Category: Uncategorized

Dakota News Now is reporting that State Senator Jamie Smith is already looking for another political job as he prepares to join the race for Sioux Falls Mayor:

This is coming after serving as State Senator since January of this year, giving him a tenure of 5 months as State Senator.   Smith previously had been the Democrat candidate for Governor against Kristi Noem in the last election, receiving roughly 35% of the vote, closer to 45% in Minnehaha County.  However, Noem did out-poll Jamie Smith in both Minnehaha and Lincoln Counties, which make up the Sioux Falls Metro area.

State Rep. Greg Jamison was also expressing an interest in the article linked to the facebook post.. but that comes at at interesting moment, after Jamison has aligned himself fully with the Hansen for Governor effort, endorsing him for Governor after he was named as a House Majority Whip earlier this year. In a contest for Mayor, it might earn him some endorsements from the Hansen confederates, but not necessarily all the legislators, by far. Not to mention it does little to reach out to the City’s heavy financial hitters needed to run the mayoral contest.

The 800 lb gorilla yet to tip her hand, and not mentioned in the article is SD Trucking Association/SD Auto Dealers Association President/CEO Christine Erickson. Christine is a former member of the South Dakota House of Representatives and at-large member of the Sioux Falls City Council, and is expected by many to announce her intentions for the race soon. Having previously served as the at-large Council member, she has the advantage of having ran city-wide on a couple of occasions.  She will likely be the person to beat in the contest, having wide contacts in state politics, and significant resources to draw on.

There will be others, Joe Batcheller, the zombie guy, and another one or two rumored, but we’ll see. The field will tighten up quickly as the next big race in South Dakota politics heats up.

Stay tuned.

Toby Doeden is blasting advertising across South Dakota in the wake of his announcement yesterday, including this 2-minute video on his social media. Which leads me to the question, If he’s running to represent the people, why are there so many politicians in his ad?

I noticed right off D3 State Representative Brandei Schaefbauer appearing in his ad several times, as does D1 State Rep. Logan Manhart. A reader swears that it’s “Hot Carl” Perry between them in this photo.

You’ll also find Brown County Commissioner Drew Dennert lodged firmly between Toby’s cheeks.. er, appearing in the ad in several places.

And I’m sure people can identify more politicians if they look closely enough.

The point being, for someone who claims not to be a politician, he has certainly spent a lot of money seeking their approval, and several of those “career politicians” who are beneficiaries of his largesse are happy to flock to him for it.

Attorney General Jackley Announces DCI Leading Investigation Into Multiple Inmate Assaults at State Penitentiary

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating reports of multiple assaults involving inmates Tuesday at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.

“The assaults occurred in different sections of the Jameson Annex at the same time,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Evidence suggests that the assaults are gang related, and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. There are no injuries to prison staff.”

Attorney General Jackley said the assaults were reported around 1 p.m. Tuesday.  Five inmates received stab wounds. Three were transported to Sioux Falls hospitals, and the other two were treated inside the prison. Additional inmates were injured from assaults involving homemade blunt objects, and others with fists and feet. An estimated 10 inmates were injured.

DCI is working with the South Dakota Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General on the investigation. All reports will be reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office for potential criminal prosecution.

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The campaign for 2026 is off and running! And as things heat up, South Dakota War College has advertising opportunities open for reaching South Dakota’s opinion leaders based on a first-come, first-serve basis for available positions.

South Dakota War College just celebrated our incredible 20th anniversary of keeping an eye on political leaders, and offering commentary from a conservative Republican point of view. With politics continuing to be controversial and directly affecting people’s day to day lives – website traffic is good, and readers are watching what happens!

Advertisers – I have a number of spots open, and questions on ad prices, ad positions, and ad commitments may be directed to the webmaster by clicking here. Lots of open space available at the moment, such as the #1 spot on the left available, as well as spots #2, 3 on the right, and spots on both sides lower on 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.

Please also take a moment to visit our long-time advertisers such as our friend and Senate Majority Leader South Dakota Senator John Thune,  Congressman Dusty Johnson, Republican United States Senator Mike Rounds and Summit Carbon Solutions. Of course, at Dakota Campaign Store, down on the right, you’ll find me getting ready for the elections with yard signs, postcards, and all the things a professional campaign needs to make an impression.

Thank you to our advertisers for your support, and please reach out if you’d like to join them!

I couldn’t listen, as I was recording Dakota Town Hall tonight, so I had the video on. And good gosh. Someone’s turkey timer was malfunctioning, and it looks like candidate Doeden got really overcooked, just in time for his announcement.

That sunburn might make for an uncomfortable night’s sleep. (If his announcement turnout doesn’t have him sleepless this evening.)

Hearing that at the campaign announcement tonight, Doeden has some politicians who are speaking at his event, led off by D29 State Senator John “California” Carley.

Also speaking are supposedly D1 State Rep, Logan Manhart, Minnehaha County Commissioner (and One-World Religion proponent) Cole Heisey, with his keynote speaker providing introductions D34 State Senator Taffy Howard.

This should be interesting.

The Doeden for Governor website is live. And before one word can come out of his mouth at his announcement, his campaign is already promoting outrageous falsehoods. Here’s the one that jumped out and grabbed me immediately.

Doeden claims to have supported conservative candidates “across the state his entire life?”

Well, that’s one liar whose pants are on fire.  Two words I would challenge him with: PROVE IT.

When his record of voting in the Republican Primary looks like this (as I’ve documented before)…

I would call that claim severely into question.

He voted (or at least I believe he did) in ONE Republican primary in 2024. Any other claim of his does not appear to be supported by the evidence.

His entire life?

Give me a break. That’s just an insult to anyone who has ever carried water for the elephant.

