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Just had a legislator send me a text message:

wtf is this? – https://www.sdgop.com/2025/04/14/a-tale-of-two-political-movements

They – and myself – were quite surprised to see the SDGOP website having directly posted an attack from Hillary Clinton donor and Republican State Representative Liz May against the Governor and Lt. Governor. In part:

The “Open For Opportunity Tour,” led by Gov. Rhoden and Lt. Gov. Venhuizen, gives us a pretty clear picture of which movement they belong to. The Governor’s Office of Economic Development has approved millions in taxpayer-funded grants to support big business.

Meanwhile, their tour includes stops at major corporations like Masaba, Inc. and Manitou in Yankton, as well as visits to schools and universities.

But not a single stop, word, or acknowledgement of the Maude fence line dispute — an issue that impacts real South Dakotans, not just balance sheets. Crickets from the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Secretary of Agriculture.

and..

Why? Is it because there’s no political capital to be gained? Or is there another reason?

Read that here.

You know, that’s kind of interesting.  I had legislators like Spencer Gosch and especially Jon Hansen going to the party to cry about what I wrote on my own website, using my own resources, trying to cancel me for having the temerity to say that we as Republicans can do better.  I always suggested that they should be instructed to come to me directly if they had an issue, which never happened.

Yet, now with a change of party leadership, along with the chairman taking shots, the SDGOP is directly posting and hosting attacks against Republican elected officials on the opposite side of things?

Somehow, I’m not holding my breath that they’re going to come back and say “all is forgiven.”

So, me poking at Republicans saying stupid things or noting when they commit outright bad acts on my own website is bad. But when Hillary Clinton Donor Liz May, or 32 year Democrat/Obama Voter Jim Eschenbaum directly use their position or SDGOP resources to attack Republican elected officials, it’s good?

Hopefully they’ll clarify, so we know the rules from here on out.

At what point is it appropriate for the chairman of the SDGOP to meddle in primary elections?

Don’t ask former 32-year Democrat Jim Eschenbaum, as once again he’s shooting off his mouth to the media about one of our elected officeholders, and inserting himself into the next Gubernatorial primary:

“I think Governor Rhoden did very well this legislative session,” Eschenbaum said. But he said there is still plenty of time between now and the primary election on June 2, 2026.

Eschenbaum told South Dakota Searchlight that many Republicans he speaks with are critical of Johnson. A name they like is state House Speaker Jon Hansen.

Hansen would sometimes be introduced as “our governor” during rallies in opposition of Summit’s pipeline.

Read that here.

Just another reminder that he comes to the job of SDGOP chair not with the greater interest of the party in mind. He arrived with his own agenda, which involves elevating his cronies into higher office.

Here’s the downside of taking one for the team, in reference to Democrat Sheryl Johnson who ran this last election for Congress against Dusty Johnson:

SherylJohnson Termination 1q 2025 FEC Report by Pat Powers on Scribd

In taking one for the team, Sheryl’s committee ends with a duplicate payment returned, which allowed her to pay off consultants, and to walk away with $1912.10 left over from her refund for a mailing not issued/duplicate payment.  And with no fanfare, it’s over.

I suppose it could be worse, and she could be sitting with $36k in debt and going to events in a green hat & matching outfit, like Justin McNeal?

Well.. At least she is walking away with her dignity.

US Senator and Senate Majority Leader John Thune continues to be THE  juggernaut of fundraising among his fellow elected South Dakota Republicans, with enough cash on hand that he’s well prepared for any contest that would arise in the future:

1q Senator Thune FEC Report by Pat Powers on Scribd

With transfers from other committees, dividends, interest, and $405,072.90 in contributions, Senator Thune raised $620,052.67 in the first quarter of the year against expenses of $202,294.59.  Looking at that, It actually puts him in the same range as Senator Rounds for what he raised, which tells you that Rounds is working it.

Senator Thune’s cross to bear as Senate Majority Leader is that he is going to have higher expenses than might be typical for someone like Senator Rounds in comparison for political expenses which are paid out of his committee. But then again, if he was in cycle for an election, by that same token he would be raising plenty.

Otherwise, with $15,802,095.35 cash on hand at the end of the quarter, having to spend a little more is not a big concern.

US Senator Mike Rounds had a good 1st quarter in 2025, raising a respectable amount of cash which will only accelerate with an opponent announcing last week:

2025 1q Mike Rounds FEC Report by Pat Powers on Scribd

A net of $337,056.87 raised against expenditures of less than $40,000, leaving Mike $2,182,079.29 cash on hand to go into the second quarter of 2025.  That’s plenty of cash to get his campaign apparatus set up up and moving for the 2026 election.

A New Economic Boost for South Dakota
by Rep. Kent Roe

WOW! Deuel County, District 4 and the whole state may just be in for the largest economic boost we’re ever seen.

$4,300,000,000.00 – 200 plus jobs – $13,000,000.00 in payroll.

