Category: Uncategorized

The Minnehaha County GOP held its first legislative coffee of 2018 this weekend, and as opposed to what legislators had viewed as a more superficial Q&A Session, the legislators liked the new format as a welcome departure:

Republican lawmakers at the GOP forum said they preferred the new model over the traditional legislative coffees, which until this year were sponsored by both Democratic and Republican parties. Answering without a stopwatch ticking down was a feature they said they preferred over the chamber coffee events.

“I hate 90 seconds,” Stalzer said. “Some issues you just can’t handle it in 90 seconds.”

Willadsen agreed: “I like being able to go face-to-face with one of my constituents and be able to say, ‘here’s the deal.'”

Read it here.

The Rapid city journal has an interesting story this AM about Paul Erickson, who has been involved in the Pat Buchanan for President campaign, as well as with John Wayne Bobbit:

Getting entangled in the Trump-Russia investigations would be a strange twist of fate for most South Dakotans, but not Paul Erickson.

For him, it might have been predictable.

In a Dec. 3 news story, The New York Times identified Erickson as a potential connection between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. On Jan. 25, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee addressed a letter to Erickson asking him to submit documents and schedule an interview as part of the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

But before any of that happened, Erickson, 56, of Sioux Falls, had already spent much of his adult life in the orbit of the famous and infamous.

and…

Erickson told the Journal he took no money from Bobbitt and viewed the work as a cause, both to protect a man he thought was wrongfully accused of rape and to stop national interest groups, such as the National Organization for Women, from using the rape allegation against Bobbitt to advance a political agenda.

“The case was a pretty deep dive into the sexual politics of America at the time,” Erickson said.

After Erickson and Bobbitt parted ways, Bobbitt went to Las Vegas, where he hired new representation and veered into a stint in pornographic films.

Olympic Victory Should Be Celebrated, Not Taxed
By Sen. John Thune

It was September 1988 – nearly 30 years ago today – when the torch was lit over Seoul, South Korea, for the Summer Olympic Games, which took place just a short distance away from where the Winter Olympic Games are being held this year in Pyeongchang. Athletes from around the world, including the United States, assembled to compete on the greatest stage on the globe, as they are now, and their countrymen were watching.

As the games were getting underway, President Reagan addressed the nation and described the strength of Team USA, which, as he explained, came “from all over our nation, from the rough and tumble streets of our brawny cities to the quiet lanes of our vast countryside … They represent every aspect of our country’s life and a shining hope, too, a crystalline beacon of opportunity that we know is the heart of America.”

Reagan’s words transcend time, as I’ve found they often do. His description of the 1988 team could easily be affixed to the dedicated, hardworking athletes who are in Pyeongchang this year for what will be the pinnacle of many of their careers – as it should be, for all of the time, money, and effort that has gone into their journey to the games.

As many Olympic and Paralympic athletes will tell you, unlike their professional counterparts, they’re not paid to compete. They have day jobs. They’re teachers, nurses, moms and dads, sisters and brothers. They’re paying their own way for gym memberships, personal trainers, equipment, and travel. Long story short, being on Team USA is a big personal investment, and it can come at a significant cost, too.

When these mentors to the next generation of Olympians return home from the games, their success should be celebrated with friends, family, and communities. They deserve it. Unfortunately, up until just a few years ago, in addition to the parades and other celebrations, these athletes were also welcomed home with a victory tax, as it became known, courtesy of the IRS.

I can’t think of anything more unpatriotic than the federal government profiting off of the success of Olympians and Paralympians by taxing the value of their medals and prize money. That’s why I helped lead a successful effort to repeal the victory tax once and for all. As a result, victorious Olympians and Paralympians with an adjusted gross income of $1 million or less – the bulk of the amateur athletes who are the heart of Team USA – will not be taxed on their Olympic success. Guys like the University of South Dakota’s Derek Miles, to whom I was lucky enough to present an overdue Olympic bronze medal last year.

While I believe this is an important issue, nothing accomplished in athletics is as important as how a person responds when an abused child asks for help, which is why the Senate Commerce Committee, which I chair, has been working closely with the Senate Judiciary Committee to address sexual abuse in the Olympic movement.

We’ve made important progress, most recently with the passage of the bipartisan Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act, which combined legislation I authored with a provision spearheaded by the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. These reforms are happening because brave athletes had the courage to stand up and call out wrongdoing to stop abuse, which I hope serves as inspiration to some and a serious warning to others.

