Author: Pat Powers

The Pierre School Board had an election this evening for one of its school board seats, the one currently held by former Jefferson school elementary principal Dan Cronin.

And if the numbers are at all telling, it appears Cronin may be enjoying the most lopsided victory in tonight’s elections across the state.

With a gap of just under 900 votes between incumbent Cronin and his challenger, newcomer Jason Muldoon, who was supported by the local chapter of “Moms for Liberty” (and married to the vice-chair of the group) failed to pull even 20% against Cronin who dominated with over 79%.

This war by proxy by the Moms for Liberty against Cronin forgot what the most important thing in a campaign is.. first and foremost, name ID.  While they waged war against reading scores, and tried to point a finger against incumbents in general for it, they offered someone nobody in town knew against Dan Cronin – someone EVERYONE in Pierre knows (and likes).

Sometimes you need to read the room.

And name ID matters.

Attorney General Jackley Releases Draft Explanation For Proposed
Constitutional Amendment Eliminating Single Subject Rule

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has released a draft ballot explanation for a proposed constitutional amendment, proposed by Quincy Hanzen of Sioux Falls, that would repeal the single subject rule.

This proposed constitutional amendment would remove the current limitation that a proposed constitutional amendment can include only one subject. The ballot explanation can be found here.

State law requires the Attorney General draft a title and explanation for each initiated measure, initiated constitutional amendment, constitutional amendment proposed by the Legislature, or referred measure that may appear on an election ballot. The Attorney General’s explanation is meant to be an “objective, clear, and simple summary” intended to “educate the voters of the purpose and effect of the proposed” measure, as well as identify the “legal consequences” of each measure.

The Attorney General takes no position on any such proposal.

Once the Attorney General has filed and posted the draft explanation, the public has 10 days to provide written comment. The explanation was filed today (Tuesday, June 6), and the deadline for comments on this explanation is June 16, 2023, at the close of business in Pierre, South Dakota. The final explanation is due to the Secretary of State on June 26, 2023.

The draft amendment would require 35,017 valid petition signatures to qualify for the 2024 general election ballot.

To file written comments on a draft Attorney General’s explanation please use one of the following methods below. Copies of all received comments will be posted on this website.

Comments may be submitted via mail, or through hand delivery, to the Attorney General’s Office at:

Office of the Attorney General
Ballot Comment
1302 E. Hwy. 14, Suite 1
Pierre, SD 57501

Comments that are hand delivered must be received by the close of business in Pierre, South Dakota, by June 16, 2023. Comments that are mailed must be received by the Attorney General’s Office before the deadline expires to be accepted.

Comments may also be emailed to [email protected] by June 16, 2023. Comments should be clearly expressed in the body of the email. The Attorney General’s Office will not open attachments in an effort to prevent malware or other digital threats. Please include your name and contact information when submitting your comment. The title of the comment must be included in the subject line of the email.

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From Twitter, arguably the best tweet I’ve read today.

Man to Ron DeSantis: “Hi, I’m a state senator from South Dakota, I drove an hour just to see you”

Ron DeSantis: “Oh ok, thanks…” *walks away*

A deeply awkward person. pic.twitter.com/U0Hu91uXKx

— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) May 20, 2023

Attorney General Marty Jackley Says No Foul Play, No Threat to Public After Discovery of Body In Lincoln County

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has announced that no foul play is suspected and that there is no threat to the public after a male body was found Tuesday in rural Lincoln County.

The body was found Tuesday afternoon in a vehicle near the intersection of 275^th Street and 477^thAvenue southeast of Harrisburg. At this time, the case is being treated as an unattended death.

People who may have seen a white car in the ditch at that intersection are asked to call the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

Attorney General Jackley said there has been good cooperation among the agencies involved in the investigation. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation with assistance from the state Division of Criminal Investigation.

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I think my head hurts after reading this one. Deputy Secretary of State Tom Deadrick is insisting to the news media that an e-mail is not a written request, as he stonewalls, delays, and has to eventually relent because they lack staff to supervise people reviewing records.

“We are requiring that all requests for public records be in writing,” Deadrick replied on Jan. 10. “Emails will not be accepted. This is for tracking purposes on our end in order that we can best comply with the relevant statutes.”

and..

When it became clear that wasn’t going to work, I shifted strategies and asked how, precisely, I was supposed to comply with the “in writing” policy. Was I supposed to print out my email and mail it in? And if so, why wouldn’t the office just print the email I’d already sent? Or would I be required to hand-write a note and mail that in?

Deadrick told me a typed letter on official letterhead, sent through the mail, would suffice. I complied.

and..

He responded with an email saying that since I was willing to make the drive, and since the office was busy with the legislative session and therefore wouldn’t have adequate staff to “monitor” me, he was “willing to make a one-time exception” to the fee. He attached digital copies of the pardon records to the email.

