Category: Uncategorized

Caught this today.

Apparently, there is a group of individuals in a few Republican County organizations who are less interested in advancing the GOP as a whole, and are more interested in using the Republican Party as their own personal soapbox without going through the GOP Executive Board or Central Committee:

A couple things stand out to me.There are no records filed with the Secretary of State to indicate that any such organization actually exists, except in their own minds.

When this statement is undersigned “Chair, Aurora County Republican Party” and “Chair, Fall River County Republican party,” or the various “Executive Boards,” don’t the people signing off on this have the courage of their convictions to put their names on the line?

It also seems as if they are intentionally using their positions to further an agenda which stands apart from the GOP as a whole. If that’s the case, why do they feel the need to use their titles within the Republican party, when they’re creating an organization which is separate from it?

Ultimately, the business of a political party is to unify your group and to get people elected.

This seems as if it’s the opposite.

People using GOP County organizations which seem to be trying to set themselves up as the Republican “Shadow Party.”

I’m sure that’s going to end well.

Gov. Noem VETOES Underage Drinking Bill

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem VETOED Senate Bill 108, which would enable underage South Dakotans to consume alcohol as part of college courses. SB 108 does nothing to limit the sale, service, or consumption of alcohol to specific class locations or specific class times. You can find Governor Noem’s VETO letter here.

“[The] flawed language creates potential loopholes that pose problems for law enforcement,” wrote Governor Noem in her letter. “Officers encountering underage students with alcohol on their breath or in their system must determine if this exception to underage drinking law applies before writing a citation. We should respect the work of law enforcement by not needlessly making their jobs any tougher.”

SB 108 amends a 2020 statute which allows alcohol on campuses so that classes could be created under a specific set of protections. That legislation prohibited underage students from participating in courses that produced and consumed alcoholic beverages. SB 108 would completely undermine the intent of the 2020 legislative compromise that allowed these classes to be created.

“The sponsors have cited workforce as their reason for bringing this legislation,” continued Governor Noem. “While I appreciate their acknowledgment that South Dakota has the strongest economy in the nation, I don’t believe that allowing underage students to consume alcohol will solve specific workforce issues. Those industries have continued to grow and thrive, both before and after the legislation I signed only three years ago.”

Governor Noem has signed 118 bills this legislative session and vetoed 2.

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Johnson, Rounds Re-Introduce Firearm Access Bill for RV-ers, Active-Duty Military

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) re-introduced the Traveler’s Gun Rights Act. The legislation strengthens Second Amendment rights to allow 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.

Currently, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) requires Americans purchasing a firearm to fill out paperwork listing an address. However, the ATF prohibits buyers from listing a P.O. Box or Private Mailbox (PMB) on this form. This prohibition unfairly hurts full-time travelers, many of whom live in their RV year-round and utilize a P.O. Box or PMB in order to receive mail. These alternate addresses can be listed on driver’s licenses, but they cannot be used on the ATF paperwork.

“Just because a law-abiding citizen relies on a P.O. Box as their primary address doesn’t mean their Second Amendment rights should be limited,” said Johnson. “South Dakota is home to many RV-ers and active-duty military who have this problem when trying to obtain a firearm. My bill seeks to correct that.”

“As a supporter of the Second Amendment, I am committed to protecting the rights of lawful gun owners,” said Rounds. “The Traveler’s Gun Rights Act removes an unfair prohibition facing Americans with unique living situations. This legislation will make certain that law-abiding citizens do not face a burdensome roadblock when trying to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”

“Americans, especially our active-duty military members, should never be denied the full spectrum of their Second Amendment rights simply because they use a post office box address instead of a physical address,” said Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for National Shooting Sports Foundation, The Firearm Industry Trade Association. “This legislation is a simple fix to an overlooked problem that unfortunately disenfranchises law-abiding citizens of their ability to lawfully purchase a firearm. It still requires all the safeguards to ensure firearms remain out of the hands of those who should never possess them. Congressman Dusty Johnson’s leadership on the Traveler’s Gun Rights Act to ensure those with unique living situations are not denied their rights is commendable.”

“For many Americans, traveling full-time is a way of life,” said Brian Calabrese, Managing Director for Federal Affairs, National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action. Unfortunately, ATF does not recognize P.O. Boxes as a legal point of residence the way the IRS does, effectively rescinding the constitutionally protected Second Amendment rights of those who travel full-time. The NRA thanks Rep. Dusty Johnson for his work to close this loophole and protect the rights of those who travel this great country.”

