Author: Pat Powers

From my mailbox comes an announcement that the SDGOP sent out this afternoon:

From: Chairman John Wiik
Date: Thu, Jul 13, 2023, 4:49 PM
Subject: IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: SDGOP State Central Committee Meeting

So what does he have up his sleeve? Stay tuned.

Nearly 250 Million Impressions on Freedom Works Here Ads

 PIERRE, S.D. – Nearly 250 million people have viewed Governor Noem’s “Freedom Works Here” national workforce recruitment ads. Hundreds of applicants who have progressed through the process to move to South Dakota were sent a “Freedom Works Here” South Dakota license plate.

“The continued success of this workforce campaign has been so encouraging,” said Governor Noem. “The state that has the workers will be the state that wins the economic race. These ad views are turning into inquiries, and this license plate will help seal the deal to bring these families to South Dakota.”

2,483 people have applied to find career opportunities in South Dakota. The most applications have come from California (388), Texas (197), Florida (185), New York (107), and Arizona (96). And with 85 applications coming from our own state, the Freedom Works Here campaign is even helping South Dakotans find new jobs. A map showing where applications are from can be found here.

The ad campaign has been more successful in less than a month that any other workforce recruitment campaign in South Dakota history. Thousands of calls have already been made to these applicants to get them plugged in to career opportunities here in South Dakota.

If your South Dakota business has open jobs, find future talent here.

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Governor Noem Takes Action to Address Prescription Drug Shortages
Urges Congress and FDA to Step Up

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that the Department of Health (DOH) will be expanding its medical cache to help combat the shortage of prescription drugs in South Dakota. She also urged swift and decisive action from both Congress and the FDA to address worsening shortages across the country.

“When my son, Booker, was growing up, he relied on the prescription drug Albuterol on an almost daily basis. Without it, he would not have been able to breathe. Imagine my shock when I recently learned that a widespread and long-lasting shortage of this critical drug and others has been impacting America,” said Governor Noem. “So many parents and their precious children have had to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing if that life-saving resource will be available to them.”

DOH will be expanding its medical cache to five additional cities – Aberdeen, Hot Springs, Mobridge, Pierre, and Yankton. This is an emergency stockpile of medications in case of shortages. In addition to the antibiotics currently stockpiled, DOH is adding Albuterol, Epinephrine, Insulin, Prednisone, and Pediatric Amoxicillin to the medical cache.

“When our drugs are manufactured in just one or two countries, then any serious event can create a shortage. And those shortages hurt the young, the elderly, and the sick more than anyone else,” said Melissa Magstadt, Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Health. “When we started hearing from pharmacies across the state, we immediately began notifying the Governor and working towards a solution. I am so appreciative to work for a Governor who takes notice of challenges like this and then leads towards a solution.”

Governor Noem is also sending letters to Congressional leadership, South Dakota’s congressional delegation, and the Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These letters urge them to take swift, decisive action to provide long-term policy solutions that will address this challenge.

In May, Governor Noem signed Executive Order 2023-07, which required the Department of Health to investigate the cause of the prescription drug shortage and recommend action to be taken back to the governor.

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Attorney General Jackley Releases Final Explanation For Proposed Constitutional Amendment On Amending, Repealing Ballot Measures

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has released the final ballot explanation for a proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit the State Legislature from amending or repealing ballot measures for seven years. The measure is proposed by Brian Bengs of Aberdeen.

The Attorney General takes no position on any such proposal. He has provided a fair and neutral explanation on the proposed constitutional amendment to help assist the voters.

This proposed constitutional amendment states that a ballot measure approved by the voters may not be amended or repealed by the Legislature for seven years from the date the measure is enacted. The final ballot explanation can be found here.  

If the required 35,017 valid signatures are gathered and approved by the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office, the proposed constitutional amendment will be placed on the 2024 general ballot. A majority of the votes cast in the general election will be needed to pass the measure.

The Attorney General’s explanation was drafted after a review of all the comments received during the proposed amendment’s 10-day comment period. A total of two comments were received.

State law requires the Attorney General to 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. 

For more information regarding ballot measures, please visit the Secretary of State’s website.

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An Eye-Opening Trip to the Border
Majority Leader Sen. Casey Crabtree (R-Madison)
Majority Leader Rep. Will Mortenson (R-Pierre)
Representative Tony Venhuizen (R-Sioux Falls)

Anyone who has watched any cable news understands that the southern border is a hot topic. Talking heads blame and rage over America’s border policy (or lack thereof). Given the hot-button politics, we thought it was important to gather facts, whether they supported our position or not, and to get a first-hand look at the situation on our southern border.

Along with business and community leaders from across the state, we traveled to McAllen, Texas to tour the border. We heard from a landowner whose land abuts the Rio Grande River. He showed us the trails used by migrants leading to the river. He told us terrifying accounts of run-ins with the cartels and the daily traffic across his property.

We visited a section of the recently-constructed border wall. There was a 60-yard gap in it. When the Biden Administration began, they halted all construction, full stop. Now, there is an inexplicable and embarrassing patch where the wall simply does not exist. It is apparent leaving this gap had a lot more to do with politics than anything approaching effectiveness or common sense.

