Author: @SoDakCampaigns

In Rapid City, former City Councilman Jason Salamun eclipsed the rest of the field and will be the new mayor by fewer than 300 votes after other candidates seemed to split the vote against Laura Armstrong who came in second.

According to the Rapid City Journal,

Salamun unofficially took 32% of voters with 4,888 votes Tuesday, topping Laura Armstrong by only 269 votes.

and..

Unofficial results show Laura Armstrong came in second with 4,619 votes, Ron Weifenbach third with 2,999, Brad Estes fourth with 2,769, and Josh Lyle with 150.

Read that here.

Brad Estes was by far the strongest fundraiser, but as one observer noted to me, he just did not have an effective stage presence in debates.

This race might be characterized by – surprisingly – not being a complete circus sideshow. Which is doing pretty good for Rapid City.

On the other hand, we have the school board race…

The race for a new Mayor in Chamberlain had another big blowout last night where (yes, it’s on a non-partisan ballot) Republican Monte Claussen trounced Democrat Tim Thomas on a vote of 230-170, with the winner receiving over 57% of the vote.

This race got a little attention in that it had the winning candidate running a modern campaign, while the losing one.. well they didn’t.  For example, One ran a couple of ads like this throughout the race..

And the one who lost had a single ad a couple days before the election that was this kind of mess.

Good note to others who are thinking of running for office.. you have to plan and run a serious campaign. Or not. And see how that goes.

 

Governor Noem Appoints Randy Frederick and Randy Rasmussen to Board of Regents

 PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that she will appoint Randy Frederick and Randy Rasmussen to serve on the South Dakota Board of Regents.

“The Board of Regents must revitalize the institutions under its control and to lead the nation by example. Together, we will work to provide an education that truly prepares our kids for the world they are entering without indoctrinating them with harmful, divisive ideologies,” said Governor Noem. “I look forward to working with these folks to set an example to the nation of what strong higher education can look like.”

Improving higher education has been a top priority for Governor Noem. Last month, she challenged the Board of Regents to take action towards strengthening higher education in the state of South Dakota. The governor’s full letter to the Board can be read here. In the letter, Governor Noem also launched a new whistleblower hotline for students, faculty, parents, and taxpayers to report concerns at institutions of higher education in the state.

Randy Frederick served for 12 years in the South Dakota State Legislature and was the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee for six years. He was also a member of Governor Rounds’ transition team and a Legislative Task Force Member. A photo of Frederick can be found here.

“I would like to thank Governor Noem for the opportunity to serve the great people of our state,” said Randy Frederick. “Free speech has been under attack at too many universities across the nation. I am dedicated to preserving American values at South Dakota’s higher education institutions.”

Randy Rasmussen has been a resident of Vermilion, South Dakota for almost 50 years. He worked in a family business for most of those years, and has had the pleasure of interacting with employees, students, and family members of the University of South Dakota community. Rasmussen graduated from the University of South Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and from Grand Canyon University with a master’s degree in business administration. He is currently the payroll supervisor for HoChunk, Inc. A photo of Rasmussen can be found here.

“I am grateful to Governor Noem for giving me the chance to serve higher education in South Dakota,” said Randy Rasmussen. “Higher education should teach students to think critically, independently, and form their own conclusions. Students need a curriculum that not only prepares them for a career, but gives them solid understanding of civic virtue that allows them to contribute to their community in a representative republic.”

Randy Frederick will replace Jim Thares. Randy Rasmussen will serve out the remainder of the term for the seat that John Bastian has been holding since his previous term expired. Pursuant to SDCL 13-49-3, Board of Regents members continue to serve until a new board member is appointed by the Governor following the expiration of their term.

Information on the Board of Regents can be found here.

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The Brown County Republican party has an item in their June Newsletter advertising a training coming up from the “Life Defense Fund” where they are offering training on how to say no to signing a petition:

As noted in the advertisement, “If they get enough signatures this dangerous amendment would cancel all pro-life laws! We will need people bringing this truth, especially at the Brown County Fair. Sponsored by Life Defense Fund with speaker, Dave Roetman.”

I thought if they got enough signatures, then it would be placed on the ballot for people to vote. But apparently they say it will “cancel all pro-life laws!”  (I guess when you’re on a roll..)

