Search query: south dakota

Credit: maps.com Randy Brock, Republican candidate for Vermont Governor, probably didn't mean it to come out this way, but his successful Friday fundraising pitch that focused on Republican Governors turns out to be a boost for current Vermont Governor, Democrat Peter Shumlin. Or so it seems to anyone paying attention. The center of Brock’s pitch is that “a recent study showed that of the 17 states that elected Republican governors in 2010, every single one has reduced its unemployment rate.”

A Mississippi federal judge this afternoon ruled in favor of keeping the last Mississippi abortion clinic open by blocking the state's TRAP bill. This means the Governor's bill failed, for now, in outlawing abortion in the state without overturning Roe v. Wade. The judge previously blocked the law with a temporary restraining order on July 1. The Associated Press reports the judge did not initially say how long today's extended order will last. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) signed into law

In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, making it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase or possess alcohol in public, but technically there's no such thing as a national drinking age. How can this be? Setting a national drinking age falls outside the scope of the US Congress' constitutionally-enumerated powers; it has historically been a state issue.By putting the national drinking age in the Federal Aid Highway Act, however, Congress didn't require states to

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, has yet to announce the selection of his vice president candidate. Such an announcement is not expected before the Republican National Convention. Yet that doesn't keep plenty of political observers from discussing and speculating who the eventual nominee will be. Washington Post's The Fix and Google have recently teamed up to track news mentions, search trends and YouTube video views for 10 of the most frequently mentioned potential cand

Last week, IVN commented on a lawsuit brought by alleged delegates to the Republican National Convention. The Republican National Committee, while stating that suit was frivolous at the same time organized all the named defendants into a united defense against this litigation. There is no indication yet that the complaint in the action was served on any defendant or that the RNC has voluntarily appeared and moved to take any pretrial actions. What is clear: Ron Paul's delegate count continues to

A disturbing report from the University of Texas says groundwater depletion in Texas, California, and elsewhere is so pronounced  it now threatens our food security. These areas include some of our most fertile agricultural areas: the Central Valley in California and the High Plains stretching from northeast Texas to Wyoming and South Dakota. Together, these areas produce much of our vegetables, fruits, and grains. Groundwater levels have dropped precipitously in these areas due to decades of p

In light of former Senator Rick Santorum's recent comments on ABC's This Week, it is clear GOP social conservatives are becoming increasingly worried about the presence, and power, of Dr. Ron Paul at the Republican National Convention. In the case of a divided Republican Party, if Governor Mitt Romney is going to have to choose between Dr. Paul and Sen. Santorum in Tampa, he has to go with Dr. Paul. In an earlier posting by IVN, we pointed out that at some point Gov. Romney was going to have to

Directed by the Obama Administration to abandon a proposed change to its regulatory code, the Labor Department has announced that it will not enforce new rules designed to limit the type of work minors can perform on family farms. Last December, the U.S. Department of Labor announced its updated proposal to ban children younger than 16 from using power-driven farm equipment. For those under the age of 18, the proposal would have prohibited employment in country grain elevators, grain bins, silo

Most people would probably choose California as the state with the highest percentage of electricity generation from wind power. As it turns out, California isn’t even close as it gets about 4% of its power from wind. The top honor goes South Dakota, with a whopping 22% of its power generation from wind. Iowa was next with 19%. North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wyoming followed, all with more than 10%. The top ten was rounded out by Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, Oregon, and Oklahoma with more than 5%. T

Jobseekers might consider moving to fly-over states instead of perhaps making dismissive comments about them while on transcontinental flights. With a few exceptions, the lowest unemployment rates are in the heartland. Those looking for jobs there should also get ready for living in the country because the bulk of such jobs are in rural and exurban areas. This certainly is the opposite of the commonly accepted knowledge that big coastal cities are the primary drivers of employment and job growt