Madison Fireman Guilty of DUI; Sentencing January

Remember Scott Johnson, the Madison fireman arrested in September for driving the firetruck drunk? His case provoked all sorts of awkward conversation and exposed some ugly attitudes about alcohol in our fair community.

But Johnson's case appears not to have provoked much controversy with the jury. Twelve of Scott Johnson's peers spent 40 minutes Wednesday deciding he was indeed guilty of DUI. Blood alcohol level of 0.098, putting public property at risk, violating public trust... not really any excuses, are there?

Judge Tim Tucker will decide how much of the book to throw at Johnson for drunkenness on duty on January 3.

So are you folks done being snotty to the Madison police yet?

Five Narrow Lanes Cause No Uptick in Madison Highway 34 Accidents

Uncle! Uncle!

I raised a fuss when the city decided to restripe Highway 34 through Madison into four skinny driving lanes and a center left-turn lane. Madville Times readers gave the new stripes a hard thumbs-down when they changed the face of Madison traffic.

But initial traffic accident data suggest the five lanes are doing exactly what the state engineers promised: reducing accidents.

Between Jan. 1, 2010 and June 1, 2010, DPS officials logged one angle-intersection collision and one left-turn lane crash on SD-34 inside the city. In comparison, the city saw an annual average of about a dozen accidents from 2006 to 2008 that could have been influenced by the lack of a center-turn lane through town.

...The accident information for the first half of 2010 indicated that there were zero incidents of rear-end or sideswipe, same-direction collisions.

During 2008, DPS officials collected information on Madison SD-34 accidents that included two angle-intersection; four left-turn; three rear-end; and one sideswipe, same direction collisions. The total number of reported collision types was 10.

In 2007, they collected data on 10 angle-intersection; seven left-turn; one rear-end; and one sideswipe, same direction crashes for a total of 19.

During 2006, DPS staff members accumulated information on four angle-intersection; two left-turn; five rear-end; and two sideswipe, same-direction collisions for a total of 13 [Chuck Clement, "Accident Data Indicate Fewer SD-34 Collisions in Madison," Madison Daily Leader, 2010.12.09].

Now these data alone posit no causation yet, and state DOT engineer Scott Jansen would like to get a couple more years of post-restripe data to make some more reliable comparisons. But consider: current accident data show a nearly 7% increase in the number of crashes across South Dakota this year compared to last. Small towns may be rife with statistical anomalies, but so far, the five-lane restriping in Madison appears to be living up to its safety promise.

But I still think Jon Hunter had a better plan... and you'll still see me riding my bike right down the right-wheel track in that right lane. Make way!

Sioux Falls 136th-Safest City in America

CQ Press has just released its list of the most dangerous cities in America. Sioux Falls is not one of them... but interestingly, Sioux Falls is not one of the very safest, either. Based on rates of murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, Sioux Falls ranks 136th out of 400 cities with over 75K population. (See the full methodology here.)

Sioux Falls is still 12.5% below the national average crime rates. Here's a comparison with some other metros within a day's drive:

City	Rank	Score (% above or below nat'l crime rate)
Madison (WI)	99	–31.0
Cedar Rapids	123	–20.0
Lincoln	134	–13.1
Sioux Falls	136	–12.5
Sioux City	140	–12.1
Fargo	149	–7.8
Davenport	221	31.2
Des Moines	236	37.0
Omaha	239	38.8
St. Paul	298	74.7
Minneapolis	353	127.5
Kansas City	380	186.01

And now for your daily paradigm-buster: Remember last year when Senator Thune made some silly comment about how Central Park would be safer with some gun-toting Sioux Falls tourists to keep the peace? Golly, they must have gone there: New York City is ranked 132nd safest, better than Sioux Falls at 14.5% below the national crime rate average. Go figure!

Texting Bans Don't Improve Road Safety: Toss or Tighten?

I was wrong... sort of. Last month, I suggested there could be a connection between U.S. House candidate Kristi Noem's habitual lawbreaking and her votes against texting-while-driving bans in the South Dakota Legislature. I stand by my contention there that Noem's disregard for the law may incline her to vote against holding other drivers accountable for dangerous behavior.

