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I was out in the hills this weekend, once again moving furniture for my wife for her new job in Spearfish.  And I officially hate this time of year. It’s tough enough to keep regular vehicles running in subzero temperatures, so I welcome Governor Noem and other Governor’s protests over electric vehicle mandates from the federal government.  I can’t imagine it’s going to go well in January & February if we’re forced to all buy electric cars.

But getting back to the topic at hand, while I was out there I saw that Toby Doeden had an editorial in the Rapid City Journal taking the opportunity to extoll his own virtues, as he seems to have a tendency to do when discussing his interest in running for Congress.

Aside from his re-warmed campaign attacks on our current Congressman Dusty Johnson which tend to be F.O.S., there was a passage in his written missive of self-laudatory hot air that particularly caught my eye:

I come from humble roots where my dad was disabled most of my life and my mom worked countless jobs to make ends meet. My grandparents on both sides were farmers, who had a strong work ethic and conservative beliefs — values I’m thankful they instilled in me. I’ve worked hard my entire life to get where I am today. When I was young, I told myself if I’m ever fortunate enough to be in a position to help others, I would, and I’ve done just that in my Aberdeen community.

You can read that here.

As Doeden (or his ghostwriter) claims, if he was ever fortunate enough to be in a position to help others.. he’s done just that in his Aberdeen community. So, does Doeden count this story that made it to Dakota News Now as an example of his “helping others?”

Ashley Washagesic, a single mother from Aberdeen, saw her rent go up by 48% this year.

Washagesic began renting a home on north Lloyd Street in May of 2020. She paid $775 for the two-bedroom house each month. Washagesic shared the home with her two daughters.

In August, Plaza Rentals bought the property and increased Washagesic’s rent to $1,150 a month. She accepted that she would have to pay another $375 a month, but she just wanted to know why.

and..

“It’s just insane. 48% increase for rising cost? For a small place that’s not even worth $1,150 a month? That put a huge strain on my financial situation because I’m trying to go to school to better myself for my kids,” said Washagesic.

and..

Dakota News Now reached out to Plaza Rentals for a statement. When asked if inflation of the housing market and other consumer goods had to do with the rent increase, Plaza Rentals owner Toby Doeden gave the following statement:

“The overwhelming majority of inflation in Aberdeen, like the rest of the Country, was caused by President Biden and his administration’s failed policies. This one particular example has absolutely nothing to do with inflation and Dakota News Now is well aware of this fact. 

Read that here.

Claiming that he would help others in his community kind of flies in the face of the other recent story where he’s buying up houses and sending rental rates sky-high just because he can.  And you can’t but be left scratching your head over his gobbeldygook answer where he blames Biden for inflation, but walks it back by saying that this example has nothing to do with inflation.

Extolling one’s own virtues for giving to the community.. apparently by raising the rent of single mothers. Not exactly Robin Hood, is it?

How long do we think this dumpster fire of an “exploratory” effort is going to keep smoldering? Because it’s great for humorous content!  Stay tuned!

Gov. Noem and Colleagues Oppose Biden’s Electric Vehicle Mandates

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem and 15 of her fellow Republican governors sent a letter to President Biden opposing his mandates on electric vehicles. You can read the letter here.

“We request you remove your mandate that two out of every three vehicles be electric and instead provide a more realistic approach by allowing the free market to determine the direction and timing for the industry’s growth rather than the federal government,” continued Governor Noem and the other governors. “Let American consumers decide for themselves.”

The governors in their letter call out the lack of necessary infrastructure to support battery electric vehicles. They state that while the technology is promising, it will take time to develop the marketplace and properly address consumer access and concerns.

“Instead of using government mandates to drive the vehicle market, allow American consumers to maintain choice in the types of vehicles they choose to drive,” wrote Governor Noem and her colleagues. “While we are not opposed to the electric vehicle marketplace, we do have concerns with federal government mandates that penalize retailers and do not reflect the will of the consumer. Even with deep price cuts, manufacturers’ incentives, and generous government funding, federal mandates on electric vehicles are unrealistic. The American customer should be able to decide what technology makes most sense for them, not the federal government.”

Governor Noem was joined by the following Republican governors in issuing the statement:

Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders, Idaho Governor Brad Little, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.

