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Jon Michaels' Forum

Jon Michaels' Forum

By: MWC
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 A community issues and answering program that focuses on the city and people of the Sioux Empire.2025 Midwest Communications Inc. Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Civil Air Patrol - Learn to Fly Airplanes and Drones Before You Drive in Sioux Falls

    Civil Air Patrol - Learn to Fly Airplanes and Drones Before You Drive in Sioux Falls
    Aug 28 2025
    Public Affairs Director Jon Michaels talks with Lt. Col. Todd Epp, Post Commander, and Chief Mungunkhet, Flight Sergeant at the Sioux Falls Composite Squadron about the Civil Air Patrol in Sioux Falls and Tea. from their website: Emergency Services Growing from its World War II experience, the Civil Air Patrol has continued to save lives and alleviate human suffering through a myriad of emergency-services and operational missions. Search and Rescue Perhaps best known for its search-and-rescue efforts, CAP flies more than 85 percent of all federal inland search-and-rescue missions directed by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fl. Outside the continental United States, CAP supports the Joint Rescue Coordination Centers in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Just how effective are the CAP missions? Approximately 75-100 people are saved each year by CAP members. Disaster Relief Another important service CAP performs is disaster-relief operations. CAP provides air and ground transportation and an extensive communications network. Volunteer members fly disaster-relief officials to remote locations and provide manpower and leadership to local, state and national disaster-relief organizations. CAP has formal agreements with many government and humanitarian relief agencies including the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Coast Guard. Humanitarian Services CAP flies humanitarian missions, usually in support of the Red Cross-transporting time-sensitive medical materials including blood and human tissue, in situations where other means of transportation are not available. Air Force Support It’s hardly surprising that CAP performs several missions in direct support of the U.S. Air Force. Specifically, CAP conducts light transport, communications support, and low-altitude route surveys. CAP also provides orientation flights for AFROTC cadets. Joint U.S. Air Force and CAP search-and-rescue exercises provide realistic training for missions. CounterdrugCAP joined the “war on drugs” in 1986 when, pursuant to congressional authorization, CAP signed an agreement with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Customs Service offering CAP resources to help stem the flow of drugs into and within the United States. CyberPatriot CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Education Program. At the center of CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition. The competition puts teams of high school and middle school students in the position of newly hired IT professionals tasked with managing the network of a small company. In the rounds of competition, teams are given a set of virtual images that represent operating systems and are tasked with finding cybersecurity vulnerabilities within the images and hardening the system while maintaining critical services in a six-hour period. Teams compete for the top placement within their state and region, and the top teams in the nation earn all-expenses-paid trips to Baltimore, MD for the National Finals Competition where they can earn national recognition and scholarship money. Aerospace Education CAP’s aerospace education efforts focus on two different audiences: volunteer CAP members and the general public. The programs ensure that all CAP members (seniors and cadets) have an appreciation for and knowledge of aerospace issues. To advance within the organization, members are required to participate in the educational program. Aerospace educators at CAP’s National Headquarters at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., provide current materials that reflect the highest standards of educational excellence. Aerospace education is divided into two parts: internal and external. The internal aerospace education program has two parts as well: cadet and senior. Cadets complete aerospace education as one of the requirements to progress through the achievement levels of the cadet program. Senior members have a responsibility to become knowledgeable of aerospace issues and the AE program that CAP provides. They are further encouraged to share the information obtained with their local communities and school systems. CAP’s external aerospace programs are conducted through our nation’s educational system. Each year, CAP sponsors many workshops in states across the nation, reaching hundreds of educators and thereby thousands of young people. These workshops highlight basic aerospace knowledge and focus on advances in aerospace technology. CAP’s aerospace education members receive more than 20 free aerospace education classroom materials. How to Join For students 12 years old and above interested in becoming a member: Step 1 Contact the squadron or just come by and attend one of our meetings. Step 2 Attend a minimum of 3 meetings and sign-in on the attendance/guest log. Step 3 On or after the 3rd meeting, an interview will ...
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    29 mins
  • Lifelight Festival's Third Year (FREE) in Downtown Sioux Falls, Sunday August 31st

    Lifelight Festival's Third Year (FREE) in Downtown Sioux Falls, Sunday August 31st
    Aug 14 2025

    Public Affairs Director Jon Michaels (since 1977) talks with Lifelight CEO Josh Brewer about the music festival in downtown Sioux Falls on Sunday, August 31st.

    from their website:

    what makes lifelight unique?

