Category: Uncategorized

Governor Rhoden Makes Conservative Policy Commitments

Pierre, SD – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden issued “My commitment to keeping South Dakota Strong, Safe, and Free,” a list of ten conservative policy commitments to keep South Dakota the best, freest state in the nation. You can find the signed contract attached.

“South Dakota’s conservative values have made us the greatest, freest state in America, and for as long as I am Governor, we will keep it that way,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “I have a long record of conservative results to keep South Dakota strong, safe, and free. These commitments represent my plans to build on that record and find opportunities to advance our conservative values.”

Governor Rhoden’s ten conservative policy commitments include:

• Civility: He will honor my commitment to civility, openness and transparency;
• Fight for Private Property Rights: We will not water down the protections for private property rights in our Constitution or laws;
• Pro-Life: South Dakota is the most pro-life state in America, and we will keep it that way;
• Pro Gun: South Dakota is the most second-amendment friendly state in America, and it will remain that way – we will lead the country in promoting the firearms industry;
• Best Tax Structure in the Country: He will continue to work to lower taxes – and he has committed not to increase any taxes;
• Fiscal Conservative: He will maintain a balanced budget and a AAA bond rating;
• Education Excellence: He will support stronger schools, education freedom, and school choice options for South Dakota families;
• South Dakotans First: No special deals for data centers – South Dakota’s taxpayers, and our power and water resources, come first;
• Protect Family Farms: He will protect farmers and ranchers, especially longstanding family farms, fight for higher commodity prices, and keep fake meat out of South Dakota; and
• Small Government and Local Control: We will always protect and improve South Dakota’s low regulatory burden and keep government decisions close to the people.

Learn more about Governor Larry Rhoden’s conservative results at RhodenResults.com

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Thune, Rounds Legislation to Advance Key South Dakota Water Projects Approved by Committee

 WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today applauded the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for passing their bills that would authorize feasibility studies for the Western Dakota Regional Water System (WDRWS) and the Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System, respectively. Thune’s Western South Dakota Water Supply Project Feasibility Study Act (S. 3723) and Rounds’ Dakota Mainstem Water Supply Project Feasibility Study Act (S. 3736) now head to the full Senate.

“These bills are aimed at addressing the rapidly growing water needs in rural communities across South Dakota,” said Thune. “I’m pleased that the committee has passed our bills and look forward to their consideration by the full Senate. I’m proud to work with Senator Rounds on this critical effort.”

“Rural water projects are crucial for the success of South Dakota, both in the near future and for the next generation,” said Rounds. “I’m pleased that the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has passed our bills to authorize feasibility studies for the Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System and the Western Dakota Regional Water System. I thank Senator Thune for his leadership on this issue and look forward to working together to get these bills through the full Senate.”

“The advancement of S. 3723 to Senate markup is an encouraging step forward for the future of water security in western South Dakota,” said Kristin Conzet, executive director of WDRWS. “WDRWS is grateful for the leadership and diligent work of Senators Thune and Rounds, whose commitment has been instrumental in advancing our legislation. Reaching this stage reflects growing recognition of the need for a reliable, long-term water supply to support our communities, economy, agriculture, and national defense interests.”

“On behalf of the Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System and our 57 member water systems, I want to thank Senators Rounds and Thune for their leadership and continued support of this important authorization,” said Ryan Johnson, president of the Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System. “Advancing S. 3736 through the markup process is a significant milestone that moves Dakota Mainstem one step closer to the feasibility study phase with Bureau of Reclamation participation. We are grateful for the senators’ commitment to strengthening water infrastructure and helping ensure a reliable water future for the communities, businesses, and residents we serve.”

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Did you know South Dakota Democrats held their party convention this last weekend?

You wouldn’t from the lack of press attention given it.  All the lights have been on President Biden keynoting the dinner the night before as well as the GOP runoff.  But 4 days after it took place, there seems to be nothing on who the loyal opposition has running for all those statewide offices.

But from new filings with the Secretary of State, you can get a glimpse of what the results appear to be:

Filed this morning with the SOS is a Statement of Organization for Frank Kloucek for PUC. Really.

I think they already had Terrance Davis for SOS who had filed some time ago.  There’s a Margaret Kuipers for SD Treasurer who filed her Statement of Organization in the last few days.

