Author: @SoDakCampaigns

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I’ve never wavered in listening to law enforcement and pushing to make South Dakota safer.

I talked to everyone I could think of in the criminal justice world over the last few years: cops, prosecutors, defense attorneys, prison staff, Sheriffs, and everyone in between. The message was clear: we need a new prison, for the protection of our communities, the safety of the guards, and the rehabilitation of the inmates.

Yesterday was a good day for the future of South Dakota.

A good message about what legislators managed to do this week.

While Toby Doeden might have the support of Senator California Carley and his favorite tenant Rep. Brandei Schaefbauer, and Jon Hansen might welcome the support of sticky Tom Pischke, (and Carl Perry apparently can’t make up his mind between the 2% candidate and the 4% candidate),  Dusty Johnson last night at his Brookings fundraiser gave attendees a preview that his campaign would be soon releasing a list of over 100 current and former lawmakers who are endorsing his campaign for Governor.

This morning, Dakota News Now has a hint of a few of the names on the list:

Some of the names on the list include former Sioux Falls Police Chief and state lawmaker Doug Barthel, former House Speaker and the son and grandson of two South Dakota Governors, Mark Mickelson, and former longtime Yankton-area lawmaker, Jean Hunhoff.

In addition, current lawmakers Steve Kolbeck, Taylor Rehfeldt, and Will Mortenson are also lining up behind the Dusty Johnson campaign.

Read it all here!

Stay tuned, because it’s going to ratchet things up pretty significantly!

The other day SDGOP Chairman (and former 32-year Democrat) Jim Eschenbaum was the featured speaker at the Hughes County Republican Party luncheon.

And I found out what a feature this speaking event was, as one of the attendees was nice enough to send me the audio, where the chairman rambled on for a half an hour. Including this audio clip, (which I animated against the graphic I use for him, so it’s less boring).

As was noted to me “He spewed off about toning down the political rhetoric (which I agree) but then 2 minutes later was talking about starting a civil war if the govt comes after gun rights.”

It’s going to be a long election season.

Attorney General Jackley Announces Five Smoke Shop Owners Indicted for Possession, Distribution of Illegal Substances 

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces five smoke shop owners statewide have been indicted after a law enforcement sting uncovered the sale of illegal products in their businesses.

The operation, conducted by the Attorney General’s Office and the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), in partnership with local law enforcement agencies, targeted shops suspected of selling products that violated state and federal law.

“This operation should serve as a warning to stop selling dangerous drugs in our communities,” said Attorney General Jackley. “We will continue working with our local law enforcement partners to protect our communities and keep our streets safe from dangerous and illegal products.”

Those indicted are:

• Brown County: Emad Zuhair Wazwaz, 31, Blaine, MN, doing business as All the Smoke, Aberdeen. Two misdemeanor counts of Possession, Sale, and Distribution of Substance for Purpose of Intoxication, a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine; and one misdemeanor count of Sale or Distribution of Chemical Modified or Converted Industrial Hemp, a maximum sentence of 30 days in the county jail and a $500 fine, for each count.
• Hughes County: Bristol Nielsen, 29, Pierre/Ft. Pierre, doing business as Masterpiece Smoke Shop, Pierre. One felony count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana of more than One Pound, a maximum sentence of 15 years in the state penitentiary (with a 30-day mandatory minimum and $30,000 fine; one felony count of Possession with Intent to Distribute or Dispense a Controlled Substance (psilocin), a maximum sentence of 10 years in the state penitentiary (with a mandatory minimum of one year) and $20,000 fine; one felony count of Violation of a Drug Free Zone, a maximum sentence of 10 years in the state penitentiary (with a mandatory minimum of five years) and a $20,000 fine; one felony count of Keeping a Place for the Use or Sale of a Controlled Substance, a maximum sentence of five years in the state penitentiary and a $10,000 fine; and one misdemeanor count of Possession, Sale or Distribution of Substance for Purpose of Intoxication, one year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine.
• Lincoln County: Saleh Jabr-Saleh Al Names, 26, Sioux Falls, doing business as Puff City, Sioux Falls. Three misdemeanor counts of Possession, Sale or Distribution of a Substance for Purpose of Intoxication, a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine for each count and one misdemeanor count of Sale, Distribution of Chemical Modified or Converted Industrial Hemp, 30 days in the county jail and a $500 fine.
• Minnehaha County: Gamal Yahya Abdull Suhail, 35, Sioux Falls, doing business as Blazin Aces Smokes & Vape, Sioux Falls. Four misdemeanor counts of Possession, Sale or Distribution of a Substance for Purpose of Intoxication, a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine for each count.
• Pennington County: Benjamin Rodriguez, 32, Spearfish, doing business as ZyGlam Smoke Shop, Rapid City. One misdemeanor count of  Industrial Hemp for Smoking Prohibited, a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine; and one count of Sale or Distribution of a Substance for Purpose of Intoxication, a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine.

