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WEEKLY ROUND[S] UP: July 29-August 4, 2024
by Senator Mike Rounds

We had a busy week in Washington to close out our summer work period. I was able to meet with several South Dakotans this week, speak at an artificial intelligence event, cast votes on the Senate floor and introduce legislation to offer a new loan option for students paying for higher education. We also said goodbye to our summer interns in the DC office. Now, I’m back in South Dakota for our in-state work period. I’m looking forward to spending this month making visits all across the state to hear more about the issues that are important to you. Here’s my Weekly Round[s] Up:

South Dakotans I met with: South Dakota members of Christians United for Israel; Ryman LeBeau, Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe; Dr. Vance Thompson of Vance Thompson Vision in Sioux Falls; the South Dakota Council of Administrators of Special Education; and Major General Mark Morrell, Adjutant General of the South Dakota National Guard.

Met with South Dakotans from: Aberdeen, Box Elder, Twin Brooks, Dakota Valley, Eagle Butte, Lennox, Sioux Falls and Sturgis.

Other meetings: Matthew Sannito, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Army G-4; a delegation of leaders from Rwanda; leaders from Gevo; Steve Forthuber and Dr. Greg Sorensen, leaders from RadNet; Alan Garber, Interim President at Harvard University; Neel Kashkari, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; Ukrainian Members of Parliament; and Charlie Scharf, CEO of Wells Fargo.

I attended an AI summit, where I spoke with attendees about my work on artificial intelligence, as well as the future of AI regulation in the United States. I attended our weekly Senate Prayer Breakfast, where my friend Senator Angus King of Maine was our speaker.

Votes taken: 11 – many of these were on nominations to positions within the Department of State and judge positions in Maine, New York and Pennsylvania. We also voted on a package of bills that contained the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act. I voted yes on these pieces of legislation that would expand both privacy and safety for kids online.

In addition, we voted on legislation which would have increased the amount of refundable Child Tax Credits available to people who are not paying taxes, but would have eliminated tax credits for almost 27 million Americans who are paying taxes. I voted no because I believe we have to address other tax policies which are expiring next year, and these proposals should be part of that discussion. Members on both sides of the aisle also voted no, recognizing the need to do a more comprehensive approach that would address the upcoming tax policies that will be expiring. We expect a major tax reform bill to be forthcoming either after the election or after the first of the year.

The Affordable Future Loan Program: This past week, I introduced legislation that would offer a new affordable loan option. Under this proposal, credit unions and banks would be allowed to make direct loans to students which would be guaranteed up to 98% by the federal government. The federal government would pay the interest on these loans while the individual is a full-time student. The student could attend a college or a technical school.

This would be very similar to the guaranteed loan program that was successful in the 1960s through the early 2000s. Once the student graduated, they would begin repaying the loan at a lower interest rate than many of them have today, and could extend the payment period out to 15 years. This was a very successful program and was replaced when the Obama administration eliminated the direct loan program and required all of these loans to be made through the federal government, which has been a bureaucratic nightmare. My proposal does not eliminate any of the existing subsidized plans, but rather adds an additional plan based on the previous successful program that would provide loans to middle income families.

You can read more about the program along with the full text of the bill here.

Hearings: I attended one hearing this week in the Senate Armed Services Committee, where we heard from leaders from the Commission on the National Defense Strategy. You can watch a clip of my questions for them here.

Classified briefings: I attended four classified briefings this week. One was part of my work on the Select Committee on Intelligence, while one was related to my work on the Senate Armed Services Committee. I also attended our bi-weekly cyber education seminar, and a briefing with the Strategic Forces Association.

My staff in South Dakota visited: Aberdeen and Olivet.

Steps taken this past week: 55,524 steps or 27.52 miles.

Photo of the week:

My team and I were lucky to have a great group of summer interns, both in South Dakota and in DC. My DC interns, Seth, Griffin, Ella and Lily, are pictured here after our breakfast in the Senate Dining Room to thank them for their hard work this summer. Seth is from Sioux Falls, where he graduated from O’Gorman High School. Griffin is from Onida and attends the University of South Dakota, while Ella is a Jackrabbit at South Dakota State University. Lily is from Spearfish and was lucky to have her sister out in DC completing a Congressional internship as well.

