South Dakota
What the reaction to a tragic shooting tells us about health care • South Dakota Searchlight
In spite of all the glitter, the dramatic headlines about stunning accomplishments and life-saving interventions as well as the raving of some politicians about the “best health care system in the world,” the U.S. health care system is, at its core, fundamentally dysfunctional.
How can I make such a provocative statement? The U.S. spends nearly twice as much per capita on health care as does any other developed country. In spite of this expenditure, 8-10% of Americans still have no health care coverage while most comparable countries provide health care coverage to all citizens.
Spending at this level would perhaps be acceptable if the population was in fact benefiting with better health outcomes. Here too we fall short. If we look at any of the usually cited metrics of population health such as life expectancy or infant mortality, the U.S. results are worse. Especially concerning is the fact that the U.S. rate of maternal mortality — women dying related to childbirth — is among the highest in the developed world and is getting worse.
U.S. residents increasingly express their dissatisfaction with the health care system. The Gallup organization recently reported that approval ratings on the quality of American health care are the lowest they’ve been in more than two decades.
All this has come to the fore with the recent tragic shooting of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in New York. Though details continue to emerge, it appears the assassination-style killing was carried out by a young man intent on sending a message of both anguish and hostility toward the health insurance industry. He reportedly wrote in his notebook, “What do you do? You wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention.”
As disturbing and troubling as are the events surrounding the murder, the public reaction to it is similarly distressing. There has been a huge outpouring of support for the shooter almost as though he is being glorified as a folk hero. Additionally, online, there has emerged a range of merchandise (T-shirts, etc.) seeming to applaud the event. These reactions appear to confirm the broad-based unhappiness with health care services and how they are financed.
How can we understand or make sense of these developments? In the U.S., unlike many other developed countries, we have largely treated health care as a commodity to be bought and sold on a capitalistic, free-market model. In my view, this arrangement underlies many of the problems we have encountered.
I am not anti-capitalist. For a large part of the economy, this model has served us well. At the same time, I believe there are sectors of the economy where it does not work as well. We need to be smart enough — and tough enough — to sort out which is which.
In the classic capitalist model, profit and/or market share increase when the perceived value of the product or service increases. What we have too often seen in the health insurance industry is that in order to push up profits, the industry has restricted the services covered or, alternatively, has increased the barriers to receiving those services. This has been highly successful from an industry perspective in that profits have soared, but for many patients who are all too often in a captive market, it has restricted or denied needed care.
What to do? There is no immediate, simple answer. It would seem, though, that the events of the last several weeks should serve as a wake-up call. We have serious problems that demand serious thinking and open-minded discussions.
The fundamental lesson from these events, I believe, is that when profit drives health care decisions, investors win and patients lose. We can and must do better.
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Link to the listing: https://www.frrmail.com/…
For more information, contact: Cory Busse, Farm & Ranch Realty, Inc., at 785-332-8345 or frr@frrmail.com
KENTUCKY, Hopkins County. Five tracts of river-bottom cropland totaling 597.9 acres sold at auction for $5.39 million, or $9,015 per acre. Tracts ranged from 16 to 255 acres, with much containing drainage tile. Soil types were primarily Karnak silty clay and loam with some Belknap and Robbs silty loam. Structures included a tool shed and a 5,000-bushel grain bin. Tracts ranged in price from $7,800 to $11,500 per acre.
Link to the listing: https://www.kurtzauction.com/…
For more information, contact: Joseph Mills, Kurtz Auction & Realty Co., at 800-262-1204 or jmills@kurtzauction.com.
SOUTH DAKOTA, Dewey County. A contiguous, 1,529-acre farm sold to a single bidder at auction for $2,600 per acre, or $3.98 million. The property was offered in four parcels, two of which were historically in crop production (wheat, oats, corn and sunflowers) and boasted Soil Productivity Indexes of 70 or higher. Another highly productive parcel was planted in grass and alfalfa but could be converted to row crops. The remaining parcel included a blend of cropland, pasture and an updated home with a steel barn, shop, two Quonset-style buildings, continuous panel corrals and water tank.
Link to the listing: https://glcland.com/…
For more information, contact: Kristen Gill, Gill Land Company, at 701.934.2732 or 605.848.4502 or kristen@glcland.com.
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— These sales figures are provided by the sources and may not be exact because of rounding.
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Katie Dehlinger can be reached at katie.dehlinger@dtn.com
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South Dakota
Former South Dakota National Guard adjutant general announces bid for state house of representatives
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) -The former top official of the South Dakota national guard under former Governor Kristi Noem has announced his campaign to become a state representative for district 33.
Jeff Marlett’s bid makes him a contender in the Republican primary for the district.
Marlett served for 36 years in the South Dakota National Guard which included combat service in Iraq and most recently spending three years as the commanding general of the national guard from 2019 to 2023.
“I’ve always considered that job, it’s not about me, it’s about the great men and women who served in the South Dakota national guard, and I got the opportunity to serve with them so, it was an honor to serve with them,” said Marlette.
Marlette also worked as the west river director under Senator Mike Rounds and served for numerous years as a superintendent of schools for districts in South Dakota. Now Marlette wants to spend his next chapter as a state representative. He explained that he thinks people are “tired of the noise” with politics. He blamed that exhaustion on people stepping away the two major parties.
“They want people that are willing to go, and, and not think they have all the answers and not be wrapped up about, well I’m more Republican thank you are or you’re a dem o.. no, it’s not about that. It’s about looking at meaningful policy, laws if needed, but governing by what’s really truly necessary and best for South Dakota,” said Marlette.
According to a press release for Marlette, he says he will support sensible restructuring of the property tax system, a strong education system and a vibrant environment for business. Marlette said during our interview that he has mixed reviews on the 19 property tax relief proposals out of the property tax task force.
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Copyright 2025 KOTA. All rights reserved.
A multi-rotor drone and its fixed-wing, one-way attack counterpart that flanked a wall-sized American flag inside a northern Sioux Falls warehouse Friday weren’t the main attraction.
Rather, Pentagon officials and South Dakota dignitaries gathered for an invite-only ceremony at MMS Product, Inc. to get a look at a newly developed military advancement that will give South Dakota a front-row seat to the U.S. military’s race to drone warfare dominance.
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