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There’s no rest for the Washington Delegation!  They’re continuing to travel across the state during their August recess, with Congresswoman Noem still in the hills today, as Rep. Kristi Noem meets with the Black Hills Association of Realtors at 8:00AM to discuss the impact of EPA regulations and tax reform on homeowners.

At the same time, Senator Rounds is hosting a roundtable discussion with the South Dakota Retailers Association at 1481 Grille in Arlington to discuss his RESTORE resolution.

Senator Thune is also quite active, and has been hitting events across the state. I suspect we’ll see him at the State Fair, as well as the other elected officials.

On the other side of the aisle, Noem challenger Paula Hawks tweeted something on the 24th, after attending the Brown County fair on the 15th. Apparently, she’s starting out slowly. Very slowly…. Maybe the campaign will manage to find something to tweet about sometime soon.

And of course, the Democrat’s challenger to Thune is…. still non-existent. Although a LA filmmaker is starting to think about it.

Keep up the good work Republicans!  And Dems, nice try. And remember, there’s always 2018..

Attorney General Appoints Allender to Law Enforcement
Officers Standards and Training Commission

PIERRE, S.D.- Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today the appointment of Steve Allender Mayor of Rapid City to the Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training Commission. He has been appointed to a two-year term effective August 2015. Allender replaces Ken Tracy of Mitchell on the commission.

“Steve Allender has 30 years of law enforcement service to the State of South Dakota. Steve is continuing his public service as Mayor of Rapid City, and his diverse background will assist him with the important  task of developing standards and training for law enforcement officers,” said Jackley. “I would also like to extend my appreciation to Ken Tracy for his years of service to law enforcement and the people of South Dakota.”

The South Dakota Law Enforcement Standards and Training Commission is an 11 person commission.  Eight of the commissioners are appointed by the Attorney General. They represent the South Dakota Highway Patrol, South Dakota Sheriff’s Offices, Police Departments, the State Bar Association, institutes of higher education, the Municipal League, County Commissioners and an enrolled tribal member who is a certified law enforcement officer. The other three commissioners are the Chief Agent from the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, a regional Federal Bureau of Investigation Agent, and the Attorney General. The Commission sets the training standards and certification process for the South Dakota law enforcement community.

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Kevin Woster is writing today that Rapid City Filmmaker Sam Hurst is considering taking the beating a run as a Democrat candidate for US Senate against our Senior US Senator John Thune:

Friends of Sam Hurst — the former network TV news producer, short-lived buffalo rancher and current independent filmmaker — are encouraging him to run for the U.S. Senate next year.

and…

Hurst, who has never run from a controversial opinion, has made some insightful-but-edgy evaluations of the state of the party in South Dakota. They stung. This is a wounded party, after all, with a clear and abiding memory of injuries sustained and perceived attackers, particularly those who come from within.

So there’d be some fence mending to find unity, if Hurst could beat whomever the party finds.

Read it here.

What exactly is Woster referring to in Hurst poking at the Democrat Party? Well, it’s literally disappeared off the Internet. But there are snippets out there, such as Bob Mercer has referenced:

Let Democrats worry about the fate of the party. It is at rock bottom. It stands for nothing. It has virtually no ability to raise money or mobilize its base to action on behalf of its candidates. It has no influence over politicians elected in its name. It cannot compete. Not forever, not for always, but right now, South Dakota Democrats need leaders who will yell, “Charge!” And it needs soldiers willing to aim their sabers into the fire. Perhaps 3,834 naïve, liberal, desperate, lost souls, would be a good place to begin.

Read that here.

Democrats… at rock bottom. The party …stands for nothing. …no ability to raise money or mobilize its base… no influence over politicians elected in its name. It cannot compete.

Man. And I thought I was harsh. Yep. I bet the Democrat party and it’s major donors are going to get right on that one.  Somehow, I don’t think that neon “vacancy sign” over the position for the Democrat candidate for US Senate is going to dim any time soon.

Get well wishes to a couple members of the Republican legislative family appear to be in order.

Representative Don Haggar’s wife and Senator Jenna Haggar’s mom Michelle suffered a broken kneecap last night while we were in Columbus, Ohio, after a fall on a sidewalk. We were all out eating pizza as a group, and it happened while she was returning to the hotel. We wish her a speedy recovery.

Also taking ill was State Representative Mike Verchio, who was reporting on facebook that after an emergency trip to the hospital, he had a pacemaker implanted on Friday. Again, we hope he’s feeling better soon.

Hopefully we can get through this weekend without any more injuries!

  
Representative Les Heinemann, Dale Bartscher, and Representative Don Haggar wait to catch the same flight to Minneapolis with me. 

  
And the Augustana College University students look ready to be home as well.

As I’m sitting in the airport café, enjoying a nice breakfast before I have to find my gate, I was pondering the ride I took to get here.

And wondering – why in the heck don’t we have Uber in South Dakota?

Now, it’s not perfect. That whole surge pricing/multiplier thing is confusing, so a ride I thought was going to cost me $11-15 ended up costing me thirty. 

It doesn’t explain ahead of time that the multiplier is added on top of the fare instead of being the fare. But, my ride was pleasant, arrived on my location within two minutes, and I didn’t have to leave a tip.

In a taxi, with the tip, the ride would have been $30 anyway, so it was a wash.

The ease and convenience of using Uber was tremendous. So, of course, in South Dakota it runs up against attitudes like this:

Assistant City Attorney Keith Allenstein said though the companies themselves would fall outside of Sioux Falls’ jurisdiction because they don’t operate local brick and mortar dispatch centers, existing city rules governing both independent contractors and taxi cab drivers would apply to ride-hailing drivers.

“If they keep a vehicle as a vehicle for hire, then these do apply,” Allenstein said. “I don’t think there’s a need to change anything in ordinance right now to regulate the drivers.”

Uber drivers are independent contractors and in Sioux Falls would need to apply for operators permits, have their vehicles inspected, obtain independent contractor licenses, provide proof of insurance and get commercial license plates. Sales tax remittance would also be required.

And…

But others aren’t so sure the rules should be tinkered with. Councilor Rex Rolfing said although he’s always open to revisiting city ordinances, certain parts of what’s on the books are necessary for public safety and fairness. Waiving the sales tax requirement, for instance, would create an uneven playing field between Uber drivers and traditional taxi cabs, he said.

“Who would (pay) it if they didn’t do it?” Rolfing asked. “It’s like doing things in a cash-only situation. That’s not going to be good for everybody in the long run.”

Read it here.

With attitudes like that, we should not be shocked if it’s reported that politicians like Rolfing bemoan the use of an automobile over the horse and buggy.

With attitudes like that at the city level, it also becomes incumbent upon legislators at the state level to provide a framework for modern notions of the taxi service, since local officials are still wondering where all the dinosaurs went.

In our society, one certainty is progress. In all aspects, we simply don’t do things as we have for the past hundred years. In business, “It’s the way we’ve always done things” is a recipe for failure and extinction. 

If business finds better and more efficient way of doing things, such as a modern notion of the taxi, government should be there to facilitate. 

So, legislators….  If the city of Sioux Falls is too bound by inertia and a desire to be trapped in the past, ignore those still looking for dinosaurs and standing around. Take the lead. 

from Newsmax, some of my fellow South Dakota AFP attendees were mentioned in a new story today on whether they like Trump:

A group of college students in a Republican club at Augustana College in South Dakota felt he was too much of a bully.

“He’s mocking it with his presence,” said Cara Beck, 20, as she stood with five male students between 19 and 21 years of age. Their picks were Bush, former Ohio Governor John Kasich, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and Rubio.

Read it here.