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• Marilyn Oakes said that legacy surfaced last fall, when the state of South Dakota and several corporate donors worked out a deal with the National Park Service to reopen Mount Rushmore during a partial government shutdown.
• "If Art had been feeling better, he would have had a heyday with that," she said.
• Oakes' funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Mount Rushmore Ward Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rapid City.
• "His death is not a tragedy. What he did with his life is what we need to celebrate," his wife said.
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• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A South Dakota legislative panel has requested goals and assessment plans from the state treasurer and the Health, Education and Corrections departments as part of an ongoing effort to measure the effectiveness of state agencies.
• The Government Operations and Audit Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to request reports from these offices. The committee has been working with the executive branch for the last three years to measure the performance of state agencies and departments.
• A representative from the governor's office recommends that the committee oversee specific programs, such as the economic development initiative Building South Dakota and the Public Safety Improvement Act.
• Committee members say those policies already require legislative oversight. They agree with the governor's staffers that data is important to assess progress and determine future investment.
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• STURGIS, S.D. (AP) -- A Sturgis eighth-grader will be traveling to Washington, D.C., to represent South Dakota in the national finals of the National Geographic Bee.
• Bridger Gordon attends Sturgis Williams Middle School. Gordon is one of just 54 students remaining in the national competition. He will vie with others for the grand prize from May 19 to 21.
• First prize in the national competition is a $50,000 college scholarship and a trip to the Galapagos Islands, with $25,000 and $10,000 scholarships to the next two finishers.

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