SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – This week on Matters of the State, we sit down with Sen. Mike Rounds to discuss the latest developments involving former President Donald Trump, as well as failures by the U.S. Secret Service.

Cooper Seamer digs into the latest major embezzlement scheme foiled by South Dakota investigators.

South Dakota News Watch content director Bart Pfankuch joins us to share his reporting on code enforcement issues in small towns across the state, including one incident in Faith that led to considerable pushback from residents. You can watch our full conversation below.

Matters of the State airs Sundays at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. on KSFY, and 10 a.m. on KOTA.

Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.

MILWAUKEE — Chef Dan Jacobs has been busy since earning a top-three spot on season 21 of “Top Chef,” which featured many locations across Wisconsin.

He said being on the Bravo network cooking show was one of his longtime dreams. Jacobs credited all the people who supported him in his career with helping him fulfill it.

Now, he’s returning the favor by helping other chefs fulfill their dreams.

Jacobs invited Kitty Storey, 17, from Wauwatosa to come cook with him at one of his Milwaukee restaurants, EsterEv. Together, they filmed the 204th episode of Kitty Storey’s show, “Cooking with Kitty.”

Kitty Storey, who has Down syndrome and autism, has earned quite a following on YouTube with her show. 

“This is an inspiring thing to be able to do,” said Jacobs. “I have a lot of requests for my time, but this is one of the things I really wanted, because to me, this is what it’s all about. This is why I went on ‘Top Chef.’ This is why I do the things I do, because I want to be able to show that anybody can do anything.”

Kitty’s mom, Kim Storey, helps her daughter put the show together. She shoots and edits every episode. Kim Storey said having her daughter was the best thing that ever happened to her.

(Spectrum News 1/Wendy Strong)

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“How thankful I am that I get to be her mom, and that she was born to us,” she said.

Kim Storey said that her daughter was born prematurely, weighing only two pounds. She said the first time Kitty’s grandmother held her, she remembered her saying, “she’s just a baby kitty.” After that moment, the name stuck.

Kim and Kitty Storey started cooking together during the pandemic as part of a school assignment. It was a challenging time, as Kitty Storey’s school went entirely virtual. Kim Storey said she soon realized it was an opportunity to inspire and educate others by sharing the cooking segments.

“We’re doing it to give representation to people in the disability community, and a lot of people don’t realize that people with Down syndrome can also have autism,” she said.

(Spectrum News 1/Wendy Strong)

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Jacobs has a similar mission. He was diagnosed with the neuro-muscular disorder, Kennedy’s disease, eight years ago. Among the many challenges it presents, it affects the use of his arms and legs. It’s something he talked about on “Top Chef.”

“I love the idea of being a spokesperson, or somebody who inspires people who are differently abled,” he said. “It’s hard. None of this stuff is easy, like I wake up and I want to go back to bed. At the same time, you got to get up. You got to do what you got to do, because I do love this, and I love the fact that I’m inspiring other people.”

In his quest to inspire, Jacobs said he gets inspiration from Kitty Storey.

“Just her willingness to jump in and do anything, like I had her rolling out gnocchi. She takes instruction really well,” said Jacobs.

(Spectrum News 1/Wendy Strong)

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While filming the latest episode of “Cooking with Kitty,” Jacobs shared some advice with Kitty Storey and her mom.

“Don’t let anybody ever tell her no, that she can’t do something. Also, do what you love. Don’t do it just because you have to do it. Do it because you love it,” he said.

When Dan Campbell said after the Detroit Lions’ NFC championship game loss to the San Francisco 49ers in January that it was “going to be twice as hard to get back to this point next year,” he was speaking from experience.

Campbell was assistant head coach with the New Orleans Saints in 2018 when that team lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC title game on a missed pass interference penalty.

The Saints went 13-3 the next season, but lost their playoff opener to the Minnesota Vikings in overtime and haven’t played for a conference title since.

The Saints aren’t alone. No NFC runner-up has gone on to win the Super Bowl the next season since the Green Bay Packers in 1995-96. The Packers lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the 1995 playoffs, then beat the New England Patriots —pre-Tom Brady — a year later in Super Bowl 31.

GET READY: Detroit Lions training camp FAQ: Everything you need to know for 2024

Before last year’s 49ers, no NFC team that lost in the previous year’s conference championship game had even advanced to the Super Bowl since the 49ers also did it (under then-head coach Jim Harbaugh) in 2011-12. Of the 10 NFC runners-up from 2012-2021, five failed to make the playoffs.

