shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com November 5, 2019 • Page 12 SDHCA Dakota MasterWorks Art Show Local Winners PRAIRIE DOC® PERSPECTIVES This Science-Based Guy Believes in Spirits BY RICHARD P. HOLM, MD I am a physician who believes in evidence-based science. I am also old, approaching my own “last chapter” from pancreatic RICHARD HOLM cancer. I share this, not to engender pity . . . none. Rather, I share this in order to give you a sense of my potential bias as I write about the question; do we have a spirit or soul that is more than a brainchemical reaction that will go away at death? Of course, the ultimate answer to that question is, nobody knows. Some archeologists believe that religion first began when someone wondered what happened to the life force or spirit of a young boy after he died. Where did it go? Archeologists speculate that “job one” for the early church (and, for that matter, churches of today) was to reassure and comfort the family after the death of a dear one. However, just because it reassures us, doesn’t prove the soul exists, but there are other experiences that do. I remember my mother explaining to me one night before prayers that there is so much more going on than we know, so much that cannot be explained by physics and chemistry. She described waking up in the middle of the night in Minneapolis during WWII, filled with dread at the same moment that my dad was landing on some Pacific Island in full combat. That was something about which she could not have known due to radio and mail silence. How DID she know? Do we have spiritual connections we simply don’t understand? During my career, at least three patients described a near-deathexperience with all its typical raiment including an out-of-body experience, a warm and comforting light, a life-review (like a movie) and reassurance that there is nothing to fear about dying. A recent meta-survey indicated that this happens in 17 percent of people who are resuscitated and in equal percentages throughout all cultures and religions. It is also amazing to learn that the warm light is seen even by people blind from birth. Even as a stubborn science-based guy, together with years of experience as a geriatric internist and hospice director, I truly find a community faith with a loving and inclusionary church very reassuring. I have reason to believe that there is a spirit within us that connects us all and that doesn’t die with our bodies. I have been at the bedsides of many dying people, while their spirits lift from the body and pass through the porthole of eternity. Being there has brought me to believe that the soul is more than a brain-chemical reaction that goes away after death. Richard P. Holm, MD is founder of The Prairie Doc® and author of “Life’s Final Season, A Guide for Aging and Dying with Grace” available on Amazon. For free and easy access to the entire Prairie Doc® library, visit www. prairiedoc.org and follow Prairie Doc® on Facebook featuring On Call with the Prairie Doc® a medical Q&A show streaming on Facebook and broadcast on SDPTV most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central. BQA Certification To Be Held In Mitchell Nov. 21 BROOKINGS, S.D. - To help beef producers meet Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certification expectations, SDSU Extension will host an inperson BQA certification course on Thursday, November 21, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Technology Center Amphitheater at Mitchell Technical Institute (MTI) in Mitchell. SDSU Extension has collaborated with MTI’s animal science program to offer BQA certification to their students, also offered to the public this year. Beef processors require producers to be BQA certified before they purchase cattle. This expectation has been in place for major beef packers since January 1, 2019. Auction barns may ask sellers to provide their BQA certification with cattle so that buyers are aware of it during a sale, as many buyers may not bid on cattle that do not come from BQA certified producers. “Consumers care about how their food is raised and this impacts their purchasing decisions,” said Heidi Carroll, SDSU Extension Livestock Stewardship Field Specialist and South Dakota BQA Coordinator. “Because of this, restaurants and food retailers desire to show their commitment to sourcing the highest quality beef from humanely raised animals. The BQA program meets these expectations, provides confidence to consumers, and gives producers the tools to fine tune their management practices.” Producers can register to attend the course at a cost of $25 at the SDSU TYNDALL MOTORS Take A Short Drive Extension Events page or complete the BQA certification curriculum free of cost at their convenience online at the Beef Quality Assurance website. For more information, contact Heidi Carroll at 605.688.6623 or by email. Directions Directions from I-90: Take I-90 Exit 332 and turn left (south). Go under the 1-90 overpass to the second set of stoplights. Turn left (east) on Spruce Street. Go over a set of railroad tracks. The Technology Center will be the first driveway on your left (north) after the tracks. The address for the location is 1800 E Spruce St. Mitchell, SD 57301. (SIOUX FALLS, SD) The SDHCA Dakota MasterWorks Art Show held its 23rd annual exhibition on October 24 -25, 2019, at the Good Samaritan Society National Campus in Sioux Falls. The show featured art created by South Dakota residents age 60 and older. This year’s show included more than 130 entries, making it one of the largest Dakota MasterWorks ever. Professional judges awarded prizes for First, Second, and Third place in each of seven categories and two age groups, as well as Honorable Mentions and Best of Show winners. People’s Choice designations were awarded based on the votes of those attending the show. Artists this year ranged in age from 60 to 97 years old! “The SDHCA Dakota Masterworks Art Show is about highlighting the remarkable artistic accomplishments by older South Dakotans,” said SDHCA Dakota MasterWorks Art Show Coordinator, LuAnn Severson. “Aging does not mean giving up our creativity, inspiration, and talent.” Categories included watercolor painting, oil painting, acrylic painting, drawing/ pastels/scratchboard, photography, mixed media and wood carving. 319 Walnut St. Yankton, SD 57078 605-665-5884 Let Our Family Business Keep Yours In The Go With: Stop Wishing • Start Driving! 2017 CHEVY TRAVERSE LT AWD 2016 CHEVY EQUINOX LT FWD $26,995 • Farm Filters • Hydraulic Hoses • Bearings & Seals Cox Auto Age categories for the competition were divided into ages 60 - 79 and 80 years of age and older. The show has been recognized by the National Mature Media Awards as an outstanding community involvement project. First, Second, Third, Best of Show and People’s Choice will be on exhibit at the Ramkota Hotel in Pierre during the SDHCA Legislative Reception on January 28, 2020. The South Dakota Health Care Association sponsors and coordinates the SDHCA Dakota MasterWorks Art Show. In addition, the show is supported by platinum level sponsors Legacy, Great Western Bank, KELOLAND Television; gold level sponsors EmpRes and Tealwood Senior Living, Good Samaritan Society; silver level sponsors Clarkson Health Care, Westhills Village Retirement Community, Tieszen Memorial Home, Dow Rummel Village, Bethany, Grand Living at Lake Lorraine, The Inn on Westport, and Fischer Rounds and Associates; and bronze level sponsors, Jenkins Living Center, Sisson Printing and Imagery Photography. Visit www.sdhca.org to view this year’s winning entries. Find What You’re Looking For! in the Classifieds. 1007 Broadway Ave Yankton, SD 605•665•4494 In Print and Online! 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