Straight Talk Commentary – District 12 State Representative Blake Curd was featured in today’s “Sioux Falls Business Journal.” Curd has been all the political buzz in the past couple of weeks and is increasingly being talked about among GOP activists as a potential and very serious challenger to Mrs. Herseth Sandlin. That is appropriate because Dr. Curd is a very serious man.

The Doctor is taking a hard look at becoming a candidate. Besides stumping on the health care issue with presentations in Watertown and Sioux Falls in the past couple of weeks (He is an opponent of further Federalization), he spent several of the past few days at the State Fair talking to South Dakotans.

He would make an excellent candidate because he is quiet and reasoned. He does not rant and rave. He backs up his positions with facts.

I previously posted on Blake’s seriousness and I would add seriousness of purpose stating he is what is rare in our State Legislature, “A Reader.” He actually reads the Legislation. When the Federal Stimulus money was introduced into the balancing the State Budget equation, he became a student and studied the Stimulus law that was rushed through in Washington last February.

Curd was one of the 5 GOP House members to vote against the 2010 State Budget. Note his comment in the Business Journal article when asked what issue he hoped to challenge in the 2010 Session.

        “We have to strive to arrive at a budget that does not contain a structural deficit and does not commit us to unsustainable future spending.”

Curd is a focused individual and he should not be underestimated as a Statewide candidate.       

By: Rosemarry McCoy

Sioux Falls Business Journal

September 9, 2009

The Question and Answer feature helps readers learn more about people in the medical community. This Q&A profiles Dr. R. Blake Curd, a hand, microvascular and orthopedic surgeon at the Orthopedic Institute and a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives.

Q: How did you become interested in your field?

A: “I was always interested in medicine; as a boy I believed I would be a doctor. I was fascinated by the challenge of operating with a microscope and the microscopic instruments. I loved the mechanical part of orthopedic surgery and the satisfaction of ‘fixing’ things that were broken in people.”

Q: How many years have you been in your profession?

A: “Finished medical school in 1991 at age 23.”

Q: What is a typical day like?

A: “Up at 5, exercise for 60 to 90 minutes, news, time with kids, kids to school, surgery begins between 6:30 and 7 and runs until 6 p.m. or later on surgery days. Office starts around 7:30 a.m. and runs until 5:30 or 6 p.m. on office days. Professional reading after, home with kids and their events. Pleasure reading and political information gathering – reading/Internet/communications – until 11:30 p.m. or midnight and then begin again.”

Q: What type of changes or advancements are occurring in your field?

A: “Better pain control, better hardware, smaller incisions, less time in the hospital, less infection, improved technology. Cosmetic hand surgery is becoming popular.”

Q: What is the most common procedure you perform?

A: “Carpal tunnel release.”

Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?

A: “Meeting new people, understanding who they are and what they need to get better, developing that plan with them and then implementing it.”

Q: What is the biggest challenge?

A: “Understanding what a patient wants or needs and then balancing that with what is technically possible.”

Q: What are South Dakota’s biggest needs in the field?

A: “We – hand and microvascular surgeons – are in short supply nationally and internationally. South Dakota faces the same challenge.”

Q: How did you become interested in politics?

A: “I was asked to travel to D.C. to talk about physician and patient rights. I had no interest in political office and believed my trip would have no impact. I found quite the opposite to be the case. My trip, and numerous subsequent visits, made a difference, not only on a national level, but also in me. The initial trip lit a fire inside me for a different type of public service that burns brighter now than ever.”

Q: What issue do you hope to champion in the Legislature next year?

A: “We have to strive to arrive at a budget that does not contain a structural deficit and does not commit us to unsustainable future spending.”

The Curd File

Name: Dr. R. Blake Curd
Occupation: Hand, microvascular and orthopedic surgeon, Orthopedic Institute
Hometown: Atlantic, Iowa; Omaha; Kansas City from third grade on
Age: 41
Background: Received his medical degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Medicine in 1991; commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve in 1987; served until 2000 when he was honorably discharged as a major in the Air Force Medical Corps; became a partner at the Orthopedic Institute in 2001
Family: Wife, Debbie; three children: Ellie, Rilie and Zachary
Hobbies: Bagpipes, aviation, scuba, cycling, snowboarding, mountains, guitar

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