Pierre-bound rancher speaks her mind
By Kevin Woster, Journal Staff Writer
Betty Olson and her husband, Reuben, will celebrate their 42nd anniversary Tuesday. That's a fair feat in today's world of break-away commitment and drive-through divorce.
But Betty won't pat herself on the back.
"Reuben's the one who needs congratulations," she said by telephone from the family ranch north of Reva. "He's toughed it out for a long time."
She's kidding, of course - mostly. She does that a lot, mixing self-effacing humor with pointed commentary on the state and its government - as seen from a wind-blown cattle and sheep ranch in eastern Harding County.
Like many of her neighbors, Olson has plenty of opinions on the issues of the day. Unlike her neighbors, she is likely to share them in public venues in ways that are very quotable to reporters and very familiar to her husband.
"I've never been very good at keeping my mouth shut," she said Sunday. "Unfortunately, that means that as soon as things jump into my head, they fly out my mouth."
That's pretty much what happened two years ago during a meeting of a state task force on conflicts between landowners and the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department.
A frequent critic of GF&P policies, Olson spoke at several of those meetings, and in one, she tried to explain why she didn't like the idea of state conservation officers entering her property without permission.
You could summarize her argument in two words, really: nude gardening.
"Here I am, out gardening in the buff, and the conservation officer drives in. That violates my rights," Olson said.
You could argue that there's no clear constitutional right to wander around naked in the tomatoes. But Olson says she was aiming at protecting her private-property rights.
"That's just what came out," she said. "I didn't think about it much. But people sure remember it."
Indeed, they do. They're likely to have more to remember from Olson beginning in January. In her first political campaign, she won the Republican primary last month for the District 28B seat in the South Dakota House of Representatives. She doesn't have an opponent in the general election, so the primary win was a nonstop ticket to Pierre.
Olson topped Bob Drown, a retired Natural Resource Conservation Service employee from Bison, in a primary with lots of road miles and little personal conflict.
"I had a good opponent in Bob Drown. He's a nice guy," Olson said. "We ran a real clean campaign, because I like him and he likes me."
District 28B covers all of Harding and Perkins counties, most of Butte and Corson counties and a bit of Meade County. In winning with 890 votes to 765 for Drown, Olson spent $2,381.18, including $1,113.80 for advertising, $300 for printing, and $806.11 for travel.
And there was plenty of travel on those long, lonesome highways.
"I knew maybe six people in Corson County, so I had to get over there," Olson said. "It's a long drive, and you don't get to meet a lot of people when you get there."
Olson used $671.18 in personal funds for the campaign - mostly for gas, she said.
She also spent $25 for "consulting." At least, that's what it said on her state campaign spending report.
During a year when state Sen. Stan Adelstein spent more than $30,000 on professional political consultant fees, Olson's $25 was an eye-catcher.
"Actually, I didn't know much about filling out those spending reports," she said. "The $25 was for an REA campaign school in Rapid City. (Secretary of State) Chris Nelson was there. I learned that we had to put disclaimers on all of our campaign ads."
On her own, she also learned a bit about political action committees and the way they can channel campaign cash through cloudy waters that rise above the donation limits set for individuals.
Olson accepted an offer of $1,000 for her campaign from Republican state Rep. Alan Hanks of District 32, with the money to come from the Rapid City Action Committee overseen by Hanks.
Later, Olson learned that RCAC was funded by the All South Dakota Political Action Committee, which is funded by Adelstein.
Olson is a strong supporter of HB1215, the near-total ban on abortions approved by the state Legislature and up for public vote this fall. When she found out that the RCAC money came from Adelstein, an outspoken opponent of 1215, Olson pondered giving it back.
Then, she decided on a different response.
"I badmouthed Adelstein and got the money anyway," she said. "My education is expanding."
The main course starts next January, when Olson gets sworn in as a House member for the 82nd South Dakota legislative session. She's hoping to land a seat on the House Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee, which handles issues important to the farm-and-ranch community, including GF&P affairs.
"I think that would be interesting," Olson said.
Certainly, it will be, for her and especially for GF&P.