President Reagan ended his 1988 address with a message as applicable then as it is now: “So, as you watch these Olympics, remember – win, lose, or draw – how much we have to be proud and thankful for. After all, we’re Americans.” Good luck, Team USA. You’ve got 300 million fans in your corner.

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Providing Obamacare Relief for South Dakotans
By U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)

Obamacare premiums rose 20 percent for South Dakotans this year, and I continue to hear stories of fewer health care options and out-of-control health care costs as a result of the ill-advised Affordable Care Act. While repealing Obamacare and replacing it with a consumer-driven, truly affordable system remains a top priority for me, we continue to take meaningful steps to provide Americans relief from this law.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act helped relieve Americans from Obamacare, by including provisions to delay the Medical Device Tax and the Cadillac Tax for two years and by delaying the excise tax on health insurance plans for one year. Importantly, this legislation also repealed Obamacare’s individual mandate, so that nobody will be forced to pay a tax penalty if they don’t want to purchase health care coverage that they don’t want or need. The individual mandate was an unpopular tax in an unpopular law that disproportionately hurt low-income families. We’re glad to see it go away. We were also able to successfully repeal Obamacare’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, which is a special panel of unelected bureaucrats tasked with finding savings in Medicare by rationing health services for seniors.

The Trump administration has also taken steps to give states more flexibility in administering federal mandatory spending programs. Most recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will give states more flexibility regarding work requirements for certain Medicaid beneficiaries. This will allow governors and state government leaders to shape state Medicaid policies that work best for their state rather than following rules issued by Washington bureaucrats. Already, nine states have applied for work requirement waivers to implement these new flexibilities and two waivers have been approved, including South Dakota’s.

President Lyndon B. Johnson created Medicaid in 1965 as part of his War on Poverty. The intent of the program was to provide health services for low-income children, seniors in need, individuals with disabilities and pregnant mothers. It was designed to be a pathway out of poverty.

As Americans, we take care of the most vulnerable in our society—the very young, the very old and those who cannot take care of themselves. The Affordable Care Act opened up Medicaid to include healthy, able-bodied, working-age men and women, which has added to the high cost of the program. In 2015, an estimated 70 million people were enrolled in Medicaid. That is 21 percent of our entire population!

Medicaid and other mandatory spending programs like Medicare and Social Security are on an unsustainable path. In the long-term, Congress needs to reform the federal budget process so that it can exercise greater control over the sustainability of mandatory spending. In the short-term, giving states the flexibility to manage Medicaid in new, innovative ways will help make Medicaid more manageable.

These are important steps toward our goal of eliminating the unpopular aspects of Obamacare, but the fact remains that premiums are still too high, insurance companies are leaving the marketplace and millions of Americans have been forced off plans they liked. I will continue to work with my colleagues to relieve hardworking families from Obamacare’s perils as we seek to make health care truly affordable and accessible for all Americans.

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Know Your Heart
By Rep. Kristi Noem

Never underestimate the power of your story. Earlier this year, Aletha Maki visited our Washington, D.C., office from Rapid City. Her granddaughter had been diagnosed with high cholesterol at age two, a condition brought on, the family learned, by a genetic disorder called familial hypercholesterolemia (or FH). Once diagnosed, the disease is manageable. But 90 percent of those with FH are unaware, and therefore, go untreated.

According to the FH Foundation, “Left untreated, men are at a 50% risk of a fatal or non-fatal coronary event by age 50, and women are at a 30% risk by age 60.” Aletha’s family each got tested after her granddaughter’s diagnosis. Her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson were also found to have the condition. With as many as 1,700 South Dakotan likely to have the disease, Aletha’s “ask” of our office was to help spread awareness. February is recognized as American Heart Month, so it seemed like an appropriate time to help raise awareness about FH and other heart conditions.

Cardiovascular disease can be the result of genetics, lifestyle or a combination of the two. Understanding the root of your condition may help your doctor hone in on a treatment. Additionally, as is the case with FH, an early diagnosis of a genetic condition could help reduce your risk of a cardiovascular event later in life. So, don’t wait until you have a problem to get to know your heart. Schedule a trip to your doctor’s office and ask them about heart health. Use your doctor as a resource to help set goals.  Then, listen to their advice.  If you need medication – for high blood pressure, cholesterol, or something else – take it as prescribed.  If you’re having trouble doing so, you can talk to your doctor about that too.

In many cases, lifestyle changes might help too. Even 15 minutes of walking a few times a week can make a difference.  Why don’t you try it for February and see if you can make it a habit?  While you’re at it, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends kicking some other unhealthy habits too, like smoking.