Yep. Count the zeros. That’s $4.3 BILLION.

First on the public agenda this morning at the Deuel County Commissioners meeting was Applied Digital, a Dallas TX based company. We met yesterday afternoon in anticipation of their presentation this morning. This is the same company currently constructing the data center in Ellendale ND.

There’s a lot to pack in here. Their proposal is to construct, on private land, a 900,000 square foot data center. Applied Digital is the “landlord” and they lease space to clients who use the facility. In this case, the site is anticipated to be leased to an AI company. This data center would cost approximately $4.3 billion. That’s a big number. BIG. NUMBER. We’re working with Applied Digital and also Dickey County in North Dakota as to how to establish the assessed value of an animal like this. Suffice it to say, the property tax generated by this economic powerhouse will likely be north of $5,000,000.00 a year. (I’m using Amtec in Deuel County to speculate on this. Their assessed value is $2.9 million and their tax load is about $50,000- from public record) Meaningful, especially to Deuel County.

More? 200 jobs. Applied Digital, in their presentation to the Deuel County Commissioners, posits the very high likelihood that these 200 jobs will pay an ~$65,000 year average wage/salary. More math, that’s ~$13,000,000.00 in payroll.

More? Yep. The energy consumed by the data center is taxed at 4.2%. The data center will consume either side of 100 megawatts of electricity. That’s more than the city of Watertown highest days use EVER. Sales tax revenue generated by this entrepreneur will be steady, reliable and constant. Every dollar they spend on electricity will PAY the state 4.2%.

More? In typical economies 7 jobs from one source will typically create an additional job nearby but unrelated to the host. So, it’s likely the non-direct jobs creation would be another 25+ jobs for entrepreneurs. Enterprises like daycare, bowling alleys, convenience stores, accountants, attorneys, etc.

More? This big idea presents opportunity for people. It creates competition in the labor market. Brings capital into the area. Creates more opportunities for our kids. Proves that South Dakota is open for business.

The downside: Plenty of people will peck away at this, I’ll let them have their fun. At the end of the day this is a winner.

I plan on working with Applied Digital, the Governor, the legislature, Deuel County and all interested parties to make this work. But it will take an effort by all to land this plane. Our legislature needs to create a long term and enduring platform for Applied Digital, and, additional enterprises, to work from.

We cannot go changing the rules midway through the process. I believe we can benefit immensely from the enterprise.

Join me in supporting a great guest. Let’s be the type of host we can count on.

Just had this pop up in my facebook feed with regards to tomorrow’s event with the Pennington County Republican Women featuring Senator John Thune:

Noticing it, my immediate reaction was good on them for featuring our senior US Senator. But also, a realization dawned on me that really, a number of those involved in Republican Women have stepped up and started doing some of the things that some of the more volatile county organizations have just stopped doing.

Off hand, would you think the Pennington County GOP itself would host an event featuring Senator Thune? No. Not likely at this point. They’d rather bring goofball & former Congressman Steve King to be their speaker.

Really, if you think about it, they or their members have taken over functions that the party at large does not have the resources or willingness to do anymore.

Last election, in the face of no funding from counties caring to meet their quotas, or the ability to raise money due to the chaos that the populists have wrought upon the party itself, there was no material in support of candidates being put out as had happened in previous years. For several elections before, the SDGOP had put out sometimes multiple slate cards and elections mailers across the state to help win elections.  But this last election? Nothing.

But – a group of Republican women decided that since the party could not do it, they would. And they sent the only slate mailer in support of candidates across SD.

Before that, they also had put into place an excellent calendar of events for Republican activities, which is still in use. While the party at large is still trying to figure out whether they want to put phone numbers or not on their website, and is having endless meetings after meetings on the topic, SDFRW is just quietly doing the work.

In the most recent development of the SDFRW taking over the function of the work the party had done in the past, former SDFRW President Catherine Barranco stepped up, and has taken over the organization of the Teenage Republican group. TARs had somewhat languished in recent years, dropping off events as party resources dried up, with TAR camp ultimately being canceled in the recent past.

But now, TAR camp is back on, as a vital lifeline to engaging young people to learn about politics and leadership.

I believe the common thread is that when it comes to the organization itself, in these examples, and what they have managed to do right is that they have found a path forward where they can leave egos and personal agendas aside, act for the greater good of the organization itself, and support Republicans.

A quality that has been lost on many of those who have taken over the Central Committee and those who have taken over the Republican Party.  Where the chairman is more worried about kicking out RINOs out of the party, scorcarding GOP officeholders, trash-talking the staff, joining Democrats to attack the DC Delegation, and causing the GOP at large to resemble a long-lasting and toxic tire fire.