Undercover officers conducted controlled buys of products within the five stores between June 11 and June 13, 2025. The cases will be prosecuted by the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office.

The suspects are presumed innocent under the U.S. Constitution.

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The dust is settling as the ink dries on Senate Bill 2, the measure brought by the legislature to put in place the recommendations of the Prison Reset committee, finally bringing to a close a debate that’s been years in the making, arguing, remaking, resetting and now passing.

It has been an ugly process with a lot of people pushed off the bus on the way to it’s destination. But as we recap “what happened” in the last few weeks, it is clear that there were some winners and losers in the process, as brinksmanship had some political candidates taking a chance to come out of top.. except they floundered it badly in the execution.  And if anything, set their chances back significantly.

So, where’s our view from 10,000 feet on who won and who lost in this process?

 

The Winner: Governor Larry Rhoden.

If they looked at the process, some might call this an ugly win, having to reset a location and completely revise a package handed to him by his predecessor Governor Kristi Noem, and sometimes having to knuckle under to a legislature who would not get on board. But after pivots and bumps along the way, including removing his Secretary of Corrections to get his deal to come together, they finally came across with a plan and a message that reasonable legislators could not vote against.

The risk was that if it didn’t happen, this might have been the end of Rhoden’s Gubernatorial campaign before it began. But the art of politics is one of compromise and getting the job done.  If it had been a loss, it would have been on him. But he didn’t lose, and Rhoden got the plan across the finish line.

It wasn’t always pretty, but a win is a win.

 

The Biggest Loser: Rep. Jon Hansen (and by association, Karla Lems).   Who’s missing from the photo above? These two. This special session marked a low point of desperation for the Hansen/Lems for Governor effort. As both were serving as a participants for the prison reset committee, Hansen and his shield-maiden Karla Lems both were counted among the unanimous vote for the prison reset project.   Yet, when the time came to honor their prior vote, Hansen/Lems reneged and flip-flopped on their support, as Hansen sprung an October surprise attack in an attempt to scuttle the whole project.

The problem was that support for the prison was stronger than he gambled, and it immediately came out that the issue he was hanging his hat on – a consultant that had to be hired while an issue ran through the courts – had been known for weeks, yet he concealed that until his surprise.  But the surprise was on him. People didn’t care.

Even more importantly – because you can fake it until you make it – the coalition that Hansen used to put himself into House speakership was flat out not willing to have his back on this. And his coalition completely fell apart.  Even his close Lieutenant, House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach (who is in the picture above), who had also been part of the prison reset committee turned his back on Hansen, fragmenting Hansen’s coalition.

If Hansen spends his time contemplating this massive loss, his next action may be to try to keep the troops in line to maintain his speakership. Because if this vote was any indication of how this next session may go for the 2% Gubernatorial wannabe, that might be the next vote he’s in danger of losing.

 

Didn’t win, didn’t lose, but his people were present: Toby Doeden.  The self-aggrandizing candidate from Aberdeen who wants to spend his way to being Governor might not understand that the state has to take care of the people and buildings it is in charge of, as well as that bad people need to be locked away in a manner that keeps guards from being injured or worse, as well as from getting your pants sued off.

Why do I bring Toby Doeden up at all in this conversation? Because the small coalition of no’s on this project seemed to be less a group of the Hansen/Lemmings followers, and more a group of Doeden hangers on.

