Dakota Today

Keystone pipeline pipe from India pumping stations from Germany

Just a single link here.  Keystone oil pipeline is promoted as a huge economic benefit for US and Canada, but a good bit of the materials involved such as steel pipe come from India and now a bit of news indicating those pumping stations in the Dakotas and other central states will come from Germany.

Reuters: Siemens wins Keystone XL pump, electrical contract

** Stay tuned even if the hum of pumps and motors sounding like "Let the Oil Rivers Run Free" is not really music to your ears--- Doug Wiken

** "Biggest Loser in Winner, SD" music from the "Spanish Channel"

I am a bit surprised with my rather jaundiced view toward ethnic specialness and the illegal alien invasion from Mexico, that anybody from the "Spanish Channel" would decide to push a song and video via Dakota Today.  But, give a listen to "The Biggest Loser in Winner, SD" anyway.  Below is a copy of the e-mail I received with a link to the video and music.

---

Hi Douglas,
I was stumbling through blogs and came upon yours. I like how you are not afraid to state your views!
 I know it's a little off track of your normal beat, but I wrote a song about the rancher in Winner, SD who won all that money last week. Here's a video if you care to post it:
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64oRxEPMZjY
        "Biggest Loser" video and Music
If you do, we'll be sure to give your blog a prominent link on our website as well.
 Thanks! Jaime
 -- The Spanish Channel 617-429-1812 myspace.com/TheSpanishChannel
 sonicbids.com/TheSpanishChannel reverbnation.com/TheSpanishChannel
twitter.com/SpanishChannel

---

Winner, SD. has more biggest losers than this guy could ever imagine and Neal Wanless is really from Mission, SD and bought the winning ticket at Winner Ampride instead of Lil Feller, but guess there has to be a bit of poetic license allowed for singers and guitarists. Anyway, if you actually even sort of enjoyed the music, let the singer Jaime Garamella know.
 *** Stay tuned even if this isn't the day that the music died --- Doug Wiken

*** The Powerball suspense ends in Winner, SD

Local Winner breathless boosters of suspense and speculation kept the PowerBall bouncing in the media for a few days.  I got an e-mail indicating that an Arlen Wanless of Mission, SD had won.  But neither the writer nor I knew for sure, so readers here got only the initials A.W. in a previous post. I guess we were about half right.  Turns out the winner was Neil Wanless of Mission, SD. apparently the son of Arlan Wanless.  AP story and KeloLand stories are in links below.

AP says Neil Wanless of Mission is Powerball Winner

Keloland says Ampride gets $50,000

The local Winner officials' hopes for the swimming pool payoff and the school problem payoff solution aren't likely to be fulfilled if my guess is correct.

My only contact with Arlan Wanless was (if my memory is correct) his buying from me  some old batteries for scrap a year or two ago..maybe his son Neil was with him then...I don't really know for sure.

 Whatever, congratulations to the Wanless family and I hope their  good luck continues and the winnings bring happiness and success to you and future generations.

***Stay tuned, but not for more news on the PowerBall Winner in Winner, SD (NOT) -- Doug Wiken

**Sioux Falls Boondoggle or Buy a third of GM?

A recent Argus had a story on a proposal for a new arena, event center, or whatever (they are looking for a name) that would cost an estimated $150 Million and seat 15,000. Last night I heard the following:

That's substantially higher than the market value of about $450 million that GM was worth based on Friday's closing stock price of just 75 cents a share. But the last time GM was worth as much as $25 billion was late 2007. What's GM worth? - May. 29, 2009 (2 June 2009) http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/29/news/companies/gm_worth/?postversion=2009053008 http://snipurl.com/jaf35

Money Link to above GM value estimate
If Sioux Falls has a population of 100,000, that arena boondoggle idea amounts to about $1500 per person or $6000 for a family of four in Sioux Falls. I don't think most families will ever get that kind of return out of an expensive arena.

