Socialism will keep Madison wet. We taxpayers will grace Halme Construction of Lake Norden with $16.5 million to lay 16 miles of 16-inch PVC pipe to extend the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System from Crooks northward, and we’ll pay Carstensen Contracting of Dell Rapids $14.3 million to lay another 16 miles of 16-inch pipe from the end of Halme’s work on to Madison, which will be able to enjoy its slurps of Missouri River water come August 2024.
The money to finally finish the Lewis and Clark project is part of $420 million included in President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law to build rural water systems. That’s the infrastructure funding that none of South Dakota’s Congress critters supported. That’s the infrastructure funding that Governor Kristi Noem used as her excuse to go on Fox News and say more attention-getting but ultimately stupid things. So when Kristi, Dusty, John, and Mike come around Madison in August 2024 for the big Lewis and Clark tap-opening, be sure to set empty glasses on their table to represent what they put into completing this infrastructure project. And make sure to set a full pitcher of clean, cool water next to the podium for President Joe Biden, who should be invited to speak and take the first swig from the water pipeline he’s building for us.
Cory writes, “So when Kristi, Dusty, John, and Mike come around Madison in August 2024 for the big Lewis and Clark tap-opening, be sure to set empty glasses on their table to represent what they put into completing this infrastructure project.”
Absolutely!!! You may be being too kind to these Four Faces of Nihilism. I’d fill their glasses with a little effluent from the nearest CAFO. Cheers!
Like wiping your assets with a hula hoop: it’s endless.
The Lewis and Clark water system enables ecocide. Instead of empowering communities to harvest snowmelt and rainwater rural communities continue to be dependent on politicians who exploit need.
No Larry…this is very good news. Now we have reliable water in the east river region. How that water is used is another political issue that needs to be fought out and environmental issues need to become the first priority in the use of that water. To do that, South Dakotans have to have a vision of the future that extends beyond an exploitation of this water by moneyed interests. South Dakotans have to develop the political will to use this water wisely.
Senator Tim Johnson, among others, mostly Democrats, fought a long, hard, and lonely battle to complete the Lewis and Clark system. It is a singular achievement. Now, what do we do with this windfall???
Republicans seem to be experts at taking credit for things they didn’t vote for.
I guess people fail for it, even when told the Republican s were against it.
Set a place at the table for former Madison Mayor Royce Hueners who was the local driving force for this back in the day.
larry – that is Missouri river water, which is composed entirely of snow melt and rainwater. It’s being harvested by the LCRWS member communities. Not sure what you imagine it to be composed of.
Pipelines are bad.
All of you libbies have hollered about pipelines for years. Are you now hypocrites?
What if this pipeline disturbs the ancient burial grounds of ancestors of people who lived there 300, or 400 years ago? What if it breaks and floods a road and causes a wreck that hurts somebody? There are uncountable problems here.
Pipelines are bad. They are very bad.
Grudz–Pipelines are no more inherently “bad” than are railroads. It is what they carry that is dangerous as all pipelines will, at some time leak, just as all railroads will have trains that run off the track. Water is not oil. Your scenario is a long grasp and it is beyond your reach.
All this without Madison cleaning up its act to stop all the water leaks it experienced? I remember Cory talking about that years ago. What was it – maybe a third of Madison’s water exited the system without being metered? Pretty wasteful.
Hopefully the engineers at both ends of the project have the foresight, from the start, to make sure the bolt patterns on the pipe are aligned with each other. Believe me, makes a person want to cry after laboring on irrigation pipeline on the long, sandy beach of the Oahe for 111 hour work weeks to not join up in the middle because the bolt alignment is off by a smidge. But they probably already know that. …
Arlo, it seems to be the best argument guys like grudz on rhe “right” can make in defense of their indefensible positions on socialistic railroads and massive out-of-state, foreign oil pipelines.
Precautionary notice…. https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/12/16/part-of-a-northwest-iowa-river-has-been-pumped-dry/
One fourth of this water is sold out of state leaving less for area livestock and pumping river dry violates state laws, not that magats will give a hoot.
On a lighter note, Obrien Co (mine) has the highest priced land in the state at over 16k per acre.