Category: Uncategorized

Governor Rhoden Leads Trade Mission to UK and Ireland

Mission will Boost Beef and Ethanol Exports and Strengthen Academic Ties

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Larry Rhoden is leading a business-driven trade mission to the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Ireland this week, joined by South Dakota Trade President & CEO Jesse L. S. Fonkert, Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) Commissioner Bill Even, and Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) Hunter Roberts.

“This trade mission will showcase the value of South Dakota’s key industries, including our world-class beef and ethanol industries,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “By strengthening our economic and academic ties with the U.K. and Ireland, we’re keeping South Dakota Open for Opportunity.”

The mission aims to capitalize on recently announced trade agreement frameworks between the United States, U.K., and European Union, promoting South Dakota’s beef and ethanol industries, which were key elements of the U.K. agreement. Representatives from South Dakota’s beef and ethanol sectors will join the delegation to promote expanded trade. You can find a picture of Governor Rhoden and the trade delegates at the Embassy of the United States of America in London here.

“This mission is about building trust and opening doors for South Dakota businesses,” said Jesse L. S. Fonkert, President and CEO of South Dakota Trade. “Our beef and ethanol industries are poised for growth, and we’re excited to facilitate connections between willing buyers and sellers in the U.K. and Ireland.”

GOED Commissioner Bill Even will lead efforts to attract foreign direct investment into South Dakota, hosting “Doing Business in South Dakota” seminars to highlight the state’s business-friendly environment.

“South Dakota is the ideal place for investment, and this mission will demonstrate why global businesses should choose our state,” said Commissioner Bill Even.

“This trade mission is an opportunity to showcase South Dakota’s producers and businesses on a global stage,” said Secretary Hunter Roberts. “Building relationships in the U.K. and Ireland opens possibilities for new partnerships, expanded markets, and helps ensure South Dakota has every chance to grow and succeed in international trade.”

Five students from the University of South Dakota (USD) will join the delegation as part of their participation in the USD President’s Senior Leadership Institute (PSLI).

“For six years, the President’s Senior Leadership Institute has provided students with transformative professional development and leadership training,” said USD President Sheila K. Gestring. “Thanks to our partnership with South Dakota Trade, that experience will be further elevated through exposure to international affairs and global economic policy.”

South Dakota State University (SDSU) President Barry Dunn will also join the delegation to sign an agreement with University College Dublin to foster academic collaboration and research opportunities.

“This partnership with University College Dublin will open new avenues for research and innovation, benefiting our students and faculty while strengthening South Dakota’s global presence,” said SDSU President Barry Dunn.

A group of South Dakota legislators will also be attending the American Irish Legislators Caucus Summit in Dublin, strengthening ties with Irish counterparts.

Trade missions to Canada and other markets are planned for later in 2025. Interested businesses should contact Rachael Weiland at South Dakota Trade at rachael.weiland@southdakotatrade.com.

South Dakota Trade is a 501(c)(6) association that navigates international trade for South Dakota, with offices in Sioux Falls and Rapid City. For additional information, please visit www.southdakotatrade.com.

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Competing in a Global Market
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
August 15, 2025

 BIG Update

I joined Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska on a panel at the Midwest Ag Export Summit in Sioux Falls to discuss how Midwest agricultural producers compete in a global market. I’m encouraged by the work the administration has done on securing trade deals with the European Union, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Japan and others to give a fair shake to South Dakota producers. I’m hopeful President Trump will continue to make strong deals with other trading partners that will support our ag industries.

The One Big Beautiful Bill also promotes United States agricultural products around the world. The Supplemental Agricultural Trade Promotion (SATP) program will aid in developing foreign markets for American products.

Johnson and Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) at the Midwest Agricultural Export Summit in Sioux Falls. Click here to read more about the event from Dakota News Now.

 BIG Idea

Silencer Central is the leading manufacturer of firearm suppressors in the United States. I stopped by to discuss how the One Big Beautiful Bill eliminates the tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns.

I was honored to receive their Legislator of the Year award for my support of the Second Amendment in Congress.

