Category: Uncategorized

Democrats’ Shutdown Has Gone On Long Enough
By Sen. John Thune

 Senate Democrats have kept the government shut down for over a month now. Republicans have given them more than a dozen opportunities to reopen the government with a clean funding extension, but, every time, Democrats have blocked it and forced hardworking Americans to continue suffering.

How much longer are Democrats going to keep the government shut down? The victims of Democrats’ shutdown are piling up, but Democrats don’t seem likely to spare anyone anytime soon. Air traffic controllers and other federal employees are working without pay. Military families are turning to food banks. Millions of American families will be without nutrition assistance thanks to Democrats prolonging this shutdown. And amid all of this, we hear Democrats talk about using the shutdown as an opportunity for “leverage.”

While Democrats search for leverage, Republicans are trying to reopen the government. Again, more than a dozen times we’ve offered a clean funding extension. We’re not asking Democrats to support Republican policies. We’re just asking them to reopen the government and end all of this pain and uncertainty. A few Democrats have voted for it, and even labor unions that often align with Democrats have endorsed the clean bill. But the vast majority of Democrats remain dug in.

Democrats claim they want to negotiate with Republicans about the Obamacare issue that they created, and we are happy to have a discussion about Obamacare’s failures just as soon as Democrats stop holding the government hostage. Republicans are ready to have discussions about health care because we know that Democrats’ signature health care law, Obamacare, has done nothing to address the problem of rising health care costs. Democrats, of course, promised it would. But every time we hear them talk about Americans facing a health care crisis, they’re admitting that Obamacare failed.

Now they want to put a band-aid on Obamacare by extending the Biden COVID bonuses at the cost of $350 billion to taxpayers, which will do nothing to stop Obamacare premiums from going up by double digits. Republicans are ready to have a discussion about actually lowering health care costs for hardworking Americans and increasing health care accessibility, but we won’t do it while Democrats hold the federal government hostage to their partisan demands.

Over the last month, Democrats have done everything they can to spin their shutdown as somehow Republicans’ fault. But let’s be clear. Democrats passed Obamacare without a single Republican vote. They created the Biden bonuses without a Republican vote. They set the expiration date for those subsidies by themselves. They chose to shut down the government despite Republicans putting up a nonpartisan funding extension and promising to discuss the problem Democrats created. And now they have kept that shutdown going for a month and wreaked havoc on countless Americans’ lives.

It’s time for Democrats to end their political games. It’s time they stopped thinking about their political leverage and considered the consequences of their shutdown. Supporting a clean funding extension shouldn’t be hard. We just need a handful of Democrats to be courageous enough to stop bowing to demands from the far left and do the right thing.

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Attorney General Jackley Announces Arrest Made on Rape Solicitation and Child Pornography Arising From State Driver Licensing Scheme

 PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that an Aberdeen man has been arrested on felony charges of Solicitation of Second-Degree Rape, Possession of Child Pornography, and Unlawful Use of a Computer System.

“These allegations raise serious safety and privacy concerns that will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Attorney General Jackley. “As our investigation continues, I anticipate identifying other victims and filing additional charges in multiple counties.”

Mark Charles Rathbun, 66, was arrested Friday and is being held in the Brown County Jail. He faces maximum possible prison sentences of 25 years for Solicitation of Second-Degree Rape, 10 years for Possession of Child Pornography, and two years for Unlawful Use of a Computer System.

Rathbun is a former employee of the State Driver Licensing Office in Aberdeen.

The defendant’s first court appearance has not yet been scheduled.  He is presumed innocent under the U.S. Constitution.

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Attorney General Jackley Releases Final Ballot Explanation for Proposed 2026 Initiated Constitutional Amendment on Property Taxes

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has released the final ballot explanation for a proposed initiated Constitutional Amendment submitted by sponsors that would repeal property taxes in South Dakota and replace them with a “retail transaction” tax. The proposed amendment would be on the 2026 general election ballot if 35,017 valid petition signatures are collected.

Attorney General Jackley takes no position on any such proposal for purposes of the ballot explanation.  As required by law, he has provided a fair and neutral explanation on the initiated Constitutional Amendment to help assist the voters as required by state law. The sponsor of the proposed initiated Constitutional Amendment is Abolish Property Taxes SD, a Statewide Ballot Question Committee formed by Julie Frye-Mueller, Matt Smith, and Mike Mueller.

This proposed initiated Constitutional Amendment would repeal the South Dakota’s property tax scheme set forth in the Constitution and replaces it with a tax “on each retail transaction.”  For each “retail transaction” of $15 or more, a flat tax of $1.50 is assessed.  For each “retail transaction” less than $15, a 10% tax is assessed.