However, my original argument did not anticipate this study, which finds texting-while-driving bans do not reduce the number of highway crashes. The study actually finds a slight uptick in insurance claims for vehicle damage in three of the four states surveyed. The researchers speculate that thumb-typing addicts are not only ignoring the bans but using their devices in their laps, out of view of the cops, thus taking their eyes that much more off the road.

So what's the proper response? It's clear that texting behind the wheel is dangerous. Even if we can't stop people from doing it, we should hold accountable the folks we catch doing it. If people respond to a law against bad behavior by behaving worse, do we abolish the law? Do we seek other ways to curtail the bad behavior? Or do we conclude that the law isn't tough enough and stiffen the penalty?
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Bonus Highway Mayhem: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which was involved with the texting-ban study, celebrated its fiftieth anniversary last year by crashing a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air into a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. Good old American steel against modern plastic—that couldn't be pretty, could it? Well, it wasn't... for the dummy driving the tail fins. Both cars were totaled, but the passenger compartment in the Malibu remained almost wholly intact, while the passenger compartment in the Bel Air crumpled into the driver. See video with commentary here.

Too Drunk to Bounce?

The press coverage on the preliminary hearing in Madison fireman Scott Johnson's DUI case caught my attention, and not just because it brought the KELO and KDLT station wagons crawling up to Madison to trumpet the 0.098 blood alcohol content revealed by the county's blood test.

Madison city police officer Aaron Talich testified that he first interacted with Johnson the night of the incident at 2 a.m. at Teezer's Bar. Talich was responded to a call about a stolen check card. He spoke with Johnson because Johnson was working security at the bar. Talich saw signs—bloodshot and glassy eyes—that Johnson had been drinking.

Now Teezer's owner Jeff Gates told John Hult of that Sioux Falls paper in a September 19 article that Johnson had been to Sioux Falls earlier in the evening but was sober enough to work. And bouncing and firefighting are two different jobs.

But does anyone else find it... well, alarming that a guy would have two jobs that involve keeping people safe, and that the guy wouldn't make the connection that drinking alcohol might reduce his ability to do those jobs effectively? I have had little interaction with bouncers, and my 150-pound frame automatically disqualifies me from being one, but consider: you're working in a bar. You're going to be dealing with two kinds of troublemakers: folks who've drunk too much and are out of control, and folks who aren't drinking at all, want to make trouble, and may plan to use all their wits to take advantage of one or more drunk people around them. Up against either type of miscreant, wouldn't you want to keep your mental and physical faculties as sharp as possible?

Or look at it from the customer perspective: if I were to visit one of Madison's many fine drinking establishments, and if I were to spend money in proximity of large, strong men who are authorized by the boss to throw me out the door, I'd feel a lot more comfortable knowing those large, strong men are exercising that commercial authority while completely sober.

Or look at it from the boss perspective: if I pay you money, I expect there to be no alcohol in your system while you're on my clock.

But hey, this is Madison, where I still haven't figured out our ethics on alcohol.

Republicans Worse Drivers Than Democrats?

The Daily Beast crunches some numbers to determine which states have the most dangerous drivers. A very odd result: nine out of the ten worst states (North Dakota, Montana, Kentucky, Louisiana...) voted for John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Nine of of the ten best states (Connecticut, Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts...) voted for Barack Obama.

Daily Beast finds South Dakota has 11th worst drivers in the nation. We rank 5th worst for DUI and failure to obey traffic signs or signals.

No comment yet from Kristi Noem....

Tax Booze, Save Lives

I've reported previously that a a simple penny-per-ounce hooch tax could raise $29 million per year to help ease South Dakota's budget woes. A new metastudy from University of Florida epidemiologist Alexander Wagenaar finds that simply increasing the tax on alcohol to keep up with inflation could save thousands of lives and save millions in health care costs:

Wagenaar and his colleagues identified 50 papers published over the last 40 years that looked at how changes in alcohol prices affect health outcomes. These studies were mainly conducted in the United States, Canada and Scandinavia.

