Author: @SoDakCampaigns

South Dakota: Prosperous and Free 
By: Gov. Kristi Noem  
October 18, 2024    

Over the past several years, South Dakota’s economy has consistently been the strongest of any state in the country. We recently received two updates that underscore just how strong our economy continues to be, even with the sluggish economy under the Biden-Harris Administration. 

South Dakota once again led the nation in income growth in 2023 according to the Federal Reserve. Additionally, their data shows that we have the second-best growth over the last five years for growth in real median household income. That means our incomes are rising faster than inflation, which isn’t the case for many states across the country.

We also received an accolade from the free market Cato Institute, which recognized us as tied for 4^th out of all states for fiscal policy. They gave us an A and said the following about South Dakota:

“Kristi Noem of South Dakota has defended her state’s low-tax policies since her election in 2018. As one of the freest states in the nation, South Dakota enjoys net domestic in-migration, while most of its neighbors suffer out-migration. Noem cut the general sales tax rate from 4.5 percent to 4.2 percent – a significant reduction, as the state has no income tax and relies heavily on sales taxes. Noem consistently proposes flat budgets. 

South Dakota is setting an example for wise fiscal management. We still have a AAA credit rating and one of the only fully-funded pension plans in the country, and we are looking forward to delivering a balanced budget once again in the upcoming legislative session.

Our unemployment rate remains the lowest in the nation at 2.0%, and last year we even broke the record for lowest unemployment rate for a state in American history. Our jobs market remains the strongest in America – Freedom truly Works Here! 

Behind all of these statistics are people – South Dakota families who are able to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, and grow towards their American Dream.

 The rest of the nation could certainly stand to follow South Dakota’s example. By getting government out of the way and allowing people to utilize their Freedom in pursuit of the American Dream, we can bring incomes up, costs down, and get the United States of America back to work!

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Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction.

Anyone else get the e-mail blast today from No on 21 alliance member group Dakota Rural Action?

Dakota Rural Action has long been a member of the No on Referred Law 21 alliance of enemies of ethanol & energy production. And they had to file pre-election paperwork, which they did in the last day or so. You can read it here:

Dakota Rural Action Ballot Committee by Pat Powers on Scribd

Why do we care about this? It’s called “follow the money.” Because this is one of the most interesting paper-trails I’ve seen.

So this group takes in $35k from a group called South Dakota Rural Voters. What can we tell you about this group? Well, they filed a report too. And here’s where it gets interesting:

Sd Rural Voters by Pat Powers on Scribd

So, the anti-pipeline group takes $25k from the “New World Foundation” in Washington DC, and $10,000 from the “Jane Fonda Climate PAC,” who immediately turns it over to the ballot committee running No on 21 ads and text blasts.

What can we tell you about them?  The New World Foundation is a pro-labor union environmentalist group, led by a former director for the AFL-CIO, and includes among it’s board members people from the Obama Administration.

The Jane Fonda Climate Pac? As you might expect:

I’ve spent my life fighting for what I believe in. When I was 32, President Nixon had me arrested. 50 years later I was arrested five times for protesting the government’s inaction on climate change. It’s no secret that I have a history of ruffling feathers in Washington. Today, support for climate action is unprecedented. The public is voting with the climate in mind, but the people we elect are not.

and..

It is for that reason that I started Jane Fonda Climate PAC, which is laser-focused on one goal:Do what it takes to defeat fossil fuel supporters and elect climate champions at all levels of government. I believe this is the most important thing I will do in my lifetime.

Read the words of Jane Fonda here.

The group fighting the Summit Carbon Pipeline is actually having it’s advertising efforts funded in part by Jane Fonda.

So all these “allegedly conservative” legislators protesting against ethanol and the pipeline they need to keep ag processing competitive in South Dakota? They are doing so at the bidding of Jane Fonda.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  That might be the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time.

And a good example that politics are a circle. And you might be so far right, that you’re actually left.