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UPHOLDING THE CONSTITUTION FOR ALL
by Congressman Dusty Johnson
January 19, 2024

Two of my bills to strengthen Second Amendment rights passed the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

My bill, the Tribal Firearm Access Act, would allow tribal members to use their legally issued tribal I.D. as a valid form of identification to purchase a gun. Under current law, you can use a passport from a foreign government such as Russia, but a tribal I.D. is not on the list of approved identification documents. My bill would ensure tribal members can exercise their Second Amendment rights.

Another barrier to obtaining a firearm is the lack of a permanent street address for a home. For many RVers, servicemembers, and their families who lack a permanent street address, it’s difficult to meet that requirement, even if they are law-abiding citizens. My Traveler’s Gun Rights Act would allow individuals to list a P.O. Box as their primary mailing address.

Committee passage is just one step in the process of a bill becoming law, so I’ll keep working to ensure law-abiding South Dakotans can exercise their rights.

BIG Idea

This week, I voted to pass two bills to support and educate expectant mothers and provide resources to mothers and families in need.

• The Pregnant Students’ Rights Act provides necessary support for pregnant students on our college campuses. Women should never feel pressured to make a choice between continuing their education or carrying their child to full term.
• The Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act supports women and families by protecting a state’s right to provide dollars to pregnancy resource centers through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

My support for pro-life policies earned me an A+ rating on Susan B. Anthony’s Pro-Life Scorecard for my work in 2023. I am proud to defend unborn children’s right to life.

BIG Update

Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court removed former President Donald Trump from their ballot, citing the 14^th Amendment of the Constitution and Trump’s actions on January 6, 2021. Section 3 of the 14^th Amendment bars anyone from office who took an oath to uphold the Constitution but “engaged” in “insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution. This week, I joined 136 House Republicans and 42 Senate Republicans to file an amicus brief opposing Donald Trump’s removal from ballots. President Trump has not been convicted of or charged with insurrection. Using the 14^th Amendment to kick him off the ballot is a massive overreach by Colorado’s highest court.

Three Years In, Are We Better Off?
By Sen. John Thune

As he begins his fourth year in office, President Biden’s approval rating has fallen to a new low. It’s not hard to figure out why. Inflation, spurred by Democrats’ excessive government spending, has strained working families’ budgets. The southern border has been in a state of crisis since the president rolled back border security policies at the beginning of his administration. And we have seen the consequences of the United States failing to demonstrate strength on the world stage as it has grown increasingly unstable. To put it simply, the Biden administration has harmed our economy, our national security, and our standing in the world. 

At the beginning of his term, President Biden and Democrats passed a reckless $1.9 trillion spending bill disguised as COVID relief despite warnings that it could cause inflation. Since that bill passed, Americans have faced higher prices for just about everything from groceries to gas, and it now costs a typical family $11,400 more per year just to maintain the standard of living they enjoyed three years ago.

Paying more and getting less has become the hallmark of the Biden economy. And it’s not just higher bills. The higher interest rates that the Federal Reserve was forced to put in place to help rein in the Biden inflation crisis has meant more expensive mortgages. Combined with higher home prices, this has eroded prospective homebuyers’ purchasing power and put the American dream of owning your own home increasingly out of reach for a lot of hardworking Americans.

For three years now, the crisis at our southern border has grown worse and worse. Customs and Border Protection has had more than 7 million encounters with illegal immigrants trying to cross the border since the president took office. Millions have been let into the country under our broken and overwhelmed asylum and parole systems. And an alarming number of individuals on the terrorist watch list, criminals, and gang members have been stopped at the border. Yet the president still refuses to acknowledge there is a crisis.

Before President Biden took office, his team was warned of the possibility of a migrant surge should he roll back the prior administration’s policies. Nevertheless, the president immediately went about weakening our border security, and the surge came. And while I’m glad that after three years of chaos, the president has finally – finally – agreed to work with Republicans on some policies to actually secure the border, this crisis was avoidable.

Highlighted by the disastrous and tragic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration has also failed to demonstrate American strength abroad. Strong national defense often deters threats to the United States from materializing in the first place. In a dangerous world like ours, we can’t afford for defense policy to be divorced from reality. Yet under President Biden, we have seen multiple conflicts erupt, some directly involving U.S. forces, all while adversaries like China ramp up their military investment.

