Blog—October 22, 2025---9-10—Working on Wellness Wednesday

  Our Working on Wellness Show---brought together the State leader—Dr. Josh  Clayton and the Sioux Falls Health Director Joe Kippley.

  They were both scheduled---and Dr. Kippley suggested we put them together with all the virus issues ---and they had grown up and healthy discussions about what they are doing from Pierre as well as here in Sioux Falls.

   It is the first time they tough health leaders have been on the air—but for the audience it was a bonus---and we learned and hopefully gain information that help with viruses and much more.

   Right behind we talked with Mary Michaels---AARP of South Dakota –here were a couple of paragraphs we talked about:

It’s October…..so we’re talking a lot about the SPOOKY topic of FRAUD!

Shred Events Helped South Dakota Residents Fight Fraud

In September and October, AARP South Dakota hosted three, free drive-through document shredding events in Aberdeen, Rapid City and Sioux Falls. The purpose of these events was to provide a free opportunity for residents to securely dispose of personal and financial documents that they no longer need. Unfortunately, criminals don’t hesitate to go through trash in hopes of finding a bank statement, credit card statement or other personal information….so it’s always a good idea to shred these kinds of documents. We saw an increase in the number of people who participated in all three sites….and the total amount of paper brought in to be shredded was nearly 19,000 pounds!

More Fraud….Medicare Open Enrollment Scams

October marks the start of Medicare open enrollment, and unfortunately, the peak season for Medicare fraud. From October 15 to December 7, eligible beneficiaries can review options and make changes to their Medicare health and Part D prescription drug plans. But not every offer is what it seems. Each year, criminals take advantage of open enrollment season by posing as insurance providers. They may call, email or show up offering free gifts or limited time offers, all designed to steal your money, Medicare information, or even your identity. At the same time, advances in modern medical technology create new opportunities for fraud criminals. Medicare beneficiaries should be cautious of devices advertised as medical monitors or promoted for uses they weren’t designed for. To stay safe, rely only on equipment prescribed by your doctor.

To protect yourself from Medicare schemes, avoid sharing personal information with anyone who contacts you unexpectedly about Medicare. Legitimate plans can only reach out if you’ve requested information or already have an existing relationship with them. Beneficiaries can safely compare legitimate plans and change enrollment by going to medicare.gov. You can also call SHIINE (Senior Health Information and Insurance Education), which is administered locally by Active Generations.

   9:32—we talked with Will Mortenson----his best medicine was property taxes that are irritating—the tax notice comes in the mail twice a year, showing that you owe the county treasurer hundreds, thousands or if you’re lucky and own very valuable property—tens of thousands of dollars.

    Property taxes represent more of a burr under South Dakotan’s saddles than about any other tax. As Mr. Mortenson explained if we do not like property taxes and we want to pay less of them, how should we go about doing that? It is important to know that the State of South Dakota, your state government does not spend one dime of property tax revenue. All property taxes are allocated to local governments, with about 90% spend in three areas: Law Enforcement, Schools and Roads.

    The dollars are not going to some faceless paper-pusher; property taxes your teachers, sheriffs, city streets and rural bridges. So any real responsible plan to reduce property taxes must replace the revenue instead of recklessly sugging that our schools, cities, or counties simply cut their stay or their road budget by 25%.

     The replacement revenue was an increase in the sales tax rate by 0.8%, moving from 11th lowest in the national to 18th lowest and making our sales tax the same as North Dakota but still 1% lower than Nebraska.

     The best solution for reducing property taxes is a simple responsible one, that replaces property tax revenue without defunding vital local services.

     Mr. Mortenson suggests if we are going to deliver property tax relief and tamp down the irritation of that semiannual tax notice, we need to keep it simple –South Dakota.

    Our Working on Wellness Wednesday show takes a lot of medical and today some even financial facts to think about.

     Listen live to the show at 1320, 105.1, 107.9—use the KELO App—Streaming on Line or Just ASK ALEXA.

     Norm Anderson posts the show as a podcast on the KELO-AM Website. My job is to schedule the guests, prepare the guests—ask the questions---and write the blog to give you some ideas of what is in the show---and where you can listen and follow along.

     Questions for me—feel free to call/text at 605-728-2455 (BILL) or email me at bill.zortman@mwcradio.com.