US Senator John Thune, the 3rd ranked Republican in the US Senate noted yesterday that – contrary to what President Trump has noted – a victory by embattled Alabama Republican Roy Moore in the Alabama US Senate race would be just as bad as a loss by Republicans in the contest:

Many Republicans on Capitol Hill have called for Moore to step aside, but he has refused to do so. In a pair of tweets Sunday, Trump warned that electing Moore’s Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, “would be a disaster!” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., issued his own warning, saying that a victory by Moore would hurt Republicans just as much as a loss.

“If Moore wins, there will immediately be an ethics investigation, and he will be working under a cloud. He is a distraction,” Thune, the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I would like to see the president come out and do what we’ve done, saying Moore should step aside.”

Read the entire story here.

The Marty Jackley campaign made an appearance this past post-thanksgiving weekend at the parade of lights taking place in both Pierre and Rapid City. As noted on Facebook:

Republican Congressional Candidate Dusty Johnson was on Facebook late this evening providing specifics on his position on the always contentious issue of abortion in response to a potential voter’s inquiry.

As popped up in my facebook feed in response to a plethora of issues, Johnson focused on on abortion:

In his response, Johnson noted he considers himself to be a pro-life candidate, and states that “taxpayer dollars should not fund abortion.”

In response to the wide-ranging question, Johnson also promised to respond on other topics over the next few days, including on second amendment rights, school choice, immigration, same-sex marriage, etcetera.

While both Johnson and his current opponent fellow Republican Shantel Krebs have campaigned for office in the past and have taken stances on various issues, it seems to mark one of the earliest occasions in the 2018 congressional campaign where one of them have gotten specific in laying out positions in writing on some of the hot button issues or ‘laundry list’ issues that many Republicans tick off as they assess how conservative they consider the candidates.

Stay tuned, as things in the congressional race might be changing up a bit from being about meeting the candidates, into more how they serve up the meat and potato issues.

From The Hill:

The deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Sunday night sued President Trump and Office of Management Budget Director Mick Mulvaney for control of the agency.

And…

English’s complaint claims that she is the rightful acting director of the CFPB, and that the court should bar Mulvaney from taking the post. English claims that the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that lay out the CFPB’s line of succession supersedes the Federal Vacancies Act, which Trump used to nominate Mulvaney.

Read it here.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Agency Deputy Director is suing the President, claiming that he doesn’t have the right to appoint a new director upon vacancy.

In case you were wondering if the agency was out of control, and trying to set itself up as an unelected fourth branch of government…

From the Aberdeen American News, the hyperpartisan liberal Democrat Susan Wismer offers an observation:

“The reason South Dakota is in the shape it is, is because Republicans have maintained a stranglehold on the process.”
-Susan Wismer

From the Tax Foundation:

2018 State Business Tax Climate Index

The Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index enables business leaders, government policymakers, and taxpayers to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much is collected in taxes by state governments, the Index is designed to show how well states structure their tax systems, and provides a roadmap for improvement.

The 10 best states in this year’s Index are:

1. Wyoming
2. South Dakota

Read that here.

And here’s an expanded List from GOED:

Subject	Rank	Year	Source	Link
Tax Revenue – Least Volatility	1	2017	Pew Charitable Trusts	pewtrusts.org
Best States For Business – Business Costs	1	2016	Forbes Magazine	forbes.com
Enterprising States – Business Climate	1	2015	US Chamber of Commerce Foundation	uschamberfoundation.org
American Dream Composite Index	1	2017	Xavier University	americandreamcompositeindex.com
America’s Top States for Business – Business Friendliness	2	2016	CNBC	cnbc.com
Small Business Policy Index	3	2017	Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council	sbecouncil.org
Gallup-Healthways   Well-Being Index	3	2016	Gallup-Healthways	healthways.com
Tax Freedom Day	4	2016	Tax Foundation	taxfoundation.org
Camelot Index	6	2016	State Policy Reports, FFIS	ffis.org
Entrepreneurial Activity Among Small States	9	2016	Kauffman Foundation	kauffman.org

Thanks Republicans!

