Category: Uncategorized

Paul Ten Haken left the following comment yesterday, taking himself back out of the running for Dsistrict 14 House, where he had been included among a field of 4 circulating petitions for the 2 available seats:

I thought I would chime in on this and at least put one of the challengers to rest  While I have been collecting petition signatures, I’ve simultaneously been having discussions with my business partners, wife and close confidants about this race. In short, I am not moving ahead as a candidate at this time. Those on this thread are very correct in that Larry and Tom have served the district well and from all I have heard, Dave Zimbeck is another top-shelf guy. District 14 is in great hands!

Read that here.

Republican Dr. Stephen Eckrich jumped into the District 33 House Race yesterday. You may know Eckrich from the initiated measure 17 battle, where he was one of the public faces of the act.

Patient choice is personal for Steve Eckrich.  He is one of the doctors who initially pushed Initiated Measure 17 and started circulating petitions.

and…

“I really have a hard time understanding that because 90 percent of insurance products out there are open panels: Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tricare, Workers’ Comp, Dakota Care,”  argues Dr. Eckrich.

“Those are all insurance products where they say this is our fee schedule. These are the criteria you have to meet.  If you meet these and you want to participate, you’re in,” said Dr. Eckrich.  “There are very few that are run by Sanford and Avera and the state health plan are the only ones that have these narrow networks.”

Read that here.

This puts Eckrich in a primary with Incumbent House member Scott Craig, as well as David Johnson & Taffy Howard who are all competing for the office.

Here in Brookings, with the State’s Attorney office open for the first time in 40 years, a Republican has entered the race. Daniel Nelson of Elkton, SD, who is currently working in the Beadle County State’s Attorney’s office as a deputy SA has thrown his hat into the ring.

Running as a agent of change, Nelson indicates that he would like to bring a drug court to Brookings, as well as other reforms aimed at keeping people out of jail, and not using drugs:

As a prosecutor, it is with great respect and pride that I can stand in Court representing the citizens of our State and the unfortunate victims of crime. As State’s Attorney, I will work with victims by ensuring they have a voice in the system. All victims and victim service providers will have a loud voice in my office and I will be proud to carry that voice as the next State’s Attorney.

Over 70 individuals with ties to Brookings County were sentenced to the penitentiary last year, so it’s likely that a majority of those people will return while on parole. One of the things that we must do as a community is work collectively to ensure those individuals do not resort to criminal behavior when they return, so as State’s Attorney, I would lead a coalition of community stake holders including the Department of Corrections and local law enforcement agencies to create a reentry program for individuals planning to live in Brookings County while on parole. I will base our reentry program on similar successful programs started by prosecutors across this country. Engaging the community to enable parolees to obtain employment, housing and education is vital in keeping our community safe. A parole reentry program designed at preventing crime before it occurs is a simple and common sense approach to enhancing community safety.

As State’s Attorney, I would create a participant funded diversion program that would be aimed at adults and juveniles entering the criminal justice system for the first time on non-violent misdemeanor charges. This program would hold offenders accountable while limiting the collateral consequences of a conviction. This Community Accountability Program would model the successful program that currently exists in Beadle County. A program that emphasizes accountability through community service, a curriculum centered on changing criminal behavior, and drug treatment.

As policy makers and we in law enforcement continue to grapple with increasing drug use across South Dakota, the need to implement smarter policies is essential. I am proud to say that under our current Governor and Chief Justice a bright spot has emerged with the introduction of Drug Court.

Drug Courts now exist in several jurisdictions in South Dakota and have provided an effective tool in enabling people to overcome their addiction and begin the path toward recovery and remain crime free. Drug Courts rely heavily on community resources and cooperation, so it is essential that the State’s Attorney is someone who can significantly contribute to this effort with decisive leadership to ensure success in our County. I have had the honor of being the prosecutor representing the State’s Attorney on the Beadle County Drug Court. In this role I have personally witnessed the powerful transformation drug offenders have experienced while participating in the program. I’m confident we can bring that same success to Brookings County.

I’m sure we’ll hear more from Mr. Nelson in the near future.

