Governor Rhoden makes stops in Midland and Philip along his "Open for Opportunity” Tour

On Thursday, July 10th, Governor Larry Rhoden took his Open for Opportunity tour to Philip, Wall, and Midland, including 1880 Town – South Dakota's oldest town! While in Philip, the Governor toured Scotchman Industries and the Pioneer Review newspaper. 
Brad Heltzel, General Manager of Scotchman Industries, welcomed Governor Rhoden and his crew to the Scotchman facility. "We enjoyed the visit and are always excited to show our operation off to those who show an interest in us," said Heltzel. "Governor Rhoden's base is as a western South Dakota rancher, and he has a great deal of interest in welding and the operation of the machines we build here. We gave him a firsthand look at how some of the machines work and are utilized," stated Heltzel. 
Governor Rhoden and First Wife, Sandy, along with Josie Harms, Press Secretary; Brad Otten, Director of External Affairs; Bill Even, Commissioner of Economic Development; and Ian Fury, Director of Communications, visited Ravellette Publications, Inc. and the Pioneer Review newspaper office. "We had a great visit with the Governor," said Don Ravellette. "We visited about the concerns the newspaper industry has with the United States Postal Service and the decisions made in Washington DC and New York. Those decisions have directly influenced the poor delivery of First Class mail and Second Class newspaper mail delivery," noted Ravellette. "The trip a first class letter or weekly newspaper mailed from Philip, even to short distances of 30 miles or less, is averaging eight days or more. We see it on a daily basis, and it affects our customers immensely." Sandy Rhoden has written columns in the Faith Independent (a former newspaper of Ravellette Publications) for years and has a special interest in the rural newspapers of South Dakota.