Their analysis showed that, on average, a doubling of the alcohol tax was associated with a 35 percent decrease in alcohol-related mortality (such as death from liver disease), an 11 percent decrease in deaths from traffic accidents, a 6 percent decrease in sexually transmitted diseases, a 2 percent decrease in violence and a 1.4 percent reduction in crime [Rachel Rettner, "A Hike in the Price of Booze Could Make Us All Healthier," LiveScience.com, 2010.09.24].

Wagenaar says, "The strength of these findings suggests that tax increases may be the most effective way we have to prevent excessive drinking—and also have drinkers pay more of their fair share for the damages caused and costs incurred."

Plug the South Dakota budget hole; make South Dakota's drinkers pay a fairer share of the cost of their irresponsibility; reduce death, disease, and destruction—sounds like a good plan from every direction.
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Update 2010.09.28: Then again, my teetoalling may be shortening my life expectancy. Cheers!

Proper Role of Government: Protecting Life and Liberty

Ned Hodgman understands that we form governments to provide some basic protections that we can't provide individually and that allow us to enjoy life and liberty and pursue happiness. Hodgman says that when government doesn't do its job, people can die. He points to some vivid recent examples:

1. The Army Corps of Engineers doesn't maintain the levees in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina hits. People die.
   
2. The Mineral Management Service doesn't enforce its rules on offshore oil platforms. The Deepwater Horizon rig explodes. Workers die.
3. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration drops the ball on enforcement of pipeline safety rules. The U.S. sees hundreds of pipeline accidents over the last five years, including this month's San Bruno explosion. People die.
   

(Don't forget: the PHMSA is run by a former oil company lawyer, Cynthia Quarterman. Perhaps to Quarterman's credit, while the PHMSA has issued 16 special permits since January 2009, only one such permit has been issued since Quarterman, an Obama appointee, took charge in November 2009.)

Hodgman offers a somewhat more reasoned response to government shortcomings than you'll hear from the teabaggers:

At the heart of Americans’ dissatisfaction with Democrats, Republicans, and politicians in general is not the legislative process or politicians’ foibles, as irritating as those things can be day in, day out. At the heart of people’s anger is real concern and fear about their safety and the safety of people they care about. In the richest country in the world, life remains unpredictable in large part because of government agencies that don’t push harder to inspect, monitor, and get in the face of life’s daily problems. Pushing them harder to do their jobs is our job [Ned Hodgman, "The Problem with Politics Is Toothless Government," Understanding Government, 2010.09.25].

Now don't anyone go quoting Ben Franklin on security and liberty here. We're not talking about giving up civil liberties to catch terrorists. We're talking about enforcing rules to make sure public works, oil rigs, and pipelines are built correctly so they don't collapse or explode. That's why we pay taxes: to create a government with the resources and the teeth necessary to ensure security and liberty.

Madison Fireman DUI Exposes Community Misunderstanding of Duty

The DUI arrest of an on-duty Madison fireman has generated a lot of conversation among my neighbors. It has also brought to the surface some ugly attitudes.

I have spoken with the Madison Police Department. (Note: none of the officers I have spoken with this summer appear to have been drinking.) Their official position on this matter: no comment. The matter is under adjudication, and it is not the police department's place to be arguing the case in public. Their duty binds them to stay out of the public fracas and not respond to the rumors and insults being flung their way.

Madison police have noticed some residents giving them a distinct cold shoulder since the fireman's DUI made the news. The men in blue have seen neighbors they've helped in the past year now decline to wave when they pass on the street.

Folks, in case you've forgotten, the police and the firemen are on the same team. They're all the folks who come save our skins when we're in trouble. They're all good people who make a commitment to sacrifice their time and leisure to protect us. And whether they are paid or not, they have a duty to remain fit for service, to obey the law, and, as public servants, to set a good example for our kids and the community. Men and women in either uniform are expected to uphold those clear standards. Men and women unwilling to do so need not apply.

