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In his first outing writing for alternative newspaper Dakota Scout, Jon Ellis reports Dusty Johnson’s lament that some of his colleagues aren’t hitting on all their cylinders.

South Dakota Congressman Dusty Johnson said Tuesday that some members of Congress don’t have the mental faculties to physically know where they are when they are casting votes in the U.S. House.

“I serve with dozens of members in the House who are not with it,” he said.

Read the entire story here.

Not thinking that makes me more confident in Washington. Especially considering the person in the White House.

Kristi for Governor Announces “Businesses for Noem”

PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, the Kristi for Governor campaign launched “Businesses for Noem,” a coalition of more than 100 businesses across South Dakota supporting Governor Kristi Noem in her reelection efforts.

“South Dakota is the most ‘Open for Business’ state in the nation,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “With me, people know what you will get – small government and less regulation. I have never closed businesses. I keep taxes low and cut red tape to allow our businesses to succeed.”

If you and your business wish to join “Businesses for Noem,” click here to sign up.

The more than 100 businesses included in the initial launch of “Businesses for Noem” include:

Business
A & A Water Services	Rapid City
AAA Rapid Storage	Rapid City
Aberle Photos	Rapid City
All Points Travel	Milbank
Alpine Inn	Hill City
American Benefits Agency	Rapid City
Americas Best Value Inn	Hot Springs
Assman Implement	Mission
Beckski’s Motorwerks	Deadwood
Black Hills Harley Davidson	Rapid City
Black Hills Welding & Fab	Belle Fourche
Book Your Billboard	Sioux Falls
Bridle Ridge Horse & RV Camp	Custer
Buche Auto Parts	Pine Ridge
Buche Foods	Gregory
Buche Foods	Wagner
Buche Foods	Mission
Buche Foods	Pine Ridge
Buche Foods	Oacoma
Buche Foods	Sisseton
Buche Hardware	Martin
Buche Hardware	Pine Ridge
Buche Hardware	Sisseton
Buche Hardware	Winner
Buckstorm LLC	Rapid City
Buffalo Chip	Sturgis
Byrne Companies	Sioux Falls
Cammack Ranch Supply	Union Center
Canyon Lake Resort	Rapid City
Cedar Pine Construction Inc.	Sturgis
Charo Automotive & U-Haul	Box Elder
Chauncey Phillips Trucking	New Underwood
Cole-Tac	Rapid City
Conrads Big “C” Electric	Rapid City
CyberClimb LLC	Hartford
Dakota Archery & Outdoor Sports	Yankton
Dakota Butcher	Pierre
Dakota Sales & Rental LLC	Corsica
Dave Hahler Automotive Inc	Webster
Didactic Productions	Sioux Falls
Downtown Dental	Rapid City
Dream Design International Inc.	Rapid City
Dustin Sinner Fine Art, Inc.	Watertown
Fuel Lift	Black Hawk, SD
G J Holsworth & Son Lawn Inc	Rapid City
Gators Pizza	Pierre
GE Associates, Inc.	Martin
Grossenburg Implement, Inc.	Winner
Growing Businesses Solutions LLC	Spearfish
Gus Stop Convenience Store	Lake Nades
Gus Stop Convenience Store	White River
Gus Stop Convenience Store	Mission
Gus Stop Convenience Store	Wanblee
Gus Stop Convenience Store	Wagner
Gus Stop Convenience Store	Mission
Gus Stop Convenience Store	Winner
Gus Stop Convenience Store	Gregory
H & T Bies Cattle Company	Fairburn, SD
Hilltop Steakhouse	Greenville
Hoffman Angus Ranch	Eureka
Holy Smokes Resort	Keystone, SD
Iron Horse Properties LLC	Hill City
Iverson Chrysler Center	Mitchell
Joes Place Bar and Grille	Rapid City
Joseph Global LLC.	Rapid City
LEAP SD LLC	Rapid City
Left Turn Haulers LLC	Rapid City
Lewis and Clark Resort	Yankton
LIV Hospitality LLC	Rapid City
ML Portraits	Watertown
Mt. Rushmore Brewing Company	Custer
Mystic Mountain Landscapes	Rapid City
Newell Sheep Yards	Newell
PCS Biotech Services	Pierre
Phillips Trucking	Owanka
Pickerel Lake Lodge	Greenville
Potter Shoe Co.	Huron
Premium Dakota Beef	Goodwin
Quality Auto	Rapid City
Rapid Fire Protection	Rapid City
RD Johnson Construction Company	Sturgis
Regional Foot Clinic	Rapid City
Rohly’s Bar	Aberdeen
Sage Brush Salon	Faith
Scull Construction
SD Tactical Arms	Whitewood
Sign Pro	Watertown
Silver Eagle Consulting	Lead
Soundbody	Sioux Falls
Springs Coffee	Hot Springs
St. Onge Livestock	St. Onge
Steven Cutler Family Farm LLC	Claremont
Structure Properties LLC	Watertown
Sturgis Guns	Sturgis
Subway	Gregory
Taco John’s	Mission
Tangles & Turquoise Salon & Boutique	Howes
The Johnson Tree Company
Thrive Family Chiropractic	Rapid City
Thunderstik Lodge	Chamberlain
Vifquain Construction	Rapid City
Vision Ag LLC	Goodwin
Dave Alden Welding	Rapid City
Western Hills Painting
Willys Bar and Grille	Hot Springs
Winner Welding and Machine, Inc.	Winner
Y-L Saddlery	Hot Springs