Senator John Thune is faced with a unique set of challenges in his new role as Senate Majority leader in the face of President Trump, who seems to want to stretch the boundaries of presidential power in the balance among the three rings of government. The Associated Press recently posted an article about South Dakota’s own senior US Senator on the job:

At the outset, however, such an outcome was far from assured. President Donald Trump was making demands that the new Senate leader be ready to put the chamber into recess so he could skip over the Senate confirmation process altogether. Faced with that prospect, Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said his message in conversations with the president was, “Let us do this the old-fashioned way and just use the clock and grind it out, and then we’ll see where we go from there.”

That approach has been successful at allowing Thune to show Trump the Senate’s worth while also preserving its constitutional role in installing a president’s Cabinet.

and..

Discussing the reconciliation package as he sat in McConnell’s old leadership office, Thune stressed that for the GOP’s marquee legislation to work, “Everybody’s got to be rolling in the same direction. It takes a lot of teamwork.”

As Trump has entered office with practically total command of the Republican Party and an agenda to upend the federal government and its role in society, Thune acknowledged that Trump has been aggressive in his use of executive power. But he argued that it was no different from how previous presidents wanted to “take as much power as they possibly can,” pointing to President Joe Biden’s moves to cancel student debt and boost government food assistance.

“Our job is to do what we can to support the president and his agenda,” Thune said. “But, you know, be that important check and balance, too, that the Founders intended.

Read the entire story here.

What are your thoughts on the role of the legislative branch in response to President Trump’s actions? Should they be facilitating his agenda, or acting as a gut-check on keeping things from getting too outlandish?

The Justin McNeal for US Congress Committee is apparently still operating and spending the $50,000 he loaned the largely dormant committee according to the Federal Election Committee report filed today:

JustinMcNeal_1q2025 by Pat Powers on Scribd

According to the report, McNeal used his campaign to spend $500 to attend at the Butte County Lincoln Day Dinner. Despite the fact the committee was formerly used to support his race as an independent in it’s last incarnation. He also donated $204 to the American Legion. It’s odd, because those do not add up to the $1286.20 he claimed as “operating expenditures” in the report.

He might have spent that $300 on those brand new suede boots and pants he was observed wearing this week as he was tagging along with some of the populist legislators.

Otherwise, He’s got about $36,823.48 left in his account from the $50,000 he loaned the campaign on which no payments have been made.

I would venture he’s never going to see that debt retired.

Gov. Rhoden Appoints James Halverson and Eric Johannsen to the Second Century Habitat Fund Board

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden announced the appointment of James Halverson and Eric Johannsen to the Second Century Habitat Fund Board. The Second Century Habitat Fund, Inc is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation that works to educate landowners on the importance of grassland to improve pheasant habitat in South Dakota.

“I am proud of James Halverson and Eric Johannsen’s commitment to protecting both our land and our thriving pheasant populations,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “South Dakota’s strong heritage of pheasant hunting is unmatched, and the beautiful habitats across our state are ripe with countless sporting opportunities. James, Eric, and the other members of the Second Century Habitat Fund will keep it that way for generations to come.”

James Halverson is a first-generation calf producer and ranch owner with degrees in Agriculture Education, Animal Science, and Rangeland Ecosystem Management. He has served on multiple Game, Fish and Park Wildlife Task Force Committees and has a strong history of successful legislative efforts and collaboration. Halverson also has a proven record of leadership, having served as Director of External Affairs and Government Relations for NewsCenter1 Media Group and Executive Director for the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association.

“I am deeply humbled and honored by Governor Rhoden’s appointment. I’ve come to hold a belief that habitat conservation and productive agricultural lands are not diametrically opposed; in fact, with active land management and proper incentives, they enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship,” said James Halverson. “It is my aim to bring conservationists, land managers, sportsmen, and agriculturists together. I’m excited to be part of the team making a difference for the next generations of all who enjoy the wonderful outdoors South Dakota has to offer.”

Halverson is a proud husband, father, and Jackrabbit Alumni. He is also an award-winning professional rangeland evaluator. You can find a picture of James Halverson here.

Eric Johannsen graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in Agricultural Business and Animal Science. He farms and raises cattle with his family near Tolstoy, SD, and previously served as a Financial Advisor for Principal Financial Group. In 2014, Johannsen was named the SD Pheasants Forever Conservationist of the Year. He is also the recipient of several awards, including the 2^nd Century Habitat Fund Stewardship Award and the HuntFish SD Habitat Stewardship Award.

“I’m honored to be selected to serve on the Board of Directors for the Second Century Habitat Fund. I look forward to applying my experience as a conservation-oriented farmer and rancher to continue elevating ring-necked pheasants and grassland habitat as a colorful barometer of environmental health throughout our wonderful state,” said Eric Johannsen. “When farmers, ranchers, and landowners utilize conservation practices in tandem with production agriculture, it helps make South Dakota a destination for hunters and a wonderful place to raise a family.”

Johannsen has been married to his wife, Tina, for 19 years. Together, they have three daughters. You can find a picture of Eric Johannsen here.

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