No small contingent of my neighbors apparently disagree. The only public comment I've seen so far are two letters to the editor taking the fire department's side. The first comes from one of my favorite neighbors, Richard Wiedenman:

The Madison Fire Department is one of the most efficient departments in the state. Being a volunteer unit on call day or night, one shouldn't be critical of their off-duty activities. Mistakes can be made.

Let's hope they keep up the good work, as they have in the past, thanks to the volunteers.

— R.V. Wiedenman, Letter to the Editor, Madison Daily Leader, 2010.09.09, p. 3

Wiedenman is also to be praised for an efficient letter. My only response: Fireman Scott Johnson wasn't arrested for his off-duty activities. His citation happened while he was on duty. If you're too drunk to drive, you're too drunk to run firefighting equipment, and showing up for duty in that state warrants criticism.

(Of course, teetotaler that I am, I'll contend that we have every right to be critical of drinking to excess. There is no excuse for such irresponsibility, on duty or off. But that's a separate argument from the legitimacy of giving a fireman a DUI.)

Henry Hauck writes a bit more, and more bitingly:

The problem of volunteer firemen having alcohol on their breath is simple: Request the people with a fire to call in 24 hours prior to the volunteers coming. That would allow the volunteers to better schedule their life in order to volunteer.

We could also consider giving them a raise so they would no longer be a volunteer. Then we could demand specific behavior.

No, I do not condone drinking and driving at any time, but to allow a volunteer to drive to a fire after a few drinks and then allowing him to drive back so he could be given a ticket is not right.

I hope that the police person does not have a house fire because maybe all the volunteer fire persons may go to the hospital for a blood alcohol test prior to responding. I suggest that.

Folks, if I have a fire, please come as you are!

—Henry Hauck, Letter to the Editor, Madison Daily Leader, 2010.09.10, p. 3

Hauck's letter gets ugly. He goes beyond Wiedenman's simple request that we stay out of people's personal lives and respect the work they do for the community. Hauck starts threatening police officers with retribution. Hauck's is the sort of illogical snideness that makes our community look bad.

Hauck says he doesn't condone drinking and driving at any time. Unfortunately, he proves he's just saying that as a rhetorical ploy. He shows he doesn't really believe that by urging firefighters to drive drunk to his house if there's a fire. Sure, great idea, Mr. Hauck: and perhaps as they weave their way to save your house, they can kill a few innocent motorists or pedestrians along the way?

By the way, just to be clear: firemen, police, EMTs, Search & Rescue, if I have an emergency, don't drive drunk to get here. Better yet, don't get drunk in the first place. Thank you.

Hauck also fails to understand the idea of duty. Hauck apparently believes a petty personal grudge, based on resentment at another public servant performing his duty, warrants not carrying out one's own duty.

But who cares about law or duty or personal responsibility, right? We're Madison firefighters! We win trophies! We deserve to get drunk whenever we want, right? And if you torque us off, we don't have to come put out your fire! (Oops: my fire insurance premium just doubled.)

I don't hear any firemen saying that, but Hauck's letter exhibits the ugly entitlement mentality I'm hearing from too many of my neighbors. There appears to be a sense that since the firemen volunteer for this work, they are entitled to drink and do whatever else they want without criticism or accountability... and that they are entitled to pick and choose which members of the public they serve.

Hauck and too many other Madisonites appear to miss the point. Volunteering to fight fires or serve the public in any other capacity does not entitle you to special treatment. It actually binds you to a higher standard of conduct. you have to stay fit, physically and mentally. You have to be ready to serve (and serve anyone) at a moment's notice. No one forces you to be a firefighter. Public service is your choice... and choices have consequences. Choose to serve, and you accept a duty. Choose to drink and drive, and you accept the judgment of the law when you're caught. It's that simple.
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Update 17:10 CDT: And in other news, Governor M. Michael Rounds has declared September Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month in South Dakota.

