Shannon is gone, his name is drifting out to sea...

Before I go out tonight, I have a rather interesting note for county collectors far and wide resulting from yesterday's election.

Shannon County, South Dakota, consists of two-thirds of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. This rural bailiwick is quite impoverished and is one of the most Democratic counties in America. It's also where the Wounded Knee massacre took place.

The county was named after Peter Shannon, a jurist who was involved in swindling the Lakota people out of their land. Yesterday there was a referendum to change the name of the county to Oglala Lakota County.

The measure passed with 80% - well exceeding the two-thirds it needed.

To the county's residents, this is a far more important matter than it is for out-of-state travelers who are just counting counties.