Author: @SoDakCampaigns

Rounds, Gillibrand Lead Bipartisan Push To Fully Fund U.S-Israel Missile Defense Cooperation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) led a bipartisan group of 38 senators in calling for $500 million to fully fund U.S.-Israel cooperative missile defense programs in the Defense Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2022. Israel’s missile defense system is made up of four operational layers: Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow 2 and now Arrow 3. In addition to contributing to ballistic missile defense, the funding will support crucial work on research, development and test activities to counter hostile unmanned aerial systems.

“We have had a great deal of success in improving our missile defense systems working with Israel,”said Senator Rounds. “The advancements we have been able to make in this cooperative effort will benefit our defense capabilities as well as those of our ally Israel. This missile defense system has also saved the lives of countless Israeli and Palestinian citizens living in Israel. It is important that we continue to authorize and fund these systems.”

“Not only does this critical funding help Israel defend itself and save lives, but it also strengthens U.S. national security, aiding research and development,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Our relationship with Israel is unbreakable and I’m proud to lead this bipartisan push each year to ensure Israel has the resources needed to protect its citizens.”

The bipartisan group of senators wrote, “the U.S.-Israeli cooperation has resulted in a system that can, and has, countered numerous missile threats from state and non-state actors from adversaries in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and elsewhere. This system provides Israel with the ability to protect lives at home and on the battlefield, keeping its citizens and soldiers out of harm’s way.”

Senators Rounds and Gillibrand have long led this bipartisan letter in support of U.S.-Israeli cooperative missile defense programs, which advance U.S. national security interests by supporting Israel’s ability to defend itself against missile and rocket attacks. For several years, the senators have led letters that have secured at least $500 million for these important programs.

In addition to Senators Rounds and Gillibrand, the letter was signed by Senators Bennet (D-Colo.), Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Booker (D-N.J.), Brown (D-Ohio), Cantwell (D-Wash.), Cardin (D-Md.), Casey (D-Pa.), Coons (D-Del.), Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Cramer (R-N.D.), Daines (R-Mont.), Duckworth (D-Ill.), Feinstein (D-Calif.), Fischer (R-Neb.), Hassan (D-N.H.), Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Kaine (D-Va.), Kelly (D-Ariz.), Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Lankford (R-Okla.), Markey (D-Mass.), Merkley (D-Ore.), Padilla (D-Calif.), Peters (D-Mich.), Rosen (D-Nev.), Rubio (R-Fla.), Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sinema (D-Ariz.), Smith (D-Minn.), Stabenow (D-Mich.), Thune (R-S.D.), Van Hollen (D-Md.), Warner (D-Va.), Warnock (D-Ga.), Wyden (D-Ore.) and Young (R-Ind.).

The text of the letter appears below:

Dear Chairman Tester and Ranking Member Shelby:

Thank you for this committee’s strong support of U.S.-Israel collaborative defense programs, including Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow as well as our continued cooperative work on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). As you begin work on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Defense Appropriations bill, we write seeking $500 million for continued support for these in order to meet the United States’ and Israel’s national security needs.

Joint U.S.-Israel missile defense collaboration on Israel’s multilayer missile defense system has been foundational to the defense of Israel since the 1980s. Congress has consistently supported this project. Israel’s missile defense system is made up of four operational layers: Iron Dome (short-range), David’s Sling (medium-range), Arrow 2 (longer range), and now Arrow 3 (very long range). The U.S.-Israeli cooperation has resulted in a system that can, and has, countered numerous missile threats from state and non-state actors from adversaries in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and elsewhere. This system provides Israel with the ability to protect lives at home and on the battlefield, keeping its citizens and soldiers out of harm’s way.

This cooperative program has also created an important flow of data and invaluable insight to support vital U.S. missile defense technology while safeguarding our strategic ally Israel and our service members in the region. This program synergizes with our ongoing operations in the area increasing interoperability between U.S. and Israeli systems and forces. Moreover, the program supports critical elements of the industrial base and important jobs here in the United States through co-development and co-production agreements.

Another area of critical importance to both the United States and Israel, is in the field of UAS, and perhaps just as importantly, counter-UAS. In February 2020, the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit announced it had selected Israeli firm D-Fend Solutions to field a counter-drone system for the FBI and U.S. military. This technology was co-developed with the U.S. Combatting Terrorism Technical Support Office. CTTSO has played a crucial role in U.S.-Israel cooperation and innovation.

