COLUMN
PRESIDENT’S REPORT STEVE ALLENDER
Greetings to all of you who have survived winter! (So far…) Over the past couple of weeks, I completed a tour of our great state to attend a number of Municipal League district meetings. It was good seeing some of you there. The Municipal League provides the muchneeded social and supportive structure to enable cities to connect, communicate, and conquer major issues within our communities. I’ve said before, city government may be the only government worth serving in due to the common challenges, the closeness to constituents and the ability to make changes in the interest of the community at large. We are experiencing some troubling times. The war in Ukraine serves as a flashback to those of us who grew up during the Cold War. We felt a constant looming threat of Russia taking over the world and our children or grandchildren speaking Russian as a first language. There are decades of stories - and frankly, a culture that goes along with Cold War concerns. Here we are in 2022 and we are, in fact, in the new Cold War. As if managing community issues was not challenging enough, the new items on the table are inflation, housing shortages, and now availability or cost of gasoline. The Biden administration has been quite transparent regarding the issue of fossil fuels and energy sustainability.
Whether you see this as a typical political agenda or as a real issue, the result is the same. Fossil fuels are our primary energy source in this country, and especially in the rural parts of this country. To choose this particular time to wean America off fossil fuels is very unfortunate and will create many challenges. Those challenges will likely create a new financial burden for all. Your duty as the leaders in South Dakota cities and towns will be to mitigate the indirect consequences of all this. Transportation is a crucial issue in rural America. Public transportation is not available in most parts of our state and even if it were, it could not solve all of our problems. Not everyone can afford an electric car, especially when the electric car infrastructure does not extend into sparsely-populated areas of a rural state. These issues will be difficult enough without the complicating and polarizing effect of the partisan divide. My hope is that we will work to keep our communities together. Our constituents are counting on us. On the bright side, the legislative session is over and we are working our way through the 325 days until the next one begins! Here’s to a happy and healthy April! ■
sdmunicipalleague.org | 1.800.658.3633
5
