That was fast.
Before the hard right can officially take power in the State Legislature during the next legislative session, the even further right members of that faction are trying to eat their own, attacking incoming Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr:
Keep watching. I’m guessing this won’t be the last time they go on the attack.
It just goes to show you, sometimes it’s not what you know it’s who you know:
President Biden announced Sunday he signed a pardon for his son, Hunter, arguing the charges against his son were brought for political reasons
The End of Open Borders
By Sen. John Thune
It’s been clear for a while now that an enduring legacy of the Biden-Harris administration will be the historic immigration crisis at our southern border. The last four years have been the four highest years of illegal immigration ever recorded. This record-breaking illegal immigration crisis didn’t just happen on its own, the Biden-Harris administration created it. For those of us who have been sounding the alarm about the dangers of an open border for years, it comes as no surprise that the American people are ready to turn the page on this administration’s failed policies.
On the day he took office, the president began dismantling President Trump’s border security policies, and illegal immigration soon began surging in response. Between official U.S. Customs and Border Protection encounters and known gotaways, there have been somewhere around 10 million migrant encounters at our southern border on President Biden’s watch. To put that number in perspective, that’s larger than the population of the vast majority of U.S. states – and that’s just the individuals we know about. There are undoubtedly individuals who have made their way into our country over the past four years who have been neither seen nor apprehended.
It’s essential to remember that the situation at the border doesn’t just affect border states. South Dakota is about as far from our southern border as you can get, but law enforcement officials consistently tell me that deadly drugs in our state can be traced back to the southern border. Then there are the bad actors who are able to enter the country because of the chaos at the border. Individuals with terrorist ties and gang members have been caught after crossing the border illegally. And we’ve seen tragic cases of Americans killed by illegal immigrants who should never have been in this country in the first place.
Next year, under the Trump administration and with Republican majorities in Congress, the American people can expect that border security will be a top priority. That starts with restoring the border security policies of the first Trump administration, letting Border Patrol do its job, and beginning to deport those who are in the country illegally.
If recent reports are accurate, immigration officials are preparing for a possible final surge before President Trump takes office – a clear sign, if one were needed, that migrants regard President Biden as the open-border president. Final surge or no final surge, the days of this border crisis are numbered. For the sake of our security and the rule of law, President Trump and the Republican Congress will take decisive action to fix the mess created by the Biden-Harris administration.
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Thankful
By: First Gentleman Bryon Noem
November 30, 2024
The holidays are a wonderful time to spend time together and celebrate traditions as a family. Every family celebrates in their own unique way and develops their own traditions.The Noem family has our own Thanksgiving traditions that we enjoy together.
On Thanksgiving morning, Kristi cooks breakfast including pumpkin pancakes and quiche. We do a CrossFit workout together or do the Watertown Turkey Trot, then we put on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Sometimes we play board games around the table (Yahtzee! is a favorite). We have football on for the rest of the day, and sometimes we play as a family (we are a pretty competitive bunch). And we go to bed grateful to God for all of our blessings.
We usually don’t put up any Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving is over. But Kristi broke that rule this year so that she could spend a special day decorating the house with our granddaughter Addie!
No matter what we’re doing, we’re spending time together. Thanksgiving hasn’t become so commercialized like other holidays. The focus really is on spending time with family, as it should be.
There’s a lot to be thankful for in the world. I am thankful for the opportunity to spend time with family. I am incredibly blessed with a great one. God has blessed us in so many ways. He blesses us with a community that we love. I am blessed to visit small towns across South Dakota as part of my First Gentleman’s Initiative. Kristi and I are blessed with three wonderful children, three beautiful grandchildren, and a fourth on the way! We have a roof over our heads, food on the table, and we get to live in the best and freest nation in the world. I could go on, but you get the point – there’s so much to be thankful for.
Most of all, our family is blessed to live in this wonderful state serving the incredible people who call South Dakota home. I hope that you all have the opportunity to spend time with your loved-ones this holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving!
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Today is a great day to reflect on everything we are all thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving from South Dakota War College, and personally from my family!
Disability Rights South Dakota Files Complaint Against Animal Psychology Center in Philip, South Dakota on Behalf of Client with Visual Impairment.