For FY 2022, in addition to ballistic missile defense, $500 million will continue critical work on research, development and test activities to counter hostile unmanned aerial systems. This funding will further development of a range of systems designed to handle the imminent threats American and Israeli forces face.

Together, these programs confront the compelling challenges facing both Israel and the United States and form a strong foundation of the enduring friendship of our nations. We look forward to working with you on these important programs.

Sincerely,

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Governor Noem Announces New Opportunities for South Dakota Meat

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that certain South Dakota state-inspected meat processors will have the opportunity to ship their meat across state lines. South Dakota and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have entered a Cooperative Interstate Shipping (CIS) agreement, which opens these new market opportunities for South Dakota producers.

“Our food supply is a matter of national security, so we need to increase diversity in the supply chain to offer more options to Americans,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “For too long, meat producers have been shortchanged due to anticompetitive practices in the meatpacking industry. These new opportunities will expand their options and allow them to ship South Dakota meat across state lines.”

Under CIS, state-inspected facilities can operate as federally inspected facilities, under specific conditions, and ship products across state lines. Without CIS, a state-inspected facility is limited to sales within its own borders. Processors interested in the CIS program should contact the Animal Industry Board at 605.773.3321 or visit https://aib.sd.gov/.

“The Animal Industry Broad is excited to help bring CIS to South Dakota,” said State Veterinarian Dusty Oedekoven. “Our meat processors and producers need options, and CIS gives them another pathway for getting South Dakota products to market.”

In addition to South Dakota, there are 8 states currently participating in CIS – Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

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Just wanted to take a moment to give a shout out to SDSU Student Association President Andrew Rasmussen who was chosen for a internship to learn the inner workings of journalism through South Dakota News Watch:

After months of planning and preparation, News Watch and SDSU have launched the “Jeffrey B. Nelson Investigative Journalism Endowed Internship” and have chosen a student to be the inaugural participant in the program.

After an application process, SDSU student Andrew Rasmussen has been chosen for the internship and is already at work reporting and writing articles of statewide interest for News Watch.

Rasmussen is a senior at SDSU majoring in journalism and political science with a minor in legal studies. A native of Brookings, S.D., Rasmussen has previously worked as a reporter for The Collegian, the independent student newspaper at SDSU. Rasmussen was recently elected president of the SDSU Students’ Association.

Read it all here.

Andrew has been extensively involved with the SDSU Student Senate, College Republicans, served as a Republican intern in the South Dakota Legislature and has also spent time working on statewide campaigns for Republicans such as for Congressman Dusty Johnson.

Congratulations!

We have an opportunity to make our elections healthier
by State Representative Will Mortenson, District 24

We have an opportunity to make our elections healthier.

South Dakota’s electoral process works pretty well. Our county auditors, who do the bulk of the ballot-preparing and the vote-counting, are a strong group. Many have decades of experience and I haven’t run across one that I wouldn’t trust with the code to my garage door. In short – diligent, honest folks run our elections and South Dakotans can have faith in them.

We can do better, though. This spring and summer saw dozens of elections on assorted dates throughout the calendar. In April, Fort Pierre held a municipal election. About a month later, I read about a school board election in Sioux Falls. Last week, Harrisburg held a bond election. This week, Pierre held a municipal and school board election and Rapid City held a school board election.

I subscribe to and read newspapers from Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Pierre. I read blogs about government and follow most South Dakota media on Twitter. It’s fair to say I’m more interested than most in the workings of governments in our state. Even with that information, I had a hard time remembering when all these elections were taking place, let alone when the early voting window may have started.

The difficulty I experienced is borne out in voter turnout. South Dakotans are simply not showing up for these random-date elections. Fort Pierre turned out less than 25% of voters for the April election, despite a 79.25% turnout in the 2020 general election. In May, a mere 5% of Sioux Falls voters cast a ballot compared to almost 75% six months prior. On the Tuesday after Memorial Day, Harrisburg turned out 4.5% of the voters for its bond election, woefully short of the 79.5% that voted in November. Pierre and Rapid City showed the same trend, with 27% and 9.9% turnout, compared to 75.24% and 71.79%, respectively.

I know there are some good reasons why cities and school districts hold elections more frequently than every two years: some have odd-year terms, bonds elections have important timing considerations, and it can be complicated to administer four or five different types of elections all at once.