11 days until the filing deadline – More to come!

It sounds like the ACLU is riled up over Attorney General Marty Jackley starting the community meeting he held in Platte yesterday on the Westerhuis investigation with a pastor offering a prayer, much like they do daily during the legislative session. Except the ACLU decided to grouse about it this time.

Attorney General’s Response to the ACLU on the Constitutional
Right to Freedom of Religion

PIERRE, S.D. – On March 16, 2016, the Attorney General held a community meeting inviting the press and the community in order to provide an update on the death and financial investigation into the Gear Up program. Prior to beginning the meeting, a pastor opened with a general prayer. The ACLU has characterized the prayer as a constitutional violation. Despite positions taken by the ACLU, it is both appropriate and legally permissible.

“Joining a community that has tragically lost an entire family in a moment of prayer is both appropriate and legal. The United States Supreme Court has clearly upheld and recognized the Guaranteed Constitutional Right to Freedom of Religion. As Attorney General, I have joined with other State Attorneys General in successfully allowing gatherings which include local government and other legislative functions to open a meeting with an appropriate prayer. I invite the ACLU to join with me and other State Attorneys General in both recognizing and protecting Civil Liberties and Constitutional Rights,” said Attorney General Jackley.

In August of 2013, South Dakota Attorney Jackley joined 23 other states in a multi-state brief filed in the United States Supreme Court urging that the U.S. Constitution allows for prayer during governmental meetings and legislative session.

In the Town of Greece decision, the United States Supreme Court sided with the Attorneys General position that a township practice of opening each board meeting with a prayer did not violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The Attorneys General advocated that “The American people deserve an Establishment Clause jurisprudence that is clear, workable, and faithful to the text and history of the First Amendment.” The Court further recognized that legislative prayer, while religious in nature, has long been understood as compatible with the Establishment Clause. This includes opening of governmental meetings where prayer is meant to lend gravity to the occasion and reflect values long part of the Nation’s heritage.

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I think this was a nice way of Marty telling the ACLU to kiss his @$$, and take their complaining and put it where it will never see the sun.

While I’m working today, I have the documentary “The Irish in America: Long Journey Home” playing in the background, as it relates a tale about the Irish Diaspora and how the Irish built America. Interesting stuff and quite a bit more poignant than kegs of beer infused with green dye in celebration of my patron Saint’s feast day.

For most Irish in America, St. Patrick’s Day is a day to reflect our heritage. A heritage that is shared with far more Americans than people still living in Ireland.

According to the last Census, there are 34.5 million Americans who list their heritage as either primarily or partially Irish. That’s seven times larger than the population of Ireland itself (4.68 million). Irish is the second-most common ancestry among Americans.

Looking at my Irish heritage it’s a common story and experience that many who came to this country from Ireland had.

On my father’s side, Nicholas Powers was the first Powers (of my branch) in America. In some quarters, “Powers” arose as a variant of the Gaelicized “de Paor”, and later Anglicized “Power.” In some cases it originated as a nickname for a poor man. And from the evidence I’ve been able to find, it fit, as Nicholas was not a man of means by any stretch of the imagination.

Nicholas arrived in America, and by 1870 lived in the Boston area as many Irish immigrants did, where he worked in the wool & paper mills of Boston. His wife, Hanora was like many female Irish immigrants, and arrived in America already married, following her husband. Hanora was a female housekeeper, or a “bridget” in the Boston area.

Hanora was unable to read or write, and remained so for the rest of her days. Of their 8 children, only five of them lived to see the new century in 1900. Hanora herself died of pneumonia on December 7th, 1903, sixteen years before her husband.

One of their sons, Richard, also lived a life of labor, as a cigar maker. He would have not been living badly or toiling quite as hard as his father did, as by the end of World War I, cigar makers in Boston would have been making between $27 – $30 a week, and able to support a family without his wife Nellie working.

But it wasn’t necessarily a charmed life. Richard and Nellie had three sons, Edward, Joseph and Charles. Edward, died about one day after birth of cellulitis. Of the two remaining children, the older of them, Joseph, also lived a short life. After completing school, in his early twenties, Joseph Powers died of rheumatic fever at the dinner table while eating a meal with the rest of the family, literally eating one moment, and dropping dead the next.