Buzzed Madison Woman Rear-Ends Truck Waiting for Train

I guess it's Drunken Idiots Week here in Lake County. First my fair city makes headlines with a volunteer fireman getting a DUI at the wheel of the firetruck. Now on Wednesday on Highway 34, another driver hitting the hooch nearly drives herself and another motorist into a train:

At about 4:45 p.m., Allen D. Krogstad, 45, of Wentworth was westbound on the highway and had stopped his Ford F-150 pickup at the crossing for a passing train.

Rebecca S. Lamma, 50, of Madison was also westbound on SD-34 and came up to Krogstad's vehicle while it was stopped.

Both drivers were alone in the vehicles.

Before she could come to a full stop, Lamma's Chevrolet Impala struck the pickup in the rear at an estimated 35 mph.

Krogstad was sent to Madison Community Hospital with reported neck and back injuries.

Lamma had admitted to the consumption of alcohol and was tested at 0.061. She was cited for no driver's license, careless driving and following too closely [Chuck Clement, "Wentworth Man Injured in SD-34 Accident," Madison Daily Leader, 2010.09.09].

I can only imagine the fear the pickup driver felt: Holy crap: that lady's not stopping. The train's in front of me. I've got nowhere to go. Thank goodness for Ford engineering. I'm sure those neck and back injuries are no picnic, but that guy's lucky the coroner wasn't disentangling his neck and back from the undercarriage of the train.

As for the woman "following too closely"...

1. It's 4:45 p.m. It's not even happy hour yet. Why on earth are you drinking?
   
2. No driver's license? I know the computers were down and the line was long at the Lake County driver's license station Tuesday, but really, what are you doing on the road in the first place?
3. It's not like the guy in front of you romped on the brakes suddenly to avoid a turtle. That's a gosh-darn train in front of you. You weren't even drunk-drunk, just buzzed: so how do you not see a train that ought to be visible from a half-mile away?

Perhaps we should be thankful that Ms. Lamma has demonstrated the safety advantages of having only two lanes on Highway 34. Were the road a four-laner, Ms. Lamma might have been driving even faster and would have plowed Mr. Krogstad and herself right into that train. Or she might have been in that second lane and not had the convenience of using Mr. Krogstad's pickup as a speed bump to save her from the train.

The moral for my fellow Madisonians: put down the beer, the phone, or whatever the heck else is taking your eyes off the road.
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Update 09:33 CDT: Dang, maybe Madison should have applied for some of the $1.4 million Uncle Sam just gave 50 South Dakota communities for alcohol prevention.

Madison Firefighter Arrested for DUI in Firetruck

I'm trying to sort out who's dumber: Madison volunteer fireman Scott Johnson, for getting arrested for driving while intoxicated after responding to a fire call, or Fire Chief Jerry Johnson, for muttering an incoherent and irrelevant defense of fire department policy instead of calling stupid stupid.

KJAM reports that fireman Scott Johnson got a DUI citation from a local cop who saw Scott Johnson at the fire call, suspected he might be drunk, followed as Scott Johnson drove the firetruck back to base, and gave Scott Johnson the breathalyzer.

Strangely, Chief Jerry Johnson offers this defense of fire department policy to require all available personnel to respond to fire calls:

By "available," certainly, uh, people are all volunteers, and, uh, they have, uh, they go out of town, they like to camp, they like to hunt, they like to fish, they go to football games, they go to basketball games, uh, they go out of town to other activities just like everybody. So when I say "available personnel," uh, I mean, uh, uh, you know, available personnel [Madison Fire Chief Jerry Johnson, interviewed on KJAM radio, 2010.09.08].

Now maybe KJAM just picked the wrong clip here. Maybe Chief Jerry Johnson has much more to say about fireman Scott Johnson's arrest and alleged drunkenness.

But Jerry, are you really trying to justify someone showing up drunk for work? Are you really saying intoxication doesn't somehow render someone unavailable for a fire call? Are you really trying to equate camping, hunting, fishing, and attending sporting events with getting drunk?

Oh, wait, this is Madison: maybe camping, hunting, fishing, and sports events really are synonymous with drinking.