Johnson accepts Legislator of the Year award from Silencer Central Founder and CEO, Brandon Maddox

BIG News

South Dakota reported their largest meth bust in history this week. South Dakota Highway Patrol seized 207 pounds of meth, worth $12 million, that was being transported by an illegal immigrant across our state.

While border crossings are at an all-time low, South Dakota is not exempt from the lasting effects of Biden’s border crisis. This arrest and drug seizure underscore the important work the Trump Administration is doing to keep the southern border secure and remove dangerous, illegal immigrants from our country. I’m grateful for the local law enforcement officers and federal agents who protect South Dakota and keep America safe.

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South Dakota’s Greatest Generation
By Sen. John Thune

Eighty years ago this month, Americans switched on their radios and heard the long-hoped-for news that Japan had surrendered. In towns across South Dakota, people celebrated, and families breathed a sigh of relief that their loved ones would be coming home.

Like all Americans, South Dakotans had made sacrifices during the war years. Food and fuel were rationed, and farms and ranches struggled through supply and labor shortages. More than 68,000 South Dakotans served in the armed forces, and 2,200 of them never returned.

I grew up with stories from my dad and uncles who had fought in the war. My dad was an accomplished pilot, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, but he didn’t talk much about his own exploits. He talked about the men he served with, what they had done, and what they gave. He told us about the legendary Cecil Harris, the Navy ace from Cresbard, who led my dad’s squadron on the U.S.S. Intrepid, and the tip Harris gave him that saved his life. My dad shared the qualities of so many in his generation: humility, patriotism, and quiet service.

They might not describe themselves as such, but World War II created a number of heroes from our state. There were Cecil Harris and Joe Foss, both flying aces in the Pacific. Arlo Olson, who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, after he gave his life leading his men in Italy. John Waldron who lost his life leading his torpedo squadron in the first engagement in the Battle of Midway. And Marcella LeBeau, a member of the Two Kettle Band of the Cheyenne River Sioux who served in the Army Nurse Corps, including time on the front lines treating the wounded at the Battle of the Bulge.

On the home front, too, South Dakotans left their mark. The state was transformed. Airfields popped up around the state to train military pilots. The Army Technical Training School opened in Sioux Falls to train 50,000 radio operators and mechanics. Out west, work began on the Black Hills Ordnance Depot and the new community of Igloo that would house the families of those who came to work there. Even Mitchell’s Corn Palace had a role to play, selling war bonds and enlisting new recruits.

South Dakota’s farms and ranches were also critical to the war effort. Farmers ramped up production, and wool and sugar beets were in high demand. Faced with labor shortages, draft deferments were offered for harvest time, and South Dakota State University canceled Hobo Day so students could work the fields. And it was South Dakota farmers who provided the pheasants for the Aberdeen Canteen’s famous pheasant sandwiches, which fed 500,000 troops on their way through the city.

Tom Brokaw, who spent part of his boyhood at the Black Hills Ordnance Depot, popularized the phrase, “the Greatest Generation.” He said of this generation, “they love each other, love life and love their country, and they are not ashamed to say just that.” We are fortunate to have had their example. And while the members of this generation are fewer with every passing day, what they did and how they lived will endure.

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Taking Action to Keep South Dakota Safe
By: Gov. Larry Rhoden
August 15, 2025  

I can’t sit still for long. Maybe it’s because I grew up on a ranch, where there was always something that needed doing. I’m at my most relaxed when I’m doing work with my hands, and it’s helped me out in public service. Sometimes, you just need to be willing to take action.

Recently, a couple South Dakota Highway Patrol troopers took action to keep our people safe. They didn’t wait to act – they saw what needed doing, then stepped up and did it.

One trooper took heroic action when she saw that a driver was driving on the wrong side of the Interstate near Sturgis. She sped off down the Interstate (on the right side of the road), got ahead of the vehicle, crossed the median, and pulled out in front of the vehicle. She was rearended, which was all part of the plan. Then, when the vehicle tried to pass her, she performed a tactical maneuver to force it onto the median where the driver was arrested for drunk driving.

