Author: Pat Powers

The South Dakota Republican Party is currently tallying ballots for the chairman contest between State Senator John Wiik and Tom Brunner. 

An announcement on the race will be coming shortly.

This morning in the South Dakota Republican State central committee, the group rejected a proposed amendment to remove precinct committee people from participating in the state convention at this time.

Suprisingly, the group held off an any amendments to the precinct proposal, leaving the state’s republican party in the same position as it left the last convention, where concerns were raised over precinct people not representing the voters in their precincts, and not participating after convention.

This may drive further action by the state legislature, who is set to hear Senate Bill 40 in the near future, which is proposed to change how several statewide candidates are nominated for the November election by political parties.

The group did agree to consider further amendments at a later date, with several discussed at the meeting to be forwarded to the bylaws committee.

Four years ago, I stood in front of you with my left hand on my dad’s Bible and my right hand raised, swearing an oath to uphold the Constitution of both the state of South Dakota and the United States of America. I had won a competitive campaign on election day and was honored to be chosen to be the 33rd governor and the first female governor of our state. We had spent the previous months planning for the day I would take office – learning from previous administration officials and former Governors. We had hired cabinet and staff – worked on a budget plan – and considered legislation to implement the vision I had committed to following through on for the people of South Dakota.

That day, I spoke about the fact that when I was done being Governor, I wanted to be remembered as a Governor who worked for the next generation. I wanted to create opportunities for our kids and grandkids to stay here in our state, live their dreams, and be happy. I talked about the fact that we would no doubt face hardships and challenges, but that I believed our best days were still ahead of us.

I thought I was prepared to be Governor. Done my homework. Asked for advice and taken it. And was ready to go. Standing here today… it is clear there have been a few surprises along the way. A few unpredictable events, storms, policy fights, and even a pandemic. I’m not sure I saw all of those coming, and who could have? But we took on these challenges together and came through them stronger than before. Today, we have the strongest economy and financial foundation that we have had in decades. We have created new careers and jobs here at home. We have made historic gains in economic development and growth. Through our difficulties, we never lost sight of the fact that our power is in our people, and here in South Dakota, “Under God the People Rule.”

The book of Daniel in the Bible talks of how God puts leaders into place, and it is He who removes them. The responsibility of leadership weighs heavy at times on those who are tasked with it, especially during conflict or difficulty. But it is an honor and a trust that I am so incredibly humbled by. There is serious work to be done the next four years. Work that includes protecting our freedoms, investing wisely, and creating opportunity for families to thrive. But there should be some fun, too. We should celebrate all that is good that is happening around us – cheer up and encourage those in our communities and laugh together.

That is why I have chosen to title this speech “The top ten things that surprised me about being Governor.”

Those of us of a certain age will remember David Letterman, a late-night talk show host. Every night, he would unveil his top 10 list of whatever topic was in the news that day, or the latest gossip, or whatever it was that would make people laugh. It was the most popular part of his show each night. Even if we were tired from a long day, we would wait up to see what the top 10 list was before heading off to bed each night. So, I decided a top 10 list here today just might make me popular with all of you! Here we go.

Top 10 list of things that surprised me about being Governor:

Number 10: People care where I am. Now this may sound funny to you, but remember the job I had before I became your Governor – I was a member of Congress. Disposable – forgettable – and easily replaced. I never unpacked my carry-on suitcase for 8 years, slept on my couch in my office in DC, and got stranded in airports hundreds of times, at the mercy of the airline industry. Many times, I would have a flight canceled and miss a prom, play, or ball game of one of my kids. Instead, I would spend the night trying to find the cleanest and quietest spot in an airport to scour the available flight options and try to get where I was supposed to be. Or I’d rent a car and drive all night to get home – many times my staff or family wouldn’t even know there had been issues until everyone woke up the next morning and thought, “I wonder where she is?”

Not as Governor, though. Now I have Highway Patrol officers who track my every move. And yes, I know some of you think they probably should have done that before I was Governor, too! A staff who insists on having every moment of every day planned and scheduled – and a Lt. Governor who seems to care where I am as well. Hmmmm… I used to wonder why Larry called me every morning after we were sworn into office. Then someone reminded me what the Constitution says the duties of the Lt. Governor are: to preside over the state Senate and take over as Governor should something happen to me. When I answered the phone each morning, after he heard my voice and that I was hard at work, Larry went back to bed. Today was not the day….

