The Radke Report

I’m a mom on a mission to fight for faith, family, freedom, food, and farming. I’ve committed my life to it — both at home on the ranch in Mitchell, S.D., where my husband Tyler and I raise cattle, forage crops, and our four children.

I also spend a considerable time on the road with that same focus. In the last two years, I’ve been a keynote speaker at 110+ agricultural conferences across the nation, advocating for farming, ranching, food security, national security, and maintaining our private property rights and local government leadership.

I’ve seen the effects of overreaching government and the tangled web of public-private partnerships, that connect tax payer dollars to big businesses — squeezing out the little guy and bulldozing over the citizens along the way.

Scarlett made her speaking debut as a published author/illustrator at the Sutton Rodeo Inc. Rodeo Rapid City stage yesterday, and we have so many people to thank for this opportunity! 

Onto the next adventure on the dusty trail! I predict that I’ll be delegated to driver soon, and Scarlett will be doing the heavy lifting.

MITCHELL, S.D. (KELO) — Most 3rd graders’ lives are consumed with school, recess, and chores. However, a Mitchell 3rd grader is doing something that most adults never even imagine accomplishing.

Like many ranch kids, 9-year-old Scarlett Radke does her chores, is in 4-H, and helps take care of bottle calves. However, unlike most ranch kids, Scarlett is a published author.

I don’t mean to be all doom and gloom in this column, but the attacks on farmers, ranchers, landowners, and our food supply are numerous.

Our food security is at risk, and it’s not just one glaringly obvious death blow that’s looming, it’s more like death by one thousand cuts.  

It’s the proverbial “frog in the pot of water” scenario, where the heat continues to increase so slowly that we don’t notice we are boiling.

Yet, the water is bubbling now, folks, and it’s time to sound the alarms!

Folks, the attacks on our private property rights continue, and the more I dig, the more alarmed I am at the sinister, multi-faceted agenda to strip good-hearted Americans off the land to enrich the corporate elite. 

Picture this — your family is a multi-generation steward of the land. You’ve planted the trees. You’ve added in rotational grazing. You’ve incorporate cover crops into your rotation. You’ve left buffer strips and habitat for pheasants, deer, and other wildlife. You’ve raised your family and done what is right, putting in the long hours, sacrificing to pay off the land note, paid the taxes, and have been an active part of your community.

Last week, a private property rights rally was held in Pierre, SD, and I was humbled and honored to stand alongside landowners, farmers, ranchers, county commissioners, legislators, and concerned citizens at this event. As the legislative session kicks off, we asked three things of our elected officials — 1. Protect private property rights; 2. Maintain local government control; and 3. No eminent domain for private gain.

There are some among us who use words like “progress,” “value-added ag,” “public-private partnerships,” “carbon credits,” and “sustainability,” to justify the stripping of independence and private property rights in this state and our country.

They want to use your tax dollars to fund their private projects, and they’ll do it at the expense of the land you have poured generations of blood, sweat, and tears into to acquire and keep. 

“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” - George Washington Carver

Resolutions — nearly half of Americans make goals for the New Year, but very few actually stick to them. As we welcome 2023, let’s make it our goal to follow through on our resolutions.

To accomplish this, we must first set our resolutions. Then, we must determine ways to realistically follow through with these goals.

Never forget that under the Constitution, we hold inherent rights “All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring and protecting property and the pursuit of happiness. To secure these rights are instituted among men, serving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

George Washington once said, “Freedom and property rights are inseparable,” and if we lose control of the very ground we stand on, we are not free in the state of South Dakota. It’s as simple as that.

Looking for a crowd pleasing dish this Christmas season? Try this simple recipe for Cowboy Butter on Ribeye Steaks!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. – Isaiah 9:6