It did get my attention that they have engaged with former Minnehaha County GOP Chair, former SDGOP Finance Director/Political Director, former Monae Johnson campaign person and holder of other past-tense superlatives, Dave Roetman, who co-founded the Patriot Ripple group in Sioux Falls to defeat Republican officeholders.

It does sound like some high level stuff, when you need Dave to teach people how to not do something.  Who would have thought you needed a training – with two separate sessions at 1pm and 3pm – on how not to sign one’s name?

Stay tuned.

“Agriculture will continue to be the state’s economic backbone, but most South Dakotans will earn a living in non-farm jobs that require technical skills, Gov. Bill Janklow says.

Janklow says his program to provide topnotch telecommunications to all schools means that service is in nearly every city. Businesses also can hook their computers and phones into those high-speed lines, he says.

”It’s going to get us into the information age, and that is where the future is going to be for the majority of our people,” the governor says.”

– Governor Bill Janklow, Associated Press (via Yankton Press & Dakotan), January 31, 2000

In an article at South Dakota Searchlight yesterday, while Senator John Thune and others continue Bill Janklow’s legacy for a connected South Dakota for the benefit of all, one South Dakota legislator thinks it’s more appropriate to spit on Janklow’s legacy, and tell people who live and work in remote areas of South Dakota that government support of bringing broadband to remote areas is an “overstep” by government.

Thune is the ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband. Despite rising costs, he remains committed to broadband expansion given the benefits.

“Whether it’s distance learning, telemedicine or precision agriculture,” Thune said. “And it’s becoming easier for people to work and live here. Even if they have a job someplace else, if you have high-speed internet services, the sky is the limit as to what you can do.”

and..

Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, questions if providing high-speed internet access is the role of government.

“The federal government has already been spending billions and billions of dollars on this,” Karr said. “Is it the role of government to cut through a mountain to deliver internet? I question that. Because, if you move somewhere remote, there are going to be trade-offs.”

Citing mounting concerns over inflation and the federal budget deficit, Karr argues government’s involvement in broadband expansion is an overstep that should be curtailed.

Read the entire story here.

I don’t know what a person says to to such short-sightedness in calling broadband connection “an overstep.”

Anyone want to be the South Dakota Elections Coordinator?

No, really. Is there anyone who wants to do it? Because the job is open again the day before the next round of elections:

From the last report, the job had been filled around February, so Secretary of State Monae Johnson is back to the drawing board on a person to serve as her point person for election questions.

If you missed this story from South Dakota News Watch last week, there’s an item in it that’s somewhat concerning regarding Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson.

Anderson advocated for petition circulators to be banned from the entrance of the Minnehaha County Courthouse, and pushed into designated petition zones in the parking lot, much like the maligned free speech zones of college campuses. And that they have to check into her office before exercising their free speech..  sorry, exercising their petitioning.

But the really bad part of this is the fact that Anderson appears to have skin in the game.

Anderson not just worked for one of the primary organizers of petition opponents at one time, but she donated money to the petition opponents, according to campaign finance reports:

Verbal skirmishes between the groups, and what some county employees and customers characterize as increasingly aggressive behavior from circulators, led the Minnehaha County Commission to adopt a new policy for petition gathering on May 2. It was based upon the recommendation of county auditor Leah Anderson, who was elected in November and sworn in on March 5.

The new policy would restrict petition circulation to two designated rectangular areas: one about 50 feet from the main entrance to the administration building, in the parking lot off Minnesota Avenue, and the other southeast of the main entrance to the courthouse.

The policy mandated that circulators check in at Anderson’s office prior to conducting political activity “to permit the placement of safety markers and to verify space availability within the designated areas.”

and..

Anderson, who proposed the rule changes, is a former secretary and treasurer for the Alpha Center, the Sioux Falls pregnancy resource center founded by Leslee Unruh, a leader of the state’s anti-abortion movement who also co-chairs the Life Defense Fund. Anderson’s campaign PAC, Leah for Minnehaha Auditor, donated $200 to the Life Defense Fund, according to campaign finance reports.

In court, though, Anderson testified that her motivation to change the policy was based on conversations with county staffers who observed an increase in aggressive behavior from petition circulators that made entering and exiting the administration building burdensome, including petitioners who stationed themselves inside the main entrance.

Read the entire story here at SD News Watch.

If Republicans oppose free speech zones on University campuses, they probably need to examine whether they should take the same position for free speech zones at the Minnehaha County Courthouse.

