Author: @SoDakCampaigns

When you think about South Dakota, you can’t help but picture the great outdoors. The beautiful Black Hills, with their mix of mountain ranges and rolling prairies. The mighty Missouri River — winding across the state and feeding thousands of miles of riverbed and streams. The picturesque Prairie Lakes and the wide-open fields that I call home. From the Badlands to farmlands, we’ve got plenty of reasons to go outside.  Whether you are there to work or there to play, the outdoors benefits our economy, too. Especially in agriculture and in our hunting and fishing opportunities.  

Agriculture is, of course, our state’s largest economic engine, and we are expanding opportunities for agriculture to grow our economy. We are expanding agriculture opportunities in several ways, including agritourism, value-added ag, and much more. 

Agritourism is an industry that turns working farms into travel destinations, creating an interactive experience for visitors to see first-hand how their food is grown. With more people than ever visiting our state, I took steps to make it easier to start an agritourism business and provide more opportunities for visitors to our state to see what a life in agriculture has to offer. By tying in our second-largest industry — tourism — to our largest, we provide an opportunity for our farm families to diversify their operations and create another source of income.  

Early in my administration, I tasked the Governor’s Office of Economic Development with generating more value-added ag production in our state. In the last 18 months, GOED has helped secure an estimated $627 million in capital investment for companies that process and add value to South Dakota-grown crops and livestock.  

We have supported ranchers and consumers by giving grants to smaller meat processors and opening opportunities to ship state-inspected meat across state lines.   

We also tie together agriculture and the promotion of South Dakota as the premier pheasant hunting destination. With my Second Century Habitat Initiative, we have provided farmers a financial opportunity to turn marginal acres into productive habitats for pheasants and other wildlife.   

To date, we have enrolled thousands of acres across the state in Second Century Habitat programs. Between this and other public-private partnerships, we have added nearly 1.5 million acres of private land in the public access hunting programs. We’ve also been able to add almost 12,000 acres of food habitat plots, 36,000 acres of grassland restoration, and 15,310 acres of wildlife-friendly fencing. 

As an avid hunter, I want to share South Dakota’s incredible outdoor opportunities with everyone who wants to come enjoy them and landowners play an important role in expanding access. 

Since becoming governor, I have successfully streamlined hunting licenses to make it easier for residents and nonresidents to navigate. One big change has been the revamped website, which combines all outdoor-related activities: hunting/fishing licenses, park reservations, campgrounds, and more.  And self-service kiosks (there are 96 around the state) provide a convenient way for visitors to pay for entrance fees, firewood, and campsite reservations. 

We simplified duck hunting by providing an option for a 3-duck bag limit, which allows hunters to bag any three ducks rather than being restricted by species. That helps first-time duck hunters get involved in the sport. But I also want to see more young people to get interested in the outdoors. 

To do that, we eliminated fishing licenses for all minors and streamlined youth hunting licenses to increase youth participation. We also revamped our youth mentoring program that partners experienced hunters with novice outdoorsmen and women. One of the most successful youth programs has been our Nest Predator Bounty Program, which currently has nearly half of all participants under age 18.  

These are just some of the ways we are continuing to promote the amazing outdoor adventures that are accessible to everyone in South Dakota. I hope that everyone takes time this year to get outdoors and enjoy all the beauty South Dakota has to offer. 

I’ve been talking to people about the GOP dinner last night in Watertown, and from the sounds of it, it was quite interesting.

Taffy Howard spoke about her “A” rating on guns, only to be followed by Dusty Johnson who got to speak about his “A+” from the NRA, and his accompanying endorsement. Ouch. Although, while Dusty was talking, I’m told some dude at Taffy’s table stood in front of the podium with some sign, only to have Brett Holien chase him around the room so Dusty could finish his speech.

Also heard about John Thune’s challenger, Bruce Whalen, who generally ranted on, and used some profanity in the direction of Senator Thune’s campaign manager after he spoke.  Doesn’t sound very Christian of him.  Not that he’s going to win, anyway.

Big item that most people were remarking about was the speech that Steve Haugaard phoned in. No, not his usual phoning it in, but they put him up via speaker over the phone, where he proceeded to generally trash Governor Noem, and the people I all spoke with commented that he was really kind of a jerk.  How many votes did he think he was going to get?

Those who are hosting these events, probably a good lesson. Letting a candidate phone in attacks was a mistake. If someone is going to be jerky, they, or their designated speaker should have to show up and own it.

Lee Schoenbeck had a short campaign speech, and use the rest of the time to rebut the tone of Haugaard’s attacks, pointing out that while there are times where he disagrees with Governor Noem, and they may fight over some issues, he knows she cares about South Dakota, and he’s going to work with her to make our state better.

Those remarks and actions kind of set the differences between some of the candidates, as you might see in this advertisement from D4 House Candidate Adam Grimm:

You know, it starts out with a nice sentiment, but then he gets 1/3 of the way in, and he uses the rest of the advertisement to look like a jerk.  Do we need more people like that in the legislature? No. Does anyone realistically think that this advertisement changed the way anyone attending the dinner is going to vote? No.

