Thune Hears From Livestock Industry Leaders on Market Transparency

“The fact that losing just one beef plant in the United States created so much volatility in the cattle marketplace, including decreased cattle prices for producers and increased boxed beef prices, is deeply concerning.”

 

Click here or on the picture above to watch Thune’s speech

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today heard from cattle industry leaders in a committee hearing on perspectives of the livestock and poultry sectors.

“The fact that losing just one beef plant in the United States created so much volatility in the cattle marketplace, including decreased cattle prices for producers and increased boxed beef prices, is deeply concerning,” said Thune. “I think that transparency in these markets is really important.”

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Hot off the press from the Federal Election Commission, sacrificial lamb former Democrat legislator Dan Ahlers has filed committee papers to run for US Senate for the seat currently held by US Senator Mike Rounds:

Ahlers for Us Senate by Pat Powers on Scribd

Stay tuned for more on this.

At the same time that USD President Sheila Gestring was attacking legislators and claimed she was “terrified that this is live-streamed,” it was being captured on video as she criticized the intellectual diversity/free speech law supported by the Governor and a Majority of State Legislators:

USD president Sheila Gestring said in a “free speech and intellectual diversity forum” that Democrat state Sen. Susan Wismer’s criticism of a letter by GOP lawmakers suggesting free speech and intellectual diversity policy changes was “brilliant.”

and..

At one point in the forum, Gestring said to the audience “I am terrified that this is live-streamed.”

and…

“The policies of USD were the reason the Campus Free Speech and Intellectual Diversity bill was passed. It had the support of the BOR and the Governor,” Stalzer said. “USD has 26 people at a cost of $3 million a year working on the diversity. The other State universities have a total of 6 between them.”

and…

“It is becoming obvious that USD has a culture that opposes free speech and intellectual diversity. [T]hat needs to change and the President appears to support that culture,” (State Senator) Stalzer concluded.

Read the entire story here.

A University president attacking a free speech measure that had the support of the Governor and State Legislators?

Well, I guess we know how those budget hearings are going to go next year.

From my e-mail this morning, Governor Kristi Noem points out that she continues to support President Trump, and that “if Speaker Pelosi and her caucus spent as much time on legislation as this investigation, they might have passed the USMCA trade deal by now.”

This probably should not come as a shock. But, spammy ads are already popping up in relation to the push to legalize pot in the state. Had a note from a reader this AM:

Good morning Pat,

I though you would want to see what popped up on my Yahoo feed this morning. You posted an article on 9-16 about the big money coming in to help with the petition push, and I think this Yahoo.com fake news post is part of this big money push. Keep in mind that I am in Missouri, and while I keep up on SD news, this isn’t being generated because of my IP address.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/m/c3f99a2b-b3a7-3e0f-8bcd-c9fd9bde657b/marijuana-legalization%3A-south.html This is just on the front page of my Yahoo.com news feed.

Once you click on the link it takes you to the actual propaganda which is located: Marijuana Legalization: South Dakota Does What Trump Said!

I thought this would be of interest to you and possibly to your readers. I also attached a screen shot of my yahoo.com feed. Keep up the good work, I have been reading your site since it’s inception. I appreciate all that you do with the war college. It helps me stay connected to SD politics.

Thank you,

And his yahoo feed absolutely had the above ad, which leads people to a spammy market investor site encouraging people to invest in pot. Wow.

What do you think?

As I add another name or two to the 2020 candidate list and we inch closer towards the 2020 season, it’s worthwhile noting that as parties are out there recruiting, we tend to forget that there are those who don’t run in political circles who take a look at all running for office and think “you know, I could do that.”

For those people thinking about running for partisan office, particularly those who might have an interest in running as a Republican for the first time, I’d offer that I’m always happy to chat with you about it. What you can expect things might cost, what resources you can access, what good practices you should use.

I’m happy to have these conversations in confidence (no blogging zone engaged), and equally as important, I’m not going to charge you anything.