    • Every Lifelight event and the LifeLight Youth Center is FREE to the public and is done by faith, and yet is still able to maintain top-quality production and event.

    • LifeLight reaches and attracts multi-generations who gather together in the name of Jesus.

    • Lifelight involves many church denominations, working together in unity based on the truth of God’s Word and the essentials of the Gospel.

    Set against the beauty of downtown Sioux Falls the LifeLight Festival is a dynamic, free event that brings together people of all ages for a powerful celebration of faith, music, and community. Featuring an impressive lineup of Christian music artists, inspiring speakers, and exciting family-friendly entertainment, the festival offers a unique experience filled with uplifting messages and memorable performances. Beyond music, the festival grounds are filled with family-friendly activities, food trucks, and vendors, all designed to create a welcoming atmosphere for everyone. LifeLight Festival’s mission is to share the hope and joy of the Gospel, making it a highlight in the region for fellowship and renewal.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    30 mins
  • Mr. Gee - 100 Year Old Survivor of U.S.S. Battleship South Dakota

    Mr. Gee - 100 Year Old Survivor of U.S.S. Battleship South Dakota
    Aug 9 2025

    Public Affairs Director Jon Michaels (since 1977) talks with Mr. and Mrs. Gee. He turns 100 years old this October. He is also one of the last surviving members of the U.S.S. Battleship South Dakota crew. He tells about his service from enlistment to building his own business after his Navy experience. Mr. Gee gets choked up still after 80 years about crew members getting blown up from a gun powder accident to the charred pilots transferred to the ships hospital.

    from the South Dakota BB-57 website:https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/us-navy-ships/battleships/south-dakota-bb-57.html

    USS South Dakota (BB-57), 1942-1962

    USS South Dakota, lead ship of a class of 35,000-ton battleships, was built at Camden, New Jersey. She was commissioned in March 1942 and in August was transferred to the Pacific where she was soon involved in the Guadalcanal Campaign. On 26 October1942, her anti-aircraft guns played a prominent role in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, during which her forward sixteen-inch gun turret was hit by a Japanese bomb. Shortly thereafter, she collided with USS Mahan (DD-364). Damage from these incidents was repaired locally, and she was heavily engaged, and damaged again, during the 14-15 November battleship night action off Guadalcanal, a battle that effectively ended Japan's plans to retake that strategic island.

    Following repairs in the United States, South Dakota operated in the Atlantic from February into August 1943, including service with the British Home Fleet. She then returned to the Pacific and took part in the Gilberts and Marshalls invasions in November 1943-February 1944. The battleship operated with the fast carriers during raids on Japanese bases during that time and into the Spring of 1944. She next participated in the June 1944 Marianas Campaign, using her heavy guns to shell enemy positions on Saipan and Tinian. In the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 June, she was hit by another Japanese bomb.

    Another stateside overhaul prepared South Dakota for further Pacific combat operations. From October 1944 to the end of World War II over ten months later, she screened carrier task forces during strikes in the Western Pacific that ranged from the South China Sea to Japan. The invasions of Leyte, Luzon, Iwo Jima and Okinawa were among these operations. In March and April 1945, South Dakota's guns joined in bombarding Okinawa. She shelled targets in the Japanese Home Islands in July and August, during the final acts of the Pacific War, and was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945 during the Formal Surrender of Japan. South Dakota returned to the United States soon thereafter and was decommissioned in January 1947. She remained inactive until October 1962, when she was sold for scrapping.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    29 mins
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