Category: Uncategorized

Here’s another one that wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card for 2024. Former Minnehaha County States Attorney Aaron McGowan is running to be a State’s Attorney again… and the former Democrat is trying his luck as a Republican this time, and instead of running where he lives, he’s trying his luck in Lake County:

Aaron McGowan has filed candidacy for Lake County State’s Attorney, challenging a Republican incumbent in the upcoming June primary election.

The former Democrat served as Minnehaha County State’s Attorney from 2009 to 2019, when he stepped down following a months-long scandal involving workplace misconduct allegations and a 911 police call to his Sioux Falls home that was shielded from the public.

and..

Those news reports prompted Gov. Kristi Noem to call for an investigation into McGowan by the DCI. The agency would go on to issue a report outlining multiple unexplained absences, accusations of drunkenness, inappropriate messages being sent to employees and an instance where McGowan offered a female employee a day off in exchange for her buying alcohol.

Read the entire story here.

In case you were looking for more background, there was far more extensive coverage before he resigned from office and was given a $35,000 parachute by the Minnehaha County Commission to go away:

But multiple Minnehaha County employees have told the Argus Leader on background that McGowan was under investigation for workplace misconduct. The investigation was sparked by a separate investigation by Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, which was released in October. Besides finding unexplained absences and accusations of drunkenness, the Ravnsborg investigation included an incident involving a female employee in McGowan’s office.

and..

“The female employee was interviewed and stated that McGowan did give her the day off, she bought the bottle of alcohol, he came over for a few hours and made her feel uncomfortable at times, but then he left on a bicycle,” the attorney general report said.

Read the entire story here.

After his debacle serving as Minnehaha County State’s Attorney, the story has gotten even crazier.

While the former Democrat McGowan changed parties from Democrat to Republican in the last week or two to run in the primary in Lake County against Lake County State’s Attorney Wendy Kloeppner, he hasn’t changed residences, as he’s registered to run as a candidate for Lake County State’s Attorney, from an apartment in Minnehaha County, according to the Secretary of State.

And looking at live voter data with the Secretary of State, that address in Sioux Falls certainly isn’t anywhere in Lake County. It shows his residence as Minnehaha County:

At least at this time, McGowan can’t vote for himself in the election, because he’s not a Lake County resident.

In some of our rural counties, there are State’s Attorneys who run from more populated areas to serve those counties that are starved for legal representation. Hence the recruitment efforts for attorneys to serve in rural areas. There’s even a law on the books:

7-16-31. Residency requirements for state’s attorney in counties with low population.

In any county with a population of less than five thousand persons, no state’s attorney is disqualified from holding office for failure to be a resident of that county if the state’s attorney is a resident of a county which is contiguous to the county in which the state’s attorney holds such office.

But someone coming from Sioux Falls to represent Madison? That’s a new one, especially since it has a population of 10,972 according to the US Census in 2022.

Is it it legal?  Technically, I believe he can run from another county, and reside in Lake County at the time he would be sworn into office. But, it’s highly, highly unusual to happen in one of our state’s mid-size areas.  Again, not one on anyone’s bingo card.

So, to summarize, after leaving office a few years back after an investigation called for by the Governor, Aaron McGowan wants to be a taxpayer-paid public employee again. So he’s running as a candidate in a party he has not been a member of until a couple of weeks ago, in a county he doesn’t live in.

Did I get that right?

I think the answer to all of this for Lake County Republicans is easy. Send a donation to:

Wendy Kloeppner for State’s Attorney
1015 NW 4th ST
Madison, SD 57042

Unless there’s an unusual number of Lake County Republicans into that whole carpetbagging Democrat thing.

I’m kind of doubting that.

Former State Representative Tim Goodwin turned in petitions today and joined an ever growing District 30 House race.

Currently, 6 people are seeking the two House seats, including..

• Trish Ladner (R – Incumbent)
• Tim Goodwin (R)
• Matthew Monfore (R)
• Patrick Baumann (R)
• Stephen Saint (R)
• Matthew J. Smith (R)

Monfore has announced, but he is yet to turn in petitions.

From what I’m hearing, we have a plethora of primaries this election season.

Stay Tuned!

Great Faces, Great Places!

BIG Update

This week, my bill, the Ocean Shipping Reform Implementation Act, passed the House overwhelmingly. This is a great victory for our nation’s supply chain. South Dakota exports $7 billion of manufactured and agricultural goods each year. The ocean shipping supply chain is crucial to producers and consumers in our state.

My bill gets tough on China and their unfair shipping practices. It bans the use of Chinese state-sponsored LOGINK software at U.S. ports and permits the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to investigate foreign shipping exchanges, like the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, to prevent unfair business practices. It also authorizes the FMC to simplify data standards for maritime freight logistics.

