asked me to find her X, so I told her if her X left her, she should find out Y and try to move on with her life, because her X probably wasn’t coming back.” ABERDEEN, S.D. – New students from adjacent states will soon experience the South Dakota Advantage, a tuition program that state public universities will offer, starting next summer, to new freshmen and new transfer students from six surrounding states. The South Dakota Board of Regents adopted the new tuition policy in action taken Wednesday at its meeting on the campus of Northern State University. “Our goal is to grow enrollments, meet South Dakota’s workforce needs, and bring additional financial resources to our universities and the state,” said Regents President Kevin Schieffer. “Our data show 30 percent of non-resident students stay in South Dakota to pursue a career after graduation. This is an important demographic for us to engage.” The adjacent state tuition program, to be called the South Dakota Advantage, offers new freshmen students and new transfer students from Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Colorado a tuition rate equivalent to the resident undergraduate rate set at each South Dakota public university. Minnesota is not part of the new program since the state of South Dakota has a long-standing tuition reciprocity agreement with Minnesota. Several adjacent-state tuition plans already exist in South Dakota between certain universities and states. For example, Black Hills State University currently offers a rate equivalent to in-state tuition to new students from Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. At the University of South Dakota, adjacent state arrangements are in place for new students from Iowa and Nebraska. “Given the number of arrangements already in place between universities and neighboring states, the move to a surrounding state program for all of our universities seemed logical,” said Paul B. Beran, the regent’s executive director and CEO. “This provides an opportunity for the regents’ system and its campuses to effectively market in all of the surrounding states, with the goal to grow our enrollments and build a stronger workforce for South Dakota.” The program is effective with the academic term beginning summer 2019. At its meeting next April, the Board of Regents will set tuition 1201 W. Main, Vermillion • 605.624.9971 rates for the coming year. Join Us For... has a long-standing tuition reciprocity agreement with Minnesota. Several adjacent-state tuition plans already exist in South Dakota between certain universities and states. For example, Black Hills State University currently offers a rate equivalent to in-state tuition to new students from Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. At the University of South Dakota, adjacent state arrangements are in place for new students from Iowa and Nebraska. “Given the number of arrangements already in place between universities and neighboring states, the move to a surrounding state program for all of our universities seemed logical,” said Paul B. Beran, the regent’s executive director and CEO. “This provides an opportunity for the regents’ system and its campuses to effectively market in all of the surrounding states, with the goal to grow our enrollments and build a stronger workforce for South Dakota.” The program is effective with the academic term beginning summer 2019. At its meeting next April, the Board of Regents will set tuition rates for the coming year. Bunyan’s Bar & Grill As Dean grinned, the principal shook his head, but Dean saw the hint of a smile. The principal went around behind his desk, sat down, and turned to face Dean. “So, how do we get you to learn math, Dean?” Dean shook his head. “Putting letters into equations makes no sense to me.” “How about I try something different?” the principal said. “Suppose I gave you some coins, and told you that if you could show restraint and not spend them for a year, I would give you the same amount of coins again plus add a bonus one. A year later, you hadn’t spent the coins, so I did as I promised, bringing your total to seven. How many coins did I give you originally?” “Three,” Dean said. “Right,” the principal said. “How did you get it?” “Well,” Dean said, “I thought if I gave the one coin back, I’d still have six. That would be two times the original. So six divided by two is three.” “Perfect,” the principal said. “The coins are just the variable x, given meaning.” “Wow!” Dean replied. “You make it so understandable. Why don’t you teach math?” “I used to,” the principal replied, “but nobody likes a math teacher. Believe it or not, I found people dislike me less as a principal.” It would be nice to say that Dean did well in his math class after that, but he didn’t. But he did start doing well in math in the principal’s office. He ended up there almost every day and passed the math exams with the highest grades, later becoming an engineer. Dean always said that detention math was the best math class he ever had with the best teacher. Massage for Health 216 West Main Street • Vermillion, SD Give the gift of health this holiday season. Stop in for your Gift Certificates today! Open Monday thru Friday For appointments, call 624-6732 Lois Hazen, LMT www.loismassages.com Get ready for the Holidays with these Great Specials! $ 99 Fresh Iowa Chops or Choice Hand Tied Prime Rib Roast 7 $ 39 1 $ 99 Family Pack Chops Select Hand Tied Prime Rib Roast 6 $ 59 $ 95 Fresh Whole Boneless Pork Loins 1 Fresh West Coast Oysters 39 Fresh Boneless Chicken Breasts $139 Fresh Jumbo Drumsticks .79¢ . .. .................. lb. lb. ........................................... .... lb. ........ 1/2 Gal. lb. lb. ....................... lb. 2020 27th Street • Sioux City, IA 712.258.5992 www.laurencesmeat.com Grain Bin Dealer 5th Annual... Birthday & Christmas Party Saturday, December 22nd Serving Munchies Starting at 8pm Everyone Welcome! IRRIGATION SALES & SERVICE Irrigation PVC, Wire Installed, Well Drilling Domestic & Irrigation Pump Installation WATERLINE & ELECTRIC TRENCHING Tree & Concrete Removal, Site Clearing, & Ditch Trenching ALL TYPES OF DIRT WORK - FREE ESTIMATES Bobcats • Crane • Dozers • Excavators • Grader Grain Trailer • Scrapers • Side Dumps • Trenchers Vermillion, SD (605)670-9567 Hartington, NE (402)254-2568 Licensed in SD, NE & IA