Yesterday, District 20 Republican State Representative Ben Krohmer withdrew from the fall ballot at the very last minute, creating the 4th legislative vacancy (3 dems, 1 R) in District 20 in 6 legislative slots for the fall election.

Apparently, no one from D20 wants to be in Pierre!

For Republicans, what does that mean? What is the process?  According to an e-mail that went out this morning:

From: Rich Hilgemann
Date: Wed, Aug 7, 2024, 11:25 AM
Subject: D20 replacement meeting notice

I am Rich Hilgemann, a region director for the state Republican party, Chairman Wiik has tasked me with running this replacement meeting. I am reaching out because all of you are eligible voters and need to be notified of a replacement meeting to be held on Monday August 12th at the Mitchell Public Library, 221 N. Duff Street in Mitchell, SD.

Yesterday afternoon Representative Krohmer withdrew from the 2024 general election ballot. All elected Republicans residing in District 20, and organized county party executive boards are eligible to vote at a replacement meeting. Davison County Republicans have a room booked for us and will also help with credentialing.

Credentials will run from 6pm to 7pm.
Nominations and voting starts at 7pm.
Spectators are welcome but I will ask they be seated separately from the credentialed voting block.

Those eligible to obtain credentials: There are 2 organized counties in District 20, Jerauld and Davison and their executive boards are eligible as long as they are still registered Republicans in District 20/their counties. District 20 partisan office holders, current Legislators/Senator, county elected officials (Coroner, Sheriff, Auditor, Deeds, Treasurer, Commissioners, State’s Attorney) and precinct people.

Nominations and a second will be required to be considered a candidate. Nominating speeches and candidate speeches I believe would be in order, seconding speeches optional. Nominations and seconds can only be made by credentialed voters.

I do want to apologize for the short notice and nature of this notice but the deadline for replacement is the day after the meeting so email, social media, and phone calls are what we are relegated to. Also I would ask your help in forwarding this email to those who are eligible but have not seen this email notice or know about the meeting yet.

Please feel free to reply to this email with questions or concerns.

Thanks!
Rich Hilgemann

In case you’re looking for the specific bylaw passages,

You should also refer to who is on the central committee…

The GOP’s candidate will be voted on, as detailed in Hilgemann’s e-mail and in the bylaws as being the precinct committeepeople (selected at the primary),  current officeholders, and the GOP County Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, State Committeeman and State Committeewoman.

RUMOR ALERT: I’m hearing that multiple candidates are rumored to be looking at it, including (former vice president of Muth Electric, Terry Sabers, and – UPDATE Sabers not running per local media)  local Mitchell landlord Boyd Reimnitz. And I’m sure there will be more names flying before Monday’s meeting.

There’s no specific process if someone wants to run to be a candidate, other than showing up and campaigning for the office.. and no requirement that candidates be a precinct people of county central committees.  Candidates would just have to be registered Republicans residing in District 20 (Davison, Jerauld, Miner, or Sanborn).  While there is no general election at the moment, there may be if Democrats fill the open positions on the ballot.

If Democrats don’t fill on their side? The person chosen Monday night may be the next State Representative from District 20.

How do you tell that a South Dakota politician is done running for office?

Minnesota is a lot more attractive to South Dakotans than South Dakota is to Minnesotans. https://t.co/qajC9blLdR

— Reynold Nesiba (@ReynoldNesiba) August 7, 2024

I get the feeling that Governor Noem does not care for Tim Walz..

Tim Walz is so terribly radical that his own citizen legislature brought legislation to allow certain counties to leave Minnesota and join us here in South Dakota. pic.twitter.com/DAXNdvVeUz

— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) August 6, 2024

Walz is no leader. He’s a radical. I served with him in Congress. He pretended to be moderate, then showed his true extremist colors as soon as he became Governor.

South Dakota has been kicking Minnesota’s butt economically for years. Last year, nearly 7,000 Minnesotans moved to…

— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) August 6, 2024

Are you familiar with the term “robber baron?”

Historically, robber baron was a term first used in the 19th century as social criticism regarding wealthy individuals who would often use their cash to influence politics.  As changes in the landscape of politics have taken hold in the South Dakota’s political scene, we seem to be starting a new era in state politics where the wealthy – or at least well-heeled – are the new age’s robber barons, using their pocketbooks to insert themselves into the state’s political conversations and drive them to their own benefit (and shameless self-promotion).