And that’s about it. So unless anyone can fill in any other blanks I’m missing, here’s what the Democrat Ticket for 2026 is looking like:

Dan Ahlers – Governor
TBD – Lt. Gov
Terrance Davis – Secretary of State
Vacant – Attorney General
Vacant – Auditor
Margaret Kuipers – Treasurer
Vacant – School and Lands
Frank Kloucek – Public Utilities Commission

Er, yeah.

I hate to bring it up guys, but this is kind of looking more like the Libertarian Party’s slate of candidates than the Democrat Party who used to win elections on occasion.

Know of anyone else running as a Democrat constitutional officer? Drop me a note here.

UPDATE:

On Facebook, I did receive this comment..

So, there may be more..?

This is the weirdest election year I’ve ever seen.

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Update to the Update.. Here’s more I just received.. From a Republican, BTW

Dan Ahlers – Governor
TBD – Lt. Gov
Terrance Davis – Secretary of State
Vacant – Attorney General
Tom Cool – Auditor
Margaret Kuipers – Treasurer
Dr. Raeann Mettler – School and Lands
Frank Kloucek – Public Utilities Commission

Right now they’re down just Attorney General. Not that I think any of these others are going to be serious competition.

From my e-mail box:

The Sioux Falls Mayoral race is heating up with South Dakota’s two major political parties choosing up sides in the contest, with Republicans backing former GOP Legislator, City Councilwoman, and Statewide association director Christine Erickson, and Democrats getting behind their Joe Biden supporter, former Dem Gubernatorial candidate Jamie Smith:

South Dakota Republican Party Chairman Jim Eschenbaum said the party’s executive board discussed the race and decided to endorse and back Erickson.

“If that’s the Democrats’ attempt to gain a foothold in the state of South Dakota, by electing a mayor of the largest city, I guess they can attempt to,” Eschenbaum said. “But the Republican Party is going to back the Republican in that race, even though it’s a nonpartisan election. We’re still going to back the Republican principles and ideals.”

and..

(Dan Ahlers) told South Dakota Searchlight recently it would mean “a lot” to have Sioux Falls led by a Democrat. He said a Smith victory would bring more balance to South Dakota politics and create an opportunity to show that Democrats can work across party lines and deliver results for everyone.

“So, I think having a person like that, with that kind of experience, is also incredibly important,” Ahlers said of Smith. 

Read the entire story here.

Two very different approaches.  Remember last time Jamie Smith ran for a big office…

The ad plays two statements from Smith, with one immediately following the other: “I’m advocating for taxes on new things” and “We need more things to tax.” The ad is paid for by Kristi For Governor. The video comes from a Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary event on Monday; only Smith accepted the invitation for what was meant to be a debate between all three gubernatorial candidates.

and..

Smith did say “I’m advocating for taxes on new things.” And he did say “We need more things to tax.” But he did not make these statements one after the other, as the ad implies. He made the comments several minutes apart on Monday.

Read that here.

Well, good luck Sioux Falls..

My Facebook feed tonight seems to have different videos from Toby Doeden’s campaign where he’s continuing to crow about his win last Tuesday. Specifically when it comes to Congressman Dusty Johnson placing a close third in the contest.

The videos (plural) have Doeden lamenting over his treatment by “the political establishment attacking him ruthlessly.”

Is my memory getting foggy, or is this the same person who wasn’t much of a stranger to his own attacks..

“It’s going to become abundantly clear that there are two choices in June: light versus dark, good versus evil,” Doeden said. “I’m light; I’m good. Dusty’s dark; Dusty’s evil. Those are going to be the two choices.”

Read that here.

That was June. June 2025.

Somehow, I don’t think the guy living in the glass house with a basketball court should be still casting stones a week after the first vote if he entertains any notions that he can win over Dusty voters for the second one.

If anything, I would think Toby would consider drilling down on more of the “why people should vote for him,” as opposed to “why they shouldn’t vote for the other guy.”

Winnowing down the number of candidates we were faced with from 4 to 2 might mean that people are going to drill down on policy differences more than they had an opportunity to in the first vote.

