“The battle outside ragin’
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’”
“The Times They Are a-Changin’” - Bob Dylan

The title track for his 1964 studio album was part of Dylan’s first album of entirely original music. The song has become one of the folk artist’s most well-known tunes. The song was intended to encapsulate the changing mood of the country at the moment and encourage listeners to participate in the change going on.

Dylan got his start playing on street corners around the University of Minnesota campus, and with a job as a tour guide as a U of M student, I enjoyed pointing out the places on campus where he was known to have played early in his career. The way he could put lyrics to moments in time was a true gift.

Inspiring people to care about the world around them shouldn’t require a talented musical lyricist, however.

All too often, discourse turns to frustration about the moves by national political figures and even state political figures, with plenty of attention focused on decisions made by the President, Congress, and the Governor.

Election data will quickly tell you that voters turn out more — by a significant portion — when it’s a presidential election year, with a gubernatorial election year following that in turnout at the polls.

It doesn’t matter what important statewide initiated measure is on the ballot or if the local state representatives are up for election, neither draws the same way that those two elections will.

You’ll also hear plenty around the area coffee shop complaining about their taxes and equating those issues to what Congress is doing, what the current President in office is doing, or even what the state’s Governor is doing. Plenty of talk radio and “news” television would paint similar pictures.

The fact is that by a significant margin, the majority of your tax money stays local. Take a look at your property tax record and divvy out the percentages. In general for a Huron resident, it’s going to be roughly 85% split between the city and school district, roughly 10% toward the county, and then 5% or so to a township, district or something other.

On Tuesday, there is an election here for the Huron School Board and for Huron City Commission. This has been a rare occurrence of late, as typically one or the other will have a candidate running unopposed.

Think about that.

The two boards that decide how to spend 85% of your tax money have difficulty finding a single community member who is invested enough to run to help make those decisions.

When Huron City Commissioner Mark Robish approached me about doing a piece announcing that he would not seek another term on the commission, one of his main goals was clear - he wanted to spur others to run.

“I have been on there for 14 years, and I have loved it,” Robish said at the time. “It’s time for someone else to have that chance to learn just what I did. I liked it. I really did.”

Robish’s wish was fulfilled as two quality candidates have stepped forward to run for the City Commission election. Those two candidates and the two candidates for Huron School Board held a forum that was hosted by the Huron Chamber of Commerce. You can find the forum on the Huron, SD YouTube channel (look for the city seal to be sure you’ve got the right Huron city channel).

Support these candidates who are willing to give their time, not just to campaign for two months but then to boards and meetings for years to come. The successful candidates who win Tuesday elections will have committee meetings and individual meetings in order to do the job of the role well beyond just the weekly/biweekly meeting that are public-facing.

There is a notable time commitment that is being signed up for simply by being on the commission or school board, and agree or disagree with the decisions made by those bodies, the time put in to consider those decisions should be respected.

So, take the time to head Tuesday to the Huron Event Center, 501 Wisconsin Ave SW, between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., to cast your votes.

Show that we in Huron care about those who make the decisions that truly impact our city, schools, and pocketbook!