It’s got a lot of support, and I hope the Senate considers it soon.

BIG Idea

In 2023, we welcomed 14.7 million people to our beautiful state. Our tourism industry relies heavily on the ease of getting here. Secretary Jim Hagen and his team from Travel S.D. were in D.C. to discuss some of the ways we can get travel back on track and eliminate obstacles for tourists. We’re working together to make it easier to visit South Dakota. We talked about the need to reauthorize the annual aviation bill to improve our access to air travel. Last year, I voted in support of the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, which does exactly that.

BIG News

Governor Kristi Noem and South Dakota Farm Bureau President Scott VanderWal were in D.C. this week to be witnesses at two of my committee hearings. Governor Noem spoke at the Agriculture Committee hearing, testifying on the danger that China poses to American farmland and agriculture. She and I have worked to secure America and South Dakota from the Chinese Communist Party threat, especially preventing the CCP from buying American ag land. Food security is national security – we can’t allow our biggest adversary to have control over our food supply. I’m grateful for Governor Noem’s partnership on this issue.

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee welcomed Mr. VanderWal to speak about rural transportation challenges on behalf of the American Farm Bureau Federation, of which he is the Vice President. He has been supportive of my legislation, the MOVE Act and the SHIP IT Act, which would safeguard and streamline our supply chain. As the lone voice for South Dakota in the House of Representatives, it was a pleasure to welcome two fellow South Dakotans to share their perspectives with Congress.

Evil Foreign Governments Should Not be our Neighbors
By: Governor Kristi Noem
March 22, 2024

When you think of South Dakota, you might think about rolling fields of corn and soybeans and hills full of cattle, the Black Hills, or Mount Rushmore. You probably don’t think of the Chinese Communist Party. And that’s a good thing – we don’t want evil foreign governments for our neighbors. We don’t want nations that hate us to be part of our way of life.

The Chinese Communist Party is trying to infiltrate every aspect of our way of life. Sadly, we have a President and an administration here in Washington that has no interest in stopping them.

I have been involved in ag policy for 30 years. Throughout that time, I have watched China systematically take over more and more of our food supply chain. For years, they’ve been buying up our chemical, fertilizer companies, and food processing companies. Now, they’re trying to buy up our land.

The Chinese Communist Party are not our friends. They should not be free to purchase our precious ag land. Unfortunately, that has been allowed to take place. Between 2010 and 2020, the Chinese Communist Party’s holdings of US agricultural land increased by 5,300%. They now own more than 350,000 acres of US ag land valued at about $2 billion.

Recent media reporting indicates that the largest Chinese holder of American ag land is shipping food and medical supplies to China, where it is being stockpiled by the Chinese military. The Chinese Communist Party are using our ag land to steal from the American people.

The entire nation noticed when China purchased land in North Dakota that they claimed was for a corn processing plant. But there were two details about this purchase that raised suspicions. There wasn’t enough corn around to support that kind of a facility, and it was just a few miles from a US Air Force base.

I was determined to prevent a similar story in South Dakota. Ellsworth Air Force Base is home to the B-1 bomber. We house the MQ-9 Reaper drone. Very soon, we will be the first ever home of the brand-new state-of-the-art B-21 bomber. China wants intelligence on that bomber – but they will not get it by buying our ag land. Not in South Dakota.

For almost two years, I worked with our legislature, our ag community, and our business community to stop China and five other Evil Foreign Governments from buying ag land in South Dakota. Now, we’ve banned them.

We were not willing to wait for the federal government to take action. The Biden Administration has not stood up to this Chinese Communist threat.

States like South Dakota will step up where we can. But now that we’ve acted, the executive branch to do their duty. It is primarily the job of the federal government to keep our people safe.

It is time for the Congress and the Biden Administration to act to stop China and other nations that hate us from buying our ag land. Our security depends on it. And the Freedom of our kids and our grandkids depends on it.

###

Johnson Introduces Scott VanderWal in House Transportation Committee 

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) introduced Scott VanderWal, South Dakota Farm Bureau President and Vice President of the American Farm Bureau Federation as a witness on a panel for the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee Hearing on “Rural Transportation Challenges: Stakeholder Perspectives.” VanderWal has been supportive of provisions in Johnson’s MOVE Act and SHIP IT Act that streamline our rural transportation and supply chains.

“Producers and consumers need reliable infrastructure and dependable supply chains,” said Johnson. “I’m proud to welcome Scott VanderWal to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to share his perspective on how we can improve rural transportation that our country depends on.”