The Attorney General’s explanation was finalized after a review of all the comments received during the 10-day comment period on the Attorney General’s draft explanation. A total of 229 comments were received by the deadline.

Language for the final initiated ballot measure explanation can be found here.

Ballot Explanation Comments can be found here.

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

PUC schedules leadership elections Nov. 6

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission will elect new leadership at their regular meeting on Nov. 6, 2025, at the request of Chairman Gary Hanson. Current Vice Chairman Chris Nelson is expected to be nominated for the role of chairman. Commissioner Kristie Fiegen is expected to be nominated for the vice chairperson position. The meeting will begin at 2 p.m. CSTin Room 413 at the State Capitol in Pierre.

Hanson is currently serving in the commission’s top leadership spot, a role he has held on many occasions since first being elected to the PUC in 2002. Hanson also held the chairman’s seat in 2005, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2019 and 2020.

Hanson proposed the leadership change as he began treatments for cancer, which was detected earlier this month. “It is sensible to turn the leadership reins of the commission to my very capable fellow commissioners as I enter this new phase,” Hanson said. “I expect to be fully engaged and fulfill my duties as a public utilities commissioner during this time,” he continued.

Hanson’s treatment will be directed by a team of medical professionals in his hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. “I am encouraged and impressed by the many doctors and medical staff I have met during this journey so far. Their knowledge and skills combined with my own determination and the support of my family and friends will result in what I expect to be a positive outcome.”

Nelson has served on the PUC since January 2011 and has carried the gavel as the PUC’s chairman in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2022. He is a board member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the Organization of MISO States. Nelson is also a member of the Electric Power Research Institute Advisory Council and the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. Prior to joining the PUC, Nelson served as the South Dakota Secretary of State for eight years.

Fiegen’s tenure with the commission began in August 2011. She holds leadership positions in the Southwest Power Pool regional transmission organization, the Gas Technology Institute’s Public Interest Advisory Committee and the NARUC Committee on Gas. Her public service career includes four terms in the South Dakota House of Representatives.

For more information about the Public Utilities Commission, visit the agency’s website at puc.sd.gov.

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Senator Taffy Howard’s committee, the Legislature’s Government Operations and Audit Committee, was today demanding that the Secretary of State appear in front of their committee with regards to a contract between the office and voting equipment vendor KNOWiNK.

It appears as if the election goofballs at SD Canvassing have been planning on hijacking the meeting, since they made a graphic up for it and had posted the following to social media in the last few weeks…

..making specific note to mention they claim it could “connect to George Soros,” as if that’s going to make them sound more sane?  Keep in mind that this is the same group that’s running Heather Baxter for SOS because Baxter is willing to indulge their nuttery, and Secretary of State Monae Johnson isn’t.

Unfortunately for the election conspiracists, the Secretary of State had actual work to do today, as she noted in a statement the office released to the media:

“We’ve consistently answered every question GOAC has asked over the past several months, and many of the current topics are rehashing issues we’ve already addressed.

My staff and I are at a county auditor training that has been scheduled for two years. The staff who would accompany me to GOAC would also be testifying, but they are attending this training.

We have not been served a subpoena and therefore have not seen any specific requests. Once we are formally served, we will review and respond accordingly.

In the meantime, I am fulfilling my duties by serving the people of South Dakota and help training the county auditors I work with daily.”

I’ll have to go back and listen to the audio, but given that Taffy was part of the group that is demanding that the governor cut spending by 5%, after she was personally proposing an entire package of new taxes, one would think she has more important work to do than to indulge a special interest group’s goofiness.

Gov. Rhoden Secures Additional Funds to Keep Mount Rushmore Lights On Amidst Shutdown

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden announced he secured additional funding to keep Mount Rushmore National Memorial illuminated amidst the ongoing government shutdown.

“Mount Rushmore is a beacon of freedom for our state, nation, and the world. Our Founding Fathers pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to defend American freedom and independence – the least we can do is shine a light on that freedom by keeping our great Memorial lit,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “I am grateful for the South Dakotans who have stepped up to financially support these efforts. Now, Senate Democrats need to get their act together and reopen the federal government.”