It wasn’t a big group.. but Phil Jensen, Logan Manhart, Dylan Jordan, Toby’s favorite tenant Brandei Schaefbauer, California Carley, Taffy Howard, Amber Hulse and others are not in Gubernatorial candidate Hansen’s orbit, but in Doeden’s, and they were happy to do his bidding. Even to be on the losing side.

 

This was just weird:  Former Speaker, and likely AG candidate, Steve Haugaard.  After his loss to Kristi Noem for Governor, Steve Haugaard is still continuing to try to grasp for relevancy. And in the great prison project saga, Haugaard has been inserting himself into it, and did so again in the legislative hearing, and the earlier weird video with the mattress guy.

If he wasn’t advocating for the use of robotic guards, he was doing his darnedest to go after the project, appearing in the legislative committee to detail how while he’s not been a prosecutor, his daughter has been, and he has 2 boys who are cops.  So, he as a career defense attorney knows best? He also handed out highlighted sheets with figures to try to cast aspersions on the figures used by the prison reset committee.

No one paid attention then, and it’s not going to help him run for Attorney General, a campaign he was talking about with at least one county chairman the other day in Springfield. At the end of the day, he really ended up just looking weak on crime and public safety. Not a good look for someone who wants to be considered for that role. So he can stop now.

 

Did someone say a task force? Time to call the Task Enforcer Lt. Governor Tony Venhuizen! – Can we call it winning when Lt. Governor Tony Venhuizen who just chaired the Prison Project Reset task force, and was just in Pierre presiding over the Senate, will now chair the Governor’s Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force?  It’s prestigious and shows the Governor’s trust in Tony.. but does getting tasked with another task force sound like a win?

 

The Man of the Hour: Prison Project staffer Ryan Brunner – Lots of hands involved in making the plan come together.  While the Lt. Governor, Tony Venhuizen, is the front man, Ryan Brunner, the former School & Lands Commissioner who did the day to day on this for the Governor’s office, has done a lot of the thankless grunt work in shepherding the project along behind the scenes.  While it’s the Governor’s win, Ryan deserves part of the credit for making it possible. 

 

Winner: KELOland on-line – KELOland had good gavel to gavel coverage of the whole special session, which had me linked up through them for the committee hearings and the floor action instead of Public Broadcasting.  How were you watching the events of the day?

 

That’s what I caught during the events of yesterday – any thoughts of your own to add?

Attorney General Jackley’s Statement on Legislative Passage Of Prison Building Plan

 PIERRE, S.D. — “Congratulations to lawmakers who approved the building of a new prison Tuesday. This has never been about increasing incarceration. It is about keeping people safe, safeguarding the taxpayers’ money and providing inmates hope for the future with rehabilitation efforts and addiction treatment. It was an honor to be part of the prison task force that addressed this issue and to have testified before our Legislature. Thank you to legislators and Governor Rhoden for taking a step forward for South Dakota’s correctional future.”

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Gov. Rhoden Signs New Prison Bill

Establishes Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force

PIERRE, S.D. –  Today (9/23), Governor Larry Rhoden signed SB 2, which provides for a new prison in Sioux Falls.

“This new prison is a huge win for the people of South Dakota – in fact, it is the largest single public safety investment in the history of our state. I am grateful for the Legislature’s commitment to keeping our communities safe,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “South Dakota is a true example of fiscal responsibility and an example to the rest of the country of what it means to be strong, safe, and free.”

Governor Rhoden also signed Executive Order 2025- 07 establishing the Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force, which will determine the best path forward for expanding rehabilitation services as the state plans for the new prison.

“Here in South Dakota, we take action to protect our citizens and strengthen their futures – the same principle is true of our inmate population,” continued Governor Larry Rhoden. “This new task force will place an emphasis on reducing recidivism and getting offenders back to work.”

The Governor signed SB 2 and Executive Order 2025-07 in a signing ceremony in the Governor’s Office. You can find pictures from the signing here and here.

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COLUMN: Time is Now to Invest in Safety

Senator Crabtree Supports New Men’s Penitentiary Plan

PIERRE–The Legislature has a fundamental duty to protect our residents. As a State Senator, I took an oath to protect our people, and today, we have the right plan in front of us to build a new men’s prison. We have an obligation to protect our residents from criminal offenders, and we have an obligation to maintain and invest in corrections and rehabilitation. We simply cannot achieve either objective if we do not have space from our inmates.