Charles lived a longer, and better life than his siblings. He went to school, and married Helene O’Neill in 1932. Helene was also a grandchild of Irish Immigrants, except they came to the country and settled in Rhode Island, where they lived in the Newport area. Her grandfather was a laborer, and her father was a mason.

The same year they married, Charles was admitted to the State Bar Association. He worked as an attorney, and by all accounts, the family did quite well, and Charles eventually rose to be named as resident counsel and Secretary of the Automobile Club of New York (AAA affiliate) at a time in American history when the Automobile was king. He often acted as lobbyist for the group before legislative bodies on bills concerning traffic safety, highways, and automobile taxes, before his death in 1970.

Charles had five children, three sons and two daughters. Two of his three sons followed in his footsteps and became attorneys. One was a VP and corporate counsel for ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph) before his retirement. Another, Charles Powers, Jr. currently sits on the bench in New Jersey as a judge on the Vicinage 2 Superior Court, where he hears cases in the Civil Division.

His other son chose a different path. After a year in Law School, he decided that it wasn’t for him, and joined the Army. After completing his service there, he joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a Special Agent during the tenure of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

That son of Charles is my father, Dave. And aside from 5 other kids, he begat me.

From the efforts of those poor Irish immigrants who came to the shores of America seeking a better life for their children and the generations that come thereafter, I honor their memory and pioneering spirit this St. Patrick’s Day for their bravery in leaving their home country to find a better life, and weaving themselves into the tapestry that is the American story.

And you can blame them for the SDWC. 🙂

As you might expect, I’ve been watching the Legislative races, knowing that they can go from 0 to 60mph in a moment’s notice. And that was the case today, where the Republican primary in District 14 went from a sleepy-no-primary-June to a hard fought battle in which the two incumbents might end up with a horse race that could threaten them.

In House District 14 in Sioux Falls, Larry Zikmund and Tom Holmes were looking as safe as safe could be in their incumbency, which was won in last election season’s primary and then general elections.

But, there were rumblings. You hear them in several races, but it’s all rumbling until it goes past that.  I had heard last week that former Citibank attorney Dave Zimbeck was contemplating the race, but little more.

And this afternoon? Boom. Not only did I hear that he has petitions out and circulating for the GOP State House Primary in District 14, but I subsequently heard that Paul Ten Haken, Founder and CEO of Click Rain, has petitions out for the contest as well.

That just turned a sleepy non-contest into a four way free for all, in which the two top vote recipients walk away with the Republican nomination, and a chance at the big prize in November, which is the primary winners’ to lose. (We are a Republican red-state, after all).

So, put the District 14 House race on your radar. As it’s the sleepy race that just woke up with a bang!

Rapid City resident, businessman, & former City Councilman Bob Fischer is at the forefront of a national movement to find an alternative to Donald Trump for conservatives to vote for, should Trump end up as the Republican nominee.

From Politico:

Three influential leaders of the conservative movement have summoned other top conservatives for a closed-door meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C., to talk about how to stop Donald Trump and, should he become the Republican nominee, how to run a third-party “true conservative” challenger in the fall.

The organizers of the meeting include Bill Wichterman, who was President George W. Bush’s liaison to the conservative movement; Bob Fischer, a South Dakota businessman and longtime conservative convener; and Erick Erickson, the outspoken Trump opponent and conservative activist who founded RedState.com.

and…

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, two days after winner-take-all Florida and Ohio vote in what many Republican operatives believe will determine whether Trump is on an unstoppable march to the nomination or is likely to stall out short of the 1,237 delegates he needs.

and…

Fischer, in 2012, helped bring together a group of more than 200 conservatives from across the country to unite around Rick Santorum’s candidacy. An event in Houston he put together raised $1.8 million in a day.

Read it all here.

So, do you applaud what Bob is doing, or not?

