Author: @SoDakCampaigns

From facebook, State Senate candidate David Zellmer just posted an endorsement from former Governor Dennis Daugaard to his facebook page:

Early word out of yesterday’s Libertarian convention seem to indicate that the South Dakota Libertarian party has nominated a couple of candidates for office. And while they’ve been nominated, whether they stand the snowball’s proverbial chance in hades or not is entirely another thing altogether.

Libertarian Party Communications Director and past pot petitioner Devin Saxon reportedly appears to have won the nod to run for the Public Utilities Commission on behalf of the state’s only third party against whomever state Democrats may nominate, as well as current Republican Public Utilities Commissioner Gary Hansen.

The only Gubernatorial candidate to have been ejected as nominee by his party in State History in 2018, Libertarian CJ Abernathey has apparently climbed back on the horse and will supposedly be running for District 23 State Senate against the winner of the race between Republicans Bryan Breitling and Larry Nielsen.

Abernathey had been claiming he intended to burn a flag in 2018, a move in which the Libertarian party itself disavowed at the time as dredging up “many painful images of those who hate America and seek its destruction.”   Since that time, Abernathey has spent time looking for donations to pay bail for some criminal acts he was arrested for in another state.  And instead of threatening to burn the flag, lately Abernathey has been making overtures of a different nature:

So, instead of burning the flag, Abernathey moved to statements about how law enforcement officers need to be hung by the neck, and made similar statements about Governor Noem.

Somehow I don’t think that’s going to earn him sufficient support to win election.  And The South Dakota Senate might not be the institution he needs to be spending time in.

Who else is running? Libertarian party Chair Gideon Oakes is said to be making another run for District 30 State Senate. And there had been rumors of perennial candidate Kurt Evans offering himself up as a sacrificial lamb once again for US Senate.

We’ll have to wait for the official release to see what the complete list of candidates will bring from the island of misfit toys.

But suffice it to say that once again, every indication is there that another election will pass without anyone being elected to office in South Dakota with an (L) behind their name.

What is it with legislative candidates having run-ins with the law lately?

This time it is former 2018 Dem legislative candidate Brooks Briscoe of Aberdeen.

On 04/07/2020 Aberdeen Police responded to the Rolling Hills Golf Course for the theft of a golf cart. On 04/08/2020, Aberdeen Police responded to Lee Park Golf Course for the theft of another golf cart. On 04/22/2020 Aberdeen Police responded to the 400 block of N 4th Street for the theft of yet another golf cart.

Investigation led to the arrest of Brooks Rex Briscoe, age 53 of Aberdeen. He was charged with (3) counts of grand theft, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

(From a press release from the Aberdeen Police Dept dated May 7, 2020.)

Update – here’s the post:

Today is the National Day of Prayer, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has prepared a message of thanks and hope for all South Dakotans.

Noticing a few of the NRA Primary election rankings are starting to slip out there tonignt.

In my Home District 7, they went down the line.. A,B & C..

In District 23, A’s went around to several of the candidates:

In Rapid City, David Johnson did well against Janet Jensen in his race for District 33 senate…

And Jessica Castleberry was given an A and chosen over her opponent, Kevin Quick, a drug felon (who had been given suspended imposition of sentence)  who only earned an “A qualified.”

Which leads one to the question… Is he even allowed to own a gun?  (Maybe that’s what the whole q thing is about.)

Anyone else getting their NRL-PVF ratings for the primary? Drop me a note here.

Update: On 5/9, District 33 Candidate Janet Jensen pointed out her rating has been amended:

Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken was tweeting yesterday what he’s observed about the leadership that’s come from the coronavirus pandemic.

When the history of the coronavirus pandemic is written, it will be remembered as a time when the strongest leadership had to come from the ground up… https://t.co/fnUNcyI3ik

— Paul Ten Haken (@paultenhaken) May 3, 2020

It looks like Lee Qualm wasn’t the only one called out for his sponsorship of the anti-vaccination House Bill 1235 measure a couple of months ago:

Isaac Latterell was also called out via a postcard to his legislative for his sponsorship of the measure.

So, as I note House Bill 1235 in the post below this one, and postcards in a post below that, it might be worth pointing out what started popping up in mailboxes in District 21 late last week:

“Say No to Anti-Vaxxers,” “fight the science deniers,” “stop the spread of fake health information,” and “Lee Qualm was the prime sponsor of House Bill 1235 – Vote NO for Lee Qualm on June 2 because our health depends on it.”