Looking at how other states deal with criminal justice and public safety, there are stark differences between places like South Dakota, California and Illinois. Other states have created a revolving door of incarceration because of overcrowding and a lack of rehabilitation programming, and some have even decriminalized criminal activity or decreased penalties. South Dakota has not done that, but if the Legislature had rejected this proposal, we would have begun our path toward devaluing public safety like California. I think that would be a mistake.

Today’s vote is at a time when we have seen President Trump crack down on crime in cities to make America safe again. It is clear that Americans, including South Dakotans, value their safety. Citizens are rising up in states where their leaders have devalued public safety. They are crying out for more arrests, more rehabilitation, and stronger penalties.

It has been proven that our 144 year old prison needs to be replaced. There simply isn’t enough room and I don’t want any excuses for violent criminals to get softer sentences or be released early. The tragic stabbing of Iryna Zarutska in North Carolina by a man who had been arrested 14 times and had 3 felony convictions is a recent example of how weak on crime policies put the public in danger.

The prison proposal presented to the Legislature by the Prison Reset Task Force earned my support because it moves our state forward by addressing a clear and present challenge, and it did so in a way that is good for our taxpayers. Those who voted to reject the proposal, voted to move us backwards by ignoring a problem, making South Dakota less safe, and creating a need to spend even more dollars for the facility needs of the state.

The proposed facility in Sioux Falls will be the best space in our state’s history to reform, educate and rehabilitate South Dakota’s inmates. I want these men–these inmates–to pay their debt to society for the crimes, but I also want them to emerge as better people. The men God envisioned them to be as good fathers and good neighbors; men who will use their skills to contribute to society as part of the workforce. We can’t do any of that without this new prison.

The voters of South Dakota send Legislators to Pierre to tackle the tough issues and make the big decisions. Today’s vote was one of those moments. For me, it was an obvious choice to invest in a new facility that law enforcement endorses while we continue to address reforms in the Department of Corrections and continue to evolve and improve how to work with inmates to become valuable members of our society when their sentences end. My parents taught me that it’s easy to do the right thing. I’m teaching my boys the same. Today’s vote was an easy vote because it’s a vote to invest in people, in safety and in an urgent need for South Dakota.

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While most of the legislature is busy in Pierre on the taxpayer’s dime, trying to figure out whether or not they’re going to build a prison, it seems that House Majority Whip & State Representative Brandei Schaefbauer has her mind on other tasks.

Glad we can pay for her travel and per diem to go to the special legislative session to update her facebook marketplace items.

Johnson & Johnson Introduce Bill to Eliminate Government Shutdowns

 Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) introduced the Eliminate Shutdowns Act to ensure there will never again be a government shutdown. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) is leading this bill in the Senate. Congress routinely faces a government shutdown in the event the funding process is not completed by September 30. Government shutdowns do not serve the American people, cost billions of dollars, and harm the U.S. economy.

“Shutdowns are stupid, and everyone knows it,” said Johnson. “I was sent to Congress to make sure the government serves South Dakotans – it can’t possibly serve South Dakota if it is closed. Almost every other country does not face the threat of a government shutdown. The Eliminate Shutdowns Act will keep the government open, so it can work for you, while encouraging Congress to pass new funding packages.”

The Eliminate Shutdowns Act:

• Triggers an automatic 14-day continuing resolution in the event of a lapse in appropriations.
• If Congress fails to pass appropriations or a Continuing Resolution “CR” by the end of the first 14-day auto-CR, then appropriations and funding continues for another 14 days, and so on and so on.
• The auto-CR ends if Congress passes an appropriations bill or CR.
• The bill ensures entitlements and other mandatory programs provided budget authority in the preceding appropriations Act continue to be funded at the rate necessary to maintain program levels under current law or the preceding appropriations Act.
• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would continue to have apportionment authority during an auto-CR period.
• During an auto-CR period, an agency head is authorized, with OMB approval, to transfer no more than five percent from one appropriation account to another appropriation account.
  • The agency head must notify the congressional appropriations committee of any transfer of funds.
  • The transfer can only be from a lower priority account to a higher priority account.

U.S. Representative Bryan Steil (R-WI) is an original cosponsor.

Click here for bill text.

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