American News, Aberdeen, July 24
Mobridge engages area artist, to great success
Mobridge has found a friend in John Lopez, an artist who lives in nearby Lemmon.
And Lopez has created another reason why tourists should continue to make their way to Mobridge: a stunning scrap metal sculpture.
With another one on its way.
Lopez helped his neighboring community of Mobridge recently dedicate his “Walleye Up” sculpture, which depicts a cowboy riding a walleye. The piece is near the walking path south of Main Street by the Missouri River.
It is breath-taking, especially in full sun when light is bouncing off the different types of scrap metal Lopez used to create the $45,000 piece.
And then with the river as a backdrop, and just the genius of a cowboy riding a broncing walleye like a rodeo horse or bull . It is pure South Dakota. A must see, just like Chamberlain’s recently installed 50-foot, stainless steel “Dignity” statute, depicting a Native American woman draped in a star quilt.
Saws, different types of chains, cutting blades from farm equipment, wires, hooks, wheels and other metals comprise the sculpture in Mobridge. Looking close up at the materials Lopez used in the 8-foot high piece of art is fascinating.
Not to mention captivating.
Just like “Dignity,” Mobridge now has an instant South Dakota landmark. Something that really highlights what the community already had in its walleye fishing, cowboy heritage and friendly folks.
Mobridge will use Lopez again in creating a $50,000 Tiger for its school. The Mobridge-Pollock School uses the nickname Tigers for its athletic teams.
Lopez creates his three-dimensional sculptures from bronze cast pieces and found objects. He has history in Aberdeen, being a former Northern State student.
Lopez animal forms give the impression of mechanical workings, gears and Industrial Revolution robotics - quintessential to the sub-genre art form that is steampunk.
“The steampunk community has really latched onto my style of work,” said Lopez, whose art can be seen not only across South Dakota but the nation. “I call it hybrid metal art. Because there’s parts I sculpt in clay and then cast in bronze.”
We applaud the good folks of Mobridge for your forward thinking.
Aberdeen once talked about creating a sculpture walk using the talents of former resident and another world-famous artist in Ben Victor.
Aberdeen should follow Mobridge’s lead.
Wouldn’t it be great to have an Aberdeen sculpture park featuring works from Lopez, Victor and some of the many other talented artists from this area?
We think it would be a game-changer for a community like Aberdeen that highly values arts, tourists and uniqueness.
___
Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan, Yankton, July 24
Life jackets: debate and the numbers
The terrible duck-boat tragedy near Branson, Missouri, late last week appears to have been a perfect storm (so to speak) of bad decisions, bad weather and badly designed (in terms of safety) watercraft. Our hearts ache for the 17 people who died, and the survivors who must now cope with the aftermath.
This incident has also spawned a couple of debates, one of which could be directly applied to what we see on the waters of Lewis & Clark Lake literally every summer day.
According to reports, none of the 17 victims (or the 14 survivors for that matter) wore life jackets on this lake cruise. Also, survivors said they were told about the life jackets but were advised that they wouldn’t need them. As the lake waters grew choppy in the face of an oncoming storm, some survivors said they tried to retrieve a jacket from overhead compartments, but the jackets were, as one person put it, “stuck” and couldn’t be pulled out.
Oddly enough, this has become a small flashpoint for discussion, as some debate whether, in this situation, life jackets would have helped or would have made things worse.
A duck boat is an enclosed, amphibious vehicle, and since it has a canopy or hood, life jackets are not always recommended because of the fear that a person wearing such a device might float toward the top of the canopy and become trapped by the rising water.
Gary Haupt, an ex-captain of the former Missouri Water Patrol, discussed the differing views in a USA Today story,
“I think you could ask 10 experts and they’d all have different opinions,” he said. “There’s the possibility that life jackets could cause more loss of life but, then at the same time, they could help someone get to the surface if they make it out and actually save their life.”
Nevertheless, life jackets should be viewed as important, even essential, gear when boating on the water - whether that craft is a motor boat or a kayak.
A study by the U.S. Coast Guard of 2016 boating accident statistics nationwide showed there were 701 deaths and 2,903 injuries as a result of recreational boating accidents. In the cases in which the cause of death was known, 80 percent of the deaths were caused by drownings, and 83 percent of those were not wearing a life jacket.
Water recreation is growing in popularity. In particular, kayaking has become omnipresent in this region, with the lightweight craft being deployed everywhere. Wearing the jackets is considered a must, and for good reason.
Their use may be open to debate at times, but Chicago lawyer Robert Clifford, who specializes in maritime cases, was quite clear on the matter when he was interviewed for the aforementioned USA Today story.
“You can certainly conjure up scenarios where a life jacket could have trapped someone but the same can be said with seat belts in cars,” he said. “At the end of the day, on average, you’re better off and your survival rate is better if you’re wearing a life vest.”
That applies to anyone who ventures on the water. The safe thing to do is to wear a life jacket. It’s also statistically the smart thing to do.
The best rule of thumb is to play it safe and smart.
___
Rapid City Journal, Rapid City, July 24
Rapid City gets a windfall for its landfill
GOOD: One million dollars is still a lot of money for Rapid City’s government. So, it was good news last week when the city announced it had received that amount of money from the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Solid Waste Management Program. The money will be used to help cover the cost of the city’s $4.5 million expansion at the landfill and extend its life another eight to 10 years. It also means the city saved $1 million for other Solid Waste Department projects. It’s a good thing, too. The city says it now gets 450 tons of trash a day at the landfill, which means another expansion might be coming sooner rather than later.
BAD: Among the basic tenets of journalism are the questions who, what, where, when and why. They are particularly relevant when it concerns an upcoming event. In South Dakota - as in all states - elected bodies and government boards and commissions are required by law to notify the public of upcoming meetings, which includes the precise location down to the meeting room. Yet, the Board of Regents whose president is a former U.S. attorney and whose attorney is a former judge failed to do this for a meeting that featured interviews of candidates for the important position of executive director. In addition, the Regents failed to post the meeting agenda on the appropriate state government website in what appears to be a clear violation of the Open Meetings Law. But not everyone was left in the dark. Various stakeholders attended the meeting held at an undisclosed Sioux Falls hotel. Whether the public was intentionally shielded from the meeting or not, this sends the wrong message to those who expect state officials to obey laws intended to inspire public trust in government.
UGLY: The intent of the initiative-and-referendum process is to give voters an opportunity to have their voices heard, otherwise often referred to as direct democracy. Recently, a South Dakota circuit court judge rejected a number of signatures for a ballot measure that would have prohibited the state from paying more than the Department of Veteran Affairs for prescription drugs. In a statement after the ballot measure was rejected, a spokeswoman for South Dakotans Against the Deceptive Rx Ballot Issue - which challenged the signatures - said the ballot measure was “about deception from the beginning” and was “funded with contributions from an out-of-state health care organization.” What she failed to mention, however, is that her organization received $100,000 from Bristol-Myers Squibb, which has its headquarters in Illinois, and $205,000 from Novo Nordisk, which has its headquarters in Denmark.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.