My dog and I step out of the house into darkness. Gray on the horizon tells of the fast-coming sunrise as we go on an early morning walk. The small town that I gratefully call home is a close-knit farming and ranching community. Sounds, smells, sights, and the general feel of things attest to this in the early morning.

Semi-trucks and some cars can be heard way over on the highway. The rumble of tractors or other farm equipment is a faint whisper, maybe from miles away. What is that faint aroma on the distant breeze? I take a deep breath. Yeah, somebody must have driven over a skunk.

From a country-girl raising hogs and writing news for a local newspaper, airplane pilot Marsha Sumpter of Kadoka has her plate full, and, it doesn’t look like retirement is coming anytime soon.

She was a legal secretary and also worked for a psychiatrist in Rapid City before moving back to the family farm 25 miles north of Philip (Fairchild Enterprises) where she was born and raised. Sumpter, a 20-year pork producer, served on the executive board and was vice president for a term.

It was a quiet meeting, Tuesday November 1, as the Haakon County Commissioners followed up with action on issues from previous months.

The commissioners decided to not have county employees fill out time cards. Commissioner Rita O’Connell reported that the person she spoken to in regards to time cards stated that they were a good policy to have, but he did not say if they were required or not. Auditor Shirley Dennis informed the board that she found out elected officials do not have to submit time cards.

by Bill Kunkle

Special to The Pioneer Review

Those who look at western South Dakota as beer-drinking, pickup driving, country music-listening liberals have a lot to learn. Oh, good folks here do that and they add color to the region, but it’s much more than that today.

When a September evening cools this land of valleys and hills, what’s most beautiful are the shadows’ cool fingers stretched across flutes of parched brown.

by Bill Kunkle

Special to The Pioneer Review

Those who look at western South Dakota as beer-drinking, pickup driving, country music-listening liberals have a lot to learn. Oh, good folks here do that and they add color to the region, but it’s much more than that today.

When a September evening cools this land of valleys and hills, what’s most beautiful are the shadows’ cool fingers stretched across flutes of parched brown.