Not sure you need to say much more.

From the Rapid City Journal, Democrat State Representative Michael Saba was complaining that he’s looking for information on the science and facts behind what the state is doing on COVID-19:

Rep. Michael Saba sent a letter to Gov. Kristi Noem last Sunday asking her to test all of South Dakota’s citizens. In response, the Sioux Falls lawmaker was told to watch a press conference, thanked for his thoughts and wished well.

and..

He also said he’s asked for the data, science and facts behind the Department of Health’s previously shared projections and models for the peak infection rates of COVID-19. He hasn’t gotten any information back, he said.

Read that here.

Hm. Interesting he’s looking for science and facts. Because where was Michael Saba’s request for science and facts when he was sponsoring House Bill 1235 this session, to remove the requirements that school children be vaccinated against deadly childhood diseases, and make it a class 1 misdemeanor for the medical school to require it’s students be vaccinated?

As far as I’m concerned, given his anti-vaxxer bill sponsorship, Saba can just sit down and keep quiet until this pandemic is over.

Helping Small Businesses Weather This Storm
By Sen. John Thune 

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating consequences for small businesses. Small business layoffs soared by 1,000 percent in March, with roughly 2 million employees losing their jobs, and that number is rising. Some businesses have closed, while others have been forced to cut employee hours drastically to stay afloat.

To help small businesses weather this storm, Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program as part of the coronavirus response bill we passed at the end of March. And I’m pleased to report that the Senate led the way to make approximately $300 billion in additional funding available for the program.

The Paycheck Protection Program is simple. It provides low-interest loans to small businesses to help them retain workers during this difficult time. Seventy-five percent of the loans must be used for worker salaries and benefits, while the remaining amount can be used for other expenses such as mortgage interest, rent, and utilities. The portion of the loan spent on salaries and other qualifying expenses can be forgiven completely, again, as long as at least 75 of the loan is used to cover payroll obligations.

A majority of businesses will likely not have to pay back any of their loan. I like to remind business owners to document how they spend their loans to ensure they can maximize the forgiveness.

We’ve already seen tremendous use of this program. More than 1.6 million small businesses, including thousands throughout South Dakota, immediately took advantage of these loans — so many, in fact, that the $349 billion originally appropriated for the program ran out completely. Republicans quickly moved to appropriate additional money, but Democrats dragged their heels, forcing the program to go without funding for a week. But Democrats finally agreed to a deal, and the president signed legislation appropriating approximately $300 billion in additional funding. This has already enabled nearly 1 million additional small businesses to take advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program.

The application process for the loans is simple: Businesses just need to fill out a Paycheck Protection Program borrower form, which can be found at www.sba.gov, and submit it to a lender — likely the bank or credit union they already use. A list of Small Business Administration-approved lenders is also available at www.sba.gov. Approval for the loan usually takes just a few days, and businesses should see the funds within 10 days. For small businesses that don’t qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program, or who would prefer another option, there are multiple other relief measures available.

The same legislation that created the Paycheck Protection Program also created the Employee Retention Credit, a refundable tax credit that helps COVID-affected businesses keep employees on the books by reimbursing employers for part of the qualified wages they pay employees, up to $5,000 per employee. Congress also implemented an employment tax deferral, which allows employers to postpone payment of certain payroll taxes for the remainder of the year. Half of these deferred payroll taxes would be due in December 2021, and the other half would be due in December 2022.

Finally, small businesses can take advantage of the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, which provides low-interest loans to small businesses that have suffered economic injury as the result of a disaster. The legislation the president signed included funding to replenish this program, which also recently ran out of funding as a result of the pandemic. Small business owners can search “Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program advance” at www.sba.gov for more information on how to apply.

If you have trouble locating information for any of the assistance programs I’ve outlined, please contact one of my offices for additional guidance or visit www.thune.senate.gov/COVID19.

The past few weeks have been a time of unprecedented difficulty for small businesses. Hopefully, the loans and tax relief Congress has made available will provide a lifeline during this challenging period. Small businesses are key to the American economy, creating a substantial number of the new jobs in this country. Before the coronavirus pandemic, small businesses around the country were thriving — and my Republican colleagues and I are committed to ensuring that they thrive once again. We will continue to look for ways to help small businesses weather the rest of the pandemic and get back to doing what they do best — growing and creating jobs.

**Note to editors: A similar version of this op-ed first appeared in the Washington Examiner on April 28, 2020.

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