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BusinessWeek has named Brandon the third most affordable suburb in the country. Does your experience reflect this?

I have lived in Brandon pretty much all my life, so I don’t have any personal experience to compare it to. I know I can buy real estate cheaper if I looked 30 or more miles away from Sioux Falls, so in that respect I wouldn’t necessarily consider Brandon affordable. Of course, 30+ miles outside of Sioux Falls wouldn’t much be considered a suburb, either.

When my kids were little, my husband and I chose to live in Brandon because we wanted them to go to the Brandon Valley School District, and also because both our parents lived in Brandon. (Still do.) We wanted our kids to grow up close to their extended family. I always thought, though, that once the kids grew up, I’d like to move to Sioux Falls. But by the time that happened, Brandon had grown large enough to have many of the kind of amenities I wanted nearby, plus Sioux Falls is only a 20 minute drive. The best of both worlds.

To see the original BusinessWeek article and the complete list of the country’s most affordable suburbs, visit http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/106608/Best-Affordable

The State Legislature is considering banning smoking in nearly all public buildings. If that happens, where will smokers go? Will they stop going to restaurants?

Do you smoke? My dad smoked (it ended up killing him, by the way), and I remember breathing in second-hand Pall Mall vapors every weekend in the car on the way to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I would prefer not to ever go through that again. In their defense, though, I will say that most restaurants have good enough ventilation systems that I don’t notice if there are smokers in the place. Even most bars are pretty good, except I do smell smoke on my clothes when I get home.

And no matter if you smoke or not, how do you feel about the government making laws about what people can do, and when and where? If a business owner feels he can make a living catering to both smokers and nonsmokers, shouldn’t he be allowed to? What about businesses, like the cigar bar in Sioux Falls, that are designed specifically for smokers? The bill in the state legislature gives that kind of business a pass. Is that fair to other businesses?

In my perfect world, nobody would smoke at all, by choice. But that’s just me.

A group of my friends has been getting together Saturday nights for dinner and games. We’ve played a lot of the new games on the market, and we’ve also pulled out a bunch of the old games. Surprisingly, some of the ones we’ve enjoyed the most have been the simplest children’s games, like the card games War, Spoon and I Doubt It.

Maybe that means we’re entering our second childhoods, but I think it’s just the fun of getting together and sharing an activity that doesn’t require a lot of thought but is entertaining. Most game nights include at least one episode of hearty belly laughs. I think that’s good therapy for people who work hard all week on serious jobs.

When’s the last time you spent time with friends doing something fun or even something a little silly? How do you unwind? When’s the last time you had a really good laugh? Tell us about it.

My friends and I are always looking for new games to play, or to be reminded of some of the old tried-and-true games. What are your favorite? This coming Saturday, we’re planning to go to a Chinese restaurant for dinner and then we plan to continue in the spirit by having a round of Chinese Checkers. I love it when six people play all at once. It’s fun to see how everyone works their way out of the traffic jam that occurs once all the marbles hit the middle of the board.

Will you watch the Academy Awards this Sunday at 7 p.m. on ABC? What are your predictions for the winners?

The nominations for Best Picture are The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader and Slumdog Millionaire. Have you seen any of them? How many of them even have come to Sioux Falls?

Who do you think will win for Best Actor? Best Actress?

I like to watch the Oscars to see what clothes the people wear, and to see what they are like when they are not playing a role. To see who wins, I prefer watching the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since they are awarded by colleagues, they seem to be a better reflection of who actually did the best job. What do you think?

Sen. Dave Knudson, R-Sioux Falls, will talk about his bill, SB147, today in Pierre. The bill declares that government records are presumed to be open to the public unless specifically closed.

The Argus Leader used to print marriage licenses in the paper. Now they can’t, because the government won’t release them. Same with the pistol permits.

Are you in favor of this proposed legislation? There are myriad records kept by the state.  Which, if any, do you think should be closed to the public? Marriage licenses? Pistol permits? Land sales? Bankruptcy records? Drunk driving arrests?

I read many of the public records on a regular basis. I read bankruptcies. When they were still being published, I read marriage licenses and pistol permits. I don’t typically read civil judgments, but sometimes I glance at them. I usually quickly glance at the names of the DUI listings. I have a friend who reads the police log every day, for example. Which records do you read, if any, and which would you like to see published?

Do you use your seat belt always? Sometimes? Never? I have to admit, I don’t use mine as often as I should, even though there is a law that says I must.

I can be fined for not wearing my seat belt, but I can’t be stopped for it. In South Dakota, a seat belt violation is a secondary offense. Law enforcement must stop you for some other reason first. Then, if you aren’t wearing a seat belt, you can get fined.

One of the things the state legislature is debating is whether to make seat belt violations a primary offense. You could get stopped simply because a law enforcement official spots you driving unbuckled.

Are you in favor of this change in law? Apparently the state would be eligible for more federal funds if the state changed the seat belt law. Does that influence your opinion?  So even if you are against the change in law, would you consider it a necessary evil in order to get more federal money?

The Brandon Valley athletic boosters recently gave the Brandon Area Soccer Association $10,000. Are you happy about this or not so much?

Does anyone in your family play soccer? If not, do you enjoy the sport as a spectator?

What are the benefits of soccer? For those of you who participate, why have you chosen soccer over another sport?

Do you support the athletic booster club? Why or why not? Are their contributions to sports in the Brandon Valley Area significant, do you think?

Tom Daschle has taken himself out of the running for Secretary of Health and Human Services after it came to light that he improperly filed his income taxes. He has amended his returns and paid more than $140,000 in back taxes and interest.
What do you think of Daschle’s decision to withdraw? If he had not, he might have been appointed anyway. Some might say that would have been a big mistake, giving people the impression that some people don’t have to pay for their mistakes.

On the other hand, Daschle is certainly qualified for the job, and now it may go to someone who might not be as effective. Would that be like the country biting off its nose to spite its face?

Part of Gov. Rounds’ budget plan is to eliminate funding to the arts in South Dakota. No more grants, no more Artist in Residence in the schools, no more state-sponsored student art contests.

What do you think about this?

In tough times, luxuries have to be forsaken in favor of basics. You can’t live without food. But you can live without theater.

Or can you?

What do you think of the governor’s plan to cut out funding to the arts? If you disagree with it, what would you have him cut instead?