Opinion

Those of us who make our homes in the rural midwest understand that we face medical challenges our countrymen in more populated areas don’t. For example, there are two pediatric rheumatologists in the whole state of South Dakota. . . and they are both based in Fargo. In contrast, there are 10 in the Twin Cities with the University of Minnesota alone. In Winner South Dakota, you are nearly 150 miles away from emergency access to a neurosurgeon, assuming you can go by air. No matter where you are in Connecticut, that help is no more than 50 miles away.

Last week, I voted to pass a budget resolution that helps fulfill President Trump’s promise to deliver prosperity and security. This resolution unlocks the reconciliation process. It’s another step forward in helping the President secure the border, lower taxes, rebuild our military, and unleash American energy.

April 12th marks an important date for Congress. It marks the 100th day of our new Congress and a moment for us to assess our work and accomplishments so far for the American people.

Nearly 40 years ago I attended my first Nebraska Press Women conference. It was indeed a very “big deal” to me. I was totally in awe of the women I recognized.

Nebraska is the Beef State. Agriculture is the heart and soul of what we do. One in four jobs in Nebraska is related to agriculture. Beef is essential to our state’s economy. Recently, we celebrated a major win for our state and our beef industry. I joined over 1,000 people in North Platte for the ribbon-cutting of the new Sustainable Beef processing plant. It will process about 1,500 head of cattle per day when fully operational. It will create 850 good-paying jobs. It will also add $1 billion to the local economy each year. This is the power of Nebraskans coming together to solve problems.

When I first moved to Brookings, the primary care physicians took care of their own patients in the hospital. We would round on patients in the morning before clinic or try to sneak over during lunch or after clinic. While I loved taking care of patients in the hospital, it was hard to juggle the responsibilities of both giving my attention to the patients in the hospital while seeing people in the clinic. Any time the hospital nurse had a question; my clinic nurse would have to interrupt a clinic visit or wait for me to between patients. This could lead to some less-than-ideal times where I was being pulled in multiple directions at once.

Speaker of the Legislature John Arch announced last week that, so far, over 80 bills have either been signed by Governor Pillen or are on his desk awaiting his signature.