So number 10 on the list of things that surprised me about being Governor – people care where I am.

Number 9 – Number 9 on the list of top 10 things that surprised me about being Governor: I can wear jeans if I want to. Listen, those who know me best know I’m not a fan of dressing up. Life is hard enough without having to be uncomfortable, cold, or stumbling around in silly shoes every day. Because we work in a professional environment – of course I dress accordingly for each day in front of me. But it took almost a year of me asking the folks I work with, “Can I wear jeans?” and them saying “of course you can, you’re the Governor,” before I really believed it. Then, I found out that I rarely get questioned on my attire… unless I have holes in those jeans – THEN I get lots of questions. People ask, “do you need me to take up a collection to buy you some new jeans, Governor?” Yes Larry, yes – always take up a collection.

Number 8 – Number 8 on the list of top 10 things that surprised me about being Governor: The diversity of our high school mascot names throughout history. Now, most of you know the First Gentleman is passionate about the smallest communities in our state. He has spent many days traveling to meet folks from Lemmon to Winner, from Centerville to Ipswich. He hears about their challenges and also what problems they may need the state to help them solve. He shoots a basket in every town and enjoys the local food or ice cream. Every night when he comes home, I hear about the fantastic people he met and the exciting things that are going on in these communities. And I can guarantee you the one thing he is always going to say to me is “do you know what their school mascot used to be?” We have the Edgemont Moguls, Newell Irrigators, Monroe Wooden-Shoed Canaries, Centerville Tornados, Vale Beetdiggers, Keystone Dynamiters, Gregory Gorillas, and Claremont Honkers. How fantastic are those?

Number 7 – Number 7 on the list of top 10 things that surprised me about being Governor: How quickly decisions can be implemented. Remember now, I’m a farmer and a rancher. I ran several small businesses before – I was used to making decisions and getting work done. Then, I went to Congress. In Congress, we could make decisions or pass bills, but rarely did we see significant change quickly. In fact, it was incredibly frustrating how hard it was to enact real reforms to help people here at home. It could take months or years to fix something that seems just commonsense and easy to do. As Governor, I get the chance every day to be the CEO of the state. We set an agenda and make decisions. I can activate the National Guard, ban TikTok for national security reasons, and order the flags to be lowered to remember important leaders. And while we always look at the consequences of everything we do for the next generation, it surprised me the amount of good we can accomplish just by making the right decision.

Number 6 – Number 6 on the top 10 list of things that surprised me about being Governor: I was more inspired than I thought by the hard work and dedication of our state employees. Now, I always knew that they were committed to South Dakota. But I used to think of state employees as having 9 to 5 jobs with lots of holidays – that’s just not true. In fact, very few of them get to go home at 5 pm each day and forget about their responsibilities. There are roads to plow, communities to keep safe, programs to run, health information and resources to deploy, projects to complete, infrastructure to fix – and most of the challenges we have faced over the past four years dramatically increased their workload. Federal funds and programs, accountability and audits, bomb cyclones, flooding, tornados, a derecho, inflation, supply chain issues, COVID – every one of these have meant much more workload on the people who work for the state of South Dakota without a promise of more money or time off. They are dedicated and work extremely hard around the clock to keep our state thriving.

Number 5 – Number 5 on the list of top 10 things that surprised me about being Governor: No naps – I was promised some naps. I still haven’t gotten one. And I admit, I’m a little ticked about it. And more fishing – I was promised more fishing, too.

Number 4 – Number 4 on the list of top 10 things that surprised me about being Governor: I was shocked by all the items people mail to me at the Governor’s office or at home every week. I love to receive the thoughtful notes, encouraging cards, and see pictures of your families. It is amazing that people take the time to sit down and handwrite a letter of encouragement and wisdom to me. Thank you – I save so many of them. It is incredible how often that note of encouragement comes at just the right time to bless me. Now I’ll admit, I’ve also received some interesting things as well. Such as: a life size cutout of Wonder Woman with my face on it; someone’s birth certificate who wanted to prove to me that they were a real person, but I just keep wondering if they have an extra copy at home for themselves; a real live lobster from Maine; and a whip made from bull testicles. I also have been gifted many garden gnomes: gnomes riding horses, gnomes riding motorcycles, gnomes shooting pheasants, even a gnome riding a rocket named Liberty and carrying an American flag. No matter what the note is or the item that is sent – thank you. Thank you for thinking of me and taking the time to reach out.