It sounds to me as if the Chief Jerry Johnson is excusing irresponsible behavior by saying that our firemen are just volunteers who need to go have fun just like everybody else. And I would agree that firefighters, just like police and doctors and everybody else, do not sacrifice their right to rest and relaxation.

But I would assume that our volunteer firefighters would figure out some rational "on-call" regimen. I would assume that they would accept some responsibility to be totally available at certain times. I would assume they would not leave to hunt or fish or shop out of town without at least telling the chief they're going to leave the department short a man for a day or two.

And I would think someone who volunteers to fight fires and protect public safety would say, "You know what? I agreed to do a job. I can't do that job if I'm too drunk to drive. Ergo, I'd better not get drunk."

I honestly don't know what Chief Jerry Johnson was trying to say. But I hear in his radio clip an inkling of that very Madison attitude that getting drunk is just what we do, and it's no big deal.

Chief Jerry Johnson appears to miss the point that this is a big deal. There is never an excuse, policy or otherwise, for getting drunk... let alone driving our firetruck while so incapacitated. That Chief Jerry Johnson felt the need to say anything else defies common sense.
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Update 10:11 CDT: Chief Jerry Johnson tells KELO, "I cannot and will not dictate to our firefighters how they spend their free-time, that is their choice." Bull, Jerry. You can certainly tell your volunteers they need to be ready and able to perform their duties at any time they're on call. You can tell them they can't break the law. You can tell them serving in your department means not endangering public safety by getting drunk and driving drunk.

Noem's Court Record, Public Safety, and (Finally!) Policy

We in the South Dakota blogosphere have had far too much fun blogging about Kristi Noem's habitual lawbreaking and the associated political and cultural fallout. Amend that: we in the left lobe of the South Dakota blog-brain have been having fun. Some on the right and in the pews have offered some wise warning. But the right-wing blogs plugged into Noem's cult of personality have been having an awful time, scrambling unsuccessfully to compose a coherent counternarrative.

But this is all personality and not policy, right? Even I can recognize that a case can be made that Bill Janklow, whose reckless driving killed Randy Scott, was still a better governor, with bigger, bolder policy initiatives and goals, than safe insurance man Mike Rounds. What impact does Noem's lead foot really have on public affairs?

Perhaps the revelation by the press of Noem's recklessness will boost public safety, at least until November 2. Right now, when Noem gets behind the wheel, we can all hope she's thinking, "If I blow another stop sign, that darn Don Jorgenson will make me look bad again." Driving safely is certainly on Dems' minds: we don't want to be the next blog headline and diminish Herseth Sandlin's advantage on the story (though really, she's the only woman who can do that, and she's driving extra carefully this fall... right, Stephanie?).

Noem's habitual highway hijinks also rise beyond the purely personal to illuminate policy issues. A Facebook correspondent reminds me that Kristi Noem voted no this year on House Bill 1178, which would have banned texting while driving. She voted no twice on the bill, on February 17 and February 18. The latter vote happened just one day before Noem paid $130 to Moody County for tearing up I-29 at 94 miles per hour. In the latter vote, HB 1178 failed by one vote: had Noem flipped, the bill would have moved forward. Noem helped kill a similar bill in committee in 2009.

Instead of listening to the science that says texting behind the wheel is more dangerous than driving drunk, instead of following the lead of other states that are penalizing drivers for endangering public safety with their irresistible need to tweet, Noem voted to let unsafe driving remain legal.

Maybe Noem is speaking from experience: Why fine texting? Fines are silly. They don't stop me from speeding and blowing stop signs. Heck, they don't even get me to court on time. Maybe Noem herself texts from the road. She likes to make videos from the road... but at least she has Beth driving her around. Maybe Noem just didn't want to give the officers one more thing to stop her for.

Noem's votes on HB 1178 show how her disregard for the law and public safety isn't just a character issue, but a policy issue. When a candidate regularly breaks the law and ignores the courts, that candidate is more likely to oppose laws that hold her and other citizens accountable for other dangerous actions.

Yes, the Governor's Talking to You, Kristi...

...and Tessa, and Jason...

From our fearless leader:

Gov. Mike Rounds is asking motorists to use extra caution on South Dakota highways during the Labor Day travel weekend.