“I mentioned this last year and I’ll say it again: It’s going to take a lot more than it did last year to get to where we were,” Campbell said this spring. “That’s just the nature of how it goes. But we’re going to be more than capable of doing that. Things got to go your way, but it does start with you. It starts with those players, starts with the coaches. We’ve got to put the work in.”

The Lions, by all accounts, had a successful spring.

They re-signed cornerstone players Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell to long-term contracts. They overhauled their sieve of a secondary, signing Amik Robertson in free agency, trading for Carlton Davis and drafting Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw. And they retained all three of their coordinators, including offensive wizard Ben Johnson, giving them unmatched continuity.

The Lions will open training camp Wednesday as one of the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, though they will have to navigate a more treacherous schedule to get there. The NFC North is better, with improved rosters in Green Bay and Chicago and a still-young nucleus in Minnesota, and they play a first-place schedule featuring games against fellow Super Bowl hopefuls the 49ers, Cowboys, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills, among others.

Here are five storylines to kick off camp and that will in many ways define the season.

Great expectations

The Lions were most everyone’s pick to win the North last season, so they’re not in completely uncharted territory. But you have to go back to at least the 1990s to find a Lions team generating this much Super Bowl buzz.

That’s a good thing, without qualification. Most every other NFL team would love to be in the Lions’ shoes. But there unquestionably are pitfalls that come with being the hunted rather than the hunter.

The weight of heightened expectations can be sizable, both individually and as a team. Expectations will grow as the calendar turns, and the smallest of stumbles can take a team down the wrong path. The Lions seem built to handle whatever comes their way with Campbell as head coach, but most people thought the same about the Philadelphia Eagles last year, and they were left watching the playoffs after just one week.

Falling in line

The Lions have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. They return four of five starters, including arguably the NFL’s best lineman in Sewell, and added Pro Bowl guard Kevin Zeitler to fill their only opening.

But three-fifths of the line — Zeitler, center Frank Ragnow and left tackle Taylor Decker — sat out spring practice because of injuries, and the line averages nearly 30 years old. It’s not a young group, and injuries to any of the starters could sink the ship.

Goff’s play is hugely dependent on the protection he gets up front, and the backbone of the Lions’ high-powered offense is the running game. Campbell won’t overtax his veterans in camp, but that doesn’t mean they’ll make it through the regular season in one piece.

Bates Motel

The Lions should have a real, bona fide kicking competition in camp for the first time in years.

Michael Badgley has made 26 of 30 field goals over parts of the past two seasons for the Lions, but his limited leg strength could be a liability in end-of-half and close-game situations. The Lions signed UFL star Jake Bates away from the Michigan Panthers in June. Bates has a hammer for a leg — he made three 60-plus-yard field goals for the Panthers — but is unproven after never kicking in college.

Bates will have to earn the Lions’ trust in camp to beat out Badgley for the job. One thing that might work in his favor: He was a kickoff specialist in college, and if he proves reliable in that area in camp, he could be a weapon under the NFL’s new kickoff rules.

Second in command

The Lions don’t have many holes on their roster, but they do have some question marks. Offensively, there’s not a lot of depth at receiver, and Jameson Williams, their No. 2 pass catcher, remains largely unproven.

Williams will play opposite Amon-Ra St. Brown and has the speed and explosive ability to challenge teams deep. He needs to be more consistent catching and tracking the ball and running routes, but coaches insist he made major strides in those areas this offseason.

At defensive end, the Lions have been searching for a complement to Aidan Hutchinson. They signed Marcus Davenport in free agency. They’ll get James Houston back from a lost season due to injury. And Mitchell Agude is coming off an eye-catching spring. If one of that trio — or anyone else — emerges as a reliable No. 2 pass rusher, the Lions defense will be better off.

Corner store

The Lions acquired enough depth in the secondary this offseason that Campbell said in June he had no idea who would start in his secondary this fall.

Davis and Arnold seem likely to open camp as the first-team cornerbacks, and Robertson could play the slot if the Lions are serious about giving Brian Branch the chance to win a starting safety job. Rakestraw probably opens as a backup slot defender. Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu give the Lions two more playmakers at safety. And at some point, Emmanuel Moseley may be ready to contribute in his return from a torn ACL, too.

There’s enough depth to survive the season, but the Arnold and Rakestraw face big learning curves as rookies playing one of the NFL’s most dangerous positions and Branch and Moseley sat out the spring in their rehab from injuries. Nothing’s a given in the NFL, no matter the size of the offseason investment.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.