Good evening District 27. As the Labor Day weekend comes to a close and the unofficial end of summer, I wanted to share with you my week of family fun. Some of my followers may have noticed I was absent from posting this week, but I decided it was time that I take a “summer vacation” to visit my family in Yankton before the fall campaign ramps up.
The week kicked off with the announcement of a new great-grandbaby born on Sunday, August 25th. I became a new great-uncle. My niece and her husband who live in Sioux Falls had delivered a healthy baby boy into the world. I am so proud of them. He truly was a miracle baby since my family and I had been praying for them since my niece had been diagnosed with a physical ailment that impacted her ability to get pregnant for several years. Their only child, a girl, is so in love with her baby brother.
Then on Monday, I entertained my uncle and first cousin from Washington State. They had arrived in the nick of time before the hailstorm. They were passing through Martin for a brief visit before heading to Yankton in anticipation of a wedding later in the week that we were both invited to. I always enjoy my visit with my uncle and cousins from Washington. A lot of conversation was had and it’s always interesting to hear from my uncle who loves to share stories about his youth and when he first started his trucking business. In many ways, I see myself in him trying to fight for the “little guy” who simply wants to make ends meet.
After my uncle and cousin departed, I volunteered to assist with the Feed South Dakota distribution which was located at the Martin Grade School this month. I always enjoy checking the people in and chatting with them, asking them how their day is going. I had several people come up to me and wish me well in the fall campaign. I appreciated those words of encouragement.
After I got done volunteering with Feed South Dakota, I quickly jumped into my vehicle and made the 4-hour drive to Yankton to meet up with my mom. Upon arrival, she and I quickly got into her vehicle to head to the Senior Center where we had a BBQ baked rib dinner special. My mom had shared with me in advance that I needed to get home quickly before the ribs would be all served. I got there in time to enjoy the dinner with my mom. The ribs were fantastic! Kudos to the cook who prepared the dinner special. I was able to chat with my aunt who happened to be at the dinner also.
After dinner, my mom and I prayed a rosary and divine mercy chaplet together since my sister-in-law’s mother was put on a medevac flight that evening to Omaha, Nebraska for serious life and death complications. My mom and I are great prayer warriors in our family. We are always busy praying for those people who require a prayer said for them.
The next day, I had my vehicle worked on. While my vehicle was worked on, my mom and I had an opportunity to pray a rosary at Sacred Heart Church with fellow parishioners and to attend daily mass and adoration. After mass and adoration, I took my mother out for a late birthday lunch at our favorite Mexican Restaurant in Yankton. I was unable to be home for her birthday, so I wanted to treat her to lunch. I always cherish my one-on-one time with my mom since it is difficult to have that in a large family. It gave me a chance to have some quality time with her since I have been busy on the campaign trail this past year.
On Friday, I had the opportunity to take my older brother Vince out for lunch at a local Burger King since he was hungry for a Whopper with cheese. As you know my older brother is in a nursing home in Yankton and suffers from schizophrenia. He is still busy drawing conveyor systems, painting, and working on algebra, physics, and chemistry problems to occupy his time. It was a beautiful day so we went for a short drive to check out the newly finished West Side Park pond near Avera Sacred Heart Hospital. I noticed the pond finally held water. It would have been a great day to do some fishing with my brother, but we had no night crawlers and he wanted to get back to his room to work on some more physics problems.
Later that afternoon, my sister and brother-in-law from McPherson, Kansas showed up. My first baby brother from Windsor, Colorado, who made a nine-hour drive, likewise showed up at the same time. We did some small talk, but then my brother-in-law suggested we go to the tennis courts to play pickleball. I had never played pickleball before, but I enjoyed the game. I love any sports that have to do with a net (ping pong, tennis, and badminton). Of course, my brother-in-law won the cut-throat game of pickleball.
After our pickleball game, we drove back home to my mom’s house to meet up with my third baby brother and his family from Shawnee, Kansas. My mom had prepared meals in advance for all the guests’ arrival. Nobody goes hungry at the Kathol residence. After dinner, we headed over to Crane-Youngworth Field to watch the Yankton Bucks play the Huron Tigers in their football season opener. The Bucks spanked the Tigers 60-0 and led with 50 points at the half. I was able to watch my nephew play center throughout the game. Six of my siblings along with their spouses and several of my nieces and nephews, my mom, uncles, aunts, and cousins were in attendance. It was a perfect evening to watch a football game.
Then on Saturday, my nephew from Springfield, Missouri, stopped by my mom's home and introduced his fiancée before attending a wedding in Crofton, Nebraska. She had a sparkling "rock" on her finger. They are planning a wedding for June 2025. After their arrival and brief introductions, we then gathered up and attended the wedding of my first cousin’s son. It was a beautiful day for their wedding. The reception was nice. I met up with several relatives that I had not seen in a while. My mom and I stayed for the reception and then we left before the dance had started. I would have loved to stay for the dance, but I needed to get back home to get up early the next day to drive back to Martin since I had a parade to attend in New Underwood. The parade lineup was at 12:30 PM, which meant I was on the road at 3:00 AM CDT. After making the trek back to Martin throughout the early hours of Sunday morning, where I saw the new moon rise toward the east as I looked into the rearview mirror of my vehicle, I drove into the driveway of my home four hours later as the sun began to rise over the horizon.
After attending the 8:00 AM mass in Martin, my good friend Irene Saunders and I headed out to make the two-hour trip to New Underwood where she and I prepared the flatbed trailer in time for the parade. It was a fun parade and I got to pass out some campaign literature and met a lot of families lining the parade route while Irene drove my vehicle. Again the kids loved the flying mini discs that I passed out to them. After the parade, I took Irene to lunch at Moe’s Bar and Grill on South Avenue A. By the way, I highly recommend the ribeye steak sandwich. It was delicious.
After lunch, I met with several people from New Underwood who addressed their concerns to me about how South Dakota is changing. I also had an opportunity to meet with a member of their local volunteer fire department and learned how well-managed it is. My day came to an end after making the two-hour drive back to Martin. Irene and I stopped to take in a beautiful field of sunflowers west of Martin before completing the drive. I was exhausted by this time. Bedtime couldn't come fast enough. I fell asleep around 7:00 PM.
Today (Labor Day), I woke up around 9:00 AM after a long night's sleep. I got a little laundry done, did some campaign prep and Facebook posting, and hosted a dinner party for two of my campaign volunteers. It was a nice way to bring a close to the unofficial end of summer before I head into the fall campaign.
The theme of this blog could be put simply: family values. That is the essence of why I share this week’s activities with you. You see, I am concerned about the direction our state is heading. It is quickly changing. I was reminded of this when I visited the people in New Underwood. It is a common theme that I have heard all across District 27. If elected your state senator, I will fight to maintain what is good about South Dakota: our family values. This past week, I was able to host, participate, or attend many family and friend-oriented events (lunch with my uncle, cousin, mom, and brother, pickleball with my brother and brother-in-law, attend a wedding and meet my nephew's fiancée, attend a high school football game, participate in a family-friendly parade in the small town of New Underwood, and hosting a dinner party with friends who play a “family” role in my life). These events all have a common thread woven amongst them...honoring the family.
The family is the building block of any society. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability, and a life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society" (CCC 2207). Hence, preserving family values is integral to the development of a society. If the foundational principles and values of the family are eroded steadily away, then our society is led into utter chaos and pandemonium. The breakdown of family values is quickly being undermined and attacked across our country and state. I will do my best to support and sponsor legislation that upholds the dignity and values of the family. God bless.
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