Representative Kristi Noem (R-SD) sent a letter to President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Labor flagging a proposed change to regulations impacting children who work on family farms across the United States. Specifically, Noem is concerned with the changes to the definition of a family farm within this new regulation and further restrictions for hiring youth. The proposed rule could seriously undermine traditional family agriculture if the exemption for family farms does not include those partly owned by close relatives.

Trees infested by mountain pine beetles produce lumber that has the same structural integrity and durability as wood from non-infested trees, according to South Dakota forestry officials. Lumber from trees infested with pine beetles often carries a blue stain is created by a fungus, but it will not spread to other lumber. The lumber does not decay any faster than un-stained wood and will not cause mold.

John Quinn was one of the featured speakers at the Dec. 10 meeting of the South Dakota Tea Party Alliance. Quinn spoke about the American economy, what makes it great, and what holds it back. He also spoke about economic theory and how the political state of affairs affects the strength of our economy. This is the complete video of his presentation.

Zynga was already the leading Facebook platform developer when it launched Farmville in June 2009. The idea was not original, but Zynga implemented it better and advertised it more than other companies. A year later Farmville had 80 million users, with most people coming back every day and representing about 10% of the Facebook population. If we celebrated our efforts at financial responsibility as much as we do Farmville, the savings rate in this country would rise significantly.

We stand at a critical crossroads today in clarifying the role of government in our free country. President Obama was correct to say in Osawatomie, Kansas recently that “this is the defining issue of our time.” Ours is no longer, in our president’s take on things, the land of the free and the home of the brave. America now is the land of the envious and the home of the victim.

Recent national rankings released by three different organizations prove that South Dakota has one of the best business environments and among the strongest economic policies in the nation. For the seventh year in a row, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council named South Dakota as the No. 1 state in the nation for friendliness toward small businesses.