Author: @SoDakCampaigns

Governor Noem Files Brief at U.S. Supreme Court in Important Election Integrity Case

PIERRE, S.D. – This week, Governor Kristi Noem submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in support of the petitioners in the case of Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee and in defense of fair, neutrally-applicable election laws that work to prevent voter fraud. This brief could not be timelier in light of the ongoing national election dispute.

“The 2020 election has shaken the American people’s faith in the integrity of the electoral process,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “Fortunately, the Brnovich case presents the Supreme Court with a fantastic opportunity to restore public trust in American elections. In South Dakota, our election system is fair and transparent, and all states should be held to the same standard. Our hope is the Supreme Court will set a clear precedent that upholds the powers of states to enforce neutral, non-discriminatory voting rules that apply fairly to all by supporting the petitioners.”

The amicus brief argues that the Voting Rights Act does not prevent states from enacting neutral election laws like Arizona’s ban on ballot-harvesting and in-precinct voting requirements. Arizona’s laws are not identical to South Dakota’s election laws, but all states should be allowed to design rules that promote the order and integrity of their elections.  States should be able to enact and revise laws designed to ensure that every legal vote counts, and they shouldn’t have to fear being taken to court for pursuing electoral fairness.

The amicus brief is available on the Supreme Court docket at this link.

###

Governor Noem Signs Executive Order

PIERRE, S.D. – Yesterday, Governor Kristi Noem signed an executive order to give flexibility as South Dakota continues to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Executive Order 2020-33 makes various statutory and regulatory suspensions affecting businesses and schools in the state. These suspensions will continue through the duration of the COVID-19 state of emergency. The suspensions include:

• Suspending in-person requirements to allow cooperatives, rural electric cooperatives, and nonprofits to meet electronically;
• Suspending performance evaluations for experienced teachers and principals;
• Suspending school evacuation drills and cardiopulmonary surveys;
• Suspending accreditation review for schools scheduled to be reviewed this year.

To learn more about executive orders to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit COVID.sd.gov.

###

Johnson Congratulates Congressional App Challenge Winner from Brookings

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) congratulated Congressional App Challenge winner, Samyok Nepal, a student from Brookings High School. Nepal designed an app called Bobcat Notify, which alerts students on school closures for snow days.

“Technology is a part of our daily lives,” said Johnson. “This congressional app competition was created to capture the interest of students toward a growing field and my office received several outstanding app creations. Samyok’s idea and app design were far beyond his years and I’m proud South Dakota is home to such talented young coders and developers.”

“During the spring of 2019, we were hit by an extreme snowstorm that shut schools down for days or in some cases — weeks at a time,” said Samyok Nepal. “Whenever there was snow on the ground, I found myself focusing more on constantly refreshing the school district website instead of working on homework or studying for my next test. Students didn’t get notifications about snow days, so I decided to come up with my own solution. After I put the app on social media, it grew quite quickly.”

The Bobcat Notify app has over 1,500 users and can be downloaded in the App Store. Nepal is currently working on expanding his app to all schools in his district. Nepal was selected as the winner by a panel of Computer Science teachers in South Dakota.

Johnson announced the Congressional App Challenge in July. For further information about the Congressional App Challenge, please visit www.CongressionalAppChallenge.us.

Had a couple of new pins show up for the collection yesterday.

My daughter, knowing I’m a button hound, gave me her Women for Trump pin from the campaign that just ended. For the other, we’ve got to go back 87 years to 1933.

The black and gold “Repeal 18 Club” pin is a vintage button from 1933 calling for the repeal of the 18th amendment which created the era of Prohibition in the US. The amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933.

It’s in great shape too!  (Thanks to the owners of politicalparade.com)

From the Argus Leader, Republican State Senator Helene Duhamel has apparently taken ill with COVID:

Sen. Helene Duhamel, R-Rapid City, alerted Senate majority leadership Wednesday that she had fallen ill and tested positive with coronavirus since returning home from the capitol where she and other legislators met the day prior.