 Let's call it Sioux Falls Super or SFS. The SFS might benefit a few realtors and a handful of speculators and a few show promoters. Bring in a spectacle show and most of the money paid for tickets leaves Sioux Falls and South Dakota as if on jet plane or actually on one. Residents of Sioux Falls might be better off owning 1/3 of GM than owning all of a big boondoggle entertainment facility.

Perhaps a few South Dakota cities and the state should get together and buy up all the 75 cent per share GM stock available.  Then start moving the car manufacturing business to South Dakota.

 If a big new Arena or SFS is such a hot idea, let it be done privately. A facility that expensive will never make any sense in Sioux Falls. Let the promotors use their own money instead of milking the public in and out of Sioux Falls for a grand public boondoggle

**Stay tuned just for the hell of it--- Doug Wiken

** Maybe the other half of the Powerball Suspense leaked out??

In response to my previous posts on the Winner winning Powerball winner ticket sold in Winner, SD...note all the "winners" in there..just like papers and other media, I just can't resist that now trite combination...anyway..the response suggests that the actual winner lives in the Mission, SD area.

May recently have had serious money problems and is also alleged to raise a fine crop of prairie dogs which must keep hunters happy.  Of course, I don't know how anybody knows all that  and why somebody does, or why it has leaked out now.

But, the manager of Lil' Feller has been quoted in newspapers as guessing a prairie dog hunter was involved.  That might be close even if this isn't horseshoes.

But just in case, remember the initials "A.W. "  And those happen to be mine as well if we add a D in front, but it ain't me and I'm not from Mission, SD.

Isn't speculation and beating a barely breathing horse just wonderful when real news is short?

(EDIT)Just noticed that the Mitchell Daily Republic this morning (May 30, 2009) has a story on the Powerball buzz around Mission.

**Stay tuned, maybe the big Winner secret is actually a big Mission, SD secret--Doug Wiken

**Half the Suspense is gone for PowerBall Jackpot sold at Winner, SD

Pssst...Looks like about half the suspense about the Powerball Jackpot Winner at Winner, SD has leaked out of the bag in the quote below found at Mitchell Daily Republic. Of course, the official did not indicate if call came from Winner, SD or Timbuktu.

"The person provided details that only the winner would know, so we're reasonably certain it was the real deal," said Norm Lingle, executive director of the Lottery. "We talked about a number of decisions that need to be made … but, for now, we'll wait to hear back when the winner is ready to come forward and claim the prize."

http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/33537/

Link to full Mitchell Daily Republic Story--May require Login

**Stay tuned even if your best advice to the Winner is find the Bush, Inc Economic Advisors--- Doug Wiken

**Don't toss a Powerball ticket if you bought it in Winner, SD

Big news for Winner, SD today has been the announcement that somebody bought a winning Powerball ticket here at either Ampride or Lil Feller.  So, if you have a ticket in your pocket, you better compare it with the winning numbers below.  The lottery machines at Ampride and Lil Feller were loaded up this morning with all paper supplies as well and hauled off somewhere by the State of South Dakota.

The PowerBall link below should always work for finding current winning numbers.  Image above was captured there.
Powerball Winning Numbers

Of course, if Dakota Today happens to prevent you from tossing the winning ticket, I would sure appreciate a few thousand out of that $100 or $200 Million.  The few people I talked to about this were really wondering if it was somebody from Winner, SD or South Dakota who bought the ticket because a lot of the tickets were purchased by Memorial Day visitors and prairie dog hunters, truckers, etc.  Most were hoping it was bought by a Winnerite.  I suspect anybody with that kind of money would likely quickly find a better place to live however.

The other news in Winner today was the presence of KELO TV and KSFY TV media satellite trucks looking for the PowerBall Winner..in vain apparently.

 

By this afternoon, the KELO truck was camped alongside Ampride alternately known as old Farmers Coop, Country Pride, Ampride, etc. The KSFY truck was setting across a highway and south of Lil Feller. Will be interesting to see

which bet wins. Well, as of 5:30PM,

KELO TV news is reporting that the person holding the winning lotto ticket has still not turned up with it.

All the above, because it is here mostly because it is kind of local Winner, SD news, does not mean I favor states or other governments raising money via lotteries. It is another indication of politician's political cowardice in honest taxing and honest spending.

