Let me begin by apologizing.

At the end of last week, I failed to get a column posted. I was in Aberdeen for the annual South Dakota Newspaper Association convention and had only limited access to a wireless network on Friday.

Therefore, no summation of the week that was.

So we'll expand the look back a little to include the weekend and few things you might have missed if you generally only check www.rapidcityjournal from 9 to 5 during the work week.

5.Journal staffers do well

Speaking of the convention, the Journal did a pretty decent job this year in the annual contest. In addition to 16 first-place awards, we were able to earn the Sweepstakes Award, which is a mathematical computation based upon how many first-, second-, and third-place awards each paper earns.

In the newsroom, the Journal earned 27 awards, including seven first-place finishes. Photographers Dick Kettlewell and Steve McEnroe earned a combined three first-place winners in the news, sports and feature categories. Mary Garrigan won for best editorial writing, and Lynn Taylor Rick won for best humorous column. Jason Folkerts won the best editorial cartoon among all dailies.

And www.rapidcityjournal.com won as the best Web site among all daily newspapers in the state.

For a complete listing of all the winners in all divisions, check this out.

4.The economy in depth

It isn't that most people don't believe the nation is in recession, it's just hard to tell where we're at in South Dakota - especially in western South Dakota. With a stable housing market and the farm economy the best it has been in decades, the state is in the odd position at being near the top of an economy indicator.

That doesn't mean there aren't some areas of concern, many of them centering on the price of fuel. The Journal last week gave an update on such matters in a weeklong series that examined the economy here.

The stories all posted on Saturday, which may a little much to digest - especially on a weekend day.

Here is a quick rundown of the stories:

Higher gas prices hit Meals on Wheels

Church charities worry about drop in donations

Many South Dakotans struggling to climb out of a financial hole

Number of bankruptcy cases in South Dakota drops

Black Hills touted as an affordable vacation spot

Towns see interest rise in Hills vacations

Officials say city bucks economic trend

Gas prices don't stop police patrols

Schools cope with higher costs

Gamblers folding on bets

More people using Rapid Ride

Hybrid cars tempt buyers as gas prices rise

3.The dynamics of the abortion issue in South Dakota

South Dakota is getting accustomed to ballot issues on the topic of abortion. And one of the more interesting issues whenever it gets to the ballot is that not everyone who considers themselves "pro life" will support a given measure.

For some, it wouldn't do enough. For others, it might endanger other efforts because it will potentially leave too much up to the courts for interpretation.

South Dakota War College has a fascinating look at a group that has put up an entry on the social networking site Facebook. The entry, titled "New Facebook Group: Pro-Lifers Against the South Dakota 2008 Abortion Ban Initiative," shows that even an issue that seems black-and-white on the surface is never quite so.

2.The top five Rapid Replies over the weekend

And speaking of the abortion issue, nothing gets the Rapid Reply feature fired up like it. Here's a quick rundown of the week's top five.

No. 5 - National gas average tops $3.30

No. 4 - Police arrest three after gang graffiti incident

No. 3 - Ellsworth B-1 catches fire in Middle East

No. 2 - Jacobs Motors sold to McKie

No. 1 - Abortion ban supporters collect twice the necessary signatures

1.The state of the media

Presented, without commentary, other than "Help us, Lord."

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