‘Watchdog’ overhaul cheered:

South Dakota’s agricultural industry is cheering the first major overhaul in about two decades of the federal agency that serves as economic watchdog of the country’s freight rail network.

President Barack Obama signed legislation on Friday to revamp the Surface Transportation Board. The measure is intended to boost the board’s effectiveness, give it more investigative authority and head off potentially lengthy and expensive disputes over shipping prices, said US Sen John Thune, who sponsored the measure.

“Hopefully it’ll put the board in the position where it could be more effective in responding to both the railroads and the shipper community,” Thune said.

The Republican said the legislation will hopefully address the “crisis” of railway backups and delayed grain shipments that peaked last year thanks to trains transporting