2008 - South Dakota Governor M. Michael Rounds' Agenda

As the 2008 Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association, South Dakota Governor Michael Rounds, focused on Transportation for Energy, People and Products.

Each region of our nation has talented people, an abundance of raw materials, the capacity to transform ideas and those materials into finished products, and the capacity to create cost-effective and reliable energy supplies. The most successful regions and states will combine and transform those assets to create a better future for their citizens. The most critical component and the catalyst for creating that better future is transportation.

Transportation is critical in the production and distribution of energy. Transportation is also a key factor in determining the price and supply stability for both fuels and electricity. Transportation is critical in creating a high quality of life for people because we rely on transportation for the basics of life, such as food, and for many of our entertainment options. Transportation is also a key factor in determining the price and availability. Since the beginning of our nation, transportation has been and continues to be critical in the movement of raw materials and distribution of finished products. Transportation still determines where the most economic growth happens. Transportation is also a key factor in the price of every product sold. In addition to helping us better manage and improve our traditional transportation systems, newer technologies are also being used as transports themselves to help people transform raw data into usable, marketable information. Those electronic transportation systems also need continuous improvements.

As the discussions continue on the reauthorization of national surface transportation legislation, Governor Rounds believes that fixing and maintaining our current transportation systems are the most critical and immediate problems to solve because our people and our economies depend on them every day. New transportation initiatives should be done in addition to, and not in place of, fixing and maintaining our core systems. To convey regional transportation views to congress, MGA published its Surface Transportation Recommendations.

Stable energy prices and supplies, higher quality of life for our citizens and growth in the economies of our Midwestern states and region can all be realized by improving our transportation systems.