Fall is nearly here; it arrives Sunday across the northern hemisphere and with it comes a wealth of beginnings.

And endings.

Like many of you, I was fortunate enough to attend last weekend’s “For the Love of Fine Arts” concert and the induction of Milo Pietz as the first member of the Huron High School Fine Arts Hall of Fame.

I didn’t attend Huron High School, thus never was a member of any of Milo’s school groups, but I was fortunate to be a part of the Presbyterian Church choir, which he led for many years.

There was a reason that I always thought of Wednesday night choir practice at a one-hour therapy session. No matter how cruddy my day had been, being able to sit in my back corner, harmonizing with a familiar anthem, or a challenging new Milo choice always allowed me to leave the church with a brighter approach to life.

Thank you to all the performers who shared their talents and to “Doc” Milo Pietz for his all-encompassing therapy sessions.

Thank you as well to Taylor Swift - although I don’t expect her to get this memo.

You may have heard that Ms. Swift posted an online endorsement for one of the candidates for president, after the two candidates for the major parties had a…I guess it was a debate?

Now I don’t care of who endorses whom in a political contest. It certainly won’t affect the way I vote. Frankly I don’t think anyone should care who is encouraging you to vote for or against any candidate or ballot issue.

No, my thank you to her is for the overall message that contained her endorsement. She didn’t say, “I’m voting for Kamala and you should too.”

Instead, she said she had done her research and was backing the candidate “because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.”

Then she urged anyone reading her announcement to do their own research, reach their own decision and most importantly, make sure they were registered to vote and then go vote for the candidate that suits them.

That was the first thing - do your research and become informed. The second part that deserves thanks is that Swift included a link to register to vote. When I checked earlier this week, more than 500,000 people had clicked that link, presumably taking the first step to register.

That is an impact right there friends and neighbors, whether you like her music or not (I really don’t) but admire a professional whose concerts have the ability to affect the economies of entire regions of the countries she visits.

As long as we’re on the subject, last yesterday, Sept. 20, is the first day of early or absentee voting in South Dakota. So, if you are registered to vote, you are free now to do so. If you are not registered, I challenge you to do so. You have until Oct. 21 to accomplish this task, to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 5 general election.

We have a state senate race that is being contested locally and a seat on the Public Utilities Commission is on the ballot statewide.

And most importantly, there are seven ballot measures that will help set the course for the state for the foreseeable future. Ben has been detailing the whats and wherefores of the different measures in his column, and information on all of the ballot measures can be found on the S.D. Secretary of State’s website - sdsos.gov. If you are registered, you can find a copy of your sample ballot and place of voting as well.

My grandfather said that if you don’t vote, you can’t complain, and while I doubt that he originated the phrase, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t right.

I hope you take the steps, register to vote if you aren’t already, then follow through - after thoughtful research and consideration - by voting.