If you had asked me at this time last year if I thought that I would ever be working for MTV covering one of our country’s most historic elections, I would have laughed in your face and looked at you like you were crazy.

        It’s hard to believe that only 11 months ago I was arriving in New York City, with 50 other young people from around the country to find out how we would be playing a role in the 2008 election.  I had no idea what to expect and definitely no idea that this opportunity would turn into the experience it did.

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        It is hard to focus in class today with the election. People who are normally quiet, are buzzing about everything from McCain and Obama to the abortion ban that is one the ballot AGAIN here in South Dakota.

       “I’m sick of the abortion ban,” says Sarah a 21 year old voter from Spearfish, SD. “It’s already been decided. Plus I don’t want the government all up in my business.”

        “I think it should be a personal choice,” said Grace a young mother. “It was a hard choice for me to decide what I was going to do, but I kept my baby and I’m glad I did. I’m glad I had that choice though. No one should be told what they can and can’t do with their body.”

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        Pro-life or pro-choice. It’s a tough issue and a touchy subject here in South Dakota.

        Right before the election, both sides of the issue were working hard to bring to light the facts about Measure 11.

        Two years ago South Dakota exploded onto the map when the state tried to pass Referred Law 6—a law that stated that no abortion could be performed in the state of South Dakota no matter what the circumstances were. South Dakota is not the only state that has tried to pass such laws with states like California adding similar initiatives to their ballot this year.

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          September 20th was the weekend for my college’s homecoming football game. It’s a tradition at my college to have a parade the morning of the big game followed by a large tailgating party in the stadium parking lot and then, of course, the game.

          I, like most of the other students at my school, attended the parade and while I was there I noticed something very interesting about the politics of South Dakota, of all things.

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        Back in March I posted a blog concerning the driver license laws here in South Dakota and how it may play a part in the high number of teenage driving related deaths in the state.

        A new report out from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that raising the driving age from 16 to 17 or 18 would reduce the number of car crashes and prevent deaths.

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With both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions done, it’s back to business as usual on the campaign trail.  One of the biggest stories to come out of the conventions though is who John McCain chose as his running mate, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin.

                Palin has no experience in Washington and was mayor of a small town in Alaska before becoming Governor of Alaska in 2006, so it came as a huge shock when John McCain announced that he chose her to be his running mate.

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           With the Democratic National Convention next week everyone is starting to get geared up, especially the delegates. One of the district delegates from South Dakota traveling to Denver is James Feinstein from Sioux Falls, SD. 

           James is 20 year old sophomore at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa who is studying Anthropology and Political Science. James is president of the College Democrats at Luther and has been interested and active in this election since September when he originally pledged his delegate vote to Hillary Clinton.

            But what is a delegate? A delegate is someone from a specified district that is chosen to support a chosen candidate of their choice. 

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          Driving is an everyday activity for most people, but what if you had to pay for every mile that you drove? Here in South Dakota they are considering doing just that.

          With the funds for South Dakota’s road repairs/upkeep depleted lawmakers are scrambling to find ways to replenish the funds. The proposed plan would tax drivers on the basis of how many miles they travel on the highways and interstates of South Dakota.

          Currently South Dakota gets three-fourths of its funding for road-building and repairs from the federal government but with the current situation of the economy, the future of those funds are in doubt.

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