But that’s the challenge the GOP faces this election. With record inflation, record gas prices, and an economy that’s facing rocky times, do we need people who point out they are married to a woman, or do we need people who are willing to solve problems without sounding like they spend too much time on facebook?

And there you go.

Dusty Johnson just sent a letter out to supporters. And in it, he seems to intimate that his primary opponent Taffy Howard has some problems with bearing false witness against him:

John Thune and Dusty Johnson just got the nod from the National Rifle Association and were endorsed for re-election:

Taffy Howard was also ranked lower than Dusty, likely as a result of voting against the Shooting Sports range, which was an NRA supported bill.  (I wonder how quickly she’s going to admit being less conservative in the rankings than her opponent?)

 

I didn’t receive this until just today (I’m always getting those things lost in the mail), but State Legislative Candidate Tony Venhuizen just had a HUGE fundraiser in Sioux Falls on the 4th.

Special guests were Governor Kristi Noem and former Governor Daugaard. And Congressman Dusty Johnson was one of the hosts.

(They got me a little better copy of the flyer)

Minnehaha County GOP will be hosting a MEET THE CANDIDATES Social. All State Delegation, Minnehaha Republican Legislative Candidates, County Officers and Committeemen and Committeewoman are invited. We hope to see you there! We encourage you to wear your name badge and bring your flyers and yard signs. Due to the large number of Candidates, we divided the Meet and Greet into two meetings, see details below. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Gov. Noem Proclaims Today Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Noem proclaimed May 5^th as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day in South Dakota.

“Today, we remember the Indigenous people who have been murdered and those who remain missing. We are committed to working with Tribal Nations to address this ongoing tragedy and help our fellow South Dakotans, the Oceti Sakowin people,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “I encourage every South Dakotan to take a moment today to reflect on and help raise awareness for those within this vulnerable population. Let’s give them our help and support and continue to lift them and their families up in prayer.”

Actions taken by Governor Noem to address the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people include:

• Establishing procedures for the investigation of missing and murdered indigenous persons;
• Establishing a missing person clearinghouse;
• Creating and fully funding the Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People; and
• Working on state legislation for the last 4 years to better combat human trafficking.

Additionally, while serving in the United States House of Representatives, then-Congresswoman Noem sponsored the “Protect Our Native Women Act” and legislation to make tribes eligible for AMBER Alert grants. She also co-sponsored anti-human trafficking legislation that was signed into law by both PresidentsObama and Trump.

“While these efforts have made a positive lasting impact, we have more work to do,” continued Governor Noem. “Through further collaboration between our Tribal Nations, federal agencies, and the State of South Dakota, we will continue working to end this terrible crisis.”

You can find Governor Noem’s proclamation here. To learn more about Native American culture and education, visit the Department of Tribal Relations’website.

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According to the Secretary of State’s office, the deadline to submit an independent candidate nominating petition was April 26, 2022.

But, wasn’t Lora Hubbel allegedly running as an Independent candidate for that office?

We all must have missed those petitions being turned in.

Wondering what all this primary election folderol is on the Republican side of the aisle? Check out our helpful infographic below for an update on the races.

There’s an article posted at the Argus Leader this evening noting Governor Kristi Noem’s importance in the Republican primaries, and the fact she’s taking an active role in the primaries as the symbolic head of the Republican Party in South Dakota in encouraging people to run:

Not seen as vulnerable in her primary, Noem says she’s still not taking her party’s nomination for governor for granted. But she is managing to find time to involve herself in some battleground legislative contests. She’s offered candidate school seminars to up-and-coming politicians, making endorsements and even going as far as publicly chastising Republican incumbents she doesn’t see eye to eye politically.

and..

“In the primary, she’s probably the greatest asset we have,” said Sen. Lee Schoenbeck, the president pro tempore of the Legislature’s higher chamber who’s engaging in open hostilities with a handful of the governor’s political nemesis.

Read that here.

(Is that nemesis, or nemeses?). Of course, the Governor’s agenda does have it’s detractors – and by the looks of it, they’re putting some cash into attacking Senator Schoenbeck for leading the charge:

Pischke launched a campaign ad accusing him of being the “liberal leader of the Senate.” And last week, Rep. Liz May, a Republican who lives hundreds of miles from Watertown, began running a billboard spot in Schoenbeck’s district pegging him as a “tax and spend” politician for helping Noem block a sales tax cut last winter.

and..

“I’m going to do what it takes to expose him and this cabal of Republicans,” she said, though she declined to share the level of campaign funds she intends to focus on Schoenbeck’s race.

Read that here.

Interestingly, the Pischke ad campaign and the PAC billboard comes on the heels of Tom Pischke calling everyone and their dog to try to raise cash. I spoke with at least two people who had gotten calls. This might possibly be what he’s spending the campaign bucks on that he’s trying to raise.

Given Liz May’s electoral skill (such as when she lost to Dusty Johnson 81-19%).. or lack thereof, throwing cash against Lee Schoenbeck might be the second biggest waste of her money after her Congressional race. Given that Schoenbeck is the legislature’s OG campaign machine, and is completely and utterly indefatigable when it comes to political races, Liz has a pretty uphill battle if she thinks she’s going to take him down a peg.

But, it is endlessly entertaining political theater.   Stay tuned.