It’s not a new phenomena by any stretch of the imagination in South Dakota politics where ego often comes into play, as people have tried to buy elections and set themselves up as people of influence. Arguably, that’s been taking place almost as long as we’ve had elections in our country. But coming at a time in South Dakota when the State Republican Party is fractured by waves of indifference and populism, the new robber barons are making a grab to drive the conversation in ways they want. And they’re pushing back against anything that might interfere with their vision.

Back in the summer of 2005, one of the earliest things I wrote about was when Republicans contended with a challenge from the left from a group funded by wealthy Rapid City resident Stan Adelstein, pushing back against conservatives funding a group called the “South Dakota Mainstream Coalition,” with members such as Duane Sutton of Aberdeen. And they hired State Rep. Ed Olson to be their Executive Director. As noted in the Rapid City Journal at the time (7/12/05), one critic pointed out that these “liberals in Republican clothing simply realize they are out of the mainstream, and want to redefine what mainstream means.”

The group spent some money in the 2006 elections, but that effort quickly dried up. Adelstein lost his primary election, and dumped money into funding his opponent, as well as a number of democrat races; a trend that has continued to more recent elections. The Mainstream coalition quickly died off when they lost elections and the money dried up.  During this time, the SDGOP was on the uphill climb in South Dakota, so a cult of personality masquerading as a political movement didn’t really affect the party.

Fast forward nearly twenty years (and yes, I’m dating myself), and we have new robber barons trying to influence Republican state politics.  Who are some of them?

Cufflink salesman Adam Broin, scion of the POET Broin family, made a push to take over Conservative Republican politics in the Sioux Empire region of the state around 2022 working with former Minnehaha County GOP Chair Dave Roetman to create the Patriot Ripple Effect. They held anti-establishment rallies against vaccination and incumbents.

This group seemed to reach it’s perihelion in that 2022 election when they had founded groups in Brookings (led by Rick Weible) and Watertown (led by some DJ).. ..and those groups quickly broke away as independent or just plain fizzled out.  That organization seemed to start contracting when they started kicking people out for being perceived as disloyal.

Anymore, they pay for a website, which they post to occasionally, but the handwriting is on the wall.  This group might not be around by the time of the 2026 election.

Starting last year, when he paid for polling asking people if they knew his name, Aberdeen car salesman & developer Toby Doeden tried to set himself up as the next big thing in Republican politics and launched an exploratory bid for Congress. Which came utterly crashing down in less than 30 days when it came out that he had never voted in a Republican primary election, leading him to abandon the race.

Instead, Doeden shifted his efforts to dumping significant amounts of money into state legislative primaries, with reasonable effect. Coinciding with the current populist effort against CO2 pipelines and GOP State Party infighting, a number of incumbents were ousted. With the primary dust settled, Doeden is already back trying to push a renewed round of polling of his unknown name against Kristi Noem and Dusty Johnson.

The problem with feeding your money to the political cycle is that it’s never full. We’ll see if he’s still interested in throwing money at it in 2026.

The newest robber baron in state Republican politics is Sioux Falls entrepreneur Chris J. Larson, who popped up out of the blue over the last few months, and is spending his money to form a statewide ballot question committee railing against many measures on the South Dakota ballot.  Larson, who started the Comfort King mattress company, wrote in a recent column in The Dakota Scout:

Normies believe the both Covid and our current record-breaking inflation are naturally occurring events, similar to a bad winter, not the fault of evil and/or inept humans.

and..

Normies keep their heads buried in the sand until WHOOPS! too late, the Marxists have totally captured every single institution in our country. Just ask the good “Nice” citizens in the state of Minnesota, who can have their child removed from their home by the government if the parent refuses to “affirm their gender.” Yes, Normie, this is the New Normal in America. Coming soon!

Read that here.

Larson also wrote recently about the Republican party on his own personal website:

The body of the SD Republican Party is right now in stage 4 “Moderate cancer”. The “Moderates” have metastasized to the point that they have overwhelmed all of our “major organs”. To be clear, I am not saying that Moderates are a cancer to humanity; they are a cancer to the Republican Party leadership. The truth is that in our state the leaders of this party are not conservative in any real sense of the word. State Party Chairman, Senate Leader, all three of our federal representatives, Secretary of State, most of our mayors, the Governor. No, we are being governed by Moderates in Conservatives clothes.

and..

