SCOUTING REPORT | Midway hero’s new bridge, S.D. poet laureate honor, immigration surge, when coyotes attack

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The old Lt. Cmdr. John C. Waldron Memorial Bridge that connects Pierre with its wilder cousin, Fort Pierre, came down with a boom March 16, dumping the old bridge girders into the Missouri River. It has been replaced by the new Waldron Memorial Bridge that has recently opened to motor vehicle traffic. Waldron was a hero of the World War II Battle of Midway. Though he perished in leading an attack on Japanese naval ships with his squadron of torpedo planes, his decision to attack is credited with helping the United States defeat Japan in what would turn out to be a pivotal battle against the Japanese.

Explosives were used to bring down the girders that held the bridge aloft, reports DRG News. The South Dakota Department of Transportation established safety buffer zones of 1,000 feet on land and 1,500 feet on the water.

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