A tiny bit of irony on the news paper shelf right inside the door at Lil' Feller, the Mitchell Daily Republic cover story was titled something like, "Lottery Sales (or Revenue) Down".

CBS News has a story mentioning Craig Schaeffer Of Lil' Feller and also the Ampride store manager Ulmer:

CBS NEWS notes WINNER IN WINNER, SD

**Stay tuned even if you never care what the expected value of a bet is really worth or whether or not promoted by cowardly politicians-- Doug Wiken

"" WIred Magazine has a SD-connected story

The current WIRED magazine has a story on Marc Weber Tobias.  In the print magazine version, about 3 pages in, South Dakota is mentioned with Tobias's connections with a former governor and attorney general.  No names, but both might be the same...one Bill Janklow.

WIRED Magazine on the Keymasters

Interesting story. KELO-TV several years ago had a story on Tobias picking some variety of lock with the inside of a ball point pen if my memory is correct.

May also have been a story or two about a big house he purchased. WIRED doesn't mention Tobias in connection with South Dakota wired schools or state radio, but my probably faulty memory suggests that there was some news there that never got the investigation it deserved...but then my memory might have him and them confused with those and that..or something and maybe the Prison Industries don't get monitored by the South Dakota Legislature.

 Tobias may also have had something to do with the Brown murder case investigation here in Winner, SD years ago. Ironic that SDPTV has been showing video about the first real "Wild Bill" right now. Wikipedia can't get much of a topic going on Bill Janklow (not that Wild Bill) without having much of it either mindlessly laudatory or libelous and then deleted. Nothing there. But, Google did find this:

Court Reports on the Winner, SD Brown Murder case trials and retrials, etc.

Fill in the details if your memory is better than mine. WIRED story is interesting reading no matter what are the connections to South Dakota.

 

**Stay tuned even if South Dakotans on Oprah aren't my kind of news-- Doug Wiken

** Leslee Unruh says she doesn't like federal strings

The Sunday May 24, 2009 ARGUS LEADER has an article titled "Abstinence-only focus loses favor, money". The article discusses the decline in funding expected under Obama budget proposals which consider the general ineffectiveness of Abstinence-Only as a government policy. Perhaps indisputable is the argument that a personal policy of abstinence prevents unwanted pregnancy, but as a public policy, it is a failure.

Anyway, in the article, Leslie Unruh is quoted as saying something like, "I've never liked federal money, " she said, decrying the restrictions attached to such grants. "If I had my way, I'd want no federal money going for this." I do wonder why anybody in the press ever takes anything Leslie Unruh says seriously without doing some checking.

 In fact, Leslie Unruh has pursued federal funding like a nymphomaniac whore pursuing funding for an unlimited source of Viagra for her clients. Note the information below in a long story on Leslie Unruh, the twice-married, once-divorced messenger of virtue for others and master exploiter of federal funds.

Her timing could not have been better. After years of watching hundreds of millions of government dollars flow to such ideological rivals as Planned Parenthood, abstinence advocates could finally drink deep from the federal-funding trough themselves. In 1996, Rector's abstinence-education program was inserted into the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (aka the Welfare Reform Act); Republicans argued that reducing teen pregnancy would help fight poverty, and President Clinton signed the bill into law. Fifty million dollars a year for five years was earmarked for education programs that would, as the act specified, teach "the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity," and that "all sex outside marriage is likely to have harmful physical and psychological consequences."

In 2000, Congress authorized another multimillion-dollar abstinence-education initiative, Community-Based Abstinence Education grants. "I'm pretty certain President Clinton did not understand what would happen [when he signed abstinence-only education into law]," Unruh crowed to a reporter in 2002. In fact, funding has more than quadrupled in the United States.; all told, more than $1 billion in federal money has been spent on domestic abstinence education in the past 12 years. This windfall is exclusively for school programs that teach only about abstinence. By 2005, government contributions and contracts accounted for 71 percent -- about $1 million -- of Abstinence Clearinghouse's annual revenue.