Interesting campaign finance filing with the Secretary of State today. The Pennington County GOP filed their campaign finance report, and it seems to be indicative of a Republican Party organization that has forgotten what purpose it serves.

Pennington 2024 Campaign Finance Report by Pat Powers on Scribd

The second largest GOP county party organization in the state reports having raised about $84,163.74 this last year. Unfortunately, between operating expenses and other things they spent money on, it only cost them $106,574 to do so (plus 9k in donated goods & services), eating into their bank account by $22k, leaving them $19,880 to fund their activities next year. Or less, since this is just the pre-primary report.

But here’s the line item that should chap the tails of the Pennington County candidates. (i.e., the reason the group is there in the first place). How much of that $106k did they spend in getting candidates elected?  NOTHING.

$1000 to Vote No on H ballot measure, which the party took an official position on. And the party has long had an anti abortion plank. But $1000 to two of those that it didn’t, including the Anti-ethanol group, and Protecting SD Kids?   What about Republican candidates? 

They can blow $4K on ballot measures, over 8k on a “Candidate forum,” but nothing on candidates?   It’s like they’re only there to perpetuate a fiefdom, and completely ignoring the fiefs.

The entire reason they exist in the first place is to elect Republicans.  Maybe they should start considering that.

Quit donating to ballot measures, and start supporting candidates.  Or you don’t deserve to exist.

(*BONUS*)

Pennington County Republican Women donated more to candidates than the Pennington County Republican Party.

And they’re ending the reporting for the cycle with about as much in the bank.

Good on them for having their priorities straight.

My wife is home next weekend for my birthday, and we were talking about hitting the USD/SDSU football game. Of course it’s sold out, so I went to the aftermarket to check what might be available.

Good gosh. It’s not quite as bad as Taylor Swift, but that game is popular-concert expensive when $25 tickets are going that high:

When $310 is an “ok deal,” I think I might have to fire up ESPN at home instead.   (Go Jacks!)

Goofy election truther Jessica Pollema attacked the Minnehaha County Commission yesterday, accusing them of treason because …Minnehaha County follows federal law?

Under current South Dakota law, voters filling on registration forms must have “maintained residence in South Dakota for at least 30 days prior to submitting the registration form.” That state law conflicts with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1970 where no person shall be denied the right to vote “because of durational residency requirement or absentee balloting.”

At the commission meeting, Minnehaha County resident Jessica Pollema said she believes the sanctity of elections in the state are at risk if they allow “thousands of unverified perjured voters” to commit fraud by voting. She accused the county commissioners of treason for allowing them to vote.

“I’m a little upset right now,” commission chair Dean Karsky said after public comment ended. “I’ve spent six years active duty in the Air Force. I’m being accused of treason. I’m being told I need to do something. Nobody tells me what I’m supposed to do, I don’t prosecute laws. I’m a county commissioner.”

Read the entire story here at KELOland.com.

I’m not sure what do you do with someone who makes up their own definition to words they read on facebook.

South Dakota Has a Primary Problem

Joe Kirby, Chairman of South Dakota Open Primaries announced, “We have a primary problem in South Dakota. Only 17% of voters turned out for the June 2024 primary election. It appears over 70% will vote in the November general election. Why the difference? Because many South Dakota voters are denied a meaningful role in the state’s closed primaries.”

“Public officials are quick to criticize voters when turnout is low. But the problem isn’t the voters. South Dakotans have proven they love to vote in important elections. The state’s antiquated closed primary system prohibits them from doing that.”

“The closed primary system made more sense when there were two strong political parties in the state and very few independent voters. But the world has changed. The South Dakota Democratic party has become mostly irrelevant with no Democrat currently occupying statewide office and only about 10% of legislative positions. Meanwhile, the number of independent voters who choose not to affiliate with either party has skyrocketed to 155,000. The number of independent voters in the state far exceeds the number of Democrats.”