Every once in a while, I run across those who had been talking with people who claim to know about politics in a similar nature, and then found themselves tied to “a consultant” who is then sending them a bill for hundreds of dollars. Had that happen with someone who hadn’t signed anything, and then boom! A bill for $500, with the expectation that they were now going to pay them an additional $3000.

$3500 on top of all other expenses for database access that’s available at no cost, to access information that’s readily available if you know where to look, and to arrange professional services that are middling at best? That’s enough to put a person off of politics. Before a person interested in running as a Republican decides to, or inadvertently finds themselves committed to paying someone thousands of dollars for the sake of being “represented,” maybe the best advice I can offer is to reach out for a chat.

Yes, I do sell campaign materials too as well as my experience with them. But, there’s a difference between sourcing print material and basic campaign advice. Over a number of years, I’ve had the benefit of some outstanding mentors in the field of politics who were always glad to provide advice. It’s important to me to pay that forward so a person can start on their best foot running for office.

It’s pretty easy to be what I term “a good candidate.” It’s also easy to fall into a lot of old hackneyed tropes in running. The difference is what makes a candidate an elected official. That doesn’t mean a person has the most money, but it means they run a competent race.

So if you’re a new candidate thinking about running for county or legislative office and just want to bounce some things off of a person to understand what it takes to do a good job, the door is always open, and I’m only an e-mail or phone call away.

I was doing a little snooping in the campaign finance reports for the New Approach South Dakota Group, and unexpectedly stumbled across an item which potentially could be a campaign finance violation.

And if true, one that could cost them plenty. Nearly $14,000 of plenty.

NEWAPPROACHSD_DONATIONJAR by Pat Powers on Scribd

Under the group’s separate committees, New Approach South Dakota Rec (for recreational pot) and New Approach South Dakota – Medical Cannabis, on both reports filed in January of 2018, the group reported donations under “other income” of “Donation Jar.”

Under New Approach South Dakota Rec, Melissa Mentele (who filed both reports), indicated the group collected $4889.00 via donation jar. Under New Approach South Dakota – Medical Cannabis, Mentele reported the group collected $8,957.89 via “Event Donation Jar.”

Why is it a problem that Mentele reported donations of $13,846.89 via a donation jar? Because of SDCL 12-27-11. SDCL 12-27-11 provides the following:

12-27-11. Required information about contributors–Contributions from unknown source to be donated to charitable entity–Violation as misdemeanor. No person, entity, candidate, or political committee may give or accept a contribution unless the name, mailing address, city and state of the contributor is made known to the person, entity, candidate, or political committee receiving the contribution. In addition to any other information to be made known under this section, the name of the custodial parent or parents of an unemancipated minor who makes a contribution shall be made known. Any contribution, money, or other thing of value received by a candidate or political committee from an unknown source shall be donated to a nonprofit charitable entity. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor. A subsequent offense within a calendar year is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

As it was in effect in 2018 when this report was filed, the only difference was that the notation of children’s donations had not been added to the law. But the law was in full effect when it came to the anonymous donation. Such as you’d see in a donation jar.

Did Secretary of State Shantel Krebs fail to raise the question of whether this was a violation at the time? I’m not seeing any amendments to the reports in the Secretary of State’s campaign finance system, so I can’t confirm or deny that.  But at least on the surface, when they’re reporting “donation jar” donations themselves, you might be in good company if you think there might be an issue.

And I’m not aware that any statute of limitation has eclipsed the violation 18 months later, especially for the “New Approach South Dakota – Medical Cannabis” group which remains an active organization.

This could pose a problem. Especially if there’s an issue and the group needs to cough up nearly $14,000.

From the Argus Leader’s report on what you already read here a few days ago, South Dakota Democrats are trying to put a happy face on the fact they closed their doors, their State Party Treasurer just abandoned ship, they’re spending in the red, and they’re deep in debt.

Did I forget anything?

The South Dakota Democratic Party’s treasurer is out, and its finances are in the red.

