In South Dakota Linda Daugaard gets enough to eat

South Dakota's First Lady Linda Daugaard is not wasting away, no siree.

While South Dakota obesity rates have been steadily increasing since 2011, the state Department of Health is optimistic newly implemented programs will help curb the trend. And obesity has shown to increase the likelihood of certain chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cancers (endometrial, breast and colon) and other health problems. The state obesity rate was 28.1 percent in 2011 and took a slight jump to 29.9 percent in 2013. [Mitchell Daily Republic]

In so many ways Mrs. Daugaard is emblematic of the pork South Dakota receives from the federal government. Her husband, Governor Denny Daugaard is reliant on DC to balance his budget and in so doing doles cash to his Future Fund donors while the prison/industrial complex and school to prison pipeline bring federal cash to the state.

And with two years left in office, Daugaard is hoping one particular federal program is expanded to improve his state's ag economy that's floundering through a tough stretch of low commodity prices. "Yes, there will be some producers who took on too much risk during the high price years of recent past, but most farmers have gone through lots of rollercoaster economies, so they have experience with low profitability years," Daugaard said. [Daugaard hoping for expanded CRP acres]

A Feeding America survey shows 105,880 people in South Dakota are food insecure. Homelessness in the state is rampant; drunk driving, meth use and teen binge drinking are off the charts. The state's governor is the sole judge on South Dakota's death panel.

Martin Luther King Day is a day to give back and the School of Mines is hosting a food drive benefiting Feeding South Dakota. The drop off locations include: Prairie Market, Fresh Start Neighborhood Market, both Rapid City Safeway locations, Save-A-Lot, both Walmart locations. [KNBN teevee]

Oxfam International is reporting that the eight richest people have more accumulated wealth than the poorest four billion people on Earth.

Under Denny Daugaard South Dakota has never been so food insecure but keeping Linda Daugaard looking like Carlos Slim is just the way the state likes it.

#sdleg #sodak pic.twitter.com/W5d0MlH9oZ

— interested party (@larry_kurtz) January 16, 2017