July 24, 2006
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/07/25/news/columns/263woster.txt
By Kevin Woster, Journal Staff Writer
Betty Olson and her husband, Reuben, will celebrate their 42nd anniversary Tuesday. That's a fair feat in today's world of break-away commitment and drive-through divorce.
But Betty won't pat herself on the back.
"Reuben's the one who needs congratulations," she said by telephone from the family ranch north of Reva. "He's toughed it out for a long time."
She's kidding, of course - mostly. She does that a lot, mixing self-effacing humor with pointed commentary on the state and its government - as seen from a wind-blown cattle and sheep ranch in eastern Harding County.
Like many of her neighbors, Olson has plenty of opinions on the issues of the day. Unlike her neighbors, she is likely to share them in public venues in ways that are very quotable to reporters and very familiar to her husband.
"I've never been very good at keeping my mouth shut," she said Sunday. "Unfortunately, that means that as soon as things jump into my head, they fly out my mouth."
That's pretty much what happened two years ago during a meeting of a state task force on conflicts between landowners and the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department.
A frequent critic of GF&P policies, Olson spoke at several of those meetings, and in one, she tried to explain why she didn't like the idea of state conservation officers entering her property without permission.
You could summarize her argument in two words, really: nude gardening.
"Here I am, out gardening in the buff, and the conservation officer drives in. That violates my rights," Olson said.
You could argue that there's no clear constitutional right to wander around naked in the tomatoes. But Olson says she was aiming at protecting her private-property rights.
"That's just what came out," she said. "I didn't think about it much. But people sure remember it."
Indeed, they do. They're likely to have more to remember from Olson beginning in January. In her first political campaign, she won the Republican primary last month for the District 28B seat in the South Dakota House of Representatives. She doesn't have an opponent in the general election, so the primary win was a nonstop ticket to Pierre.
Olson topped Bob Drown, a retired Natural Resource Conservation Service employee from Bison, in a primary with lots of road miles and little personal conflict.
"I had a good opponent in Bob Drown. He's a nice guy," Olson said. "We ran a real clean campaign, because I like him and he likes me."
District 28B covers all of Harding and Perkins counties, most of Butte and Corson counties and a bit of Meade County. In winning with 890 votes to 765 for Drown, Olson spent $2,381.18, including $1,113.80 for advertising, $300 for printing, and $806.11 for travel.
And there was plenty of travel on those long, lonesome highways.
"I knew maybe six people in Corson County, so I had to get over there," Olson said. "It's a long drive, and you don't get to meet a lot of people when you get there."
Olson used $671.18 in personal funds for the campaign - mostly for gas, she said.
She also spent $25 for "consulting." At least, that's what it said on her state campaign spending report.
During a year when state Sen. Stan Adelstein spent more than $30,000 on professional political consultant fees, Olson's $25 was an eye-catcher.
"Actually, I didn't know much about filling out those spending reports," she said. "The $25 was for an REA campaign school in Rapid City. (Secretary of State) Chris Nelson was there. I learned that we had to put disclaimers on all of our campaign ads."
On her own, she also learned a bit about political action committees and the way they can channel campaign cash through cloudy waters that rise above the donation limits set for individuals.
Olson accepted an offer of $1,000 for her campaign from Republican state Rep. Alan Hanks of District 32, with the money to come from the Rapid City Action Committee overseen by Hanks.
Later, Olson learned that RCAC was funded by the All South Dakota Political Action Committee, which is funded by Adelstein.
Olson is a strong supporter of HB1215, the near-total ban on abortions approved by the state Legislature and up for public vote this fall. When she found out that the RCAC money came from Adelstein, an outspoken opponent of 1215, Olson pondered giving it back.
Then, she decided on a different response.
"I badmouthed Adelstein and got the money anyway," she said. "My education is expanding."
The main course starts next January, when Olson gets sworn in as a House member for the 82nd South Dakota legislative session. She's hoping to land a seat on the House Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee, which handles issues important to the farm-and-ranch community, including GF&P affairs.
"I think that would be interesting," Olson said.
Certainly, it will be, for her and especially for GF&P.
July 24, 2006
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/07/25/news/columns/263woster.txt