I’m not disputing these reasons, but our current process puts the strain and complication on the voter. We’ve made it difficult for South Dakotans to participate by holding elections on sporadic dates. 5% turnout is unacceptable when we know 70% of the same set of voters turned out in November.

We can do better. These elections should be held consistently and on a high-profile election day, so that the public has as much notice as possible. I look forward to working with cities, school districts, county auditors, the Secretary of State, and my colleagues on a practical plan to make these elections healthier.

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As I’ve often noted that the South Dakota Democrat bench is more than a little weak to draw on for the next election, the South Dakota Democrat party reminds us why that’s the case, as they criticize the Pennington County GOP for offering a simple congratulations to the winners of yesterdays school board race:

Aside from the lapse in just basic manners, in case they need reminding, at one point someone actually wrote it on their own website at one point in time that their political party was interested in the job where they “identify and recruit and support candidates to run at all levels…”:

And wasn’t it just a couple of years ago that a group of state Democrats sent out a press release that they were going to be recruiting candidates for the school board so they could start winning elections again?

Following a meeting of State Democratic Party officials with South Dakota Progress founders earlier this month, newly elected state Democratic Party Chairwoman Ann Tornberg said her understanding is that South Dakota Progress will recruit candidates for local-level positions like school boards and township boards. Joe Lowe, the state party’s newly elected vice chairman, expressed a similar view that South Dakota Progress will focus on city council and other local races.

Read that here.

If there’s a disgrace here, I think it’s that the current management of the Democrat Party forgot the things that political parties actually do to be viable organizations.

Christopher Vondracek with forum news has an article out tonight noting that Democrats are convinced they’ll have a candidate for Governor by the end of the summer:

But party members said that while Sutton would immediately be the front-runner in a potential Democratic primary to challenge Noem, there are also other candidates who will, especially in lieu of a Sutton candidacy, announce by summer’s end.

and..

He told FNS he and his family are “evaluating what my next move will be.”

“We’ll be making a decision fairly soon,” added Heinert.

and..

State Rep. Peri Pourier, a Pine Ridge Democrat, told FNS she had “no comment on the gubernatorial candidates,” though multiple party officials mentioned her as a possible candidate.

Read the entire story here.

BTW, I notice that the troyheinert.com and heinertforgovernor.com web domains are both off the market.

Interesting.

We shall see….

Johnson Applauds B-21 Official Announcement

 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) issued a statement following the U.S. Air Force record of decision designating Ellsworth Air Force Base as the Main Operating Base 1 for the B-21 bomber.

“This has been a long journey,” said Johnson. “We’ve felt good about our progress over the last few years, but now we can say without any hedging or hesitation: our nation’s first B-21 bombers will call Ellsworth home.”

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Thune Statement on Official B-21 Announcement for Ellsworth Air Force Base

“South Dakotans know what an asset Ellsworth Air Force Base is to our state and our country, and today, we’re incredibly proud of this historic, once-in-a-generation opportunity to host the B-21 bombers.” 

WASHINGTON— U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after the U.S. Air Force signed a record of decision officially designating Ellsworth Air Force Base to be Main Operating Base 1 for the B-21 bomber. This designation not only means that Ellsworth will be the first base to host the B-21 Raider, but it will host the formal training unit and first operational squadron.

“South Dakotans know what an asset Ellsworth Air Force Base is to our state and our country, and today, we’re incredibly proud of this historic, once-in-a-generation opportunity to host the B-21 bomber,” said Thune. “It’s redeeming to still have Ellsworth at the forefront of our national defense when we were slated for closure 16 years ago. This mission will bring thousands of new airmen, spouses, and dependents to the base, spur hundreds of millions of dollars of construction activity in preparation for the stealth and nuclear mission, and drive increased economic development in the region. It’s an exciting time for Raider Country and everyone who’s worked so hard to make today possible.”

Thune has played an integral role in advocating for and investing in Ellsworth’s future throughout his time in Congress, foremost through his efforts to remove Ellsworth from the Base Realignment and Closure list upon his arrival in the Senate in 2005. The closure of Ellsworth would have been devastating for the local economy and America’s national security. Since then, Thune has sought every opportunity to expand the base’s mission to ensure it would never again be at risk of closure.