State Rep. Craig Tieszen Dies;
Gov. Daugaard Requests Flags At Half-Staff

PIERRE, S.D. – State Rep. Craig Tieszen of Rapid City passed away on Nov. 22, 2017, in a drowning accident in the Cook Islands, where Tieszen, 68, was attending a family wedding. The Cook Islands are located in the South Pacific, approximately 3,000 miles south of Hawaii. Tieszen’s brother-in-law, Brent Moline, 61, of Rapid City, also died in the accident.

Tieszen was in his first term representing District 34 in the State House of Representatives, after having served in the State Senate from 2009-16. Prior to his legislative service, Tieszen spent 32 years in law enforcement, retiring as Rapid City Chief of Police.

“Craig Tieszen was a good man and a dedicated public servant, and his loss is very sad,” said Gov. Dennis Daugaard. “Craig Tieszen spent his life serving the public. He was a thoughtful and conscientious legislator, and a leader on criminal justice issues. More importantly, he was a true gentleman who was respected by all who knew him. Linda and I offer our deepest sympathies to the Tieszen and Moline families during this difficult time.”

Gov. Daugaard will order flags to fly at half-staff statewide in honor of Rep. Tieszen on the day of his funeral, which has yet to be determined.

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He will be missed. https://t.co/I3lGsvXsHB

— Don Haggar (@donhaggar) November 23, 2017

Craig Tieszen was a good man and a dedicated public servant, and his loss is very sad. He was a thoughtful and conscientious legislator. More importantly, Craig was a true gentleman who was respected by all who knew him. Linda and I offer our deepest sympathies.

— Gov. Dennis Daugaard (@SDGovDaugaard) November 23, 2017

So sad. Craig didn’t set aside his dedication to protecting those in harm’s way the day he took off his badge. https://t.co/qASK92ioc9

— Dusty Johnson (@DustyJohnson) November 23, 2017

When I was a brand new lobbyist, Craig Tieszen met with me before the start of the session. He treated me as a professional, with respect and kindness, even though most would assume he and I would be political opposites. He was a kind and decent man to the very core.

— Libby Skarin (@Libby_ACLUSD) November 23, 2017

Wind Power Contributing To South Dakota’s Economy
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard: 

As most people in rural South Dakota can tell you, the wind is almost always blowing. Living on the prairie, windy days are inevitable. It just comes with the territory – which is why it only makes sense for us to develop this fast resource and put it to good use.

Over the past decade South Dakota has been doing just that. Wind power has contributed more than $2 billion in capital investment to our state for the construction and maintenance of the 14 wind projects now in operation. These projects, along with the South Dakota businesses that supply goods and services to the wind industry, support nearly 2,000 good-paying jobs in our state. Better yet, there are numerous wind power projects being planned across our state and, if built, these wind farms will attract billions of dollars of new private investment, millions of dollars of new revenue for farmers and rural communities, and thousands of new jobs.

Today, I am proud to say that South Dakota is one of only two states where wind power provides over 30 percent of in-state power generation. That’s power that the whole region can count on. In fact, the regional operator of our energy system has noted they can reliably meet over 50 percent of the current demand for our 13-state region with wind power alone, and that’s not even the limit.

The growth in wind power in our state and region did not happen overnight or without careful planning and advances in technology. Wind works well with South Dakota’s other major power resources such as hydroelectric, coal-fired, and natural gas power plants, adding to our fuel diversity and reducing our reliance on imports. That diversity helps protect our businesses and homeowners from price and supply volatility, as well as changing national and global policies.

Beyond helping keep electricity prices stable, wind power can also benefit the families and communities who host the projects on their land. Wind farms now pay approximately $5 million each year in lease payments, creating a new, drought-resistant revenue stream that can help family farmers and ranchers expand their operations or withstand market fluctuations in crop prices.