According to the South Dakota Register, the State Board of Elections is having a hearing on a number of topics around election tabulation and security, including voter registration file security, testing and sealing of automatic tabulation equipment, and a number of other hot-button items coming up on June 28th.

As detailed in the notice:

State Board of Elections (Office of the Secretary of State): (June 2, 2023) intends to amend rules to change the date for a statewide runoff; prescribe the oath for a county recount board; prescribe the notice for testing automatic tabulating equipment and prescribe the method for testing such equipment; describe how to seal automatic tabulating machines; prescribe ballot box storage and security; clarify how an auditor is to conduct absentee balloting at nursing facilities, assisted living centers, and hospitals; make changes to the voter registration form; add email address and telephone number to the precinct committeeman or committeewoman statement; change the acknowledgement notice for rejected voter registrations from forwardable to non-forwardable; clarify the procedures for voter registration file security; and prescribe the oath for a post-election audit board. The general authority for these rules, as cited by the board, is SDCL 12-1-9, 12-4-35, 12-4-37, 12-4-56, 12-17B-5.2, 12-17B-17, 12-17B-18, 12-19-9.1, 12-19-9.3, and 12-21-2.

A public hearing will be held in the Secretary of State Business Office, 215 East Prospect Avenue, Pierre, South Dakota, on June 28, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. (CT). Copies of the proposed rules may be obtained without charge from the State Board of Elections, 500 East Capitol Avenue, Pierre, South Dakota 57501, or at https://sdsos.gov or https://rules.sd.gov. Written comments may be sent to State Board of Elections, 500 East Capitol Avenue, Pierre, South Dakota 57501 or emailed to elections@state.sd.us. Material sent by mail or email must reach the board seventy-two hours before the date of the hearing. This hearing is being held in a physically accessible location. Persons with special needs for which the board can make arrangements may call (605) 773-3537 at least 48 hours before the public hearing.

Read the notice as found here.

A promotional image found out on the internet for Save South Dakota event, with former Minnesota and now Elkton South Dakota election conspiracist Rick Weible, is promoting Weible as “Rick Weible, South Dakota Hero.” The flyer advertises Weible at a meeting in Aberdeen this coming Saturday, declaring that Transparency is the incoluation (sic) to all conspiracies.  I’d note that both Save South Dakota and Midwest Swamp Watch are entities that Weible created.. so really, his groups seem to be declaring him as a hero without citing a factual basis for their declaration.

I know Rick has been involved in his election conspiracy groups, and was involved in the Monae Johnson for Secretary of State race before Monae Johnson sprinted away from Weible and his spouse after the election (as Weible relates here at about 6:20).  But I can’t find any records of heroism on Rick’s part from a cursory check of Google. I wouldn’t want to cast doubt in an unfair manner, so I think we’d all agree that there are minor acts of heroism that don’t make the news media. If we want to be generous we can give Rick the benefit of the doubt and venture a guess that yes, maybe he might acted in an unsung heroic manner.. and maybe he saved a cat from a tree or something to that effect?

If you look at the rest of the poster, it IS kind of a mess, and needs a lot of work. The colon should come after Elections, and not on the next line. And I don’t think they should have capitalized Root or Save in the promo sentence for the event. But I’m guessing that the proofreader for the the poster is the same one who is establishing the qualifications of what constitutes heroism for the group’s purposes.

And in both cases, they should do a lot of reworking on it.

This might come as a shocker, but if you go visit one of the medical marijuana pop-up clinics, you too might find out that you have a debilitating condition you never knew you had.

And in a story that appeared a few days ago at Dakota Scout, that’s just what State Representative Fred Deutsch did. He went to one of the pop-up clinics being held across the state for this purpose.  And shocker – he was declared debilitated and issued a card.

At the appointment, held in a breakout room at the Watertown Holiday Inn, Deutsch met with a medical practitioner who determined he met a qualifying condition, he said.

Deutsch said was truthful throughout the consultation, telling the practitioner he’d been in a car accident last year and had some pain as a result.

“If you qualify for pain, it’s supposed to be debilitating. But she didn’t ask me if it was debilitating,” he said. “I went in to see if they’re following the law and they really aren’t.

Read the entire story here.

I’m kind of thinking the legislature might add a little more scrutiny to the “Holiday Inn-Doctors” declaring people as having medical marijuana qualifying conditions this next session.