Columns

Berry with his greyhound at his side, gazing over his Badlands ranch.

The Cowboy Governor

June 27, 2011
Charisma and money are the top qualifications for getting elected to high political office these days. Historians wonder whether some of our best leaders of yesteryear would have been able to serve in our YouTube world.

Strawberry Crisp


We have a small strawberry patch behind the South Dakota Magazine office and it seems it is at its peak right now. 

President and Mrs. Coolidge at the Custer State Game Lodge.

The Summer That Made the Hills

June 23, 2011
Of the millions of summers the Black Hills have seen, the summer of 1927 was surely the most eventful – and perhaps cemented the region’s status as the popular tourist attraction that it is today.

Karolevitz: Rose to the Challenge

June 20, 2011
Way back in the 1960s, a bunch of 4-H kids gathered at Pine Acres 4-H Grounds in Yankton for our annual meeting. We enjoyed our moms' potluck casseroles and then some guy with a crewcut got up to speak.

Rhubarb Margaritas


I've heard from several friends that the rhubarb harvest is amazing this year. If you're getting tired of rhubarb tarts and pies, margaritas are a fun way to use up your reserves. This recipe is the perfect blend of tart and sweet.

Langford Smithy Helped Build First Tractor

May 4, 2011
Norman Olson, a Langford native, writes to us from Colorado this week to tell us about Will Mann, a Day County homesteader and mechanic who helped build the world's first successful gasoline-powered tractor.

Along with writing cowboy poetry, McNaught also creates custom leather belts, wallets and chaps from his ranch near New Underwood.

Slim's Pickings

April 28, 2011
Even if you didn't grow up on a ranch, Slim McNaught's cowboy poetry is bound to make you crack a smile. We wrote about his CD Reminiscin' in our current issue. One of the tracks is called "Tom Cat Wreck." It's the story of how McNaught once got bucked off his horse when a cat jumped from the haymow and dug its claws into the mare. That's bad enough, but McNaught landed face first in a fresh cow pie. ...

Jerry on his Clay County farm. Photo by Norma Wilson.

Historic Farm & Prairie Protected

April 25, 2011
Former South Dakota Magazine editor Jerry Wilson made news recently when he and his wife, Norma, donated a perpetual conservation easement on their 143 acre farm to the Northern Prairies Land Trust.

Bygone Days On Your iPad

April 21, 2011
Perkins County rancher John Penor's historic photos of Bison, South Dakota are now available as an iPad application.

Joe Thorne and Coach Ralph Ginn.

A Fitting Honor for Joe Thorne

April 6, 2011
Every time I return to Brookings, it seems my alma mater, South Dakota State University, has changed. On my last trip there to gather stories for a feature in our next issue, I saw the new Jackrabbit Village residential complex.

Yankton, South Dakota s 1903 post office was closed by the USPS in January 2012.

Post Office Deserting Downtowns

March 30, 2011
Nobody likes the USPS any better than the gang at South Dakota Magazine. Everything we write and photograph and design would be for naught if not for the post office's ability to get it from the printer to your mailbox.

Gentlemen, Crank Your Engines

July 8, 2011
Today is the kick-off for the slowest procession on wheels — The Tri-State Iron Association's annual ride.

Rapid City Peregrine Release: Now on Live Feed

June 22, 2011
Raptor biologist Janie Fink released osprey near Yankton a few years ago. Now she's in Rapid City releasing peregrine falcons.

Randy Halverson s  Sub-Zero: A Winter Night Time Lapse  has received national attention.

A Farmer’s Pictures

May 19, 2011
A Kennebec farmer shoots jaw-dropping time lapse videos of South Dakota's night skies.

First Time Mushroom Hunting

June 17, 2011
I didn't need another hobby, but I found a new one last weekend in morel mushroom hunting. And it combines two things I already enjoy — hiking and eating healthy, unusual foods.

Can We Live With Asian Carp?

May 12, 2011
Voracious Asian carp are slowly invading South Dakota's rivers and streams.

General Custer didn t leave any gold behind on his 1874 expedition to the Black Hills.

No Gold In Those Hills

May 5, 2011
Photographer Paul Horsted of Custer sets the record straight about the myth of the 1874 Custer Expedition's buried treasure.

Traveling S.D.: 75 Years Ago

April 27, 2011
Interesting historical tidbits from a 1930s South Dakota guidebook.

Jane Fink Cantwell is the director of Birds of Prey Northwest, an organization devoted to helping raptors.

Peregrine Reintroduction in Rapid City

April 19, 2011
Many will remember Mar/Apr 2009's feature on Jane Fink Cantwell. Cantwell is the director of Birds of Prey Northwest, an Idaho organization devoted to helping raptors. She brought 20 young ospreys to Lake Yankton in the summer of 2008 and kept a watchful eye over them until the reintroduction program ended in 2010. Cantwell is now getting ready for the reintroduction of 15 young peregrines in Rapid ...

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