Number 3 – Number 3 on the list of top 10 things that surprised me about being Governor: I haven’t had time to go elk hunting – I plan on fixing that in 2023.

Number 2 – Number 2 on the list of top 10 things that surprised me about being Governor: No one cares if you are Governor when you are tubing at the lake. I made the mistake of going tubing this summer. Yes, most of you here today are thinking right now, “Hey wait…I thought she couldn’t swim?” That is correct – I cannot swim. People have tried to teach me for years, but I just sink right to the bottom. In fact, my sister tried to teach me just a few years ago. And after attempting to swim across a pool to her, I sputtered to the surface to see how much progress I had made. I was surprised to only see I was even further away from my goal. My sister was laughing uncontrollably and described my swimming as “it looks like you are having a seizure.”

Well, despite my lack of natural ability to keep myself afloat, I still love to be on the water. This summer, I was talked into getting onto a tube with a couple of friends to enjoy what was described to me as a “tour around the lake to see the beautiful homes.” Then the driver of the boat proceeded to try to kill us. We asked to slow down, to no avail. He spun the boat in circles to create huge waves, only to reverse direction and launch us over them and into the air. I screamed, and yelled, and laughed, and admittedly almost cried in desperation. It seemed as though this particular driver may have been a Democrat, and he was out to settle a score or two. At one point I even yelled “ I AM A GOVERNOR!” There was no mercy. He didn’t care. Number 2 is: no one cares if you are Governor when tubing at the lake.

And number one… The number one thing that surprised me about being Governor is how much I love the job. When I first ran for this office, I knew it would be a great experience and a big opportunity to have a significant impact on South Dakota. I also thought maybe it might be a little boring, predictable, and uneventful from some of the advice that I had been given. For example, I had one person say to me when I told them I was going to run for Governor, “Well, if that’s what you want to do… deal with state aid to education, local issues, and taxes. But national issues are much more exciting and where the focus is.” I wondered if I would enjoy being Governor.

I do – I love the challenge of serving in this role. The opportunity to get up each day with a purpose. Every day is different. The people I work with – and I have the best boss: the beautiful people of the greatest state in this country. And I get to be here at home with my family. I am so grateful to all of you for trusting me to lead this state for another four years. May we always find joy in our work to protect our way of life and chart a path for the future of the next generation.

Today, we are here in this Rotunda where we are surrounded by four statues. They are named Courage, Integrity, Wisdom, and Vision. They represent the virtues and principles necessary to best serve the people of South Dakota. May we reflect those virtues as we work in this building each day for our people. God knows this world needs one place that can give the country hope – and that can do so with dignity and grace. Thank you for the honor of serving.

God bless you, and may God continue to bless the great state of South Dakota.

Gov. Noem Thanks Attorney General Vargo for His Service

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem thanked Attorney General Mark Vargo for his work on behalf of the people of South Dakota.

“Although Mark he knew the job was temporary, he worked every day for the people of South Dakota. He brought extensive experience with him as he rebuilt trust for our state’s top cop,” said Governor Noem. “Mark reestablished a stable workplace for the employees of the DCI and the Attorney General’s Office.”

Governor Noem specifically applauds the hiring of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person Coordinator, a position she permanently funded in the state’s budget last year.

Governor Noem appointed Mark Vargo on June 28, 2022, after Vargo prosecuted former Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg in the Senate’s impeachment trial last summer.

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Bright and early this morning, I’m hearing that the fake “Minnehaha Central Committee” fizzled in its attempted coup last night against the Minnehaha County GOP.  The report I received from the inside noted:

“Meeting happened, no board members showed up was told between 25-30 people. They trashed Maggie and Stalzer mostly.”

Without at least two board members, even if they had 30% of Central Committee Members, it’s a meeting that can’t be certified, so game over.

Which might be why they were holding that alleged list of 20% so tightly. Because they already had an inkling of how it was going to happen.

