Author: @SoDakCampaigns

Real Estate Professionals Thank Governor Noem for Streamlining Appraiser Certification

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, several real estate professionals from across South Dakota thanked Governor Noem and the Department of Labor & Regulation (DLR) for their efforts to streamline the state’s appraiser certification process.

Governor Noem also posted a video explaining the importance of streamlining this process and laying out the facts regarding her daughter Kassidy’s certification.

“I’m a licensed supervisor for new appraisers. It is way too tough for young folks to enter this field,” said Brian Gatzke, an appraiser from Brookings. “South Dakota was one of just five states that forced new potential appraisers to take a license level exam early on in the process. There’s a roughly 30% passage rate for that exam. These are students who were getting A’s and B’s in their college classes, but they were asked to pass a 2nd-tier level exam at the entry level. These barriers to entry were an overreach of the regulatory authority. Governor Noem and the Department of Labor removed that entry exam, and my students will be better off for it.”

A shortage of appraisers is a nationwide problem, with total nationwide credentials steadily declining from 120,551 in 2008 to 95,731 in 2017. This problem is exacerbated in South Dakota because of prior barriers to entry in appraiser certification.

“As a realtor, it’s my job to get South Dakotans into the home of their dreams,” said Lisa Blake, a realtor from Pierre. “Unfortunately, there are only three appraisers currently working in Pierre, so it often takes two months for families to close on a home. There’s a definite shortage, and the restrictions need to be loosened so that more folks have the opportunity to enter this industry.”

“I’ve worked on both sides of the appraiser process,” said Chase Kristensen, a loan officer from Mitchell. “I know how difficult, rigorous, and lengthy it is to become an appraiser. I went through that process myself, and it’s unlike any other field I’ve ever witnessed. Now, as a rural banker, I’m seeing it take 60 to 160 days to get an appraisal ordered. Something needs to change, and I’m glad Governor Noem is taking steps to fix the process.”

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Pheasant hunting is a tradition worth preserving
By Governor Kristi Noem
October 1, 2021

From the Black Hills to the eastern plains, the familiar sound of shotgun blasts can usually be heard popping in the distance. It’s hunting season and we are starting to get into my favorite time of year: pheasant season.

When I was a young girl, my grandmother Dorris would take me pheasant hunting. I also hunted plenty with my dad, an avid outdoorsman. They’re both gone now and what remains are the treasured memories of those hunting trips.

In honor of my dad and grandmother, I have made it one of my priorities to create opportunities for more young people to enjoy the outdoors. This Sunday ends the youth pheasant hunting season. Other youth-focused outdoor programs include our hunter mentoring program and the youth trapping and photo contest for our nest predator bounty program.

Each of these programs teaches young people valuable skills. They also pass down from generation to generation South Dakota’s rich heritage of hunting and living off the land.

We know South Dakotans love to hunt and fish. Around 20% of state residents purchase hunting licenses every year. We have many preserves, hunting lodges, and more than 1 million acres of public hunting and access areas. The variety of opportunities make South Dakota a top destination for traveling hunters, as well. Each year, hunting brings about $500 million into the state’s economy. Hunting is serious business in South Dakota.

That’s why I have made conservation and habitat rehabilitation cornerstones of my Second Century Initiative. For more than 100 years, South Dakota has been the premier state for pheasant hunting. The Second Century Initiative will ensure we maintain our status as a hunter-friendly and highly-coveted location for out-of-state hunters. It also will protect hunting in-state for generations to come.

The work of the Second Century Initiative is already paying dividends. A recent survey by the Game, Fish, and Parks Department (GFP) found that pheasant hunter satisfaction in 2020 was the highest it’s been in a decade. More than 1 million pheasants were harvested during the 2020 season, averaging about 9 birds per hunter.

That success comes from GFP’s robust investment in habitat and access programs. About $22 million has been allocated in 2021 alone for this program. Our habitat specialists are working with landowners to restore tens of thousands of acres for all bird populations to thrive. Habitat restoration remains the best long-term solution for ensuring pheasant populations remain sustainable.