Next, we talked with a Border Patrol chief, who oversaw one of the 9 border sections until last year, when he retired after more than 25 years patrolling the border. He broke out the 30,000 Border Patrol encounters from last week, from got-aways (seen, not arrested), to deported (20%) to released into the community (40%). 109 pounds of fentanyl was seized last week from these folks, enough to kill every South Dakotan twenty-seven times. He detailed the dramatic increase – of more than fifty times – in encounters from fall 2020 to spring 2022 in his section. The border had been stabilized and is now anything but.

The most important thing he relayed to us is the importance of a secure border between ports of entry. The got-aways and undetected migrants are the drug runners and human traffickers. Ordinary folks seeking asylum will just use the port of entry, or cross and seek a Border Patrol agent to begin their asylum claim process. Leaving the border between ports of entry unsecured means the Border Patrol is distracted from its mission to protect us from ‘bad hombres’ and instead has to focus on immigrants, which is supposed to be the job of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). In short – there is no humanitarian argument for an unsecure border. We need to finish the wall, and add monitoring infrastructure to get control of our border.

Our final stop was at Catholic Charities, who host a humanitarian respite center. Families traveling with children can stay there for 24-48 hours, to get their bus tickets, plane tickets, or other logistics in order to meet their American sponsor. At the center, we saw hundreds of children with their parents. Having young kids of our own, the experience was an emotional one.

We learned that these folks, who were finger-printed and logged before their release, could not apply for a work permit for four months and that the application takes two or three months to process. So, we are leaving these folks in America with a sponsor and no ability to legally make any money for at least six months. Our goal should be to get these folks working and self-sufficient as quickly as possible. If they aren’t self-sufficient, they’ll either break the law or be dependent on the cartels or the government. Those are all the worst outcomes. This is another area that is completely inexplicable and should be fixed.

Living and governing in South Dakota, we’re a long way from the border. But, we are short-sighted and naïve if we think the mass influx of immigrants across our southern border does not affect us. What happens in Texas today will affect South Dakota tomorrow. The added perspective has solidified our belief that the border needs to be secured immediately and that all processes should lead to work and self-sufficiency for anyone we let in. Our eyes are open to the challenges, and opportunities for solutions, at the border.

SUMMIT CARBON SOLUTIONS CONTINUES TO BUILD SUPPORT ACROSS SOUTH DAKOTA

Securing 70% voluntary easements for the active route, the company is significantly contributing to the projected $6 billion annual economic impact of carbon capture in South Dakota.

AMES, Iowa (June 29, 2023) – Summit Carbon Solutions has reached a major milestone in voluntary easements, signing 70 percent of the route in South Dakota and project wide, while continuing to partner with more landowners every day. These partnerships represent an overwhelming majority of landowners who understand the company’s commitment to protecting the economic viability of key South Dakota industries through providing decarbonization solutions.

“We are proud to work with so many landowners who see the priority we are putting on farmers and their unique needs throughout the lifecycle of the pipeline.” said CEO Lee Blank. “We’re dedicated to favorable easements for landowners across the project, underscoring our mutual goal—a robust agricultural and ethanol industry.”

Summit Carbon Solutions is partnering with 34 Midwest ethanol plants, including eight in South Dakota, investing $800 million investment in South Dakota. The company’s success is because of the understanding it will:

• Enhance the ethanol industry, supporting plant workers, contractors, and farmers who sell their corn.
• Cultivate new markets in the upper Midwest.
• Uplift farmers through fair compensation, respectful land restoration, proper drain tile management and comprehensive indemnification.

These key project milestones come following the recent announcements of additional partners in Iowa and South Dakota, Absolute Energy and NuGen Energy. This project is set to boost the rural economy and strengthen national security and energy stability. South Dakota will play a pivotal role in that.

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About Summit Carbon Solutions: 

Summit Carbon Solutions is driving the future of agriculture by expanding economic opportunities for ethanol producers, strengthening the marketplace for Midwest-based farmers, and creating jobs. In developing the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world, the company seeks to connect industrial facilities via strategic infrastructure to store carbon dioxide safely and permanently in the Midwest United States. More information, visit: www.SummitCarbonSolutions.com. 

Sounds like a rough day at the office, as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Laura Boebert have words on the House Floor:

According to two sources that saw the exchange and a third familiar with the matter, the back and forth began when Boebert approached Greene—then seated in the chamber—and confronted her over “statements you made about me publicly.” All three of the sources said Greene called Boebert a “bitch.” One of the sources said Greene called her “a little bitch.”

According to two of the sources, Greene then stood up and alleged that Boebert “copied my articles of impeachment,” to which the Colorado lawmaker fired back that she hadn’t even read Greene’s resolution.

“I’ve donated to you, I’ve defended you. But you’ve been nothing but a little bitch to me,” Greene told Boebert, according to a source who witnessed the exchange. “And you copied my articles of impeachment after I asked you to cosponsor them.”

Read it all here.

Why can’t we all get along?

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 ATGballotcomments@state.sd.us 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