We have seen success with wind power development to date, and the future remains bright with prospects for more economic opportunity for South Dakotans. South Dakota’s wide open spaces and high quality wind resource can potentially provide affordable and reliable electricity to those living beyond our borders. By continuing to expand and modernize our electricity grid, we can deliver more of South Dakota’s wind resource to high demand areas, just as we deliver other commodities like soybeans and corn to other parts of the nation.

Renewable power is proving its worth throughout the Great Plains, and South Dakota is committed to keeping our state open for more wind development. The renewable energy sector is one of the fastest growing in the nation, and renewable energy will continue to play a crucial role in creating new jobs and growing our state’s economy. As wind power has grown to be nearly a third of our energy production, our grid is as reliable as ever. With this experience in mind, I will continue to support the expansion of renewable energy in South Dakota. I hope you will too.

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Tools for a Healthier Forest
By Rep. Kristi Noem

Have you ever hiked the Black Hills during the winter? There’s something almost magical about it. It’s so quiet and yet surprisingly energizing. I absolutely love it.

But underneath the snow is a forest in repair. For more than two decades, the Mountain Pine Beetle has damaged more than 30 percent of the 1.2-million-acre forest. Earlier this year, the U.S. Forest Service announced the beetle had finally been beat, albeit significant work remains to repair the damage and make the forest more resilient against future outbreaks.

In November 2013, then-U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell came to the Black Hills with me to view the damage firsthand. While he felt good about the tools we had to combat the pine beetle, we couldn’t apply them on a large enough scale.

In the months that followed the visit, I helped write new reforms and fought to get them included in the 2014 Farm Bill. As a result, we cut through the red tape, got boots on the ground faster, and allowed the Forest Service to work on the scale this epidemic required. Around 1 million acres of the Black Hills National Forest benefited from the provisions, which have proven critical in curtailing the pine beetle’s spread – something U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue recognized when I welcomed him to the Black Hills earlier this year.

We are incredibly fortunate to have so many dedicated foresters in the Black Hills, and their work is often pointed to as a model for the nation. In Rapid City, I had the opportunity to catch up with a number of Rangers and forestry officials just before Thanksgiving. We talked in depth about the forest’s health and how the new tools are working. It was encouraging to hear their optimism for the Black Hills’ future. But the reality remains that years of damage have left behind thousands of acres of dead and dying trees. There’s still more work to do.

This November, I helped the U.S. House of Representatives pass the Resilient Federal Forests Act on a bipartisan basis. Now being considered in the Senate, this legislation would pair a responsible budget fix with forest management reforms to dramatically improve the health and resiliency of our forests.

More specifically, with fires breaking out across the country in recent years, too much federal funding has been transferred from forest management to firefighting. The resource drain only perpetuates the problem and increases the risk of future wildfires. By allowing more flexibility in how funds flow between various agencies, this bill would fix the problem without authorizing any new spending.

This bill also eliminates duplicative paperwork and begins to address obstructionist litigation – or lawsuits set up to stop responsible forest management programs, like logging infested trees. Both of these reforms will help eliminate hurdles we’ve dealt with in the Black Hills.

The bill also increases tribal participation in forest health projects and strengthens Impact Aid to South Dakota schools that have a lot of Forest Service and other federally controlled lands in their districts. All around, it’s an important bill for South Dakota – one that can help make sure those magical winter hikes through the Black Hills’ snow-covered trees can be experienced by this generation and the next.

New Zealand’s 1 News Now is reporting terribly sad news this Thanksgiving of State Representative/Former State Sen Craig Tieszen’s death while trying to rescue his brother in law:

Sources from Rarotonga told 1 NEWS the senator’s brother in law Brent Moline, 61, had got into difficulties after capsizing a kayak outside the reef in Avana Harbour.