Aberdeen joins the fall celebrations of sport this weekend with both high school and university homecomings. I’ll participate tangentially in the jockocratic jubilation—and you can too!—by marching with the Brown County Democrats in Northern State University’s Gypsy Day Parade Saturday morning. We’ll gather at 8 a.m. outside at 10th and Main (look for us on the east side of the street) to decorate our party chair’s vehicle for the march, then go for a lovely walk down Main Street with easily a thousand other South Dakotans in 158 parade entries, including the Bjorkman, Noem, and Jackley campaigns. Like most of the non-musical entrants, we’ll be handing out goodies—put on your walking shoes, bring your protest signs, and come help support the cause!
If the parade is enough rah-rah-sport for you but you still have a political itch to scratch, De Knudson of Open Primaries South Dakota will be at Red Rooster from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon collecting petition signatures to place the open primary concept on the 2018 ballot. Worth noting—the idea of letting everyone, regardless of party affiliation, vote in a unified primary may take on extra salience here in Brown County next spring, where two Republican candidates for sheriff may duke it out without a Democratic challenger, leaving independents and Democrats with no say in who serves as sheriff.
Knudson will take your signature at Red Rooster Saturday afternoon; if you’re really interested in open primaries, she’ll gladly load you up with a few spare petitions and circulator materials. The deadline for initiative petitions is November 6, just five practical circulating weeks away.