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Posts tagged as “safety”

McGovern Middle Schoolers Banned from Walking Due to Poor City Planning

Mr. Ehrisman rightly dings his hometown for plopping a school in a neighborhood with no sidewalks and then banning students from walking. The absurdity of a pedestrian ban around George McGovern Middle School rankles on multiple levels: Cities should not…

“Texting Freedom”: Madison Man Kills Minnesota Mom

On Monday, Pat Powers bemoaned the loss of his "texting freedom" as South Dakota inched toward common sense in enacting its ban on texting while driving. Christopher Weber of Madison shows us what "texting freedom" really means: One minute Christopher…

Sections of Keystone XL Installed with Over 50% Bad Welds

U.C. Berkeley professor emeritus and welder (!) Robert Bea says a bad-weld rate of 0.1% on high-risk projects is cause for concern. What's TransCanada's bad-weld rate on the Oklahoma-Texas leg of Keystone XL? Over 50%, according to warning letters the…

Mitchell Yielding to State Texting Ban on Spurious Legal-Cost Argument

The statewide texting-while-driving ban passed by our Legislature this year is inspiring Mitchell to repeal its local ordinance on electronically distracted driving. The new state law makes texting while driving a secondary offense, meaning troopers can't pull you over for…

Freeman Boy Accidentally Shoots Brother Dead; Mom, Dad, Lock up Your Guns

No good comes from this story: nine-year-old Freeman boy kills seven-year-old brother with handgun. Hutchinson County State's Attorney Glenn Roth says the older boy told investigators he and his brother were playing with a handgun Tuesday when he pulled the…

Secretive Medical Culture Protects Bad Doctors, Puts Patients at Risk

Jonathan Ellis shines a harsh light on the culture of secrecy with which state medical boards and hospitals shield doctors from facing the consequences of their malpractice. Focusing on the "trail of pain" left by surgeon Allen Sossan, Ellis shows…

Contra Betty, Legislature Poised to Hike Penalty for Removing Road Signs

Now the House is just picking on Betty Olson. Last month, the good Representative from Prairie City proposed House Bill 1114 to yank all the reflector poles out from alongside South Dakota's state highways. The Department of Transportation and Department…