Dakota Political Junkies, Successful Aging Report and Connect America Fund

Dakota Midday - 08/01/2012

Dakota Political Junkies Kevin Woster, Rapid City Journal columnist, and Jon Hunter, Madison Daily Leader publisher discuss the Democrats' weekend retreat in the Black Hills and the party's lack of success in West River elections, Representative Kristi Noem and the Farm Bill and the continuing speculation of Senator John Thune as Mitt Romney's pick for Vice President on the Republican ticket.

Ross DeVol, Chief Research Officer at the Milken Institute and co-author of the Successful Aging Report, talks about the report. Sioux Falls is the top-ranking smaller city in The Milken Institute's data-driven index, Best Cities for Successful Aging, which measures and ranks the performance of 359 U.S. metropolitan areas in promoting and enabling successful aging. Rapid City is ranked 10th. Sioux Falls is recognized for its hospitals that specialize in geriatric services, and its booming economy that provides a strong financial base, with the highest employment rate among seniors among the 259 small cities. The new index is an empirical analysis that examines 78 factors that most affect seniors' quality of life. These include health care, crime rates and weather, as well as economic and job conditions, housing, transportation and social engagement factors.

South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Chris Nelson talks about the Connect America Fund. Nelson says the new $4.5 billion Connect America Fund is actually hindering broadband expansion in the state. The Federal Communications Commission says 44 percent of rural South Dakota lacks high speed internet and that the fund will help access.

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