Another trooper pulled over a speeding vehicle driving through Sturgis. What started as a routine traffic stop turned into the largest meth bust in the history of the Highway Patrol. The driver was a 42-year-old Mexican national driving cross-country with more than 200 pounds of meth in his vehicle – that’s a street value of over $12 million!

That criminal is already in immigration proceedings, and after due process, ICE will get him out of our country so that he won’t continue to traffic meth to Americans. This instance really underscored the need for Operation: Prairie Thunder, my public safety initiative that includes increased collaboration with ICE to get illegal alien criminals out of our country. A couple days later, I called the trooper who caught the perp, and he was nothing but humble.

We recently took one other action to advance Operation: Prairie Thunder, as well. The Board of Pardons and Paroles decided to parole ten criminal illegal aliens to ICE custody, individuals that my office and the Department of Corrections had helped identify as criminals who it would be appropriate to send back to their home country. South Dakota taxpayers shouldn’t be paying to house these criminals in our prisons – not when they shouldn’t be in our country to begin with.

That’s what you can count on from me and my administration: when necessary, we will take action to keep South Dakota strong, safe, and free.

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Flags at Half-Staff at State Capitol in Honor of Lyndell Peterson

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden ordered that flags be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol from sunrise until sunset on Monday, August 18, 2025, in honor of former state legislator Lyndell Peterson. He served in the South Dakota State Senate from 1977 to 1994.

Lyndell Peterson will be honored at the Central States Fair on Monday, August 18, 2025.

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Not so sure that I trust this message coming from a foreign country about how I might be charged money at a South Dakota tollbooth if I don’t send them money.

Senator Davis Responds to USD Sanford School of Medicine Relocation

 BURBANK, S.D. -Today, Senator Sydney Davis of District 17 issued the following statement regarding the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine’s decision to relocate its primary operations from Vermillion to Sioux Falls:

“The USD Sanford School of Medicine has been a proud part of Vermillion for decades. While its move to Sioux Falls will provide students greater access to hospitals and clinical training, we must ensure the school’s commitment to medicine remains strong. I will work with USD leadership to make sure this transition for faculty, staff, and students strengthens our ability to train physicians to serve all of South Dakota and beyond.”

Davis noted that medical students currently spend approximately 12 to 18 months in Vermillion completing foundational coursework before moving to Sioux Falls for the final two to three years of their medical education.

She expressed her appreciation for the faculty and staff who have built their professional and personal lives in Vermillion, calling them “a critical part of the medical school’s success.”

Davis emphasized that the move will also open the door for new academic opportunities in Vermillion, as USD plans to repurpose the space vacated by the medical school to meet other campus and program needs.

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The Turner County Fair is in full swing, and it seems that no one is interested in visiting with Toby Doeden’s people.   Well, for that matter, it doesn’t seem like they’re getting rid of any signs.. or interested in manning their booth, either.

Might have to start calling it the lonely Doeden campaign at this point.

Just caught this on facebook:

If you recall, I had a lot to say about this bill back then, because I’m in the camp that says 40 year old men should not be able to marry 16 year old girls because it’s legalized sex trafficking.   But, at the same time, I can’t help but point out Democrat propaganda leaves out a lot of information.

Such as that it was not 18 people who voted to kill Senate Bill 156. It was 19:

Yes, that’s Senator Red Dawn Foster who also voted to keep child marriage on the books. And she would be a Democrat. If we’re going to quibble, she would comprise 1/3 of the Senate Democrat Caucus.

I also notice that they’re leaving out another important piece of information. It was a Republican bill:

Yes, Democrat Rep. Kadyn Wittman was a sponsor. But the bill’s prime sponsor was Republican Senator Sydney Davis in the Senate and Republican Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt in the House.

Not such minor details if they’re going to going to try to throw rocks at Republicans in general.

Was that back on May 30th that Senate Assistant Majority Leader Carl Perry was happy to be in a picture as a special guest of 4% Toby Doeden’s for his announcement?

Yet, here’s Carl at the Brown County fair snuggling up with the 2% Hansen/Lemmings campaign in a photo today.

Don’t worry  – if you’re after a complete set of Perry endorsements, I have no doubt that Carl will have more opportunities to flip-flop a few more times before the June 2026 primary.