“Amendment H is on the November 5^th ballot and would solve South Dakota’s primary problem. All candidates for an office would be listed on a single ballot. All legal voters would get that ballot. The top two vote getters would move on to the general election. Most importantly, all voters would get to vote.”

“The state of South Dakota estimates an open primary would attract another 50,000 voters. We think that their estimate is low. South Dakotans have proven at multiple general elections that they will turn out in large numbers when there are interesting and competitive races. Open primaries promise to increase the number of candidates as well the competition in our elections.”

The following chart uses data from the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website.

YEAR	General Election	Primary Election
2016	70%	21%
2018	65%	27%
2020	74%	28%
2022	59%	32% (Amendment C drew a crowd)
2024	>70% estimated	17%

Kirby added, “We have a primary problem in South Dakota.155,000 independent and not affiliated South Dakota voters currently have little to say about who represents them and leads the state. That’s not fair. Nor is it good for our state. After all, democracy works best when all voters get to vote. Vote YES on H!”

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Attorney General Jackley, SDSU, USD File Motion To Keep NCAA lawsuit in State Court

PIERRE, S.D – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces his office and the South Dakota Board of Regents, on behalf of South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota, have filed a motion seeking to have its lawsuit against the NCAA heard in state, not federal, court.

The motion, filed Tuesday in South Dakota U.S. District Court in Sioux Falls, is in response to a motion earlier filed by the NCAA requesting that the lawsuit be moved to federal court.

“For a case to be moved to federal court, the federal court must either have original jurisdiction or involve significant federal issues, and the NCAA fails to satisfy either requirement,” said Attorney General Jackley. “We believe this case should remain in state court, regardless the NCAA settlement is unfair to smaller universities and female athletes.”

Attorney General Jackley and the Board of Regents, SDSU and USD filed its lawsuit in September in Brookings County Circuit Court, arguing a proposed $2.8 billion settlement between the so-called “Power Four” conferences unfairly forces smaller schools like the South Dakota schools to be responsible for a disproportionate share of the settlement cost. The lawsuit also states the female athletes would receive only 10 percent of the settlement proceeds.

The judge will rule on the motion at a later time.

South Dakota’s response to the NCAA can be found here:

Congressman Dusty Johnson is on the air with his new Campaign commercial Ports to Prairies. Click on the image and check it out!

Congressional hopeful Democrat Sheryl Johnson’s campaign is going to quietly wind down at this point. Because with 20 days to go until the election, with only $16k in the bank, she’s not going to do much else.

Sheryl Johnson Oct 2024 Fec by Pat Powers on Scribd

Sheryl had a passable quarter for a first time statewide candidate with $77,917.03 in receipts.  The problem is that she has nothing for the homestretch after spending $100,232.72, which included her existing cash on hand. That left the SD Mom for Congress with $16,263.08 cash on hand to run the rest of the campaign.

Or more likely, make sure her staff is paid, get things returned, and quietly close things down in the remaining days until November 5th.

Attorneys General Jackley, Kobach, and Wrigley Argue DACA Rule Would Place Undue Burdens on States

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, and North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley Tuesday argued in North Dakota U.S. Federal Court that a proposed federal rule that treats DACA recipients as legal citizens would impact the financial health and public safety of States.

“The burdens fall on the States when Washington fails to address illegal immigration and secure our Southern Border,” said Attorney General Jackley. “It has affected the public health and safety with the flow of meth and fentanyl from the Southern Border into our States. The financial burden of this proposed DACA rule for South Dakota families is real, ranging between $26 million to $35 million per year.”

Attorney Generals in 19 States filed the suit this August challenging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ final rule regarding eligibility of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients for a Qualified Health Plan through an Affordable Care Act exchange.

The federal court has now taken the case under advisement and ordered the federal government to produce factual information to the States. A decision will be announced in the near future with the Rule going into effect Nov. 1, 2024.

In addition to South Dakota, Kansas, and North Dakota, other Attorney Generals who joined this suit are from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

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