If you asked a Moderate, they would claim that it’s because their “middle of the road” (i.e. mushy) worldview is simply the most popular with the voters. I believe that it’s due to the fact that since they are unmoored from any ideological firmament, they are more easily controlled; for sale to the highest bidder. I mean, does anyone really believe that a cretin like Lee Schoenbeck is passionate about carbon emissions? Or that Pat Powers, who just this week was sent out by his handler, whoever that is, to attack a Pro-Life warrior and true Patriot Jon Hansen, somewhere in his dark little heart is harboring a deep love for our founding principles? Or that GOP Chairman John Wiik spends any of his time and energy trying to help truly conservative folks get elected? Or that Kristi Noem cares deeply for the people of South Dakota? Or that Thune, Dusty and Rounds are going to conserve even a tiny fraction of our traditions out there in the Great Swamp they muck around in? Certainly not!

Read that here.

(Not sure how I rated, since I had no clue who this clown was until yesterday). If you think Governor Kristi Noem, and Monae Johnson are “flaming moderates”..  the problem might not be them.  Minnesota has their pillow guy spouting crazy nonsense, and now South Dakota has a mattress guy spouting crazy nonsense.

The well-to-do throwing their cash around trying to convince people how to vote is a phenomena as old as politics itself. Especially given that they’re largely here today and gone tomorrow when they get bored.

The question for us is whether we let ourselves buy into it.

‘Border Czar‘ & Democrat Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris has reportedly picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the fall election between herself and former President Donald Trump:

The naming of the 60-year-old Walz was not a shocker, as his name was instantly thought to be in contention in the two weeks since Harris succeeded President Biden as the party’s standard-bearer.

and..

Having the plainspoken Walz on the national ticket not only helps Harris in Minnesota, it also benefits the vice president in the two neighboring Midwestern battlegrounds of Wisconsin and Michigan.

Walz, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, may also help Harris when it comes to bringing in campaign cash, as he has helped steer the DGA to record-breaking fundraising this year.

Read the entire story here.

I’m just dumber for having read this.  Apparently Republican State Representative Kevin Jensen thinks “real women” have no nerve endings below the waist to protect in contact sports:

Since Kevin isn’t up on his basic female anatomy to go with his mansplaining, as the parent of 2 daughters with black belts in TKD, yes, girls wear protective gear in full contact sports, such as boxing, martial arts, hockey, etcetera and so on. If he can’t figure it out, he should ask his wife.

Jesus H, some legislators should have Facebook taken away.

I probably paid more for this than I might have normally, but how often do you see campaign pieces promoting Peter Norbeck for Lt. Governor?

This is a campaign ink blotter, which is what they used to use to keep ink from being messy before the invention of ball point pens. They generally went of out existence in the 50’s. Up until that point, one side was blotter paper, and the other side would often be used for advertising messages, including political.

So, like a button or keychain, this is an honest-to-gosh Peter Norbeck campaign piece from his 1914 campaign for Lt. Governor, when he served one term before becoming South Dakota’s 9th Governor (1917-1921), and his three terms of office in the US Senate from 1921-1936.

If you’re not familiar with Peter Norbeck’s contributions to South Dakota, you should be, because he’s one of the giants of our State:

Norbeck made a number of contributions to South Dakota’s tourism industry. He worked with sculptor Gutzon Borglum to help him create his huge sculpture at Mount Rushmore, convinced presidents Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt to support it, and shepherded multiple bills through Congress to provide federal funding for it.^[1] He encouraged the development of the Iron Mountain Road in the Black Hills. He also pushed for the development of Sylvan Lake, Needles Highway, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, and the Game Sanctuary in the Black Hills.^[7]

and..

Norbeck died of cancer in Redfield, South Dakota, during his third term as United States Senator in 1936. He is interred at Bloomington Church Cemetery, Platte, South Dakota.

The Peter Norbeck Summer House, in Custer State Park, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read that here.

Literally, Western South Dakota would not be the destination it is without his contributions to our culture.

A great addition to my wall of South Dakota campaign pieces.