You go girl. Hot off the press this evening, Maggie Sutton, chair of the Minnehaha County Republican party is stepping up and clapping back at former legislator R. Shawn Tornow’s attempt at overthrowing GOP leadership.

Chairwoman Maggie notes Tornow is refusing to provide his alleged list of “20-percenters” and points out his effort will not be legal under party bylaws anyway:

From: Margaret Sutton
Date: December 27, 2022 at 10:32:09 PM CST
Subject: MINNEHAHA REPUBLICAN PARTY

Dear Minnehaha Central Committee Members:

Many of you recently received a notice of a Central Committee meeting to be held on December 29^th.  This notice did not come from the leadership of the Minnehaha Republican Party and was not a proper notice.

Issue one is that while they claim to have the signatures of 20% of the required members, Tornow Law Office has refused to provide a list to verify they met the 20% requirement.

Issue two, we have verified that a significant number of members were not notified of the meeting or did not receive the required five day notice.  Again, Tornow Law Office refused to cooperate and refused to provide the list used for notification.

Because of these deficiencies in the process, and our inability to verify the accuracy of the claims, the officers have been advised by council not to attend this meeting. The bylaws require that a quorum must include at least two officers.  Not having the required officers present will result in the lack of a quorum and thus this will not be a recognized meeting and any actions taken will be void.

While we agree that the bylaws do require holding two meetings a year, there is no penalty for failure to do so.  A good faith effort was made to hold the second meeting on December 15^th.  Unfortunately, with no travel recommended for all of Minnehaha County the board made the prudent decision to cancel that meeting.

Due to Christmas, New Years, Inauguration, and the start of the legislative session all falling in the immediate future, a decision was made to hold elections later in January.  This will still meet the requirement given in the bylaws.

Therefore, the officers of the Minnehaha Republican Party have unanimously decided to only attend the meeting planned for January 27^th or 28^th.  A separate invitation will be sent in the next few days.

The Executive Board of the Minnehaha Republican Party
Maggie Sutton, Chair

SD GOP Bylaws for County Central Committees:

Section III – South Dakota Republican Party (sdgop.com)

Not being able to lay your cards on the table when it’s time to show what you’re holding might just be a problem when you’re playing poker.

See you at the end of January.

Johnson Applauds TikTok Ban on Government Devices

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) applauded the final passage of the No TikTok on Government Devices Act led byU.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO). This bill bans the download and use of TikTok on federal government devices.

In September, Johnson has introduced a similar bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to block TikTok on federal government devices and on military bases and installations. Johnson’s Block the Tok Act would also prohibit China from accessing Americans’ user data from within China.

“TikTok is one of China’s Trojan horses,” said Johnson. “This app poses a national security threat and has safety implications for everyday Americans. I’m encouraged to see progress at both the federal and state level to prohibit TikTok on government devices, but there is still work to be done. I’m going to continue the effort to prohibit China’s access to Americans’ user data in the new Congress.”

19 states have banned the use and download of TikTok on state government devices.

Read the full text of Sen. Hawley’s No TikTok on Government Devices Act here.

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Gov. Noem Appoints Melissa Magstadt as Secretary of Health

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Gov. Kristi Noem appointed Melissa Magstadt as Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Health. Melissa’s appointment will be effective on the next state work day, which will be Tuesday, December 27.

“Melissa has proven her ability to provide innovative and cost-effective healthcare to the people of South Dakota,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “She will bring a fresh perspective to the department. We’ve set an example for the nation over the past several years by trusting our people to exercise personal responsibility over their healthcare decisions. Melissa will advance that vision for the people of South Dakota.”

Melissa is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (ARPN). She is a co-owner of Quick Care SD, an organization that provides quick and affordable healthcare access across Eastern South Dakota. She also owns an integrated medicine practice called SG Essentials in both Watertown and Pierre. Melissa served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2011 to 2014 and was a member of the House Committee on Health and Human Services. She has been involved in South Dakota healthcare for more than 30 years.

“South Dakota should be on the forefront of supporting proactive quality of care for our people,” said Melissa Magstadt, South Dakota Secretary of Health. “Our state has unique health challenges, which vary from our rural communities to our big cities. We can tackle these challenges by focusing on an innovative, forward-looking approach to public health, rather than simply reacting to difficulties.”

