While state Democrats have engaged radio silence, turned off the lights, and shut the doors, the South Dakota Republican Party has a brand new newsletter hot off the press with information on events and publications coming from the GOP, auxiliaries, office holders, and more:
Is he kidding? Aaron McGowan, Minnehaha County State’s Attorney, has issued a response to the damning DCI Investigation & AG’s Report on the legalities of removing him from office, despite the Governor’s report of behavior which she termed as “unsettling.” And it does little more than ignore the elephant in the room.
From the response to the report, as noted in the Argus Leader:
McGOWAN TO KEEP WORKING FULL-STEAM AHEAD
And..
Aaron received a copy of the public report from the media and disagrees with several portions of the report, which are largely taken out of context or based upon unnamed sources of information.
and…
Aaron will not be doing any further interviews or commenting further on this matter. McGowan will continue his responsibilities to serve as the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney.
and…
Aaron would further like to apologize to his staff for this distraction.
Aaron is talking a lot in the third person in this press release. Aside from the fact that McGowan’s statement implies move along, nothing to see here, and tries to portray the report as having been “taken out of context or based upon unnamed sources of information.”
Unnamed? Really? Because what was in the report were the facts that people currently and formerly working in that office actually went on the record to Division of Criminal investigators. Employees who directly brought up a booze soaked office culture, including a former female employee who had to endure a drinking session at her home with the boss.
Think this is the last we’re hearing about this? I really don’t think so. The people making those statements might have been unnamed in the report delivered to the governor and made public, but they clearly went on the record with state criminal investigators.
To try to pooh-pooh that in a press release with the laughable headline of “McGOWAN TO KEEP WORKING FULL-STEAM AHEAD” declares that he’s oblivious to what got him here in the first place.
And just does the voters a ridiculous disservice.
I think the Argus has a point they’re trying to make with regards to MInnehaha County State’s Attorney Aaron McGowan’s recent actions.
Someone might want to get in touch with Dean Wermer. Because it sure sounds like the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s office has been run like Delta House.
That’s a fun atmosphere if you’re a fraternity. But not so good if you’re a taxpayer funded county office.
If you haven’t read the Attorney General’s report on Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Aaron McGowan, go do that now. Apparently you have to about stab someone to be removed from office, and case law backs that impression up.
Because the report provided by the Attorney General, as investigated by the Division of Criminal Investigation appears to be one of the most damning examples of an elected official’s bad behavior (that people were going to go on the record for) that anyone has ever seen in modern South Dakota history:
Keep in mind what is in the report is what people would go on the record for, including McGowan being “a very absent boss,” and people bringing alcohol to McGowan’s house during working hours at his request. Not to mention an incident with a female coworker where McGowan invited himself to her house to drink as a condition of her taking leave, and making her feel uncomfortable in the process.
And this stuff appears to be just what’s bubbling up to the surface.
I think we all get it that it appears as if he’s got some big issues with alcohol. And it’s good that he’s addressing them. But what about not showing up, claiming he’s overworked when he actually only had 4 cases at the time of his absence, not to mention that he thought going to a female subordinate’s house to drink was somehow appropriate?
As opposed to another term of office, as McGowan claimed he’s intending in an interview to KELOland, it sounds like the office needs new leadership and a complete change in office culture, badly.
One can’t help but question if there’s a correlation between a county office with bad morale and a party atmosphere which functions in spite of the boss, and the crime rate of Sioux Falls which has been cited as “soaring.”
After reading that report, while there might not be a clear cut legal basis for his removal based on case law, McGowan should absolutely forget running again.
And frankly given the substance of this report, he should give great consideration to resigning now.
Noem Releases Attorney General’s Report on Minnehaha State’s Attorney
PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem today released the summary of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s investigation into Minnehaha State’s Attorney Aaron McGowan.
“Recent events involving Minnehaha State’s Attorney Aaron McGowan necessitated an investigation by our Attorney General,” said Noem. “That investigation is now complete, and I am making the summary provided to me available to the public for the sake of transparency. The facts that were uncovered are unsettling. The Attorney General concludes that there isn’t the evidence to pursue charges against McGowan. I will not be pursuing any further action at this time. I am thankful for the Attorney General and his team’s swift work on this matter.”
The Attorney General’s full report can be downloaded here.
McGowan Investigation Report by Pat Powers on Scribd
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Interesting article on Fox Business this AM about a new feature of Amazon’s Alexa that allows people to donate to a political campaign through the little internet connected smart speaker sitting on their kitchen counter.
I mean.. what could go wrong with that?
“With Alexa Political Contributions you can donate to participating 2020 U.S. presidential campaigns by simply saying “Alexa, I want to make a political contribution” or “Alexa, donate [amount] to [candidate name]”. Amazon Pay will process the donation using the information and default payment method stored in your Amazon account and will email you a receipt for your records,” the company wrote on its website to announce the program.
and…
And how can we know that Amazon – which spent more than $14 million on lobbying and over $13 million in political contributions in 2018 – won’t use all of that political spending data to shape its own political spending strategy the way the company uses sales data to shape its marketing and product development?