A Laundry List of Bad Ideas
By Sen. John Thune

Two years ago, Democrats in Congress passed the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. At that time, they claimed that the bill would bring down inflation and reduce the budget deficit. Two years later, it’s clear that those promises haven’t come to pass.

To begin with, the bill’s title is outright deceptive. Even before it became law, it wasn’t expected to do much to combat inflation – inflation that Democrats created in the first place. Economists later agreed it did little, if anything, to combat the inflation crisis. And even President Biden acknowledged that the Inflation Reduction Act had “nothing to do with inflation.”

Democrats’ claim that it would reduce the deficit also proved to be untrue. The cost of the bill’s provisions has grown to such an extent that it’s not only not going to reduce the deficit, it’s likely to add to it.

The bill did, however, spend more than a trillion dollars on Green New Deal policies and hit conventional energy producers with burdensome tax hikes. It reads like a laundry list of wasteful spending, doling out taxpayer dollars for planting trees, purchasing zero-emission garbage trucks and postal delivery vehicles, and even grants for climate-related political activity.

Then there are the tax credits for well-off Americans to buy an electric vehicle. Perhaps the Biden administration’s signature environmental policy is effectively forcing the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), and the Inflation Reduction Act was a big part of that push. The other part – new regulations from the administration forcing automakers to electrify a huge portion of their fleets in the next few years – is driving up the cost of the law.

Besides the fact that many Americans have legitimate concerns about electric vehicles, or just don’t want one, the Biden administration’s push for EVs comes at a time when our electric grid is barely keeping up with existing demand. Plugging in millions of cars is sure to further strain our electrical grid and lead to higher prices, and possibly blackouts.

Of course, this was also the bill that funneled $80 billion in new funding to the Internal Revenue Service, most of which was earmarked for increased audits and enforcement to fund Democrats’ Green New Deal vision. And it also included price controls on prescription drugs, which one analysis projects will result in 135 fewer new drugs available to patients. We are already seeing that projection come true as multiple drug companies have halted new research as a result of the new law.

The Inflation Reduction Act not only did not address inflation, it’s contributing to a host of bad outcomes for the American people. It’s a laundry list of bad ideas, from unrealistic Green New Deal policies to costly taxes and irresponsible spending. And this bill represents only a portion of the reckless taxing and spending Democrats would like to do if they again have the power to do it.

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Let Hogs Run Free 
By: Gov. Kristi Noem  
August 2, 2024  

All across South Dakota, you’ve probably heard the roaring “wild hogs” across our highways and through our towns. Their roars and rumbles send a clear message: the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is back!

In many ways, the rumble of the motorcycles has become synonymous with South Dakota and Freedom. This rally has always been emblematic of free spirits – of Freedom itself. As I said in the past, “Many of the visitors… say they’re coming to South Dakota specifically because it reminds them of the America they grew up in. Free. Independent. Unburdened by the constraints and headaches that big cities… forced upon them.”

Ever since South Dakota became the only state in America to stay “Open for Business” during the pandemic, that is truer now than ever before.

That same spirit of Freedom will be in full force at this year’s rally. American flags will be everywhere! We all expect that, and we welcome it.

Last year, I also wrote that “I didn’t think I’d find so much Jesus at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.” I told the story of the Sons of Light Ministry at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, and how they host a pancake breakfast to spread the Gospel. I’ll be spending some time with the Sons of Light again this year.

Sadly, some in the media weren’t interested in that story – they were more interested in mocking me for telling it. But I’m not going to let their naysaying diminish my excitement for the Freedom – and yes, the faith – that will be found at the rally in the coming days.

I understand that Sturgis might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but that’s no reason to take away from the experiences of anyone else – or to use the rally as an excuse to take political potshots.

Many people work hard to create a fun, exciting, and safe atmosphere for people to enjoy during the rally, and I’m grateful for all those who do – including law enforcement, EMTs, local leaders, and community members.

For years, the media has tried to use Sturgis to attack our love for Freedom and our way of life here in South Dakota. They lied about the COVID cases tied to the rally and criticized those who chose to celebrate Freedom with us. We understand by now that those criticisms come with the territory.

We are going to enjoy the rally anyway.

I can’t wait to see longtime friends and to make new ones. I can’t wait to listen to incredible concerts with excited fans. I can’t wait to celebrate our veterans, our military, and all the things that make America great.

I can’t wait for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally! And I hope to see you there.

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