The SDDP ended August with negative $9,860 in cash on hand and $46,864 in debt, according to the party’s monthly report filed on Friday evening with the Federal Elections Commission. The party received $17,539 in donations during August and disbursed $30,580 for items such as salaries and operational expenses.

and…

When asked about a timeline for turning around the party’s finances, Burnette said they’ve seen both first-time and longtime supporters step up who are excited about the new leadership and their plans to focus on grassroots organizing while being fiscally responsible.

“They’re excited that we’re going to be investing more in local and legislative candidates to build that bench for the future of the party,” Burnette said.

Read it all here.

Don’t you have to have money to invest money?

(I notice she skipped over the part where Dems owe the City of Sioux Falls on a bill that’s been hanging out there for months.)

President Trump Approves Second South Dakota Disaster Request

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem today announced that President Trump has approved the State’s request for a second Presidential Disaster Declaration, allowing federal money to be used to help local governmental entities recover from property damage sustained during severe storms and flooding that occurred statewide in late May and early June.

“South Dakota continues to be battered by heavy rainfall and persistent flooding, and this additional funding will continue to move impacted communities towards recovery,” said Noem. “I appreciate that FEMA and the President recognize the compounding effects of these storms and heavy rain.”

A preliminary damage assessment conducted in June documented about $8 million in damage to public infrastructure in 25 counties and on two reservations. Public property damage assistance has been approved for the counties of: Aurora, Bennett, Brule, Butte, Campbell, Custer, Deuel, Fall River, Gregory, Haakon, Hamlin, Hanson, Jackson, Jones, Lyman, Meade, Mellette, Pennington, Sanborn, Todd, Tripp, Turner, Union, Walworth, and Ziebach, and the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation and the Rosebud Reservation.

In her letter to President Trump requesting a disaster declaration, Noem said the continued heavy rainfall fell on already-saturated soils, forcing rivers and lakes back into flood stage or exacerbating ongoing flooding. Rushing water washed out roads and had severe effects on infrastructure, commerce, and agriculture.

“The impact of this event will be felt in these communities well into the future,” Noem wrote. “However, with the availability of federal assistance, combined with the state, local, and voluntary assistance provided, it will help individuals, businesses, and government inch closer to recovering from this disaster.

South Dakota last received a federal disaster declaration in June for severe winter storms and flooding that affected 58 counties. That flooding left local roads, culverts and bridges damaged. Ongoing rain and flooding in May and June hampered recovery efforts and caused additional damage. The state has two more federal disaster declaration requests pending for storm damage that occurred later this summer.

FEMA officials are now in South Dakota working on the first federal disaster declaration and will continue to work on the second. More details on the process for the second disaster declaration will be announced at a later date.

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Delegation Applauds Administration’s Decision to Approve South Dakota Disaster Declaration Following Severe Storms and Flooding

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) today applauded the administration for approving a major disaster declaration for several South Dakota counties, including Aurora, Bennett, Brule, Butte, Campbell, Custer, Deuel, Fall River, Gregory, Haakon, Hamlin, Hanson, Jackson, Jones, Lyman, Meade, Mellette, Pennington, Sanborn, Todd, Tripp, Turner, Union, Walworth, and Ziebach, as well as the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation and the Rosebud Reservation following severe storms and flooding from May 26 to June 7, 2019.

“South Dakota has been hit with storm after storm this spring and summer, so I’m glad this disaster declaration was approved and will provide our state with some much-needed relief,” said Thune. “I’m thankful that the administration understood the urgency of this request and that folks affected by the storms and flooding will hopefully be able to get back on their feet more quickly.”

“Thanks to President Trump for recognizing the need to provide disaster relief to South Dakota communities impacted by recent severe weather and flooding,” said Rounds. “This will help local units of government and certain non-profit organizations to rebuild critical infrastructure and facilities that have been severely damaged.”

“South Dakota has had a tough year,” said Johnson. “This disaster declaration will allow South Dakota’s communities to heal and repair more quickly, and I am grateful for the steadfast support the administration has shown our state during a year of unpredictable weather.”

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