Author: @SoDakCampaigns

Tourism Coalition of South Dakota Endorses Governor Larry Rhoden in July 28 Republican Gubernatorial Runoff 

YANKTON, S.D. – The Tourism Coalition of South Dakota (TCSD) today announced its endorsement of Governor Larry Rhoden in the July 28 Republican gubernatorial runoff election. 

Tourism is one of South Dakota’s largest industries, supporting nearly 60,000 jobs, thousands of small businesses, and communities across the state. TCSD believes South Dakota needs a Governor who understands the significant impact the visitor economy has on businesses, families, and communities—and Governor Rhoden has demonstrated that understanding throughout his years of public service. 

During his time as a legislator, Lieutenant Governor, and now Governor, Rhoden has supported South Dakota’s tourism industry and recognizes its role as a major economic driver. Tourism generates state and local tax revenues, supports small businesses, strengthens communities, and helps reduce the tax burden on South Dakota residents. 

“Governor Rhoden understands that tourism benefits every South Dakotan,” said Carmen Schramm, Executive Director of the Tourism Coalition of South Dakota. “Our industry has worked hard to build a strong visitor economy, and we need a Governor who understands its impact, values the people behind it, and will continue working with us to protect and grow it.” 

The Tourism Coalition of South Dakota believes Governor Larry Rhoden has the experience, understanding, and proven record needed to continue moving South Dakota and its tourism industry forward. 

TCSD proudly endorses Governor Larry Rhoden for the Republican nomination for Governor and encourages voters to make their voices heard on or before Tuesday, July 28. 

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Attorney General Jackley Announces Pierre Woman Pleads Guilty to Defrauding South Dakota Medicaid Program

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that a Pierre woman has pleaded guilty to one felony count of Grand Theft after earlier being charged with defrauding the South Dakota Medicaid Program of more than $588,000 in federal and state funds.

Sharon Laraye Monson, 49, entered the guilty plea Thursday in Hughes County Circuit Court. She faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison when sentenced Aug. 25.  As part of a plea agreement, she has agreed to pay $500,000 in restitution to the South Dakota Department of Social Services.

Monson stole the money when she was the owner of At Home Nursing in Pierre. The charges occurred from May 1, 2018 to Jan. 1, 2024.

The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud, Abuse and Neglect Services Unit.

This release is provided in compliance with the federal Stevens Amendment: The South Dakota Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling approximately $1,033,972 for Federal Fiscal Year 2026. The remaining 25%, totaling approximately $334,656 for Federal Fiscal Year 2026, was funded by the State of South Dakota.

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State Senator Tom Pischke is preparing to become “plea deal Pischke” with regards to the charges brought against him by the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney for falsifying election documents:

The case may not reach such a hearing, tentatively scheduled for August, if a plea deal is reached.

“I believe we have a plea deal” for Pischke, said Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar. He did not elaborate.

After the hearing, Kolbeck confirmed that plea deal discussions are ongoing but said a deal is not yet “imminent.” Pischke declined to comment.

Read the entire story here.

Gov. Rhoden Receives Funding from Trump Administration for ICE Support

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden announced that the Trump Administration has provided $150,418 to the South Dakota Highway Patrol (SDHP) for SDHP’s 287(g) agreement with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The state anticipates further funding under the agreement as operations continue.

“Public safety is my number one priority, and I am grateful that President Trump shares the same commitment to keeping our state and all of America safe,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “Our partnership with ICE has delivered strong results, and I look forward to continuing to partner with the Trump Administration as we work to keep South Dakota strong, safe, and free.”

This financial support is directly allocated toward personnel payroll, specialized field equipment, and information technology (IT) stipends to support the agency’s coordinated enforcement efforts. Currently, the SDHP has 40 state troopers participating in the program. On May 18th, Governor Rhoden announced the expansion of troopers who would be trained under the partnership.

State Troopers have assisted in more than 204 immigration-related arrests involving individuals unlawfully present in the United States who were encountered during routine patrols across South Dakota. Those enforcement actions included individuals accused of a wide range of criminal offenses, including murder, assault on law enforcement, and felony and misdemeanor drug crimes.

“The 287(g) framework gives our troopers the training and access to federal resources needed to properly identify individuals we encounter during the course of our duties,” said Colonel Casey Collins, Superintendent of the South Dakota Highway Patrol. “These cases have involved individuals accused of serious violent offenses as well as drug-related crimes. This program is a strong example of the partnerships that help us protect South Dakota’s communities.”

The Department of Corrections (DOC) and the South Dakota National Guard (SDNG) have also continued to work with ICE as part of this state-federal partnership.

DOC submitted additional inmates for parole to federal custody and deportation. So far, 25 inmates have been paroled directly to ICE custody. Four additional inmates were approved at the parole board meeting in June and are in process, and four more will be considered in July. Removing illegal criminal aliens saves South Dakota taxpayers an average of over $34,000 in annual cost per inmate.

The SDNG deployment of seven guardsmen has continued since last fall. These active-duty soldiers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City are helping process deportations, acting as a force multiplier for South Dakota ICE officers. Through July 2, the SDNG has assisted directly in processing 807 illegal immigrants who have been deported out of South Dakota. The guard costs have been paid directly with federal funds.

Governor Rhoden previously activated the SDNG and sent letters of intent to establish the 287(g) agreements. You can find the DOC letter here and the SDHP letter here.