Even without a team of government-backed hackers on their side, foreign parties may be able to manipulate this new Alexa feature through basic steps to mask their location and true identity, creating multiple – even thousands – of Amazon accounts for the purposes of donating to a candidate and influencing elections. A Prime account only costs $12.99 a month, a pittance to a nation intent on meddling in our elections.
What do you think?
I don’t know that technology in elections is a bad thing. But, I think it may be quickly drawing up to a line that we probably need to start questioning whether it should be crossed.
President Trump Approves Third South Dakota Disaster Request
PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem today announced that President Trump has approved the State’s request for a third Presidential Disaster Declaration, covering the damage done by severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that occurred June 30-July 21.
The declaration will allow federal money to be used to help local government entities recover from infrastructure damage in Butte, Gregory, Kingsbury, Lawrence, Meade, and Tripp counties, as well as the Cheyenne River and the Lower Brule Indian Reservations. A preliminary assessment of the damage was estimated to be $2.5 million.
“Many counties have been plagued by heavy rainfall and flooding time and time again this year,” said Noem. “I appreciate that the President and FEMA continue to understand the impact these storms and heavy rains have had on South Dakota and are willing to help us recover.”
In her request for a disaster declaration, Noem told the President that many areas had experienced record rainfall which resulted in flooding of roads and other infrastructure. Confirmed tornadoes and high winds caused property damage in other areas. She said two of the state’s major industries, agricultural and tourism, have been impacted.
“As you can see, South Dakota has been battered by storm after storm that continue to further erode our valuable public infrastructure,” wrote the Governor.
This is the third federal disaster declaration for South Dakota this year. South Dakota received a federal disaster declaration in June for severe winter storms and flooding that occurred March 13-April 26 and that affected 58 counties and three reservations. A second disaster declaration for the period of May 26-June 7 was approved in September for flooding and storms that occurred in 25 counties and two reservations.
FEMA officials are now in South Dakota working on the first two federal disaster declarations and will continue to work on the third. More details on the process for the third disaster declaration will be announced at a later date.
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Prayers go out for the family of Tom Adam, Pierre attorney and long-time lobbyist for the South Dakota Banker’s Association, who passed away this last week on October 5th at the age of 82. Tom was well known to many in the state’s political community, as a very long serving member of the state’s legal and lobbying communities.
Tom was also as an extended member of the Mickelson family, as a son-in-law to Governor George T Mickelson, brother-in-law to Governor George S Mickelson, as well as an uncle to State Representative Mark Mickelson.
Tom is well remembered in an article today in the Pierre Capital Journal:
While an undergrad, Adam met Patricia Mickelson, whom he later married. They were together until her passing; 56 years
and…
“He had a good reputation. Ask almost anyone about Tom’s involvement with the Dakota State Bank in Blunt, now purchased by First Dakota National Bank,” said Koenecke. Adam had represented the South Dakota Bankers Association for almost 40 years.
Adam was indeed social, and thought of others. He served on the national board of the Easter Seal Society, was chairman of the South Dakota Board of Bar Examiners, and was a director of the Sanford Underground Research Facility located in the former Homestake Gold Mine. He also enjoyed hunting, reading and gardening.
According to the obituary, visitation with family will be on Thursday, October 10, at the First United Methodist Church of Pierre, 117 North Central Avenue, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. The funeral will also be at the church on Friday, October 11, at 11:00 a.m.
Apparently the pot petitioners are going anywhere they think they can.
Yesterday, at Howard Wood Field, Fieldworks pot petitioners “Andrew” and someone who looks to be named Sarah were at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls at the High School Band Competition trolling band competition attendees to sign pot legalization petitions.
I’ve heard they’re pretty aggressive, which I’m sure their handlers tell them to be, but is it unseemly for petitioners to be gathering signatures at a facility that a high school related group has rented? Especially when it’s a petition for the purpose of legalizing drugs? Or is it no big deal?
What do you think?
You know, You’d think you had seen it all when it comes to how whacked out some ultra-liberal Democrats are. But former Aberdeen State Senate Democrat candidate Cory Heidelberger just launched a repulsive and racially charged attack against Congressman Dusty Johnson.
Why? Because Johnson received a compliment from an African-American Congressional colleague, Congressman Will Hurd citing Dusty as “trying to make the (Republican) party more diverse and inclusive.” And apparently, making efforts at broadening the GOP’s appeal isn’t palatable for the extreme left, triggering them because of the color of Dusty’s skin:
When Congressman Dusty Johnson works to broaden the base of the Republican Party and is complimented for it, Democrats such as Cory Heidelberger are left frothing at the mouth, pointing fingers and quivering but you’re ‘very white’ and have ‘white privilege’ and orange man bad!
This is why Democrats will continue to lose elections, especially in the midwest. They want to divide people up into classes and categories. When to just about everyone else, the yardstick of progress is far more mundane, when we simply consider people neighbors and co-workers and ignore categories.
Dusty, keep on showing the world that the Republican Party is a big tent welcoming to all who seek freedom, believe in free enterprise, and value American exceptionalism.
And we’ll continue to leave the haters and racists in the dustbin of history.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
– Martin Luther King Jr., 28 August 1963