...Four people were killed and 92 others were injured on South Dakota roads during the last two Labor Day weekends. Half of the fatalities were alcohol-related. “If motorists would just remember to designate a sober driver, to use seatbelts on every trip and pay attention to speed limits and road conditions, we could make our highways much safer for holiday travel,’ the Governor said.

...“Most crashes are entirely preventable,’’ the Governor said. “Please enjoy the holiday weekend, but take personal responsibility for your safety and your family’s safety – not only this holiday weekend but every time you travel’’ [South Dakota state government press release, 2010.09.02].

Put down the beer, slow down... and watch for bicycles!

Thune Staffer Lutz Busted for DUI

Prediction: by November 2, the criminal record of every South Dakotan will have appeared in the press.

The Kristi Noem campaign must be in panic mode, trying to divert attention from Noem's habitual lawbreaking by publicizing Lars Herseth's speeding tickets (yes, Lars, who last ran for office in... what, the 1990s?) and SHS campaign chief of staff Tessa Gould's recent DUI.

Oops. Maybe should have vetted that last one with SDGOP godfather John Thune. David Newquist reads the paper and notices that Thune staffer Jason Henry Lutz got a DUI this year, too.

The moral equivalence bombs just keep dropping... and the Noem campaign keeps failing to explain why Noem's own reckless disregard for law and public safety are acceptable.

Stop: An Arresting Reminder

Wherein I blatantly repurpose Dakota War College's commentary:

An arresting reminder from KELO-TV why Kristi Noem’s $48.50 fine for her blowing a stop sign is a light sentence indeed:

A 25-year-old mother and a 21-year-old driver are dead after a car crash just east of White, South Dakota.

It happened at about 7:30 Friday night. Jordan Hochstein, 21, of White was driving north on 479th Avenue when he didn't stop at a stop sign. In the intersection, his car crashed with an eastbound pickup driven by 24-year-old Justin Vostad, also of White.

Hochstein wasn't wearing a seat belt, and he died at the scene.

The other driver was okay, but his wife, Megan Vostad, 25, who was riding in the pickup, was killed in the crash. The Vostads' nine-month-old son was also in the pickup; he was not hurt [Kealey Bultena, "Rural White Crash Kills Two People," KELOLand.com, 2010.08.28].

Read more at the Brookings Register.

Noem Ditches Court Six Times, Earns Two Arrest Warrants

Yeah, now it's a story.

For the record, I have four fined vehicular infractions in my file:

1. 1989: 94 on I-29 in Moody County. Went to court, paid $100.
2. 1994: 70-some in Faulk County. $100.
3. 1995: 74 on the Norwegian Boulevard in Lake County. $100.
4. During this period, the Brookings P.D. also busted me for blowing the stop sign at 8th and Medary. On my bicycle. $20.
   

Kristi Noem, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, and I are all about the same age. SHS has one speeding ticket here on home turf and none in Washington, D.C. (a relatively tricky and dangerous place to drive).

Noem is the biggest lawbreaker on the ballot:

Noem has the longest list of violations, including 20 speeding tickets, three stop sign violations, two seat belt violations, and no driver's license. Noem also has six court notices for failure to appear and two arrest warrants.

...Noem's most recent speeding ticket was earlier this year when she was pulled over for driving 94 miles per hour on the interstate [Don Jorgenson, "Noem Not Proud of Driving Record," KELOLand.com, 2010.08.26].

I did 94 on the Interstate when I was a hotheaded 18-year-old, driving with my girlfriend in a fancy black Dodge pickup for the first time. That's not an excuse; that's an explanation of why I got more tickets then than I do now, when I have a wife, a child, and bills to pay.

Noem committed the same irresponsible crime this year, at the mature age of 38. Same county. Same speed... and what the hell: 21 years later, she gets a lower fine than I did?! $76?!?! Boy, I guess good hair does make a difference. [Update: Rapid City Journal reports Noem paid $130 in fine and court costs on February 19. My grumbling is soothed.]