It has also been a long primary cycle with the intensity of the negative campaigning, which people were already getting weary of. Still going negative against the people he beat doesn’t seem to be moving the ball down the field in his next contest against Governor Rhoden.

Yes, Toby won last Tuesday. But he should pause the celebration over winning the first heat in his race, and focus on the finals of the primary.

Catherine Barranco Earns Endorsement from State Auditor Rich Sattgast

Today, South Dakota Auditor Rich Sattgast announced his endorsement of candidate Catherine Barranco to succeed him. Rich has served South Dakota with distinction for over two decades, the last eight years of which he served as State Auditor.

In his endorsement, Sattgast stated, “While I have known Catherine Barranco for many years, it was her entrance in the race for State Auditor that prompted many conversations pertaining to the requirements for this position. Catherine exhibited her dedication by meeting with the staff early on, and it was during this period of time, she demonstrated her knowledge of the intricacies and operations of the several departments and the attention they require. Combined with her education and her conservative principles, I extend my endorsement for her candidacy.”

“Competence and dedication to the Office’s mission are critical to the State Auditor position,” Barranco said. “If I am given the opportunity to serve, my family and I will relocate to Pierre. Avera’s brand new Helmsley Center offers excellent oncology care for David, Christopher and William are very excited to help the Govs win another state championship, and I will be on site to work with the fantastic Auditor’s team, focusing on the tasks at hand. We’ll continue the legacy Rich has begun, and we’ll add a DOGE division engineered to identify and eliminate waste, fraud, and inefficiency. I am deeply honored to have support from the person who best understands the Auditor’s Office and what it takes to serve the people.”

“Taxpayer dollars belong to the taxpayers,” Barranco continued. “Let’s DOGE South Dakota!”

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Catherine Barranco has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics. She years of experience with finance, including setting budgets, generating projections, and generating creative strategies for a division at Walmart’s corporate headquarters surpassing $165 million in annual revenue. During her time at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, she gained experience in financial fraud investigation. Catherine is a lifelong Republican and has served as President of the South Dakota Federation of Republican Women, State Adviser of the South Dakota Teenage Republicans, Data Direct for the South Dakota GOP, and Board Member of the National Federation of Republican Women, the South Dakota GOP, the Minnehaha GOP, and the South Dakota Republican Women in Cyberspace Club.

Catherine’s wonderful husband David and two sons Christopher (14) and William (11) could not be more supportive of her candidacy.

Just a quick note, I’m doing some LONG overdue site maintenance which should greatly improve the responsiveness of the website.  Hopefully it will quit some of the nonsense I’ve been seeing on people – including myself – having to hit reload to read the site.

Thanks for your patience.

UPDATE – 

Just a quick request for your end-user experience.  Is the site behaving better for you?

From my end, I’m noticing that it’s lightning quick now, compared to the constant drag it was over the course of the last week or so.  And, I was able to update a number of things that desperately needed it.

The primary election is over, and we’re in a wild place. We have a mayoral race runoff in Sioux Falls on June 23, we have the state GOP convention starting 2 days after that, we have the July 28th gubernatorial runoff… and later we have the November election.

If you’re one of the many people out there running – do you have a campaign or cause to promote? I have available spots for advertising. We should talk.

I have a number of spots open, and questions on ad prices, ad positions, and ad commitments may be directed to me, the webmaster by clicking here. Open space available at the moment includes the #1 spot on the right, the #2 position on the right, as well as spots lower down on both sides of the page.

Ads run in their position through the site, meaning they are not rotated.  Advertising is available on a first-come first-served basis, and discounts are provided for extended commitments. Advertising on the Dakotwarcollege.com website is based on a first come, first serve basis for available positions.

It’s a good opportunity to also acknowledge our current advertisers such as the Re-Election campaign for Monae Johnson for Secretary of State, US Senator John Thune, United States Senator Mike Rounds, the Dusty Johnson campaign, Melissa Hull for Treasurer, Heath Shields for Treasurer, Austin Hoffman for Attorney General, and my own Dakota Campaign Store.

You know you want to do it!  Information on ad prices, ad positions, and ad commitments may be directed to the webmaster by clicking here.

