TAR Camp is coming up in a couple of short weeks. If you have a teenager (12 and over) you’d like to send to camp, click on the image above to find out more, or e-mail School & Public Lands Commissioner Ryan Brunner at ryan.brunner@gmail.com.
Rural America Deserves a Reliable Connection
By Sen. John Thune
South Dakotans and other Americans who live in rural areas deserve the same internet access as people living in urban areas. Expanding internet access in rural America has long been a priority for me, and building and maintaining reliable networks across the United States has never been more critical.
The pandemic highlighted the importance of the internet more than ever before. As the nation locked down, the internet became more vital to everyday life. Reliable broadband networks are an essential component to help rural Americans stay connected, and expanding broadband will spur 5G deployment in the small-town communities that have unfortunately lagged behind their big city counterparts.
5G mobile broadband technology has the power to change the way we interact with the internet. 5G will be 100 times faster and support 100 times as many devices, enabling massive breakthroughs in health care, transportation, agriculture, and other key industries. I’ve been supportive of this breakthrough technology from the beginning. In fact, working alongside local leaders, we made Sioux Falls one of the first cities in the country to install 5G networks.
U.S. companies are already building out 5G networks, but there’s more work to be done. We need to remove regulatory and permitting hurdles and ensure that companies have access to the spectrum they need to build strong networks. We’ve already seen progress after my MOBILE NOW Act became law in 2018. Despite these important steps, we must continue to pass smart and effective legislation to keep America leading the race to 5G and help rural America stay connected.
My Telecommunications Skilled Workforce Act, for example, would help address workforce issues by helping increase the number of workers enrolled in 5G training programs and identify ways to grow the telecommunications workforce to meet the demands of 5G. My STREAMLINE Act focuses on updating current law to speed up the permitting of 5G-required antennas called “small cells,” while still respecting the role of state and local governments in making deployment decisions.
There is another significant part of the 5G technology equation, and that’s broadband networks. We cannot have a successful deployment of 5G without reliable broadband. Simply put, if we don’t build out broadband in rural America, these areas will be excluded from access to 5G. I believe in making smart investments in this area and not making the mistakes that happened under former-President Obama’s stimulus package, where Congress attempted to spur broadband deployment by providing large sums of funding with little to show for it. Lack of coordination, bad mapping, and a host of other factors led to wasted funds.
I recently helped lead a Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband hearing on building resilient broadband networks, and a South Dakotan joined the panel of experts. Denny Law, the CEO of Golden West Telecommunications in South Dakota, spoke on the specific challenges of deploying broadband in rural areas. By listening to the advice of these experts, including Denny, Congress has an opportunity to get it right and properly support the deployment of reliable and resilient networks without wasting taxpayer dollars.
There’s no doubt that reliable, fast internet is an essential element of our nation’s infrastructure. Like roads and bridges and railways and airports, strong internet networks keep our economy going. However, the race to 5G is also an issue of global competitiveness. We must stay ahead of countries like China that are also working to implement this technology.
The recent surge in cyberattacks in industries like energy and meatpacking has spotlighted how integral technology will be to modern homeland security. 5G has a big part to play in our technology future, and we should be laser-focused on building out 5G networks and keeping America at the front of the pack with this technology. This will be vital to our national security for years to come.
I’ll continue to work to advance nationwide 5G deployment and fight for our rural communities that deserve to have the full benefits of the 5G revolution. This is a race that we cannot afford to lose.
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Let’s Hear It for the Interns
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
July 2, 2021
Identifying bills to cosponsor, writing memos on proposed legislation, answering constituent calls, and compiling news stories – this is a day in the life of an intern in my Congressional office.
With only 15 full-time staffers among our four offices, it requires a full team effort to optimally serve over 880,000 constituents across South Dakota and our interns play an integral part in making that happen.
As much as the internship program helps our offices run efficiently, it also provides our interns with a valuable educational experience.
From learning the basics of a professional office to better understanding the innerworkings of the legislative branch, to developing writing and policy analysis skills, a lot is to be gained over a semester or summer session.
A commonalty among our interns is that they grew up in or have ties to South Dakota, yet each one brings a unique perspective to the team.
Of our five current summer interns:
Nick grew up in West River and is currently studying economics and statistics.
Sydney graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and is heading to law school in the fall.
Jakob is currently pursuing his master’s in public administration at the University of South Dakota.
John is a rising sophomore studying economics and political science.
Leslie, our Ben Reifel intern is an educator at O’Kreek School and Sinte Gleska University.
South Dakota is full of many talented young people, and I am always impressed with the level of enthusiasm and creativity that our interns bring to work each day.
My office is now seeking applications for fall 2021. For more information on the internship program and how to apply, visit dustyjohnson.house.gov/services/internships.
No one day is the same while interning on Capitol Hill. Who knows, you may even get a chance to write a letter to the Speaker of the House.
