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Governor's mansion hosts Easter egg hunt
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- There's an Easter egg hunt Sunday afternoon at the South Dakota governor's mansion.
• The 61st Annual Elks Easter Egg Hunt hosted by Gov. Dennis Daugaard and First Lady Linda Daugaard is open to children up to age 10.
• Families are invited to arrive at the residence lawn at 12:15 p.m. to hear children's entertainer Phil Baker perform. The hunt begins at 1 p.m.
• Egg hunt chairman Steve Wegmen estimates that up to 1,500 children participate in the event sponsored by the Pierre Elks each year. He calls the hunt the oldest and largest family event in the state of South Dakota.
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After long wait, ranchers find relief from USDA
HENRY C. JACKSON, Associated Press
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Gary Cammack wondered if his state's ranching community could recover.
• An early-season blizzard had just pounded South Dakota, and no one had seen such devastation. Cammack, a Republican state representative and a rancher, feared for both his community and his livelihood -- his family lost some 120 animals, worth roughly $144,000, in the October storm. Just next door, his neighbor lost as many as 690 animals, and losses for some ranches approached $1 million.
• "It was mind-boggling," he said of the state's losses.
• Worse, there was no avenue to seek relief. Such catastrophic losses are normally covered by emergency programs in the federal farm bill, but the bill had expired as Congress struggled to reconcile House and Senate versions.
• That changed this past week as the U.S. Department of Agriculture moved quickly to restart a series of disaster and indemnity programs that cover losses for ranchers and farmers. Applications began for various programs through USDA beginning on April 15. They cover losses suffered from the time the programs expired in late 2011 to now.
• The losses by ranchers in South Dakota and to a lesser extent North Dakota may have drawn the most attention last fall. But the programs reinstated by USDA will help ranchers and farmers who have suffered losses throughout the country, includ (Continued on page 15)
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