Simple changes on your plate can make a big difference too. The American Heart Association posts great heart-healthy recipes at recipes.heart.org, if you’re looking for something new to cook up.

Every year, 610,000 people lose their life to heart disease, an astounding number when you consider that’s nearly equivalent to South Dakota’s population. The number is certainly troubling, but as time goes on, research teaches us about more ways in which we can manage this disease. To take advantage of that information, however, you must first get to know your heart. Take inspiration from Aletha’s family. Get a check-up. Learn what can be done to minimize any risk factors you have. And make a change today.

The Complex Issue Of Addiction
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

As a state, we grapple with many issues.  Some are very complex, with no easy fix or single solution.  These may require sustained effort over long periods, through different administrations and legislatures and generations of South Dakotans. Drug abuse is one such issue.

We continue to wrestle with methamphetamine use in our state. On the prevention front, the Department of Social Services has funded more than 245 presentations, to thousands in communities and schools, urging against methamphetamine use.  The Attorney General’s office has also undertaken a preventive education campaign. This month Prevention Resource Centers will complete a meth prevention toolkit for communities.

For the most part, we are seeing less meth manufactured in home-grown laboratories. It is more often manufactured on a larger scale and trafficked into the Midwest. The drug interdiction task force, made up of Division of Criminal Investigation agents and Highway Patrol officers, has been hard at work over the last year to stop meth from coming into our state and we need to continue to do more to choke off these distribution channels.

For those who are severely addicted, the Department of Social Services is working to expand and increase access to treatment, ensuring treatment is evidence-based and that providers are equipped and trained to provide intensive treatment models.

We’ve recently seen some hopeful results from our treatment programs. In the last year, more than 2,000 offenders have received treatment for substance abuse under the Public Safety Improvement Act.  In 2017 over 69 percent of individuals entering treatment for substance abuse completed successfully, 25 percent higher than the national average. Ninety-eight percent of those that completed treatment in 2017 reported an ability to control alcohol, 94 percent reported the ability to control drug use, and over 85 percent reported employment at discharge.

We’re seeing a promising trend in smoking as well. The smoking rate among young adults in South Dakota went from 34 percent in 2011 to 13 percent in 2017. High school smoking rates went from 23 percent to 10 percent in that same period, putting us below the national average for the first time.

We can celebrate that we are turning the tide on smoking and seeing success among those who seek drug treatment. These facts make me hopeful that South Dakota can meet the addiction challenges ahead.

We cannot mandate away addiction; no legislative fix will completely solve the meth problem. Some answers simply extend beyond government’s capabilities.  But we must do all we can, and we need all hands on deck. Private organizations, law enforcement, communities and individuals all have a role to play. Progress may be incremental but it will come so long as South Dakotans are persistent.

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WOW. Literally on the heels of Dakota Posts’ newest.. well, post, I had a reader send me this e-mail that’s making the rounds.  If you recall the other day, former Citibank general counsel Dave Zimbeck had a fairly critical letter to the editor regarding Senator Stace Nelson:

For instance, the latter offer of an opportunity to engage in a great debate over a state nosh, the legislation’s sponsor, Sen. Stace Nelson, R-Fulton, provides fellow legislators a welcome reprieve from his incessant “man-splaining” of how the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is controlling over all others; not to mention routine temper tantrums, while regularly purveying conspiracy theories, with little if any suggestion of substantiation. He, the champion of “food fights” of another form. Even the most casual observer of politics in S.D., can take one look at a rather corpulent Senator Nelson and recognize that he would not recognize a “nosh” if it hit him in the head. The notion of something resembling a snack must be an anathema to a person of his girth, yet he finds the need to spend even the smallest amount of time debating the merits with this latest, albeit less destructive, food fight.

and…

Speaker Mickelson and other leaders, need to gain control over the nonsense before most of us can be convinced that S.D. should do anything but go to a biennial legislative session.

Read that here.  That was that.. until today, when this e-mail started making the rounds:

From: Dave Zimbeck [redacted]
Sent: Friday, February 9, 2018 11:29 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Your investigation

Sen. Nelson,

I recently learned that you are conducting an investigation of my voting records. Glad to know that you are still able to put to use your NCIS investigative skills.  By all means, proceed.

Of course, you can always just email me if you have any questions of a private citizen who is critical of your best use of time during the legislative session. I sincerely hope that you have fun.