Read that here.

You need to read this. This kind of bureaucracy is dystopian and dysfunctional in the face of what is supposed to be open government.

Former State Rep. Taffy Howard has apparently become a lobbyist for US Term Limits:

Howard will serve as the South Dakota State Chair for U.S. Term Limits. The organization, which is based out of Washington, D.C., states their mission is to enact and defend term limits on elected offices at all levels of government via the ballot box, legislatures and the courts with an ultimate aim of enacting a congressional term limits amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Read it here.

Although, I would venture that for the time being, she’ll spend most of her time being a DC lobbyist or in other states, since she’s legally banned from lobbying in SD until January 2025.

But I’m sure that’s fine, since we’re not used to her being in Pierre the entire time she’s supposed to be anyway.

During the Easter season, we spend time with our families, we celebrate with our friends and neighbors, and we are thankful for our many blessings. It’s a time when people come together to help one another; to love one another.

South Dakotans have been through a brutal winter this year, with many severe storms from December through April. It has been a struggle, but one we have gotten through together. Through small acts of kindness and by lending a helping hand, South Dakotans continue to show their strength even in difficult times.

We often think of Easter as a celebration of the light, but it is also a celebration of the darkness. The joy of Easter Sunday means nothing without the sorrow that comes before it. And if there is one thing that the people of South Dakota have taught me, it’s that tough times are always easier to get through together.

The Bible tells us to love thy neighbor as we love ourselves. And this winter, South Dakotans have done so time and time again. I have seen folks helping ranchers bring in their cattle ahead of a winter storm, clearing neighbors’ driveways to help them get to work on time, and bringing homecooked meals to friends in need. I truly think that no one loves their neighbor better than a South Dakotan.

I commend our people for their hope and for their faith: the hope that we would get through this treacherous winter, and their faith that springtime is coming. Easter reminds us of these things.

Just as spring brings new life to the earth, so does Jesus bring new life to us.

I do not know how much longer our winter will last, but I do know that spring is coming. Warmer days are ahead. And South Dakotans will help one another and love one another just as much in the warmth as we have in the cold. That’s just how we operate.

I am proud of what our people have endured. We always seem to come out of tough times stronger than before. The people of South Dakota have earned my trust, my respect, and my faith – and I will always do my best to be worthy of theirs.

So I wish everyone a very Happy Easter. I hope that you can spend this season with those that you love. And I thank you, South Dakotans, for always being there for each other – for embodying the kind of love that Jesus has for us through your love for one another. You are a light in this world, a little glimpse of springtime. May God continue to bless each and every one of you.

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Gov. Noem to President Biden: “We’ll See You in Court”

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that South Dakota will “see [President Biden] in court” over the Biden Administration’s proposed reimagination of Title IX, which exists to protect equal opportunities for girls.

“South Dakota will not allow this to stand. We will lead. We will defend our laws. Only girls will play girls’ sports. President Biden, we’ll see you in court,” Governor Noem tweeted.

Last year, Governor Noem signed the toughest bill in the nation to protect girls’ sports. She followed that action by leading a letter co-signed by 15 Republican governors urging the Biden Administration not to take this action.

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From Linked in, just a month on from the election of a new chair, it looks like Berk Ermergerd… er.. Ehrmantraut is heading out the door as Democrats look for a new direction as they do most years.

Maybe not completely shocking, after democrats were largely shut out again, but this one had slipped under the radar until now.

Had a reader send this amusing doctored photo to me this evening. Along with a notation pointing out that former Madison State Senator Jordan Youngberg has moved to 30 miles or so to the east – over to the Colman area – placing him in District 25 now.

Add to that a little chatter that Youngberg might be missing politics a bit, and contemplating entering back into the Legislative arena, and we have the potential for an interesting face off.

Youngberg first came to the attention of the political scene by knocking out a tough Democrat in a legislative district that was not always hard Republican. And he’s not just an indefatigable campaigner, he’s a pretty decent fundraiser as well.

Another bit of information that was brought to my attention is that the Dell Rapids/Garretson area is Youngberg’s hometown, with family still all over the place. Meaning that after redistricting, the new District 25 is made up of Youngberg’s hometown area, and much of his old district.

Factor that against sitting District 25 State Senator Tom Pischke, who not just literally tied with Julie Frye Mueller as the most ineffective state senator in Pierre, passing nothing, but he doubled down on it with blunders such as defending the rights of convicted sex offenders to be in classrooms, and getting kicked out of caucus trying to claim his fellow senators should actually be arrested for suspending Frye-Mueller while they investigated her harassment of a Legislative employee.

When you add those items up, the District 25 State Senate race has some potential to be an interesting contest to watch in the coming months.

Stay tuned.