South Dakota public employment Mecca

For all the talk of small government and local control South Dakota is driven by public sector employment. Conservation and forestry workers are the state's most distinctive jobs.

Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota rely on the extractive industries while Colorado and New Mexico economies are driven by science. Read more here.

Colonel Gentry Bosworth, the new commander of Ellsworth Air Force Base is getting heat from higher-ups as the Federal Aviation Administration reviews the final environmental impact of the expansion of a bomber range.

"I understand that there's still some contention about the Powder River Training Complex," he said. "And the bottom line at Ellsworth here is we're committed to being good neighbors and partners to the community as a whole, in South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming -- everybody that's affected." [KELO teevee]

South Dakota's lieutenant governor seems to be voicing his support for cannabis:

South Dakota is home to people of many different backgrounds, and we need to work to continue advancing medicines that could help all of our state’s residents. It is important that we all spread the word about the need for diversity enrollment in clinical trials and the value and benefits of increased participation by underrepresented communities. [op-ed, Lt. Governor Matt Michels]

Missouri is the next state to explore legal cannabis.

Of course the Farmers Union and Farm Bureau are on opposite sides of pipeline regulations.

Lakota elders were honored for their contributions to preserving their language.

An Arizona company is preparing to refine diesel fuel from ponderosa pine salvage.

A Black Hills cave hidden from white people for over a decade could reveal secrets of human-induced climate disruptions.

Self-reliance or moral hazard?

And a recent study by researchers at Columbia University suggests that federally subsidized crop insurance allows farmers to put less effort into protecting crops. After heat waves, yields of insured corn and soybean crops were significantly lower than yields of uninsured crops. [Boston Globe]

Yankton is hosting the World Archery Youth Championships: Press & Dakotan.

Speaking of global warming Rapid City is preparing to remember the Flood of 1972 while flooding inundates Black Hills communities and Pactola Reservoir is at record levels.

After a successful prescribed burn of invasive grasses on the Fort Pierre National Grassland, the Forest Service and other agencies will conduct a second fire Monday if conditions allow.

Nutcase South Dakota legislator, Betty Olson supports the Koch-funded American Lands Council which seeks to seize federal lands for GOP donors in red states. Wyoming's earth rapers in the legislature are studying it as is Idaho.