Thune: Senate to Overturn California Waiver Rules
“[T]he California waivers rules are an improper expansion of a limited Clean Air Act authority and would endanger consumers, our economy, and our nation’s energy supply.”
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:
Click here to watch the video.
Attorney General Jackley Warns Consumers About Sales Tactics Used by Some Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Companies
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley warns consumers that some over-the-counter hearing aid companies are using misleading sales tactics when reaching out to the public.
“Consumers should only have their hearing tested by a qualified audiologist or hearing instrument specialist,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Over-the-counter, direct-to-consumer, hearing aids are not regulated by the FDA.”
May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, and consumers, especially senior citizens, are encouraged to have their hearing tested by a qualified specialist. Hearing loss leads to many co-morbidities, including cognitive decline, falls, depression, cardiovascular issues, and an increased risk of dementia.
Attorney General Jackley’s Consumer Protection Division offers these consumer safety tips when dealing with these companies or others offering a service.
Consumers who believe they have been a victim of a scam resulting from such a transaction should contact the Attorney General’s Office’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-300-1986 or at https://consumer.sd.gov/, You may be helping someone else out by reporting what you’ve encountered.
-30-
Sounds like President Trump is seeking energy independence in the form of pipeline language to be returned to the reconciliation bill:
TRUMP to House Republicans:
“Please put the pipeline language back in. Who doesn’t love pipelines? Let’s get this done. We need to build pipelines.”
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 20, 2025
A little history on myself that some might not be aware of.
My mom had an auction business which operated for a decade, close to two decades in Pierre. I am actually a trained auctioneer (via the World Wide College of Auctioneering in Mason City Iowa). And while I was not going to attempt to call a cattle sale, at my most practiced I could hold my own calling a personal property sale just fine.
So, the point is that in the days before eBay and all the on-line sales, we used to do a lot of retirement sales where people retiring to town would sell out their stuff, and we would help them dispose of it. And I remember one sale where a couple of the adult kids back by the cashier literally got in a fight over who was going to get the proceeds from “mom’s sale.” The problem was, mom wasn’t dead.
They got into an actual shoving match while standing over their elderly mom who was seated in her wheelchair. It was literally the height of trashiness.
I bring it up, as the Minnehaha GOP members are looking more and more like this trashy family fighting over control of mom’s money as they stand over mom herself, as the bickering continues and escalates over who controls the Minnehaha County Republican Party. Never mind that 99.95% or more of the nearly 60,000 registered Republicans in Minnehaha County could care less, and think they all look silly and trashy.
Here’s more of the train wreck that is the Republican Party organization representing our state’s largest county:
Here’s all the attachments being referenced…
So, we have someone from one faction calling out the former vice-chair Jennifer Foss as a “former Democrat,” and we have the awful former vice-chair Jennifer Foss calling out the current board members’ behavior as “communism.”
For the good of the cause – which is supposed to be about trying to get Republicans elected.. maybe they all need to actually concern themselves with that. Getting Republicans elected.
Instead of spending their time being concerned about their own egos.
Hot off the press.. Apparently 4% Toby Doeden may have hired people to help him run for Governor, at least, according to one kid identifying himself as “Grant Santos.” Young Mr. Santos claims he’s working for the Doeden campaign, and is now sending out text messages to legislators to ask them to talk with them about who they would be supporting for Governor.
Interesting. If he’s working for Toby, young Mr. Santos may want to consider changing his profile picture where he’s proudly standing side by side with Governor Rhoden:
And really.. From California?
We already need to get rid of “California” Carley. Someone should tell Toby not to put any more California into our South Dakota political races!
(Good advice – I’ve gotten this text twice this week! – pp)
Attorney General Jackley Warns Consumers Again Of Toll Road Text Message Scam
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley warns consumers that a familiar text message scam, where people are ordered to pay a tax for traveling on South Dakota’s roads and bridges, has been reported again in the state.
“The Toll Road Text Message scam preys on a person’s honesty,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Several citizens have been scammed into sending money after being threatened with fines or other penalties for not paying an overdue, phony toll.”
Scam toll road text messages have been reported statewide this week. Attorney General Jackley’s Consumer Protection Division said the toll road text message, first seen in South Dakota earlier this year, does not say what state the toll is from, and the amount is not displayed until the consumer opens the link.
South Dakota’s Department of Transportation, on its website, reminds the public that all South Dakota state-owned roads and bridges are toll free.