Disability Rights South Dakota (DRSD) has filed a complaint in Small Claims Court on behalf of a woman who is blind. The complaint alleges that the owner of Animal Psychology Center (APC) in Philip fraudulently represented that the dog was trained as a guide dog and a personal protection dog. Her initial experiences with the dog were not encouraging and it became apparent that the dog was not trained to provide the services that she needed.
The woman reported that the dog had abandoned her in the middle of a Minneapolis suburb at night, chased squirrels while working, and led her into road signs and over unstable terrain. She says that she suffered physical injuries as a result of the animal’s unruliness. An evaluation by a Minneapolis trainer confirmed and documented that the dog was not a fully trained service animal able to assist as a guide dog. Not knowing what else to do, the woman contacted APC and was told that APC would only assist if both the woman and the dog returned to Philip for several weeks. However, the woman was unable to do this due to limitations imposed by her disability.
DRSD has become aware that multiple individuals allege similar experiences with APC. Those individuals also believe that they were the victim of misrepresentations made by APC as it relates to the training and capabilities of their purported ‘service animals’.
Many of these individuals stated that they shared their concerns with the South Dakota Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. DRSD contacted the Attorney General’s office and was told that no formal investigation had been opened against APC.
Disability Rights South Dakota conducts accessibility polling site observations on election day
Disability Rights South Dakota (DRSD) is the designated non-profit Protection and Advocacy agency in the state of South Dakota. Among the myriad of federal grant programs administered at DRSD, is the Protection & Advocacy for Voting Access (PAVA) program. This grant was established by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
On October 29, 2002, President Bush signed HAVA into law to establish, expand and improve access and participation in the election process by individuals with disabilities. One regulation under HAVA is that each voting precinct must offer at least one ballot marking device to enable individuals with disabilities to vote privately and independently. South Dakota uses the ExpressVote ballot marking device.
On November 5, 2024, under the PAVA program, DRSD employees visited numerous polling sites throughout the state to identify barriers for individuals with disabilities exercising their right to vote. DRSD staff applied the standards of the American Disability Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines for polling sites as well as HAVA regulations while conducting their observations.
C.J. Moit, DRSD’s PAVA program lead, stated overall most sites were accessible for individuals with disabilities facilitating private and independent voting. When possible, concerns observed by DRSD staff were addressed in real time with on-site elections officials.
Recurring issues included a lack of designated accessible parking and pathways both outside and inside of polling sites not allowing easy access for individuals with mobility devices.
There were also various issues identified regarding the ExpressVote ballot marking device. Oftentimes, the ballot marking device was situated in such a way that a person who uses a wheelchair or their mobility assistance would be unable to use the machine to vote. In other instances, the ballot marking device was exposed to the entire room, resulting in a situation where individuals were unable to vote privately.
Shockingly, at several polling places the ExpressVote was not present or otherwise operational for voter use whatsoever – a violation of the requirements outlined under both State statute and Federal law. One South Dakota county unilaterally decided to not set up the machine at any of their polling sites. DRSD staff will work with the Secretary of State office and local County Auditors to resolve identified concerns and ensure all voters with disabilities can exercise their right to vote privately and independently.
For inquiries about disability rights including voting accessibility, or if you have concerns of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of people with disabilities, please contact Disability Rights South Dakota at 1-800-658-4782 (605-224-8294 local) or visit their website at www.drsdlaw.org
Rocky Hayes managed to avoid big boy jail today for possessing child porn he claims to have downloaded 20 years ago yet managed to hang on to since, uploading it to dropbox which was not around 20 years ago:
He admitted the illegal files were on his computer. In a plea agreement with the Lincoln County States’ Attorney, Hayes pleaded no contest to one count of possession of child pornography. Along with 120 days of electronic home monitoring with work release he will pay a $1,000 fine and will be on supervised probation for four years.
And
“Defendant had possessed those same videos throughout the last roughly twenty years, transferring them from one external memory device to another. Defendant’s conviction for one count of possession of child pornography will require him to register on South Dakota’s Sex Offender Registry.”
Read that story at KELOland.com.
While we might question the light sentence, I think we can take solace that he is on the sex-offender registry, and has a 10 year sentence hanging over his head if he re-offends.