From the Rapid City Journal, the Jacqueline Sly versus Phil Jensen primary is examined:

and…

Both legislators made statewide headlines this year. Sly was co-chairwoman of the task force that proposed the one-half of 1 percentage point sales tax increase adopted by the Legislature — over Jensen’s opposition — to pay for teacher-pay increases.

Jensen drew statewide criticism for comments he made while discussing failed legislation that would have allowed the governor to close the borders of the state to refugees. Speaking to the Journal in February, Jensen said one of his constituents had witnessed dozens of South Americans fleeing a van parked in downtown Rapid City.

Rounds Statement on President Obama’s Nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today delivered remarks on the Senate floor after President Obama nominated Merrick Garland, chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, to the United States Supreme Court.

“Whoever is confirmed to fill the open seat on the Supreme Court will be serving a lifetime appointment,” said Rounds. “Keeping in mind the current political makeup of the court, the man or woman who will replace Justice Scalia has the potential to hold incredible influence over the ideological direction of the court for a generation to come. It is critically important that the next justice is committed to upholding the principles of the Constitution. We owe it to Justice Scalia, our judicial system and the Constitution to uphold the highest standards when determining our next Supreme Court Justice. We also owe it to the American people to make certain their voice is heard in this election.”

 

Thune Statement on Obama Nominee to Supreme Court

“The American people deserve to have their voices heard on the nomination of the next Supreme Court justice, who could fundamentally alter the direction of the Supreme Court for a generation.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court:

“For the last seven years, President Obama has attempted to circumvent Congress and the will of the American people with unconstitutional, overreaching regulations. The Senate Republican majority was elected to be a check and balance to President Obama.

“The American people deserve to have their voices heard on the nomination of the next Supreme Court justice, who could fundamentally alter the direction of the Supreme Court for a generation. Since the next presidential election is already underway, the next president should make this lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.”

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Governor’s Statement On Mid-Central Charges 

PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Dennis Daugaard issued the following statement today in response to the charges filed against individuals involved with Mid-Central Cooperative:

“Today’s announcement shows that Secretary Schopp was right to cancel Mid Central’s management contract and that there was misconduct that went beyond incompetence to actively attempting to deceive the Department and to undermine audits and oversight. I appreciate the work of the Attorney General and the Auditor General in getting to the bottom of this.”

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I guess my question from back in November was answered today….

Attorney General Files Charges in Connection to GEAR UP Financial Investigation

PIERRE, S.D.- Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that Complaints have been filed charging three individuals for their roles in the financial misconduct case surrounding the GEAR UP Program.

“There has been a tragic loss of a young family and financial decisions made affecting funding set aside for important purposes including Native American children. As Attorney General, I will continue to address what has happened with state, federal and local authorities and restore the public’s trust,” said Jackley.

The following have been charged:

Daniel Mark Guericke, 58, White Lake, 2 counts of falsification of evidence, class 6 felony, punishable by up to 2 years imprisonment in the state penitentiary and/or $4,000 fine, 4 counts of conspiracy to offer forged or fraudulent evidence, class 5 felony, punishable as a Class 6 felony, with a maximum sentence of 2 years imprisonment and/or $4,000 fine.

Stephanie A. Hubers, 43, Geddes, 1 count of grand theft, class 4 felony, punishable by up to 10 years in the state penitentiary and/or $20,000 fine, 2 counts of grand theft by deception, class 4 felony, punishable by up to 10 years in the state penitentiary and/or $20,000 fine, 3 alternative counts of receiving stolen property, class 4 felony, punishable by up to 10 years in the state penitentiary and/or $20,000 fine,

Stacy Lee Phelps, 42, Rapid City, 2 counts of falsification of evidence, class 6 felony, punishable by up to 2 years imprisonment and/or $4,000 fine, 2 counts of conspiracy to offer forged or fraudulent evidence, class 5 felony, punishable as a Class 6 felony,  with a maximum sentence of 2 years imprisonment and/or $4,000 fine.

All defendants were given the opportunity to voluntarily turn themselves in on arrest warrants. They have cooperated and have been released by the Court on bond conditions. These individuals are presumed innocent until such time as proven guilty.

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