Regarding Hwy. 385 work, gerrymandering

Greetings. So, how did you survive the 85th annual bike rally? Marcia and my piece of heaven is alongside Hwy. 385. We have bike traffic at least until 11 p.m., and then it starts up again about one hour after the Buffalo Chip closes down, so, say 3 p.m. the bikes go roaring by. After the rally, we locals, as well as visitors, take Hwy. 385 to go north from Three Forks to Deadwood. A lot of times I stop on the way. Now the Sugar Shack is rebuilt after a fire, and its bigger and better than before.

I’m never sure if Hwy. 385 is open or closed or has pilot cars along the way. 

Here is the construction schedule on Hwy. 385 from Three Forks gas station north. Starting Tuesday, Aug. 12, Hwy. 385 from Sheridan Lake Road to Be Still Road closes to through traffic. On Tuesday, Sept. 2, Hwy. 385 from Sheridan Lake Road to Be Still Road opens to traffic with pilot cars. Monday, Oct. 20, Hwy 385 from the south end of Pactola Dam to Taylor Ranch Road closes to through traffic.

Friday, March 6, Hwy. 385 from the south end of Pactola Dam to Taylor Ranch Road opens to through traffic with pilot cars.

March through July 2026 Construction Phase Two (Pactola dam to Calumet Road) continues. August 2026 construction pauses for the 86th Sturgis rally.

Like the saying goes, “In South Dakota, we have only two seasons—winter and road construction.”

Have you been watching the national news regarding the Texas legislature? I’m sure I’m more attuned to their situation because I am a legislator, so to get you up to speed, here is a thumbnail sketch of what’s going on.

In the Texas House of Representatives, the democrats left the state to go to Chicago or Boston so the House wouldn’t have a quorum for redistricting.

In South Dakota we redistrict in the legislature the session after the 10-year census is completed. We just went through redistricting in the 2021 session. The difference between South Dakota and Texas is we have just one district for our one federal congressional seat/district and our two senators for the state. Our population is less than one million, so we’re short for a second congressional seat. The last we had was from 1966-82.

What is going on in Texas is it has 38 districts/seats. The republican-led legislature is redrawing the congressional boundaries trying to gain five more districts that would go from a democrat congress person to a republican congressperson. They are doing this by calling a special session.

Why is it called gerrymandering? That goes back to 1812 in Massachusetts where they redrew state districts and the new district had the shape of a salamander, a lizard such as a gecko.

A couple of things don’t add up in Texas. They have session every other year. Now here’s the amazing part: the legislators only get paid $7,200 per year, or $600 per month. How in the world can they flee either by vehicle or airplane and stay in Chicago or Boston on $600 a month?

To make it even more devastating financially, they are being fined $500 per day for every day they are absent. Do you think someone is financing this fiasco? It would be interesting to see who or whom.

In closing, when gerrymandering is done, it takes the voters away from picking their politicians and reverses it to where politicians pick their voters. Does that make sense? Is it right? Gerrymandering. That’s it. From now on let’s just call it what it is—salamandering!