Valentines Day evening at Desperados in Hill City.  I would not have gone out on such a snowy dangerous night but my valentine knows many local musicians who are also composers.  I absolutely did not expect such high talent, heart, musicianship, humour, and friendship.  I had a great time listening to Chris Voyles, Steve Thorpe, Brenda Libby-Saxton, Marty Meyer, George Wolf, Mike Linderman and Ken and Cory Tomovick.   I am not a music critic/writer but I remember some smooth keyboard and flute from Marty and Wolf.  Some down-home tunes from Brenda, Chris, and Steve.  And some real Black Hills  soul from Mike and Ken and Cory.  My thanks go out to those musicians, the folks at Desperados and also the sponsors, two of which were the main artist/galleries in town.   I have only been in the Black Hills for 3 years and nothing but good has happened to me.  I’ll be sure to be at Desperados for the St Patricks show March 14 for some Celtic music. In fact, I’m officially closing the door to everyone else behind me.  To everyone reading this: Close your mouth about how nice it is here.  Tell them that hundreds die from the Winters and many more from the Summer heat.  Shoo the East and West Coasters away and tell them to go to Santa Fe or Aspen instead.  (Well they can go to Sturgis with their bikes but THAT’s IT!!)  I spent 4 years in Santa Fe and witnessed first hand how a place can go bad in a hurry.Don Jones 

The last information I have regarding the amount the state spends on the arts is .08% of the total budget.  I sympathize with Governor Rounds in having to “tighten belts” or whatever the phrase is these days.  However, I don’t think he or most of the legislators know how much the arts contribute to the State of South Dakota.  The most obvious reason being that the very symbol of the state; appearing on the license plate and bringing in millions of tourist dollars is in fact a work of art itself.  Ask any schoolchild (or anyone from out of state) what is special about South Dakota, and the first thing (or maybe the only thing) they say is: Mount Rushmore National Memorial.  The fact that this monument was sculpted by an artist seems a given by most people.  Artists such as Mr Borglum need to be trained and schooled if any more such works are to be accomplished in South Dakota and the potential here in the Black Hills is enormous.  I have only been here 3 years and I continue to be impressed with the quality and commitment of the painters, sculptors, craftspeople, musicians and writers who live here in the Black Hills area.  These artists spend money and create wealth through sales, equipment, supplies, and use of venues for their work.  Any money spent on them will return 10 fold in my opinion.  Don Jones