Read it all here.

Please keep her in your thoughts while she’s recuperating.

With that said, I do note that in the Argus article and elsewhere, there are those who are breathlessly pointing to this photo as if some cardinal sin was committed because they removed masks for a picture.

Frankly, we don’t have any idea where the Senator picked it up, so this is kind of dumb.   Masks are not a magic force-field by themselves, especially when people are handling pens, credit cards, door handles, railings, etcetera, that aren’t disinfected between people touching them.

Plus, I know of several in the picture who have already had it. So she didn’t pick it up from them.

Yes, it is courteous and considerate to mask when possible, especially when a business or location requests it of their patrons. And if you’re symptomatic, don’t go out. But if you don’t know someone’s medical situation, stop throwing stones. A little courtesy on both sides goes a long way.

And maybe we’ll be able to speak to one another when this is all done.

It appears that Carleen Wild of Dakota News Now is shifting over to South Dakota Magazine as the magazine’s new Development Director:

September 2020 Newsletter: Meet Carleen Wild & View SD Fall Color – https://t.co/xwIDBSRRAN pic.twitter.com/W6yhWhJPDU

— SouthDakotaMagazine (@SDMagazine) September 1, 2020

Congratulations and Good Luck!

A note just came out from the South Dakota Attorney Generals’ office, indicating they’re joining an amicus brief for an election related lawsuit that was recently filed.  As noted by Tim Bormann, Chief of Staff for SDWG Jason Ravnsborg:

The State of South Dakota believes in free and fair elections.  Our office has received thousands of calls and emails from concerned citizens and we have listened to our constituents and voters.  That is why South Dakota has, today, joined the Amicus Brief of the State of Missouri in support of State of Texas v Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State of Georgia, State of Michigan, and State of Wisconsin.

The Texas lawsuit was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and asks the U.S. Supreme Court to block the battleground states from casting “unlawful and constitutionally tainted votes” in the Electoral College.

Thune: COVID Pandemic Shouldn’t Create Surprise Tax Bills for Remote and Mobile Workers

“Americans have been through enough over the past year. Let’s not add substantial and unexpected tax bills to the equation.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today urged Congress to protect doctors and nurses who worked across state lines and those who have been working remotely during the pandemic from surprise state income tax bills. The long-standing issue for the mobile workforce has been heightened due to the pandemic, as medical professionals have traveled to hard-hit areas around the country and more workers have been forced to work remotely. Thune discussed his bipartisan legislation, the Remote and Mobile Worker Relief Act, which would create a uniform standard for mobile workers and how they are taxed and address particular challenges faced by remote and mobile workers as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

From Facebook:

A friend passed this along a few days ago, but I’ve been out of town on vacation, and could not bring it up on my iPad (Aarggh!)   But, I’m finally back, so here we go!

As you well know, since the last gubernatorial election, Billie Sutton has spent his time and effort out begging for money for his ‘leadership program,’ which the cynical among us believe is his attempt to keep his gubernatorial hopes alive. Especially since he uses the same logo for both.

But clearly, Billie’s program has fallen on bad times, and has been endangered by COVID.. because he found it necessary to apply for a paycheck protection program loan from the SBA.  According to the COVID bailout tracker:

According to the tracker, which notes that “This site contains all Paycheck Protection Program data — including specific amounts and company names — released by the Small Business Administration on December 1, 2020. This data covers loans of any value issued under the program,”  Sutton applied for and received a bailout of $17,800.  And the lender is First Fidelity Bank, his own employer.

If you’re not familiar with the terms of the loan, according to the SBA, “the Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll” and “SBA will forgive loans if all employee retention criteria are met, and the funds are used for eligible expenses.”

What service does Billie Sutton’s Leadership program provide that’s worth being bailed out with a loan that’s going to likely turn into a cash handout?  I’m not sure. But I have no doubt the question will come up at a later date.

BTW, while we’re at it..

Troy Heinert, the incoming Democrat Senate Minority Leader also finds himself on the list for $9,200.