It hasn’t widely hit the news, but former Democrat PUC Commissioner Ken Stofferahn passed away on March 18th in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Stofferahn had ran for US Senate in 1972 as a Republican, and served as a State Representative as a Republican from 1975-1977, at which time he was one of the rare South Dakota public officials who switched over to become a Democrat, running under that party’s banner for U.S. Senate (1978), U.S. House (1980), and Governor (1986).  From 1978-1996, Stofferahn served in the Public Utilities Commission as one of the state’s few Democrat officeholders.

An Obituary is available here, and a memorial service will be held at 9 AM Saturday, March 23 at First Lutheran Church, 1551 S 70th St, Lincoln, NE.

Former Speaker of the House Spencer Gosch has apparently filed petitions this afternoon to run for the South Dakota House of Representatives once again.

It’s hard to imagine Gosch trying to come back after his disastrous stint as speaker, where he led a closed door impeachment process..

Back in September, Speaker @SpencerGosch promised a transparent impeachment process. Since then, he’s failed repeatedly to live up to that. https://t.co/iWfvahhbEe

— Joe Sneve (@Argus_Joe) December 27, 2021

… which earned him a lawsuit for his lack of open government.

And it comes after his taxpayer funded junket to Hawaii after he lost for Senate during his last time at bat.

In fact, that incident was so egregious, just a little over a year ago a bill was introduced in the State Legislature to try to prevent what happened the last time he was there:

The bill stems from a legislative trip to Hawaii the former Speaker of the House, Spencer Gosch, and former House Minority Leader took in December with other legislators to a legislative conference in Hawaii. Gosch was defeated in the 2022 Republican primary for Senate, and Smith, a Democrat, lost to Gov. Kristi Noem in her 2022 re-election race.

and..

Bill supporter, Republican Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt of Sioux Falls, said the measure is about legislators’ accountability. She said there might be times when a non-returning legislature might be suitable to represent the state at an out-of-state conference.

You can read that here.

If he thinks he can run again, I guess it’s a free country. But I have the feeling the postcards are going to come flying..

Flags at Half-Staff at State Capitol in Honor of Former State Legislator Claire B. Konold

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem ordered that flags be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol from sunrise until sunset on Monday, March 25^th, 2024, in honor of former state legislator Claire B. Konold. He represented Codington County in the South Dakota State House of Representatives from 1997-2004.

Funeral services for former state legislator Claire B. Konold will take place at 11:00 am on March 25^th, 2024, at Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer in Watertown, SD.

###

According to court records, on Monday former Black Hills area newscaster Shad Olson received a continuance from the court on his impending trial for Domestic Abuse Aggravated Assault/Strangulation, a third degree felony under South Dakota law.

If you recall, as related in the Argus Leader, the victim alleged that Olson had assaulted her on more than one occasions:

The victim asked Olson “if he was drinking already and he became mad.” She then told Olson, who she described as unemployed and lacking a source of income, that she “works hard to support their family,” to which he simply retorted she was a “crazy [expletive],” documents state.

and..

From there, the victim said Olson chased after her as she ran away from her home. They had been living together from some time, but she told the officer “she pays for everything in the home while Olson worries about the country,” the documents read.

The officer asked the victim if Olson had assaulted her before, with her replying “yes.”

The victim said Olson, who runs his own far-right, eponymic podcast, is “stressed over politics,” which influences his drinking. She then told the officer Olson blames his political frustrations on her.

Read that here.

Back on February 10, Olson pled “Not Guilty” to charges, and had been jailed through February 23rd until a $5000 cash bond was posted by former District 34 Legislative Candidate Jodi Frye.

A motions hearing is now scheduled for May 10.

So I got an odd press release yesterday from ‘Heather Baxter’ from who is announcing her candidacy for South Dakota District 34 House. If you’re not familiar with Baxter, she’s the secretary of the Pennington County GOP, and along with Phil Jensen has sued the Pennington County Auditor a couple of times in the last year (51CIV22-001283, 51CIV22-001288) over something or another, costing taxpayers money for the hiring of outside counsel with expertise in elections.

And now, she’s apparently got a beef with the incumbents in District 34 House, as included in her announcement..

Who ever cobbled together her utterly gobbledygook of a press release needs to work on formatting when they’re cutting and pasting, because the end product that arrived in mailboxes was a mess. And I haven’t gotten to the content yet.

“My decision to run for office is deeply influenced by the lack of responsive leadership we see from our elected officials,” Baxter said, “we deserve leadership that hears, understands and cares for the people’s needs in the South Dakota Legislature, just like we would a patient.”

That’s just awful, and could stand to be trimmed up by half, if not 2/3.  Is the point of a press release getting a point across that someone will actually use, or self-aggrandizing?

The campaign season has begun. I have no doubt this is not the last awful communication we’re going to read from a candidate.