[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 16008]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO DAVID KRANZ

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, with great honor and pride, today 
I pay tribute to a retiring member of the Fourth Estate in my home 
State of South Dakota. David Kranz is retiring after a journalism 
career that has spanned 42 years, an impressive mark in any profession 
but most certainly in the newspaper field.
  David, the son of Wilfred and Sally Kranz, was born November 3, 1945. 
After attending Holy Rosary Grade School in Kranzburg, he graduated 
from Watertown High School and obtained his degree in journalism in 
1968 from South Dakota State University.
  David began his career by spending 8 years as a city reporter and 
city editor at the Austin Daily Herald in Minnesota, where he began 
penning a political column. It would be that political column that 
would define and shape David's journalism career. He left Austin in 
1976 and moved back to his beloved home State of South Dakota to become 
managing editor of the Mitchell Daily Republic, a position he held 
until 1983 when he left to work for South Dakota's largest newspaper, 
the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. From executive city editor and managing 
editor to reporter and columnist, there wasn't much David didn't 
witness, or comment on, during his 24 years with the Argus Leader.
  Dave Kranz ranks with other widely known and popular journalists from 
South Dakota, including Tom Brokaw, Al Neuharth and Ken Bode. People in 
political circles valued Dave's wit and wisdom, his speculation and 
satire, his candor, and commentary.
  David received the National Scripps-Howard Public Service Reporting 
Award at the National Press Club. He also has earned numerous state and 
national awards, was recognized for countless individual stories, and 
was presented with the SDSU Distinguished Alumni Award.
  There is perhaps no better tribute to a person than to listen to the 
heartfelt words of one's peers. Here are just a few of David's 
contemporaries in the journalism world and what they have to say about 
this dedicated writer.
  ``Dave is the heart and conscience of South Dakota journalism. He was 
a walking databank of history, trends and current events long before 
the term was invented. Dave has a special knack for telling the stories 
of real South Dakotans and giving them the dignity and devotion they 
deserve. He has a gift of friendship that transcends his craft and puts 
him on a first-name basis with people all over the state,'' says Chuck 
Raasch of the Gannett News Service.
  Distinguished professor Robert Burns of the South Dakota State 
University and the University of South Dakota, said of Dave, ``He 
enjoys a high readership because of the quality and timing of his 
reporting. David's column is consistently timely and accurate because 
he has cultivated an excellent professional relationship with the 
leading political actors and political observers in our state. 
Political actors are candid in their discussions with him because they 
know he will be fair in his reporting of political developments and 
news.''
  Sioux Falls Argus Leader publisher Randell Beck says, ``Dave is the 
hardest working journalist I know. He's often at work when I arrive--
hunkered down, on the phone, in his cubicle that is eternally 
overstuffed with reports, stacks of old papers, scrawled notes on 
napkins--and he's often there when I leave.''
  I am among those who have long valued Dave's political instincts, wit 
and wisdom. During my years in the State legislature and in Congress, I 
missed very few of his political columns. I always knew Dave would be 
well prepared when he interviewed me. Over his career, David has 
interviewed every national political candidate and office holder who 
came to South Dakota. David was always fair and honest in his 
reporting.
  David and I would frequently meet for coffee where it was often more 
interesting to hear the political news from him directly rather than 
waiting for his column to appear in the paper. I sometimes got more out 
of those coffees than he did from me. But most importantly, I valued 
his friendship and insight. I know he will have more time now to add to 
his impressive collections of baseball cards and political buttons. He 
may also find more time to follow his beloved Atlanta Braves.
  Thank you, David, for sharing your career with the newspaper readers 
and the citizens of South Dakota--a career filled with professionalism 
and dedication. You are a true credit to your craft.

                          ____________________