Former Sen. Tim Johnson, a centrist who was the last Democrat to hold statewide office in South Dakota and who spent nearly three decades in Congress, has died.

Thanks to a rabble-rousing, socialist priest, it’s a milestone year for direct democracy in the U.S. The practice of citizen-originated ballot measures began 125 years ago when South Dakota became the first state to have them.

The Democrats’ fragile hold on the Senate majority has become vividly apparent with the sudden illness of of New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján.

FLINT, Mich. - Authorities say the police chief of Flint, Michigan, shot and wounded one of two people who were allegedly involved in a gunfight. Tyrone Booth says Chief Tim Johnson was on duty Wednesday afternoon with other police personnel when they heard shots and saw two people shooting at each other. The chief wasn't injured in the chase and shooting. The circumstances of the original gunfight and the shooting involving the chief are under investigation. The Burton Police Department is involved in the investigation, since the alleged gunfight took place just outside Flint city limits in Burton.