Governor Rhoden previously announced that he and other state leaders began personally funding the evening lights at Mount Rushmore, including a week-long sponsorship by Governor Rhoden. As the shutdown continues to progress, the following individuals have pledged to cover additional days of illumination:

Oct. 30 and 31: Lieutenant Governor Tony Venhuizen;
Nov. 1: First Lady Sandy Rhoden;
Nov. 2: Former Senate Majority Leader Gary Cammack;
Nov. 3: Representative Terri Jorgenson;
Nov. 4: Attorney General Marty Jackley;
Nov. 5: Secretary of State Monae Johnson;
Nov. 6: State Auditor Rich Sattgast;
Nov. 7: State Treasurer Josh Haeder;
Nov. 8: School and Public Lands Commissioner Brock Greenfield;
Nov. 9: Public Utilities Commissioner Chris Nelson;
Nov. 10: Public Utilities Commissioner Kristie Fiegen;
Nov. 11: Public Utilities Commissioner Gary Hanson;
Nov. 12: Senator Ernie Otten;
Nov. 13: Senator Amber Hulse;
Nov. 14: Representative Liz May; and
Nov. 15: Representative Tina Mulally.

Governor Rhoden received many other pledges to support shining the lights should the shutdown continue longer.

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From Twitter, Senator John Thune goes off on Senator Ben Lujan over only funding SNAP, while Democrats keep the shutdown going:

🚨 HOLY SMOKES! Senate Leader John Thune just went BERSERK on Democrats. I have NEVER heard him like this.

"WE'VE TRIED TO DO THAT 13 TIMES! You voted NO, 13 TIMES!" *Looking at Dems*

"OH, 'there MIGHT BE SOME CONSEQUENCES!' 'There are people running out of money!'"

"SNAP… pic.twitter.com/tzqbbQFkdE

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 29, 2025

From Facebook, it appears that a Mark Nelson from Philip, SD is challenging Senator Jim Mehlhaff for the District 24 Senate seat in the June primary.

By his announcement, I’m guessing he’s not going to leave his religion in church.

We’ll just leave it at that.

New Poll: Jackley has Massive 52 Point Lead in Congressional Race

Pierre: Today, a new independent poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Strategy and Polling showed Attorney General Marty Jackley with a massive 52 point lead over his opponents. Jackley leads his closest opponent 57% to 5%.

 

The poll is an improvement over other independent polling from late June showing Jackley with a 43 point lead over his closest opponent.

Jackley not only has massive leads in all polling conducted in the race, he has also shattered fundraising records. Jackley recently filed his first quarterly campaign finance report for Congress reporting $525,760 raised with $503,279 cash on hand, raising 155% more than any other candidate in South Dakota has raised for their first fundraising quarter in a campaign for the House of Representatives. In fact, Jackley raised more than double the amount of his four opponents combined.

“I’m proud of the momentum that continues to build for our campaign,” said Marty Jackley. “It is a testament to the hard work we put in for South Dakota every single day and the strong grassroots support we have across the state.”

“The polling shows the voters know that I am the only true conservative in this race,” said Jackley. “I serve on President Trump’s America First Attorney General Advisory Council and I’m the only candidate who endorsed President Trump in the primary. I’ve built a relationship with the White House to push a conservative America First agenda and deliver results for South Dakota.”

Jackley continues to build strong momentum and is the clear favorite in the race for Congress. The record-breaking fundraising and massive leads in independent polling proves Jackley has overwhelming support from all corners of South Dakota. An October 28, 2025 Cook Political Report story says Jackley is well-positioned to win the race and states, “Jackley is dominant enough that any opponent will have a tough time to knocking him off course.”

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Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff Announces Reelection bid for District 24 Senate

Pierre, SD – District 24 Senator Jim Mehlhaff announces his intention to seek re-election for a third term.

“It has been an honor to represent Hughes, Haakon, Stanley, Hyde, and Sully counties in the State Senate,” said Sen. Mehlhaff. “I have worked hard to be an engaged, accessible, and thoughtful conservative member of the legislature. I look forward to earning your support again as I seek a third term.”

Mehlhaff was first elected to the State Senate in 2022 and re-elected in 2024. During his first term in office, he served on the Committees of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Judiciary, and as the Vice-Chair on the Local Government and Retirement Laws committees. In his second term, he is currently serving in leadership as Senate Majority Leader. He is the chair of the Senate State Affairs Committee, and serves as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Vice Chair of the Senate Legislative Procedures Committee. Mehlhaff also serves on the Executive Board and continues his service on the Interim Rules Review Committee. During the interim he played a pivotal role on the Governor’s Prison Reset Task Force and was successful in shepherding the prison construction legislation through the Senate during the special session.

If re-elected, Mehlhaff will continue to bring his common-sense, conservative approach to issues impacting the people of District 24.

“I learned a great deal working on issues and legislation over the past few years. I intend to keep working hard, and hope the people of District 24 will trust me to put my experience to work in a third term,” Mehlhaff said.

Jim and his wife Annie have lived in the Pierre area for over 30 years and have two children.  They are active members of Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church.

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