Rest assured, my Republican colleagues and I are doing all we can to fight the disastrous policies that are creating these crises and mitigate the damage from the Biden administration. We’re working to rein in the spending impulses of the president and his Democrat allies in Congress. We’re working on policies that will substantially improve border security. And we’ve worked to secure steady investments in our defense capabilities. But we can only do so much without presidential leadership, and it’s long past time for the president to face reality and start working with us to get this country back on track.

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Freedom to Be Healthy: A Story of Heroism
By: Governor Kristi Noem
January 19, 2024

In South Dakota, we value living a healthy life, no matter where you live. Every South Dakotan should have the Freedom to live where they want – but they shouldn’t have to choose between a rural way of life and good health outcomes.

In our rural communities, emergency responders are sometimes the only local healthcare providers. Growing up on a rural farm, we always knew that emergency services were our closest healthcare lifeline. And when my dad had a tragic accident, EMS personnel showed up. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to save him – but I saw firsthand how hard they work, how much they care, and how dedicated they are to serving the people of South Dakota.

My Department of Health has been working to advance EMS access across our state to ensure that every South Dakotan has the Freedom to Be Healthy. We put brand new state-of-the-art LIFEPAK 15s in the back of ambulances, we worked with Indian Health Services to get these devices to ambulance crews in Eagle Butte and Pine Ridge, and we just completed a comprehensive analysis of the current state of EMS in South Dakota to learn how we can best continue to expand these services.

South Dakota was the first state in the nation to implement Telemedicine in Motion. We use telemedicine to connect physicians, nurses, and paramedics with EMS personnel in the field. Nearly 60 ambulance services throughout the state have installed Telemedicine in Motion – and it is saving lives.

One of the first major calls to Telemedicine in Motion came last December. Jim Lutter, rancher from Gann Valley, was out caring for his buffalo when he was attacked by one of his animals. His injuries were life threatening – dozens of injuries from the horns and hooves of the animal, multiple broken ribs, lungs filling with blood, broken neck, and more.

After pulling himself into a front-loader and driving back home for help, Jim was picked up by the local EMS agency who connected with the Avel team via telemedicine. A board-certified physician and nurses were on camera to help stabilize the rancher, coordinate with the receiving hospital, and activate the care flight team to expedite the transfer of the patient to Sioux Falls.

Once the EMS crew arrived at the hospital, Avel maintained their support of the patient since Avel Emergency was installed in the hospital’s ER. After Jim recovered, he shared feedback with the care team, saying, “they held my life in their hands and gave it back to me, something that I will be forever grateful for.”

It was my privilege to honor Ed Koenechne, Dr. Katie DeJong, and nurse Casie Hunter, the team that saved Jim’s life, with the Governor’s Award for Heroism during my State of the State Address. Ed is a volunteer with Kimball Ambulance Services, and Dr. Katie and nurse Casie are on the Avel team. Together, thanks to telemedicine, they took incredible action to save Jim’s life.

I am proud that folks who choose to live in remote parts of the state can sleep a little easier at night thanks to our EMS expansion efforts like Telemedicine in Motion. Thank you to all of our healthcare providers for giving every South Dakotan the Freedom to Be Healthy.

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Word out of the Brookings GOP meeting this morning is that Matt Wagner, who had declared his candidacy for District 8 House for the open seat, has suspended his campaign for the office. This leaves incumbent Tim  Reisch, former Lake Co. Sheriff  Tim Walburg, and election truther Rick Weible competing for 2 seats in the Republican primary.

Also coming out of the meeting is that apparently former State Rep. Doug Posr announced he is running for a seat on the Brookings County Commission.

More to come.

 

Attorney General Jackley Requests SCOTUS To Reverse Colorado Ballot Disqualification of Trump

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has joined an amicus brief requesting the U.S. Supreme Court reverse the Colorado State Supreme Court ruling that kept former President Donald Trump off the ballot for that state’s Presidential Primary election.

The originating lawsuit was filed by six Colorado voters who insisted Trump is disqualified from office under a Civil War-era insurrection clause in the 14th Amendment because of his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol.

A state district judge ruled the insurrection clause does not apply to the presidency and allowed Trump to be on the ballot.  Then the Colorado Supreme Court issued a ruling barring Trump from the GOP primary ballot under the 14th Amendment.

“Congress, not the Colorado State Supreme Court, has the authority to decide whether to disqualify a person from running for office under Section 3 of the 14^thAmendment,” said Attorney General Jackley. “This decision violates the U.S. Constitution and deprives voters of their fundamental right to decide elections.”