Johnson’s legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Tom McClintock (R-CA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Jake LaTurner (R-KS), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Scott Perry (R-PA), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Don Bacon (R-NE), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), and Chris Stewart (R-UT).

Rounds’ Senate companion supported by U.S. Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Roger Marshall (R-KS), James Risch (R-ID), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Mike Braun (R-IN).

Read full bill text here.

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They’ve done it again and for a third time there was no second. Motion dies. https://t.co/RzZoYfeQuv

— Annie Todd (@AnnieTodd96) March 8, 2023

You’ll have to filter through the rhetoric of the article coming from the website for the far-left Mother Jones publication, but in an article filed today by the magazine, South Dakota State Representative Fred Deutsch is the subject of a report which seems to credit him as being the father of the legislative movement across the country to ban transgender procedures on minors:

On a Saturday afternoon in August 2019, South Dakota Republican state Rep. Fred Deutsch sent an email to 18 anti-trans activists, doctors, and lawyers with the text of a bill he planned to introduce that would make it a felony for doctors to give transgender children under 16 gender-affirming medical care. “I have no doubt this will be an uphill battle when we get to session,” Deutsch warned the group.

and..

“It was like Deutsch assembled a team of Navy SEALs—we were all trained killers in a specialty,” says Elisa Rae Shupe, a retired US Army soldier who became a vocal anti-trans advocate and participated in Deutsch’s working group after detransitioning.

and..

From the South Dakota Banker’s Association, a good review on why some of the opposition to HB 1193 is misguided …at best:

Before we wrap up this session, I find it imperative to set the record straight and correct the false claims being made regarding HB 1193, “An Act to Amend Provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).”

To understand what the bill aims to do, it is important to understand the UCC and its purpose. The UCC is the product of law commissioners from each state who serve together on the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) to develop uniform, model acts, or state laws, for adoption by state legislatures. It is not federal law, nor is it developed by the federal government. Let me be clear, these 2022 amendments to the UCC are drafted by the ULC for adoption in states across the nation, and by doing so, it keeps Congress from imposing federal laws into areas where states should be sovereign.

The UCC serves as the backbone of United States’ commerce, giving all Americans the legal infrastructure necessary to have confidence when conducting business in South Dakota and across state lines. The UCC provides commercial law for broad categories of transactions: the sale or lease of goods, negotiable instruments, bank deposits and collections, funds transfers, letters of credit, documents of title, investment property, and secured transactions in personal property. The UCC has been in place in South Dakota (SD) since the 1960s, and adoption of the UCC by every state has allowed the development of strong interstate markets.

The UCC has been revised in SD and by other state legislatures over the years at the recommendation of the Uniform Law Commission and American Law Institute to reflect the economy’s shift from a largely goods-based economy toward an economy that includes services, software, and information-based transactions. The latest updates, the 2022 amendments, will accommodate and “identify” emerged and emerging technologies such as distributed ledger technology (known as “blockchain”), and artificial intelligence. The amendments were drafted over a multi-year process with many open sessions. These amendments bring the UCC into the digital age by adding a new Article addressing digital assets and providing commercial law rules for the transfer and leveraging of virtual currencies and certain other digital assets. Adoption of the 2022 UCC amendments by all states will bring uniformity and clarity to the current law and allow certainty when transacting business with digital assets across state lines. Nothing in the UCC 2022 amendments prevents anyone from deciding what means of exchange to use or what transactions to enter.

and..

Here are the facts: The opposition to HB 1193 is claiming that the updated UCC is, “…the greatest threat to our personal liberty and privacy we’ve faced in a generation.” This belief is simply untrue and misguided. The UCC establishes interstate commerce, allowing the playing field of the market to remain fair, level, and as South Dakotans can attest, open. Failure to adopt the 2022 amendments jeopardizes South Dakota’s ability to remain competitive in commerce and fair market trade, negating everything we’ve stood for in South Dakota for decades. You can “bank on” the facts, not the political theatre.

Read the entire article here.

Just caught this announcement. Republican Clay County State’s Attorney Alexis Tracy is moving to the Attorney General’s office starting on June 1.

Clay County State’s Attorney Alexis Tracy to Join South Dakota Attorney General’s Office

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has announced that Clay County State’s Attorney Alexis Tracy has been hired as an assistant attorney general for his office.

“Alexis Tracy has proven herself to be a well-balanced attorney who can handle both criminal and civil cases,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Her experience will serve this office well.”

Tracy has been an attorney for 17 years and has been a prosecuting attorney for more than 16 years. She was first elected as Clay County State’s Attorney in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020.