I know Noem wants to beat Herseth Sandlin, but in her flagrant disregard for public safety and the law, Noem is trying a little too hard to be like the last person to beat Herseth Sandlin in an election, leadfoot Governor and convicted man-slaughterer Bill Janklow.

Noem whines that she's "disheartened we're spending time talking about my poor driving record when we could be talking about the economy and jobs." As am I: I wish the GOP candidate weren't a threat to public safety so we could concentrate on solving the nation's problems. But when a itting legislator and political candidate breaks the law so frequently and flagrantly, well, golly, that's news.

Noem mutters that "I'll continue to make sure being diligent and recognizing the fact that this obviously isn't something I'm proud of, something I need to improve." Sure. It's something you need to improve. You do that by taking your damn foot off the gas. You do that by showing up for court when the law tells you. It's not that hard. And there's certainly no excuse.
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Update 13:15 CDT: Bob Mercer, whom I think I can safely say is at least not a left-leaning journalist, says Noem is a "habitual lawbreaker" and says short of Noem renouncing her driving privileges for the rest of her political career, this race may have just tilted back to Herseth Sandlin, "perhaps deservedly so." Jordan Fabian at The Hill also says Noem's traffic violations could be a game-changer.

Alert: Boater Missing on Lake Herman

Lake County Search and Rescue just drove up in my yard looking for a missing boater. I didn't catch all the details, but evidently a couple folks from Camp Lakodia in a canoe or kayak got in trouble on the choppy water and capsized. Search and Rescue got a call that one had reached a dock, but the status of the second person is uncertain.

Search and Rescue has a boat and its jetski on the water searching right now. The team ran through my yard and headed south down the shore to check the docks at Schafers' and Walkers'. Lake Herman neighbors, keep your eyes peeled.

I think one of the Search and Rescue folks said on the walkie talkies that the missing boater may be deaf, so you may not be able to call out and get a response.

Business Seeks Profit Over Public Safety -- An Anecdote

These DUI laws are just killing us.

A representative of the alcohol industry said that to me this week. Struggling mightily to keep my seat and my civility, I asked, how so?

The rep explained that South Dakota's sobriety checkpoint program has been getting more intense and driving up DUI arrests. A guy gets one of those, said the rep, and he doesn't want to risk that cost again.

I asked if the checkpoints just caused people to enjoy their adult beverages at home more, but the rep apparently sees enforcement of state laws as driving down sales for his industry.

We need more politicians who think like businessmen, the rep said.

No, we don't. Not when thinking like a businessman means easing up on drunk drivers.

Sunshine Sign Will Fall on Your Car Before Amerts' Wind Turbines

This afternoon's Madison Daily Leader covers the Madison City Commission's first reading of its proposed wind turbine ordinances. The online version of the story omits what was surely the sharpest comment of last night's commission meeting.

Don Amert attended last night's meeting. He and his brother would like to put up a couple wind turbines out by their Ready-Mix cement plant on the southeast edge of Madison (where those turbines would look fantabulous to all the wayfaring travelers on Highway 34... if only they wouldn't distract from our beautiful Madison sign and artificial waterfall). Don questioned the setback ordinances, which require turbines be placed at least 1.1 times their hieght back from property lines, utility lines, electrical substations, roads and homes.

My friend Don suggested such setbacks seem a bit "onerous," especially when you consider that Madison retailers are allowed to situate their tall signs well within toppling distance of roads, property lines, public roads, your parked car, and my bike.

An interesting point! Anyone care to mark off the fall zone of, say, the big Sunshine sign in the middle of town? Or the big flag pole? Or all the lightpoles in the parking lot?

The paper reports city engineer Chad Comes responded by saying such setbacks are standard for wind turbine regulations. In other words, everyone else does it, so don't ask the city complicated questions.

Wind turbines do occasionally tip over... just like signs, cranes, trees, and people. If the city is really worried about tall things falling into the road, we're going to be clearing a long, ugly swath through the center of Madison.

But I'll say this: if Amerts build a wind turbine, it will not, not, NOT fall over. Ever.