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The South Dakota State Senate completed their committee rosters this afternoon shortly after the House of Representatives:
Legislative Committees (** denotes Chair, * denotes Vice Chair):
Agriculture and Natural Resources: Tom Pischke**, Kevin Jensen *, Sydney Davis, Helene Duhamel, Sam Marty, Mike Rohl, Curt Voight
Appropriations: Ernie Otten**, Mark Lapka*, John Carley, Red Dawn Foster, Taffy Howard, Paul Miskimins, Glen Vilhauer, Mykala Voita, Larry Zikmund
Commerce and Energy: Casey Crabtree**, Sue Peterson*, Arch Beal, Randy Deibert, Joy Hohn, Chris Karr, Steve Kolbeck, Liz Larson, Carl Perry
Education: Kyle Schoenfish**, Curt Voight*, Sam Marty, Lauren Nelson, Sue Peterson, Stephanie Sauder, Jamie Smith
Government Operations and Audit: Taffy Howard**, Ernie Otten*, Chris Karr, Mark Lapka, David Wheeler
Health and Human Services: Kevin Jensen**, Sydney Davis*, Tamara Grove, Carl Perry, Tim Reed, Jamie Smith, Curt Voight
Judiciary: David Wheeler**, Amber Hulse*, Greg Blanc, Helene Duhamel, Tamara Grove, Jim Mehlhaff, Tom Pischke
Legislative Procedure: Chris Karr**, Jim Mehlhaff*, Randy Deibert, Liz Larson, Carl Perry, Sue Peterson, Tom Pischke
Local Government: Tim Reed**, Helene Duhamel*, Lauren Nelson, Mike Rohl, Kyle Schoenfish, Jamie Smith, David Wheeler
Military and Veterans Affairs: Larry Zikmund**, Sam Marty*, Greg Blanc, Joy Hohn, Taffy Howard
Retirement Laws: Randy Deibert**, Glen Vilhauer*, Red Dawn Foster, Steve Kolbeck, Jamie Smith
State Affairs: Jim Mehlhaff**, Carl Perry*, Arch Beal, Randy Deibert, Kevin Jensen, Chris Karr, Liz Larson, Sue Peterson, Tom Pischke
Taxation: Steve Kolbeck**, Joy Hohn*, Greg Blanc, Casey Crabtree, Sydney Davis, Tamara Grove, Amber Hulse
Transportation: Randy Deibert**, Arch Beal*, Joy Hohn, Liz Larson, Stephanie Sauder, Kyle Schoenfish, David Wheeler
Interim Committees (** denotes Chair or co-Chair):
Joint Appropriations: Ernie Otten**(co-Chair), Mark Lapka, John Carley, Red Dawn Foster, Taffy Howard, Paul Miskimins, Glen Vilhauer, Mykala Voita, Larry Zikmund
Rules Review: Taffy Howard, Liz Larson, Jim Mehlhaff State-Tribal Relations: Mike Rohl**(co-Chair), Red Dawn Foster, Tamara Grove, Sam Marty, Jamie Smith
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I hadn’t had this reported to me from the confederate county Republican GOP chair forum the other night. But in notes that were sent out last night there was a completely wild informational item that should give Republicans pause.
In the notes sent out, GOP chair hopeful Lee Qualm (whom at least a couple of his siblings don’t trust so much), apparently had indicated that he wants to take the South Dakota Republican Party down the same path which caused him to lose his 2020 election for State Senate in a 2/1 landslide.
What path am I talking about? His anti-vaxxer crusade.
Candidate 1 – Lee Qualm
Introduced himself and noted he would be calling everyone.
—
Goals:
What… The.. _…? Is this what the South Dakota Republican Party has been reduced to, just being considered a tool for crackpots and zealots to promote their pet issues?
One of the reasons Qualm lost his 2020 State Senate race was because he drowned himself in crazy anti-vaccination kool aid, and was the prime sponsor on Anti-vaxxer legislation House Bill 1235, that would not just have ended mandatory vaccination for school attendance, but made it a class one misdemeanor – that’s up to one year in jail – to require vaccinations such as for whooping cough, measles and polio for employees of nursing homes & state medical students.
Yet, according to the notes from the forum the other night, he allegedly wants to take over the Republican Party, send people out with petitions, and use the GOP to place radio ads for his pet anti-vaxxer cause.
Call me foolish, but I always thought the Republican Party exists to elect Republicans and not serve as somebody’s pet advocacy group! Maybe I’m shouting into the wind at this point, but you have to hope for people’s better judgement to NOT select this kind of agenda for the state’s largest political party.
If not? Then I will at least have a lot to write about over the next two years.