In 2006, Thune advocated for the Air Force placing the consolidated Air Force Financial Services Center at Ellsworth. The financial services mission required a new, high-capacity communications network, which enabled Ellsworth to be a front-runner for adding a command and control mission for the remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper, which began at the base in 2010. Most notably, Thune led a decade-long effort to secure the expansion of Ellsworth’s training airspace, the Powder River Training Complex (PRTC). Leveraging his position as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Thune worked with the Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration to quadruple the airspace, making it the largest training airspace in the continental United States. Military aircraft from around the country now participate in large force exercises that are conducted in the PRTC, and the expanded training range will allow airmen to fly the B-21 in realistic combat conditions, which require longer engagement distances.

According to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) produced as part of the formal basing decision, the B-21 mission will support a projected 7,700 airmen, spouses, and dependents at Ellsworth, with a total end-state increase of 3,147 individuals. These figures will increase beyond end-state projections during the transition from the B-1 mission to the B-21. The Final EIS also projects that, in addition to 1,664 new airmen, the mission will result in 582 indirect jobs and $23,878,400 in economic activity. Approximately 4.3 million square feet of new construction and 1.7 million square feet of renovation will be conducted over the next several years in preparation for the B-21 mission. The record of decision formally enables the Air Force to proceed with planning and contracting for the military construction activity, which will progress alongside the active B-1 mission.

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Rounds: Ellsworth AFB Officially Named First Home of the B-21 Raider Bomber

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today announced that Ellsworth Air Force Base will officially be the Air Force’s first base to receive the new B-21 Raider bomber.

During a call this afternoon with Air Force Global Strike Commander General Timothy Ray, Sen. Rounds was informed that Ellsworth has been officially designated as the future home of the B-21.

“I am pleased that the U.S. Air Force has officially selected Ellsworth Air Force Base as the first home of the B-21 Raider bomber,” Rounds said. “This landmark decision makes certain that South Dakota will continue to play a critical role in our national defense. The selection of Ellsworth is a testament to the hard work of our Air Force personnel on the ground at Ellsworth and the communities of Box Elder and Rapid City that have worked hard to improve the long-term suitability of the base for this new state-of-the-art aircraft.

“As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I’ve worked actively to secure full funding for the B-21 program being developed by Northrup Grumman for the Air Force. I can tell you that this is one of the most advanced weapon systems to ever be developed. The B-21 will help deter our adversaries, especially China, thanks to its long-range, speed, stealth and payload. This weapon system will play a crucial role in the defense of our nation and have a huge economic impact on the Rapid City area for the next 50 years.”

Background:

In March 2019, the Air Force announced Ellsworth was the preferred location for the first home of the B-21 Raider bomber.

In January 2021, Rounds’ provision to address the Air Force’s bomber shortfall, which directly supports B-21 bomber program and Ellsworth Air Force Base, became law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021.

In December 2019, Rounds secured full funding for the B-21 bomber program with the signing of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2020.

As governor, Rounds successfully advocated for the removal of Ellsworth from the Department of Defense’s proposed closure list during a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round in 2005. Following that effort, he led a legislative effort to establish the South Dakota Ellsworth Development Authority (SDEDA). Now a permanent fixture, the SDEDA’s mission is to protect, strengthen and promote the base.

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Newsmax, one of the top cable news channels was one of our very first commercial advertisers over a decade ago.

And out of the blue they reached out today, and are rejoining Advertiser’s Row here at South Dakota War College for a period of time as they inform TV viewers in South Dakota that MIDCO Cable TV doesn’t seem very amenable to adding them to the channel lineup.

Please take a moment, and click on their link, and find out the story behind MIDCO’s unwillingness to offer their channel to viewers.

And please also take a moment to visit our other advertisers including Marty Jackley, Jordan Youngberg, Americans for Prosperity – South Dakota, Governor Kristi Noem, US Senator John Thune, Dusty Johnson for US Congress, and the South Dakota Republican Party!

Remember – SDWC has limited advertising opportunities available for reaching South Dakota’s opinion leaders as we move past the 2021 Legislative Session, including our #2 advertising position.

If someone is making laws, keeping up on the issues or what’s happening in campaigns, or promoting legislation, they’re stopping here to check 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 politically active elected officials, and community opinion leaders.

Advertising on the Dakotwarcollege.com website is based on a first come, first serve basis for available positions.  Advertising slots 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 ad commitments may be directed to the webmaster by clicking here, and by dropping me a note today!