That same year, government grants accounted for 41 percent ($241,839) of the revenue at Unruh's crisis pregnancy center. Today, Abstinence Clearinghouse affiliates -- among them hundreds of crisis pregnancy centers -- pay Unruh and her staff to show them how to secure federal grants and then how to negotiate the government's review process. And today, says the women's rights advocacy group Legal Momentum, about 12 percent of all abstinence education funds go to crisis pregnancy centers or groups closely affiliated with them.

Leslee Unruh's Facts of Life - Page 6 - MORE Magazine (25 May 2009) http://www.more.com/2050/2814-leslee-unruh-s-facts-of-life/6 http://snipurl.com/iqtpx

Lesliee Unruh's Facts of Life

Other links suggest that Unruh has pulled out something like $154,000 per year out of such programs to enhance her own lifestyle. She has been part of the distribution of the same federal funds she decries in her sanctimonious sour-grapes,  pious GOP current cant.

 A Google search for -- leslee unruh federal funding -- is all it takes to get more than you want to know about the woman with friends in former high places.
 Barack Obama and Abstinence-Only
Anti-Abortion site decries federal cuts
 Lesliee Unruh on Bristol Palin... a truth bridge to nowhere
Leslee Unruh explains how to suck in money from the gullible..(pdf on fundraising) Probably actually some useful information here for any group on any side of any issue. The kind of stuff that Pat Powers used to put regularly into SDWC.
The Free Republic Wingnut site on Leslee and Funding
Todd Epp on the tactics of Unruh and her friends

Unruh and the Laws she and friends ignore

Well, those are a few items for those who might want to think twice about assigning any credibility to anything Leslee Unruh says. A charitable observer might suggest she was a bit disingenuous, an uncharitable observer might suggest her name should be changed to "LesLIE Unruh".

EDIT at 6PM May 25,2009:  It appears that the ARGUS should be happy to see that a number of people still try to find news buried in the ads there and also that South Dakota has more than a few bloggers who like to read newspapers since "Leslie's Lies" caught the attention of a number of them and was conspicuously ignored by a few: Those who also noticed include:

Dakota Women note "Leslie never really wanted all the money"

Cory Heidelberger noted "Leslie's Latest Lies"

SD Humanist asks, "Say What, Leslie?"

 Stay tuned even if you too are too old to ever need an abortion and long past the point of needing abstinence-only "education"--- Doug Wiken

**Hot today and old SDPB TV channels go cold

Some thermometers in Winner, SD today showed 100 degrees fahrenheit, but the official temp high at Winner Regional Airport (doesn't that sound impressive) was 93 degrees.  That is a rather sudden change in the hot direction after some unseasonably cool temperatures.  Sure made the air in Winner have the sweet aroma of Lilac blossoms.

Meanwhile, SDPB TV after giving notices that I forgot until this evening had switched from the temporary digital channels to the new channels which I assume will be more permanent from now on. Nope, the towers did not collapse out here in the boondocks, all that was actually required was a "New Scan" with our digital converters or if you have a newer digital TV, of your TV channels if you have one that tunes in the new digital off-air signals.

By now most of you pulling TV from off-air antennas are aware that SDPB-TV has three digital channels: one is essentially same as the old analog channel content, Channel two is the "World Channel" with mostly documentary and news content, and channel three which is the "Create" channel, with some good do-it-yourself and cooking  info and some near terminally silly cooking and decorating fluff.  There is some duplication which can be nice if you miss a good program.  I have noticed that the extra program information is often incomplete however.  Don't expect to find any extra info on a Charlie Rose program for example and check later in the morning for some information may turnup late.

Interesting technology, but some surprises in the mix if you think it is going to work without good antennas, amplifiers and splitters if you hope to use your old analog TVs with a digital to analog converter.  There may also be some tuners in the digital TVs which really don't work as well as the converters for analog TVs.  That seems a bit strange, but I tried a small Sansui "digital-ready" TV which would only produce "weak signal" messages no matter how good the antenna system.

**Stay tuned for perhaps more tuning information..ironically-- Doug Wiken