That’s especially important to the residents of this state, who will have their own pheasant hunting season from October 9th-11th. After that, the traditional pheasant hunting season opens to all hunters from October 16th-January 31st, 2022.

If you haven’t been pheasant hunting before, I strongly encourage you to give it a try.

There’s something about the brisk air and the sound of grass crunching under your feet. The energy of your hunting dog flushing out those beautiful ringnecks. That excitement builds until the first bird pops up, you raise your shotgun, and calmly squeeze the trigger. Then comes the inevitable banter between you and your hunting buddies over who really had the best shot.

Whether building bonds between friends or strengthening the relationships within your own family, there is a lot to be gained from pheasant hunting. Don’t miss your chance to make those memories this season.

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Website traffic is a is pretty good lately, and it’s a reminder for me to point out that South Dakota War College is a great way to reach South Dakota’s opinion leaders as we start to get in the swing for the 2022 election season and count down the weeks until the 2021 special session and approach the 2022 legislative session. If you’re looking for an audience that is among the most public affairs minded and politically engaged in the state, you’ve got it right here!

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South Dakota War College is a daily read for South Dakota’s elected officials, and most all who actively participate in the political process. If someone is following the campaigns, making laws, or keeping up on the issues or promoting legislation, they’re stopping here to check the temperature on South Dakota’s political climate.

South Dakota War College provides candidates, companies, and organizations a unique opportunity to direct a targeted message at South Dakota’s elected officials, politically active, and community opinion leaders. In addition to the politically active, traffic is also driven to our website through organic searches, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and we’ve recently added Reddit as one of our regular crossposting areas.

Advertising on the Dakotwarcollege.com website is based on a first come, first serve basis for available positions.  Advertising slots on the right are 300 px wide up to 400 px tall, and may be either static image, animated .gif, or other, as long as the file size is within acceptable file parameters, does not impede the loading of the website, or interfere with existing code.  All ads run through-site, and are not rotated in their positions.

Information on ad prices, ad positions, and required ad commitments may be directed to the webmaster by clicking here.

And if you’re just an avid reader, as always, please don’t forget to visit our advertisers who make it possible to bring you the best in South Dakota politics such as the SDGOP, Marty Jackley for Attorney General, the South Dakota Chapter of Americans for Prosperity,  Kristi Noem for Governor, John Thune for US Senate, Dusty Johnson for Congress,and Dakota Campaign Store.

Drop a note today to find out more!

The proclamation has been issued for a special session to be held on November 9 to investigate Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg for whether the conduct of the AG involved an impeachable offense:

About a month or so ago, I covered the absolutely zany presser/YouTube video posted with former Democrat Legislative/Secretary of State candidate Angelia Schultz who is now calling herself “Añjali.”  If you’ve forgotten.. (and how could you):

And there’s also this…

Well, for a quick update, “Añjali” has apparently become quite the topic on a number of podcasts.  In case you’re a podcast listener, you can certainly get an earful (and much of it is NSFW, so you’ve been warned). You’ll get a flavor from these:

Listen to “The New Disclosure SCAM ARTIST Angelia Schultz | Añjali | Exposed & Debunked” on Spreaker.

(About 28 minutes in for this one)

Aside from being the subject of scorn, Añjali/Angelia is currently spending her days on reddit dispensing advice on how to reach out to alien beings vie her reddit community at “The Transcention Project” under the handle “SpaceBetweenUs.”

Under her bio, Angelia offers that she’s “Leading a team to meet Higher Beings of Light who have a message for humanity.”  And she hawks her twitter account @AnjaliOnGaia.

During contact, the beings spoke of a multitude of ‘worlds’ that occupy the same space we occupy. ‘Here but not here’. They were clear we humans don’t think of space or time correctly. They said, everything is right here, all at once. #Transcension

— Añjali 🌱 (@AnjaliOnGaia) March 22, 2021

While seven years ago she was described as the future of the South Dakota Democrat party, somehow I’m not sure they want to acknowledge her at all at this point.

Thune: Democrats Are in Disarray

“Rather than addressing our border crisis or our inflation problem, Democrats are right now attempting to tee up a reckless, massive tax-and-spending spree to vastly expand the reach of government into Americans’ lives.”

