South Dakota Public Broadcasting

H.R. 4157, Paul Hedren and James Carter

Dakota Midday - 07/26/2012

Scott VanderWal, President of the South Dakota Farm Bureau Board of Directors, talks about H.R. 4157, the Preserving America's Family Farms Act. This legislation would prohibit the Department of Labor (DOL) from moving forward on an earlier proposed rule that would have banned kids from doing many everyday chores and jobs on farms and ranches. DOL first proposed these rules in 2011, but after pressure from farmers and ranchers across the nation, DOL rescinded the proposed rule. H.R. 4157 prohibits the Secretary of Labor from finalizing this proposed rule. South Dakota Representative Kristi Noem spoke in support of the legislation.

Paul Hedren joins Dakota Midday to talk about the Black Hills Gold Rush. In 1875, a young man from Pennsylvania joined the Dodge Expedition into the Black Hills of Dakota Territory, from where he penned letters to the Omaha Daily Bee. Not content with accompanying Dodge, Captain Jack returned to the Black Hills in 1876 for a further six months. John Wallace Crawford, who became better known as Captain Jack, wrote a vibrant account of this fascinating time in the American West. His correspondence featured his adventures in the early Black Hills gold rush as he played the parts of reporter, plainsman, scout, and raconteur. Captain Jack informed his readers, in great detail and with an eye for the unusual and intriguing, of the relative merits of the gulches, the vagaries and difficulties of travel in the region, the art of survival in what was essentially wilderness, the hardships of inclement weather, trouble with outlaws, and interactions with American Indians. Captain Jack met and worked with Buffalo Bill Cody and quickly seized the opportunity to scout for Brigadier General George Crook on his Indian campaign. Jack's correspondence from the Starvation March and the fight at Slim Buttes offers detailed and intimate accounts of these dramatic episodes of the Great Sioux War. Award-winning historian Paul Hedren has compiled these almost unknown letters, writing an introduction and essays that place the correspondence in the greater context of the Black Hills Gold Rush and the Great Sioux War.

James Carter talks about his passion for the saxophone. Carter is one of the most admired saxophonists of his generation, garnering plaudits for his role in helping propel jazz full tilt into the future over the past twenty-five years. His music is fueled by deep respect and intimate of the jazz tradition. His debut recording, "JC On The Set," released in Japan when Carter was 23 years old heralded the arrival of a significant and powerful new musical force in jazz. Carter performs on the Main Stage of the Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Festival Saturday evening at 6:00.

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