Melissa has a Master’s in Science from South Dakota State University with a focus as a family nurse practitioner. She also has a Master’s in Business Administration from Mount Marty University. She is a graduate of the Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute at the University of Nebraska. And she is a fellow at the University of Arizona’s Center for Integrated Medicine.

Melissa and her family live in the Castlewood and Watertown area. She was born and raised in South Dakota.

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Apparently, it’s good to be Speaker of the House. Because even when you’re on the way out the door, you get to approve sending yourself to Hawaii on the back of the taxpayer:

Gosch, as well as Rep. Jamie Smith, both went on a trip to Hawaii to attend the Council of State Governments’ national conference in Honolulu. They were among a dozen South Dakota lawmakers to attend.

But neither Gosch nor Smith are returning to the Legislature in January. Both are lame-duck lawmakers.

And..

“As God is my witness, I can think of no justifiable reason for the outgoing House speaker, with less than 30 days left in his term, to be at a taxpayer-funded legislative conference in Hawaii,” Hoffman said. “My constituents will not be pleased to hear of it.”

Read the entire story here (subscription required).

According to the story, Gosch would have approved his own travel to the legislative conference where he learned about topics important to South Dakota.  Such as the cliff jumping which caused Gosch’s leg injury.

The cliff-jumping session for Gosch must’ve been in-between his important session on bouncy houses and the all important luau round table.

Understandably, legislators are not happy about Gosch sending himself and Jamie Smith on a Hawaiian junket a month before they’re out of office. Not the last we’ll hear about that one. Especially when the final bill is available.

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“I don’t find Jamie Smith extreme in anything, and I wouldn’t call him a liberal Democrat, I really wouldn’t … he’s just the kind of guy that everybody loves, he’s a guy who’s really hard not to love. When he talks to you he really listens and he really cares.”

— Republican Speaker of the House Spencer Gosch. SD News Watch 10/19/22

I don’t think there’s anything more likely the week after Thanksgiving than re-heated leftovers that have been lurking around the fridge, but provide meals of diminishing quality. Which is why it’s not unexpected to see Joe Kirby of Sioux Falls is in the news, yet again. Pushing the concept of a jungle primary ballot measure. Yet again.

A campaign committee calling itself South Dakota Open Primaries filed paperwork with the South Dakota Legislative Research Council Wednesday that seeks to place a constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot.

and..

If successfully placed on the 2024 ballot and adopted by voters, all the candidates would compete in a single primary open to all South Dakota voters. The two candidates that receive the most votes would advance to the general election. Party affiliation of candidates, or lack thereof, would be indicated on the ballot, according to the organization.

Read about Joe’s reheated leftovers here.

Oh, for crying out loud. Can these guys not take a hint?

They tried it in 2016. It was defeated 55% – 45%

They tried it in 2018. They gathered signatures, but could not get enough valid signatures to put it on the ballot.

They tried it in 2022. They could not get enough signatures to even bother turning it in.

I sense a trend.

As I’ve noted before.. several times now.. this is a solution in search of a problem that no one has been asking for. Going back to when the measure was first proposed in South Dakota, while the proponents have all these noble goals, in practice, the solution ends up being worse than the problem:

We’ve seen this same phenomenon before, but this is the first single-party statewide election ever to take place in Washington. That’s just terrible for democracy. California also uses a top-two primary, and there, polls show that many Republican voters simply plan to sit out this year’s Senate race between Democrats Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez. But at least we know that California, a very blue state, would likely have elected a Democrat to succeed retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer anyway. Washington, by contrast, almost certainly would have voted in another Democrat as treasurer, so the situation here is particularly perverse.

Supposed “good-government” reformers naïvely believed that eliminating partisan primaries would somehow crank down partisan gridlock by forcing office-seekers to moderate their views in order to win. Not only has that not happened, but voters have repeatedly been denied the opportunity to vote for the party of their choice thanks to debacles like these. It’s long past time for proponents to acknowledge their mistake and advocate for a return to proper primaries—and proper democracy.

Read that here.

And that’s coming from the Democrats.

Jungle primaries – providing diminished participation in elections, cutting candidate choice in the November election, and even more polarized candidates. That’s what Joe’s ballot measure would provide.

A menu choice that no one was looking for when it was fresh. And it has just gotten less appetizing as time goes by.