The 24 other Attorneys General who joined the brief are from: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The Arizona State Legislature and the legislative leadership of North Carolina also joined the brief.

The brief can be found here: https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/INAG/2024/01/05/file_attachments/2737840/23-719%20tsac%20Indiana%20West%20Virginia.pdf

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Johnson Opposes Removing Trump from Ballot 

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) joined the filing of the amicus brief opposing the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the Colorado ballot.

“Donald Trump hasn’t been convicted of or charged with insurrection,” said Johnson. “Using the 14^th amendment to kick him off the ballot is a massive overreach by Colorado’s highest court.”

In December 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled the former president is ineligible for presidency because of his actions on January 6, 2021, citing Section 3 of the 14^th Amendment. The Amendment bars anyone from office who took an oath to uphold the Constitution but “engaged” in “insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution.

The amicus brief is led by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). 136 House Republicans, and 42 Senate Republicans joined the brief. Read the amicus brief here.

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Attorney General Jackley Requests FCC To Restrict Use of A.I. In Marketing Phone Calls

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and 25 other Attorneys General are asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to restrict the use of artificial intelligence by telemarketers.

In November, the FCC posted a Notice of Inquiry requesting input on the implications and usage of A.I. technology in consumer communications and how the technology fits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Specifically, the FCC inquired about the potential ability of A.I. technologies to act as the functional equivalent of a live agent.

Pursuant to the TCPA, robocalls are those calls made using an artificial or prerecorded voice. Such calls are generally prohibited unless the calling party obtains the prior express written consent of the consumer.

“These calls manipulates consumers by sounding like a real person,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Scammers are always looking for ways to harm consumers, and the federal government needs to act.”

Other Attorneys General on the bipartisan letter are from states of Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington.

A copy of the comment letter can be found here: 

Johnson Bills Strengthening 2^nd Amendment Rights Pass Committee

Washington, D.C. – Today, two Second Amendment bills led by U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) passed out of the House Judiciary Committee. The bills allow tribal members, RV-ers, and active-duty military families to exercise their Second Amendment rights to obtain a firearm.

The Tribal Firearm Access Act, led by Johnson and Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK), protects tribal sovereignty and lists tribal governments as eligible entities to issue identification documents for the purposes of transferring a firearm. U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) leads companion legislation in the Senate.

The Traveler’s Gun Rights Act, led by Johnson, allows law-abiding RV-ers, active-duty military, military spouses, and others who rely on a P.O. Box for their primary mailing address to obtain a firearm. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) leads companion legislation in the Senate.

Johnson testified in the House Judiciary Committee in November 2023 to advocate for his bills. View his remarks here.

“The Second Amendment is only as effective as it is obtainable for all citizens to purchase firearms,” said Johnson. “My bills will ensure more law-abiding individuals can practice their Second Amendment rights, without running into unnecessary red tape.”

“The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe expresses its gratitude to Rep. Dusty Johnson and his team for the passage of the Tribal Firearm Access Act out of the House Judiciary Committee. The important legislation fills a gap that many Native Americans face as it pertains to access to firearms and provides credence to Tribes and our tribally issued identification card processes. The Tribe further appreciates the consultation that Rep. Johnson’s office has with it on multiple occasions regarding this legislation,” said President Tony Reider, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe.

“On behalf of the NRA’s millions of freedom-loving members nationwide, we applaud Rep. Dusty Johnson for championing the right to bear arms through the introduction of the Tribal Firearm Access Act and the Traveler’s Gun Rights Act. These crucial bills expand access for law-abiding Americans to purchase firearms for self-defense and any lawful purpose, upholding the principles of the Second Amendment,” said Randy Kozuch, Executive Director of the NRA-ILA.

“NSSF commends the U.S. House Judiciary Committee for advancing Congressman Dusty Johnson’s bills that improve the ability for all Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights while ensuring the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is accurate. Congressman Johnson’s Tribal Firearm Access Act ensures tribal government identification is valid for the purposes of an FBI NICS check when purchasing firearms, and his Traveler’s Gun Rights Act ensures the Second Amendment rights of Americans would not be denied simply because they choose to use a post office box address instead of a physical address. These are no-nonsense bills that preserve fundamental Constitutional rights for all Americans while preserving the necessary safeguards to ensure firearms remain out of the hands of those who should not possess them,” said Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President & General Counsel for NSSF, The Firearm Industry Trade Association.

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