The Consumer Protection Division also offers these other tips to consumers:
Consumers who believe they may have been a victim of this, or any other scam should contact the Attorney General’s Office’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-300-1986 or at https://consumer.sd.gov/, You may be helping someone else out by reporting what you’ve encountered.
-30-
In addition to House Leadership forcing a prison construction project do-over after $50 million had already been spent on the Lincoln County site, there’s another pressure campaign that should come to mind.
It isn’t just Pepperidge Farms that remembers, but so does former State Senator Erin Tobin:
and in case you can’t recall what Erin remembers, here’s just a couple of the facebook posts documenting what the man with a basketball court in his house & who flies a jet between Aberdeen and Pierre was complaining about being luxurious prison overspending by the state:
How far back was Doeden and his PAC actively campaigning with that line of thinking?
That seemed like… about A BILLION dollars ago..
In case you saw the headlines today…
“The potential construction costs of these recommendations (not including the demolition of SDSP) are expected to be between $1.9 to $2.1 billion,” according to the report, which calls for building up to three different prison complexes over the next decade, putting the blame squarely on the state’s incarceration rates.
Don’t forget what happened the last legislative session, and who spearheaded the death of that bill:
A legislative maneuver meant to secure funding and continue discussion on an $825 million men’s prison failed by two votes Friday in the South Dakota House of Representatives.
The vote on House Bill 1025 was 34-35, with one member absent and a majority of 36 votes required for passage. The House could vote on whether to reopen debate when lawmakers return to Pierre next week.
The vote throws the future of the massive prison project into question, and could chart a path to easing some of the state’s financial strain in a year where lawmakers are pondering cuts and swatting back funding requests.
and..
Lems was the first to speak against the amended version of the bill. She rattled off questions about the prison’s rural location and a pending lawsuit over that location, unknown costs for roads and ongoing operations, and on a price tag she sees as too high.
and..
House Speaker Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, said some of the unspent prison money could ultimately be placed into the prison fund, where it earns interest.
As opposed to getting a darn prison built with the plan already in motion, House leadership and their allies killed moving the project forward. Aaanndd… now we find out that because of the delays and fooling around, it’s likely going to cost taxpayers another billion… with a B.
Weren’t some of them complaining that it was somehow “a ritz-carlton” prison? I know Logan Manhart parroted that line. Well, come to find out it was more of a Motel 6 prison, and they’ve caused the cost to double.
State Representative Taylor Rehfeldt, who pushed for the funding to move forward this past winter session was very prescient:
Republican Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, who requested the reconsideration, said questions have been answered. She said it’s “very clear” South Dakota needs a new prison. She said it “absolutely” will be expensive at $825 million and said it “probably” would be more if delayed, regardless where the location is.
The guaranteed maximum price expires on March 31.
And we let that locked in maximum blow away with the South Dakota wind less than 60 days ago.
Don’t like the new predicted cost? You can thank House Leadership for the cost doubling. Thanks guys!
Project Prison Reset Task Force Shares Consultant Report
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, the Project Prison Reset task force shared the completed consultant report by Arrington Watkins. You can find the consultant report here.
“This new third-party report confirms what our task force concluded: that the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls has reached the end of its useful life,” said Lt. Governor Tony Venhuizen, who chairs the task force. “The report also found that our system is overcrowded and requires a new facility and, absent changes in law, we can expect this problem to get even worse over time.”
Arrington Watkins’ report specifically analyzed the state of our current system, including the South Dakota State Penitentiary, the Jameson Prison Annex, and the Sioux Falls Minimum Center. The consultant will evaluate potential sites for a new prison in the second phase.
The task force was announced by Governor Larry Rhoden in February. You can find information about past Project Prison Reset meetings here.
###
Gov. Rhoden Signs Hours of Service Waiver to Bring Relief for Fuel Supply
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden signed Executive Order 2025-05 granting an hours of service waiver for certain liquid products being transported through South Dakota.
The 14-day order exempts delivery of gasoline, or gasoline blends, diesel, fuel oil, ethanol, propane, jet fuel, and biodiesel from federal motor carrier regulations regarding drivers’ hours of service. The waiver will address supply shortages being reported in the state by businesses and residents.
Although hours of service have been temporarily suspended for commercial deliveries, companies may not require or allow fatigued drivers to make deliveries. All other road safety and vehicle compliance regulations still apply.
The executive order is consistent with other states in the region, including Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas, who currently have similar waivers in effect. The executive order expires at midnight on May 29, 2025.
###