Author: @SoDakCampaigns

From facebook:

Johnson Applauds Administration Efforts to Provide Free COVID-19 Vaccine for Medicare Beneficiaries

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-SD) applauded the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) actions to ensure our nation’s seniors have access to the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost when it becomes available. CMS announced any Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved vaccine will be covered under Medicare at no cost to beneficiaries.

Earlier this month, Reps. Johnson and Spanberger (D-VA) introduced the Securing Affordable Vaccines Equally (SAVE) for Seniors Act, bipartisan legislation that would ensure seniors on traditional Medicare have access to a future COVID-19 vaccine without cost-sharing. Following the SAVE for Seniors Act introduction, the administration made the fix administratively.

“As cases continue to rise, we must all do our part to follow CDC guidance to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask and social distancing. As South Dakotans await the approval of a safe, effective FDA approved vaccine, it’s important we administer an approved vaccine to our most vulnerable senior pollution as quickly as possible. The SAVE for Seniors Actensures cost is not an obstacle for one of our most vulnerable to COVID-19 populations – our seniors. I’m grateful the administration recognized this loophole and made the fix administratively.”

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From the SDGOP, this Trump rifle being raffled off could be yours:

Find out more at sdgop.com/rifleraffle

Governor Noem To Appoint Judge Myren To South Dakota Supreme Court

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that she will appoint Scott P. Myren to the South Dakota Supreme Court. Myren, who has been a Fifth Circuit Judge since 2004 and the circuit’s presiding judge since 2013, will represent the Third Supreme Court District. He will be the 53^rd justice in the Court’s history.

“Judge Myren is a highly-qualified, senior jurist who respects the separation of powers and the role of a judge to interpret the law as written,” said Governor Noem. “He will be an excellent addition to the South Dakota Supreme Court.”

Myren is a native of Mound City. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota in 1985 and graduated from Rutgers University School of Law in Camden, New Jersey in 1988. Following law school, Myren entered the private practice of law in Denver, Colorado. Myren returned to South Dakota to serve as the South Dakota Supreme Court’s permanent staff attorney in 1990.

In 1994, Myren was appointed by Governor Walter Dale Miller as an administrative law judge, then served as a Fifth Circuit Magistrate Judge from 1999-2003. Governor Mike Rounds appointed Myren as a circuit judge in 2004, and he was reelected without opposition in 2006 and 2014. Myren served in 2011 as president of the South Dakota Judges Association.

Myren will succeed Chief Justice David Gilbertson as a justice of the Supreme Court when Justice Gilbertson retires in early January 2021. The Court announced earlier this year that Justice Steven R. Jensen will succeed Gilbertson as chief justice at that time.

“I am humbled and honored by the confidence Governor Noem has placed in me with this appointment,” said Judge Myren. “No one will ever replace Chief Justice David Gilbertson.  I will try my hardest every day to live up to his legacy.”

The state’s Third Supreme Court District encompasses Brown, Butte, Campbell, Clark, Codington, Corson, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Hamlin, Harding, Marshall, McPherson, Perkins, Potter, Roberts, Spink, Walworth, and Ziebach counties.

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I had someone send me a Collegian Article from South Dakota State University, and it’s a name we’ve seen before.

Chris Svarstad, a former state legislative candidate from Yankton who just can’t seem to stay out of trouble with law enforcement today finds himself booted off of the South Dakota State University Student Senate:

The Students’ Association Senate voted to remove Sen. Christopher Svarstad from office due to a violation of item three of the organization’s code of ethics, which states Senators must “discuss professional matters, especially those concerning colleagues, in a professional manner.”

Near the end of the Oct. 26 meeting, the Senate entered an executive session for consideration of the removal proceedings. This session was closed to the public and followed the procedure outlined in Resolution 20-13-R.

and..

“I told the Senate on Sunday that my mother fell on the ice and she got really badly hurt, she’s badly bruised, she’s terribly hurt. I said I can’t be at the meeting because I need to take care of my mother,” Svarstad said. “I took care of my mother last night, and they totally violated my due process and went forward with this kangaroo court without me.”

and..

“These rules are a total sham and a bunch of bullshit,” Svarstad said. “They are a smokescreen for violating people’s due process.”

Read it all here.

Apparently getting kicked out of the SDSU student senate isn’t’ the only thing Svarstad has been up to lately.

According to records, the 32 year old student is also currently facing prosecution in Brookings County for simple assault/intimidation arising from a July incident on the SDSU Campus.

From Facebook, US Senator Mike Rounds explains the “time for choosing is here.”

Jennifer Healy Keintz is a Democrat candidate for the state legislature in District 1. Unfortunately, it seems she’s a bit of a snob when it comes to attending any of the schools she wants to be in charge of and herself attended.