Ben Reifel intern Leslie Crow meets with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
More than 120 interns, led by the interns of the Office of Representative Dusty Johnson, requested Speaker Pelosi reopen the U.S. Capitol to constituents.
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Independence
By: Governor Kristi Noem
On July 4, 1776, our Founding Fathers signed a transformational document full of beautiful principles that would come to define our great nation. “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” Thomas Jefferson famously wrote before outlining those principles.
Looking back, it’s easy to forget how controversial those ideas were at the time. After all, throughout our nation’s history we’ve embraced those transformational concepts. They’ve elevated America to unprecedented heights. But today, we see numerous challenges to those fundamental principles. While other parts of the country are tearing up the Declaration, South Dakota is working to defend the inspirational ideas laid out by our Founding Fathers.
“All men are created equal,” Jefferson continued, outlining the founding ideal of the American experiment. Though it took some years before our nation lived up to this ideal, we have made great strides in advancing and preserving the equality of all human beings.
Unfortunately, today some seek to sow division in our nation, rather than emphasizing the equality that makes America so special. Misinformed ideas like critical race theory are incorrectly re-framing American history as a story of “us versus them” rather than “We the People.” They seek to replace 1776 – when the Declaration was signed – as the year of our nation’s founding with the lie that it actually occurred in 1619.
In South Dakota, we are not allowing critical race theory and other similar ideas to infiltrate our schools. Instead, we will teach our true, patriotic history. Our students will learn of America’s triumphs and mistakes alike. And from both, they will achieve a greater love and appreciation for our principles and our history.
Jefferson continued his list of guiding principles with, “…That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” South Dakota is certainly standing for these rights.
South Dakota is working to protect the right to life of all of our people, born and unborn. Most recently, I signed legislation to protect the right to life even of unborn children who have been diagnosed with Down syndrome, and I also had the opportunity to sign 5 other pro-life bills. This past year, our state saw the fewest abortions of any year since the devastating Roe v. Wade decision. And to our knowledge, my office is the only governor’s office in the country that has a preborn child advocate who wakes up every day looking for ways to defend life. South Dakota will continue to build a culture of life as our Founding Fathers intended.
Over the last year, South Dakota has received attention because we’ve defended our people’s right to liberty. Our Founding Fathers were clear. Benjamin Franklin, who worked alongside Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence, famously stated, “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Unfortunately, 2020 showed leaders across our country infringing on the liberty of their people in the name of safety. South Dakota took a different path, and we are strong today as a result. That is how we will continue to operate for as long as I am governor.
I will continue to defend the principles of the Declaration of Independence. After all, our state honors Thomas Jefferson at Mount Rushmore, our Shrine of Democracy. This Independence Day, take some time with your family to reflect on our Founding ideals. America is the greatest nation on earth because our Founding Fathers took the time to articulate them, fight for them, and secure them for all of us.
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Pro-Freedom Bills Take Effect on July 1
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, pro-freedom reforms promoted by Governor Kristi Noem will take effect in South Dakota. July 1 marks the start of the 2022 fiscal year and ushers in several changes to state law.
“‘Freedom’ isn’t just a buzzword for us in South Dakota. It’s our way of life. It guides everything that my administration does,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “I’m proud that we had the opportunity to advance freedom for South Dakotans this legislative session. And I look forward to continuing to work with the legislature to expand the freedoms of our people.”
The pro-freedom reforms that are becoming law include:
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Healthcare Reforms Take Effect on July 1
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, several healthcare reforms promoted by Governor Kristi Noem will take effect in South Dakota. July 1 marks the start of the 2022 fiscal year and ushers in several changes to state law.
“Over the last year, South Dakota adapted to challenges and found innovative new ways to deliver healthcare to our people,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “These flexibilities will increase healthcare options for South Dakotans, and I am excited that they are finally becoming law today.”
The healthcare reforms that are becoming law include:
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According to Facebook reports, one of the leaders of the Gays for Trump movement is being featured at a rally in Sioux Falls towards the end of the month:
Activist Scott Presler has been traveling the country providing instruction to groups on how to organize, as well as doing trash pickups in various communities.
There’s no formal sponsorship of the event, which appears to be promoted by the group of people who pushed Mark Mowry to challenge US Senator John Thune in the 2021 US Senate race.
The candidates are preparing for 4th of July weekend parades, and Dusty Johnson is promising a free t-shirt if you get out and walk for him, according to Facebook:
Pro-Life Laws Take Effect in South Dakota on July 1
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, several pro-life laws promoted by Governor Kristi Noem will take effect in South Dakota. July 1 marks the start of the 2022 fiscal year and ushers in several changes to state law.
“The Declaration of Independence summarizes what we all know in our hearts to be true: God created each of us and endowed all of us with the right to life. This is true for everyone, including the unborn,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “I look forward to the day when the Supreme Court recognizes that all preborn children inherently possess this right to life, too. Until that time comes, I am glad that these bills are taking affect to protect the right to life of preborn South Dakota children.”
The pro-life reforms that are becoming law include:
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