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From KELOland News, State Senator Tom Pischke is in court today fighting the charges that he falsified election documents:

Republican state lawmaker Tom Pischke appeared in a Minnehaha County courtroom Tuesday, where his attorney entered a not guilty plea to election fraud charges on Pischke’s behalf.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Aug. 21, but Pischke’s attorney Ryan Kolbeck said this will change. Kolbeck says a plea deal for his client is possible but not imminent.

Read the entire story here.

I was informed earlier this evening that this morning, Sioux Falls City Councilor David Barranco passed away from his battle with cancer. Please keep his family in your prayers.

Have a ribbon I’m waiting to receive in the mail.  I didn’t want to spend as much as I did for a SDGOP Convention related ribbon, but it’s the only one I’ve ever seen.

What got me started was that the seller was offering one of the above 1896 GOP Convention ribbons, which wasn’t one I needed.  In fact, I might even have a duplicate, unless I traded it off. But, alongside it – they had this one:

It doesn’t specifically have “Republican Convention” on it, but there was only one “State Convention – Aberdeen July 8, 1896” in Aberdeen that day, making this a companion ribbon that people would pin to their suits on as they bickered about their candidate selection, hawking the Black Hills as the “Richest 100-Mile Square on Earth,” with $3,000,000 in annual output of cattle, and $5,000,000 of gold.

As noted, it’s the only one I’ve ever seen, and it appeared to be in good shape. I paid a little more than I wanted to, but it will be a welcome – and rare – addition to the wall of political textiles displayed behind me.

Looks like this is court week for some accused to be bad actors in the political class.

State Senator Tom Pischke is scheduled to have a warrant/initial hearing tomorrow (7/7) at 9AM in criminal circuit court in Minnehaha County on 2 charges of filing a false or forged instrument in violation of SDCL 22-11-28.1, a class 6 felony.

These would be the same charges that the Minnehaha County GOP has requested Pischke resign from his county party offices for.

This court process is just getting started, so it may be dragging out for months.

Speaking of dragging out for months, former Rapid City news anchor and kind-of political campaign manager Shad Olson is scheduled to be back in court out west on violating court orders related to him pleading “no contest” to charges of misdemeanor domestic abuse that were pled down from felony aggravated assault.

• State Senator Sue Peterson,
• State Senator Ernie Otten,
• State Senator Kevin Jensen,
• State Representative Tim Czmowski,
• State Representative Roger DeGroot,
• State Representative Leslie Heinemann,
• State Representative Jack Kolbeck,
• State Representative Brian Mulder,
• State Representative Keri Weems,
• Public Utilities Commissioner Kristie Fiegen,
• State Representative-elect Terry Sabers,
• Republican Nominee for State Representative Fred Deutsch,
• Republican Nominee for Public Utilities Commissioner Don Haggar,
• Former Lincoln County Commissioner Betty Otten, and
• Lincoln County Commissioner-elect Joni Ekstrum.

Less for the IRS, More for You
By Sen. John Thune

 One year ago, on July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the Working Families Tax Cuts into law. Thanks to this Republican tax relief bill, 97 percent of Americans who filed their taxes this year saw a tax cut. They saw larger tax refunds, smaller tax bills, and collectively saved $82 billion that they would have otherwise had to send to the IRS if not for the Working Families Tax Cuts – and that’s just the beginning of its impact.

At the heart of this bill was making Republicans’ 2017 individual tax relief permanent. Without action from Congress, the tax savings hardworking Americans have enjoyed since 2017 would have expired, and a typical family in South Dakota would have seen a $2,500 tax hike this year. That was unacceptable. Republicans were determined to prevent this tax hike, and more than prevent it, we made those lower rates permanent and delivered new tax relief that puts more money in Americans’ pockets.

The Working Families Tax Cuts delivers permanently lower tax rates across the board. After nearly doubling the standard deduction in 2017, the Working Families Tax Cuts made it permanent. And thanks to this bill, parents will benefit from an increase in the child tax credit to $2,200 per child, which is now linked to the cost of living so it never loses its value.

We also created a number of new tax relief provisions. The senior deduction helped more than 35 million Americans over age 65 reduce their tax burden this year. No tax on tips and overtime allowed workers to keep more of their hard-earned money – from waiters and waitresses to firefighters and factory workers. All told, Americans earning between $100,000 and $200,000 last year who took advantage of this new tax relief saw an average tax cut of $1,250.

The good news extends to small businesses, farms, and ranches too. Permanent pro-growth provisions in the tax code will help them invest more in their operations and employees – things like lower tax rates, the 199A small business deduction, and 100 percent immediate expensing. These permanent tax policies help free up cash for small businesses, encourage investment, and help them create more opportunity.

I’m also very proud that the Working Families Tax Cuts saves a lot more small businesses and family farms and ranches from the death tax by raising the exemption threshold. Family businesses, farmers, and ranchers who want to pass their operation on to the next generation can now breathe easier thanks to this bill, and they can avoid the costly estate-planning expenses that come with this unfair tax.

Republicans not only prevented a $4 trillion tax hike, we provided additional tax relief that puts more money in hardworking Americans’ pockets and offers more breathing room for family businesses, farms, and ranches. For the past year, the American people have been seeing the benefits of the Working Families Tax Cuts, and this story continues to unfold throughout our state and across the country.

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