Bon appetite!
DZ

Wow, again. Are we reading that a State Legislator is allegedly  “conducting an investigation” of the voting records of a private citizen who wrote a letter to the editor critical of him?  I can’t say I’ve ever heard of such a thing.   And I’ll repeat it because I’m a bit incredulous – a State Legislator is allegedly “conducting an investigation” of the voting records of a private citizen who wrote a letter to the editor critical of him?

Amazing.  And it gets better…  Because Senator Nelson responded, and CONFIRMED he was investigating him:

On Feb 9, 2018 11:59 AM, “Stace Nelson” <[email protected]> wrote:

Mr. Zimbeck,

Not surprising, just confirming another loud mouth Democrat masquerading as a Republican. You clearly have no clue about the process or the duties involved in Pierre and think the job entails simply being a tax and send RINO like the rest of your kind. You don’t like all the work I do for my constituents? Tough! suck it up buttercup. Or? Feel free to come up and poke me in the chest and run your suck like a man instead of some whiny malcontent. Now scurry off, the big mean conservative Bull elephant has better things to do.

SVN
Sent from my iPad

So, when pressed about his investigation of Zimbeck, Nelson admits he was “just confirming” his suspicions? Ugh. How many times has anyone ever heard of a sitting State Legislator “investigating” someone who wrote a letter to the editor disagreeing with his frivolous legislation?

As far as I’ve heard, NONE. NOT ONE EVER. NO ONE DOES THIS. 

But by the same token, no one else refers to themselves as a “conservative Bull elephant” (as is Nelson’s tendency).  Did he do so because calling one’s self a bull elephant will impress someone who was Citibank’s General Counsel?  No, but it might make Senator Nelson look like a buffoon.

And if that wasn’t enough, Dave Zimbeck provided a snarky reply to “the big conservative Bull elephant’s” (or bull-something’s) poison letter:

From: “Dave Zimbeck”
Date: Feb 9, 2018 1:11 PM
Subject: Re: Your investigation
To: “Stace Nelson” <Stace.Nelson@sdlegislature.gov

Your reputation for intolerance of views that are not exactly the same as yours is well-earned.  Glad to be a part of that club.

Keep up that constituent service!  First Frank Kloucek delivers for the district with kuchen,  and now you deliver on chislic.  All in the name of value added agriculture.  Hope it works for you.

Keep fighting us RINOs, big fella.

DZ

Frank Kloucek and Stace Nelson? That’s rarified air. Rarified air indeed.

EPILOGUE:  I corresponded with Mr. Zimbeck this afternoon, and he noted that yes, he did change his registration for a few months back in 2008. As in a decade ago. Why? In his words, he “did so in order to be able to cast a vote against Hillary Clinton.  At the time, it seemed that it was going to be my one and only chance to vote against her.”

Ultimately, I think most members of the Republican Party in the party would be ok with that. Many of us enjoyed that opportunity a year and a half ago.

However, there is always a dissenter or two. Considering the ‘high-level’ investigation he conducted against someone who thought his trivial ‘state nosh bill’ was absolutely trivial, those in the Senator Stace Nelson “conservative Bull Elephant” Party have a problem with someone switching parties to make a statement.

Fortunately for Mr. Zimbeck, that might be a party of one.

Apparently Stace Nelson tweeted this today…

And Dakota Posts was right on it:

Ouch…

Noem Talks Ag Policy on #FarmBillFriday 

Rep. Kristi Noem joined her neighbor, Eric Solsaa, to discuss the importance of the Farm Bill to producers, America’s food supply and our national security. The segment was featured as part of the House Agriculture Committee’s #FarmBillFriday program.

Hi everybody. I’m Kristi Noem. I’m the Congresswoman from South Dakota. I’m a lifelong farmer and rancher, raised cattle and crops for many, many years. I’m here at my neighbor’s house, Eric Solsaa. Tell us a little about your operation.

My dad and I run a purebred operation. We have about 150 cows. We’re in the middle of calving right now, and a farm bill is really important to us. We have row crops, 500 acres, and the rest is pasture.

You know, farmers can survive bad floods, bad hailstorms, bad weather and bad federal policy, but we shouldn’t have to. We can’t change the weather, but we can change policy. You know, you think about the fact that we have to grow our own food in this country. Everybody eats, not everybody farms. We cannot let another country grow our food for us, or they will control us. That’s why we have a farm bill, it’s important we have a safety net that provides some support for our farmers and ranchers, who take such a risk to grow this nation’s food.

This is a darned funny passage from an article about Billie Sutton running for Governor:

“If he can just get the state party to lay low,” says Mr Maher, “he has a fighting chance.”

Read that here.

You know it’s bad when someone notes a political party has to hide for the candidate to have a chance.