Click here or on the picture above to watch the video.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke about Democrats’ disastrous, out-of-touch policies that would significantly expand the federal government’s reach into South Dakotans’ everyday lives. Thune also discussed the ongoing disarray within the Democrat Party, and he noted that the Biden administration’s self-inflicted border crisis is a direct result of its own failed policies.

From KELOland News, it appears that the Governor’s team is confirming that 2016 Trump Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is no longer advising the Noem campaign:

KELOLAND News reached out to the governor’s office to ask if Lewandowski was still serving as an adviser to her campaign. Communications Director, Ian Fury, responded with the following statement:

“Corey was always a volunteer, never paid a dime (campaign or official). He will not be advising the Governor in regard to the campaign or official office.”

 – IAN FURY, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR GOV. KRISTI NOEM

Read the entire story here.

Sioux Falls entrepreneur “Matt Paulson’s Insiders” text this morning had some juicy gossip for the Sioux Falls City Elections coming up next year:

Hearing there will be as many four candidates for the open at large city council seat in Sioux Falls currently held by Christine Erickson.

and…

..There’s a certain special interest lobby making a lot of noise in Sioux Falls. They are talking about spending unprecedented money to unseat the mayor and trying to pass a ballot initiative to liberalize rules surrounding a specific industry.

That’s a lot of candidates, which might make any blessing from the current officeholder as one of the keys to capturing that contest.

But even bigger are rumors that pot proponents are going to dump cash into attacking TenHaken over the dispensary issue.

Keep watching. And if you want to receive the Matt Paulson’s Insiders texts…

It’s just that easy.

Happy birthday to Congressman Dusty Johnson, born this day in Pierre in 1976. #SDHistory pic.twitter.com/bWB0eRfYF9

— SoDak Governors (@SoDakGovs) September 30, 2021

From Twitter, Governor Kristi Noem responded to what I thought was the most outrageous attack on her to date:

These rumors are total garbage and a disgusting lie. These old, tired attacks on conservative women are based on a falsehood that we can’t achieve anything without a man’s help.

I love Bryon. I’m proud of the God-fearing family we’ve raised together. Now I’m getting back to work

— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) September 29, 2021

If you had missed it, a writer at a hard-right website that most people hadn’t heard of made a ridiculous and unsourced accusation that Governor Kristi Noem was having an affair with advisor Corey Lewandowski.

What do you do with that?  I mean, really? Because it’s an attack as old as time against many female leaders that they must be sleeping with someone.  Because how could a woman get in that kind of position without using seduction.

The person making the accusation was interviewed by Dakota News Now, and he probably shouldn’t have gone on camera, because I don’t think he helped his credibility any. Because it seemed like he didn’t want to be there, and his eyes kept darting like he didn’t like being on the hot seat for a his story. You can watch the interview here, and tell me if he seemed at all honest.

You also have commentary from Maggie Seidel who left the Governor’s office, and clearly does not care much for Corey Lewandowski. And she’s right on the spot to call out this BS.

Former Noem staffer Maggie Seidel also denied the allegations. Seidel worked for Noem for roughly a year, and spent some time with her on the campaign trail as well.

“There is plenty to disagree with Governor Noem on,” Seidel said. “For one, I think it is outrageous for her to continue to associate with Corey Lewandowski. But do I believe for a second she stepped out her marriage? No, not for a second.”

Read that here.

It’s not like we haven’t seen this kind of crap before.  Turn the time machine back to 2006 when now US Senate wannabe Bruce Whalen was a Congressional wannabe, and he and his people claimed Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin was alternatively “pregnant by her chief of staff,” or a “homewrecker.”

Phony information on a Web site said Herseth was pregnant and engaged to her “chief of staff,” a man identified by a name that belongs to no one on the congresswoman’s staff. In an e-mail message sent to political Web logs, Whalen campaign manager Lee Breard highlighted the farce and also mentioned another rumor that implied Herseth was a “home-wrecker” because of her relationship with a former congressman from Texas.

and..