After the crazy SDGOP primary the rumor mill is on fire with who is going to end up running for what.  Just so everyone is on the same page, here’s what we know, what are hearing, and other speculation… Which might end up as speculative fiction, or so crazy it might be real.  I wouldn’t go to any of the on-line betting parlors with it. But, it shows what the chatter is out there on these races.

Attorney General:

Lance Russell (R) – Announced, Fall River/Oglala Lakota County State’s Attorney
Austin Hoffman (R) – Announced, McPherson County State’s Attorney
John Fitzgerald (R) – Announced, former State’s Attorney, former Circuit Court Judge

My notes:  I have actually heard rumors of another candidate jumping in. Which if it happens, should not come as a shocker given the crazy environment we’re existing in. The good thing in this race as it stands is that we have 3 people who are/have been county prosecutors. Anyone running for the office needs the experience of being a prosecutor, whether at the federal or state level. 

 

Secretary of State:

Monae Johnson (R) – Incumbent 
Heather Baxter (R) – Announced. Just lost her race for State House.

My notes: The latest rumor I heard is that 4th place gubernatorial candidate Jon Hansen’s name has been floated for this office, which tells you the hard-right faction of the SDGOP has ZERO faith in Heather Baxter at the moment.  I’ve also heard Hansen for Doeden’s Lt. Gov, so we’ll see.

 

Auditor:

Catherine Barranco (R) – Announced, Economist

My notes: There was another party looking at the race momentarily, but is taking a pass.  But this race could become less sleepy at a moment’s notice. If you recall, Republican activist & economist Catherine Barranco stepped into the race as her husband Dave stepped out due to a serious cancer diagnosis. It’s not a flashy or showy job, but an important one in the function of state government, because whoever gets it could make life miserable for the Governor by questioning every expense. We’ll see if anyone else decides to jump in in the remaining 3 weeks until convention.

 

Treasurer:

Melissa Hull (R) – Announced, office employee
Heath Shields (R) – Announced, businessman

My notes: Just like auditor, it’s one of those jobs that only a limited group wants. For a while, Former Senator Jeff Monroe had wanted it, but then he didn’t. But right now, this race has become one of the spicier contests for convention.  For a number of weeks into the run up for convention, Heath Shields had been dropping criticism, mainly via facebook on how the office of Treasurer is/was being operated by the current staff including incumbent Treasurer Josh Haeder.  Then on May 7th, a major bombshell was dropped on Shields via the Dakota Scout, with the headline “Bankruptcies, criminal past follow Custer man to South Dakota treasurer’s race” and opponent Melissa Hull quipping

“I can say that all new hires at the State Treasurer’s Office are required to pass a background check,” Hull said in a text message sent to The Dakota Scout on Thursday. “If what you have said is true, it does not sound like he would be hired to work there.”

Watch for this to be one of the more heated battles at the convention in Rapid City in a few weeks. 

 

School & Public Lands:

Brock Greenfield (R- Incumbent)

My notes: Here’s the unusual office where there is no drama. Today. Tomorrow or at convention – who knows. But today there is no drama. 

 

Public Utilities Commission: 

Don Haggar (R) – Has Announced, filed committee paperwork 
Peri Pourier (R) – Has a website up.
Jess Bahmuller (R) – Announced interest at Lincoln Day Dinner, but in taxiing mode at the moment
And others..

My notes: PUC is another race that could get really, really busy, very quickly.  Duane Bachman announced, but has been invisible since the Bon Homme Lincoln Day Dinner. Word is that a couple of other names keep popping up. I’ve heard State Senator and anti-pipeline activist Joy Hohn’s name come up on multiple occasions. In the latest line of lunacy, I heard SDGOP Chair Jim Eschenbaum‘s name come up with the rumor being that he might resign his position and run from the convention floor. Well, if he did that, then we’d have 2 former Democrats in the race with his 32 years in the Democrat Party, since Peri Pourier also just swapped parties in the last year or so. I don’t think that either Democrat dog would hunt, but as I said in the intro; it could be speculative fiction, or so crazy it’s real.  Word is that there are other more mainline candidates contemplating the job. So, look for this one to be fast and furious right up to the floor nominations.

That’s the latest on what we have to look forward to for convention in Rapid City. And it will change.

Stay tuned.