Alexis currently serves as President of the South Dakota State’s Attorney’s Association; and serves on the Legislative Committee for the Association.  Since 2017, she has served as part of STOP (Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors), a grant-funded multidisciplinary state training team providing curriculum and education to prosecutors, law enforcement, and victim advocates in response to crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault.  Alexis was appointed to the South Dakota Open Meetings Commission in 2019.  She is a member of the National District Attorney’s Association and the Clay County Child Protection Team.

“I want to thank the Clay County Commission and the people of Clay County for the opportunity to serve them,” she said. “I look forward to serving them, and the rest of South Dakota, in this new capacity.”

Alexis Tracy is scheduled to join the Attorney General’s office in Sioux Falls June 1.

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Thune Discusses Disastrous Situation at U.S. Southern Border

“Border Patrol agents told me that not only do they not feel supported by the Biden administration, they feel like the Biden administration has actually impeded their ability to do their jobs.”

Click here or on the picture above to watch the video.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke on the Senate floor about his recent trip to the Rio Grande Valley at the U.S. southern border.

Casey Crabtree’s Weekly Column: Listening to Constituents

MADISON–The second to last workweek in Pierre found lawmakers focusing on the issues I most often hear about from the people of District 8–lower taxes, workforce development and public safety. Throughout the past several weeks, I have heard ideas and concerns from people throughout the region, and I am proud that the Senate has delivered on its promises.

I am committed to passing tax relief to South Dakotans this year. On Wednesday, I proposed a property tax rebate for South Dakota homeowners. HB 1141 would offer South Dakota homeowners up to $425 in property tax relief each year. If passed by the House and approved by the governor, this amounts to the largest tax relief in South Dakota history at $104 million per year. The Senate and House are also continuing discussions on sales tax reduction. Based on strong revenue projections, I believe we can get the state’s obligations and let our residents keep more of their money in their pocket.

South Dakota’s economy is cooking. But we need more workers to keep the engine roaring, especially well-trained, highly-skilled people. That’s what I regularly hear from the leaders of small businesses and large operations alike. This week, the Senate approved HB 1039 National Guard free tuition at 100 percent at state universities and technical colleges. We are still in discussions to freeze tuition at state institutions. These are top priorities for me because they are important to South Dakota’s future.

On Thursday, the Senate concurred with the House’s changes to the Truth and Sentencing Bill (SB 146). Supported by police chiefs, sheriffs and mayors, this bill aims to keep violent criminals off the streets and protect South Dakota families.

The Madison Elementary School 4th graders and Deubrook High Schoolers visited the Capitol this week and learned about the legislative process. It was great to see these future leaders show such interest in how the state government operates. I was also honored with a visit from my parents, Ken and Cinda, this week. Two District 8 students concluded two-weeks of service as legislative pages. A big thank you to Greta Larson from Lake Preston and Gabrielle Rebelein from Sioux Valley High School. Both represented their families and schools well during their time in Pierre. Thank you!

Next week (this week) is the final workweek for the 2023 legislative session, and we are on track to pass a balanced budget with some incredible one-time investments in the future of the state. As the session winds down, I continue to be confident that South Dakota’s best lie ahead.

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Attorney General, DCI Rule Rapid City Police Officer Shooting Justified

PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has announced that a Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) review has determined that a Rapid City Police officer was justified in the shooting death of a man during a hostage situation on Feb. 3, 2023.

“This was a fast-moving, tense situation where the suspect presented a clear and present danger to the public and the officer,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Only when the suspect ran at the officer with a knife in hand, did the officer fire their weapon.”

The incident began when the officer responded to a reported armed robbery in progress at a Rapid City business. When the officer arrived, they encountered Erik James Wright outside of the business holding a clerk at knife point.

Wright separated himself from the hostage but refused the officer’s commands to drop the knife. Wright ran towards the officer with two knives in his possession and was shot multiple times by the officer. Police officers rendered medical aid to Wright who was transported to a Rapid City hospital where he later died.

Video and audio recordings, interviews of officers and witnesses, and examination of evidence by the South Dakota Forensic Laboratory corroborated the findings of DCI investigators and the officer’s account that they faced a clear and present danger and that there was danger to the public and police. Wright had alcohol in his system and was on parole after being released from prison in January, 2023.

The Attorney General and the Division of Criminal Investigation would like to thank the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the Custer County Sheriff’s Office, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the South Dakota Forensic Laboratory their assistance. The Rapid City Police Department cooperated with the investigation.

The summary of the incident can be found here.

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