On the cusp of 4% Toby Doeden for Governor announcing, the 2% Jon Hansen for Governor campaign released this list of politicians endorsing politicians for political office:

There are quite a few on there that I would suspect candidate Doeden thought he had by virtue of dumping money into their campaigns, such as.. well most of them. Tom Pischke certainly saw a lot of Doeden cash, as did many others. I notice Al Novstrup also is eschewing his fellow Aberdonian.

Interestingly, others are announcing that they are separating themselves from Team Doeden on announcement day:

Doeden’s PAC lackey Brian Lewis is also inching away from Toby. No word yet on where he’s going to collect his next paycheck.

Interesting development on the fact that Toby can spend all he wants to try to buy elections, but money can’t buy him love.

Senator Mike Rounds’ Weekly Round[s] Up
MAY 19-25, 2025

Welcome to the Weekly Round[s] Up! We had yet another busy week out in DC. The highlight of my week was meeting with veterans who traveled to Washington this past week as part of the Midwest Honor Flight. There were 76 South Dakota veterans in attendance representing 37 towns across the state. This group of veterans selflessly served our nation in the Vietnam War, the Korean War and World War II. We’ll never be able to repay them for their sacrifice, but welcoming them to our nation’s capital so they can see the memorials that are dedicated to their service is a great tribute.  More on the rest of my week in my Weekly Round[s] Up:

South Dakota groups I met with: Tom Heinz, President of the Coffee Cup Travel Plazas; members of A.B.A.T.E. of South Dakota; Steve Bumann, Chief Investment Officer at BankWest; South Dakota members of the Zero to Three program; South Dakota veterans who were in town as part of the Midwest Honor Flight; South Dakota members of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association; R.F. Buche, President of the G.F. Buche Company; South Dakota members of the Edward Jones Grassroots Task Force; South Dakota members of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society; the American Council of Engineering Companies of South Dakota; Jenny Briest with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation; and South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Jensen.

South Dakota towns represented: Aberdeen, Belle Fourche, Beresford, Brandon, Britton, Brookings, Custer, Dakota Dunes, De Smet, Deadwood, Dell Rapids, Flandreau, Freeman, Gann Valley, Hartford, Hot Springs, Huron, Lake Preston, Lead, Lennox, Menno, Mina, Mitchell, North Sioux City, Philip, Pierre, Rapid City, Redfield, Salem, Selby, Sioux Falls, Spearfish, Sturgis, Tabor, Tea, Vermillion, Wallace, Watertown, Wessington Springs, Wagner, White Lake and Willow Lake.

Other meetings: General David Allvin, Chief of Staff for the Air Force; and Dr. Ben Ebert, President and CEO of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

I spoke with members of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association ahead of their Legislative Action Day. I attended our Senate Bible Study, where our reading of the week was Matthew 5:13-16.

Hearings: I attended seven open hearings this past week. We had one hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), where we heard from Secretary of the Air Force, and fellow South Dakotan, Dr. Troy Meink. In addition, we had one hearing in SASC’s Subcommittee on Strategic Forces and one hearing in SASC’s Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, which I chair.

As our appropriations process picks up, so are our Appropriations Committee hearings! I attended three appropriations subcommittee hearings this past week. We had two hearings in the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, and Related Agencies. We heard from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in one hearing and Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez DeRemer in the other. In addition, we heard from Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum in a hearing of the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

Finally, we had one hearing in the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Classified briefings: I had one classified briefing as part of my work on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Votes taken: 22 – many of these were related to a Congressional Review Act to overturn a rule in California. This rule, which would go into effect next year, would require 35% of vehicles sold in 2026 to be electric, and reaching 100% of new sales by 2035. If a manufacturer doesn’t meet that goal, they would be forced to pay a huge fine. While this is a California rule, it would affect manufacturing in states across the country, so we voted to overturn it.

My staff in South Dakota visited: Belle Fourche, Britton, Elm Springs, Mobridge, Sisseton, Sturgis and Wakpala.

Steps taken: 54,083 steps or 26.32 miles.

Photo of the week: Pretty special to meet World War II veterans William Butler and George Olson, both of Sioux Falls, at the National World War II Memorial in Washington this past week.

Had I mentioned the other candidate for Governor who has filed paperwork with the Secretary of State to run in 2026?  A Terry Philip Gleason of Chamberlain has apparently filed a Statement of Organization for running to become South Dakota Governor:

Terry Gleason Campaign Disclosure by Pat Powers on Scribd

According to social media, his plan is to run for the office as an independent. (I do note that some people out there on the far right that just can’t wait to help him tell his story):

Except I’m thinking there’s going to be a little bump or two in the road that he’s going to face on the road to the South Dakota Governor’s mansion.

From a quick review of public records, it appears that Terry Phillip Gleason with the same address in Chamberlain is on a registry. And I don’t mean that he’s registered at Macy’s hoping to get Lenox china.  The South Dakota Sex Offender registry notes Gleason’s registration for a 6/26/2000 conviction of rape in the third degree (15 yo victim) for which he appears to have been sentenced out of Beadle County to time in the State Pen.

Normally, someone on the sex offender registry is barred from circulating petitions for office in South Dakota. BUT, there is a carveout in state law that notes “The provisions of § 12-1-32 do not apply, if the registered sex offender is circulating any nominating petitions on his or her own behalf for election to any federal, state, or local office for which the registered sex offender is otherwise qualified.”  So, he will be able to circulate his own petitions. 

It’s a free country and all if he has an interest in running for office. But, I don’t know that anyone else running for Governor has restrictions against being in schools and public parks through community safety zone restrictions (per SDCL 22-24B-23) as Mr. Gleason’s registry entry notes.  So, we’ll see if he ends up on the campaign trail this next year.

Independent petitions to run for Governor are due in the Secretary of State’s office on April 28th, 2026.