Despite campaigning to be in the legislature which holds the power of the purse strings over state regental institutions such as USD, and South Dakota State University, last year Keintz was telling the New York Times that she wouldn’t recommend her child attend them, in favor of “elite institutions”:

To the Editor:

I earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from South Dakota State University in the 1990s. Immediately after graduating I moved to the East Coast, where many people I met couldn’t find South Dakota on a map and had certainly never heard of the university. I was able to find jobs with good companies in various large cities and to build a decent career. After a few years in the work force, it seemed to matter more where I had worked than where I went to college.

I was probably not called in to interview by some companies because I hadn’t attended a prestigious university, but there are plenty of great employers who look at more than alma mater. All that said, I’ve seen how attending certain schools opens many doors. It’s not a guarantee of success, but there’s no denying that graduates of top schools have a leg up.

I have a 2-year-old and I already think about where she’ll go to college. It will ultimately be her choice, but I will strongly suggest elite institutions. Despite my own positive experience and my desire for it to not matter, it absolutely does.

Jennifer Healy Keintz
Eden, S.D.

Read it here.

“I will strongly suggest elite institutions. Despite my own positive experience and my desire for it to not matter, it absolutely does.”

So much for wanting to be a representative of the people, with an elitist attitude like that.

From Facebook, State Senator Lee Schoenbeck calls out his colleague Democrat Susan Wismer as being ineffective, and infers that she can’t get things done for her constituents:

What brings this up. apparently Wismer called out Schoenbeck and others for expressing their first amendment rights of free speech and supported her opponent, Michael Rohl who Wismer cites as dominating the race in print and on the airwaves:

 

Rohl also is supported by another one of Wismer’s colleagues, Jack Kolbeck:

If you want to join others who think Susan Wismer is the most obnoxious and ineffective legislator in the entire State Senate, and needs to go, drop Michael a note here, and lend your support!

South Dakota Small Businesses Endorse Sen. Mike Rounds for Re-election 

PIERRE, S.D. (Oct. 27, 2020) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, today endorsed Senator Mike Rounds for re-election to the United States Senate.

“Senator Mike Rounds has been a strong supporter for small businesses during his time in the U.S. Senate, earning a 100% NFIB voting record on issues impacting small businesses in South Dakota,” said Lindsey Riter-Rapp, NFIB’s South Dakota State Director. “As a small business owner and NFIB member, Senator Rounds knows first-hand the issues that impact small business employers every day. He has supported historic tax relief for South Dakota’s small businesses and works hard to advance pro-small business legislation in the U.S. Senate. On behalf of South Dakota’s small business community, we are proud to endorse Senator Mike Rounds for re-election today.”

“Senator Rounds is a proven ally of South Dakota’s small businesses,” said NFIB’s National Political Director Sharon Sussin. “We are pleased to endorse Senator Mike Rounds for re-election to the U.S. Senate and we look forward to continue to work with him.”

Mike Rounds endorsement today comes from NFIB FedPAC, the organization’s political action committee. NFIB FedPAC is funded by NFIB member donations above membership dues. Decisions made by NFIB FedPAC are managed by a member-driven grassroots evaluation process. Small business owners are influential in their communities and NFIB members in South Dakota will work hard to re-elect Mike Rounds.

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Governor Noem Announces K-12 Connect

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced the launch of K-12 Connect, a program to provide internet service at no cost to eligible K-12 students in their homes for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.

“Given the unprecedented disruption for many of our K-12 students, we want to make sure there isn’t a gap in learning this year,” said Governor Noem. “So many South Dakotans are stepping up to help, and I want to thank the South Dakotatelecommunications companies that are teaming up with us to make this access possible.”

Eligible households will receive a letter this week indicating eligibility and identifying a telecommunications company to call to access free internet service through K-12 Connect. To enroll, eligible households must call the telecommunications company noted in their letter to set up service. Providers will install the necessary equipment on a first-come, first-serve basis. Internet service will be provided through June 30, 2021. After that time, the household must return the equipment to the provider or continue services at the household’s expense.

Households must meet all of the following:

1. Have at least one student currently enrolled in an accredited South Dakota K-12 school;
2. Must meet the income eligibility guidelines for the free and reduced school lunch program; and
3. The household was not subscribed to a fixed broadband internet service as of July 1, 2020.

Enrollment closes Nov. 20, 2020.

K-12 Connect is a partnership of the South Dakota Governor’s Office, Bureau of Information and Telecommunications, Department of Education, and participating telecommunications companies. Funding for the program is from the CARES Act. 

More information, including options for households who may qualify but don’t receive a letter, can be found atk12connect.sd.gov.

Telecommunications companies who are participating in K-12 Connect include:

Alliance Communications Cooperative

Beresford Municipal Telephone Company

Faith Municipal Telephone Company

Fort Randall Telephone Company

Golden West Telecommunications

Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative

Kennebec Telephone Company

Long Lines Broadband

Midco

Midstate Communications

RC Technologies

Santel Communications Cooperative

Swiftel Communications/Brookings Municipal Telephone

TrioTel Communications

Valley Telecommunications Cooperative

Vast

Venture Communications Cooperative

West River Cooperative Telephone Company

West River Telecommunications Cooperative

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