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Mayor Steve Allender just made things interesting for next years’ Rapid City Mayoral Contest, as he has announced he will not be a candidate for the office in 2023:

After serving two terms as mayor of South Dakota’s second largest city, Steve Allender confirmed to KOTA Territory News that he does not plan to seek re-election in 2023.

“One of my favorite questions people ask me is whether or not we have term limits in Rapid City,” Allender said in an interview. “And I tell them, no, we don’t need them. There is a natural length to things, and people become resistant to the same old faces and the same old ideas.”

Read the entire story here.

It’s almost as good a position as the Sioux Falls Mayor if one wanted to raise their profile for future office, as it spans 5 legislative districts in the State’s only other media market of any size.

This could shape up to be a big one.

Kristi for Governor Launches Two New Ads

PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, the Kristi for Governor campaign launched a multi-week, six-figure ad buy featuring two new commercials. “LetRide” features Al Rieman, owner of Black Hills Harley Davidson, telling how Governor Noem’s leadership has been crucial to his business’s success. “C’mon Man – Educate, Don’t Indoctrinate” compares Rep. Jamie Smith’s liberal voting record to President Joe Biden, especially in the area of Critical Race Theory (CRT).

“Governor Noem’s actions were crucial to keeping the state open – to keeping our business open,” Al Rieman says in the “Let Freedom Ride” ad. “If we had lived under the mandates that were in a lot of other states, it could have shut our business down. I will be supporting Governor Noem, a quintessential South Dakotan.”

In 2021, Black Hills Harley Davidson led the world in Harley sales and broke the record for most revenue in one year at a Harley dealership. In her 2022 State of the State Address, Governor Noem also noted that “In the middle of a dangerous wildfire near Rapid City earlier this year, Black Hills Harley allowed their store to be used as the headquarters for the fire response. They gave our firefighters and first responders free use of their facilities and didn’t ask for anything in return.”

“Jamie Smith even voted to bring CRT to our kids’ classrooms,” the new version of the “C’mon Man” ad states. “Say ‘No’ to Jamie Smith.”

Under Governor Noem’s unwavering conservative leadership, South Dakota is thriving. Because of the Governor’s refusal to accept one-size-fits-all, big government overreach, South Dakota has the best economy in the nation, leads the nation in personal income growth, ranks number for new housing development, and our schoolchildren lead the nation in educational outcomes.

“South Dakota businesses are growing, thriving, and even setting records under Governor Noem’s principled leadership,” said Ian Fury, Communications Director at Kristi for Governor. “While Jamie Smith wants to allow divisive ideas like Critical Race Theory to infiltrate our classrooms, Governor Noem will continue focusing on making South Dakota the strongest state in America.”

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Gov. Noem Pledges to Keep Elections Free and Fair

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem sent a letter to the South Dakota State Legislature, thanking them for their continued emphasis on free and fair elections in South Dakota.  In the letter, Governor Noem promised to continue working with legislators on election integrity in the upcoming legislative session. You can read the Governor’s letter here.

“It is our duty as elected officials to deliver free and fair elections — the people of South Dakota deserve no less. Those elections must have integrity,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “Our American form of government is built on the people’s voice, which they speak at the ballot box.”

Governor Noem was responding to a letter received from 24 state legislators last week. In their letter, the group of legislators praised the Governor’s past leadership in preserving the state’s election integrity. The Governor thanked lawmakers for their help in those efforts.

“I appreciate the attention of the legislature on this important issue, and I am proud of what we’ve accomplished together to strengthen South Dakota’s already excellent election laws,” continued Governor Noem.

Earlier this year, Governor Noem signed a ban on “Zuck Bucks” in South Dakota, prohibiting private funding of election costs.

Governor Noem stated that all elections in South Dakota should be conducted in a transparent fashion. She said the public needs to have faith in the voting process.

“That also includes ensuring that the right to vote is not tainted by illegal ballot harvesting or improperly ‘stuffed” ballot boxes,” wrote Governor Noem.

My time was largely about getting signs from point A to point B this weekend, but managed to make a big find for my collection.

Since my work chores were done mid-morning, my wife and I meandered back from the West river region of the state, and stopped in a couple of antique shops on the way back.  We hit one ship where as you walked in, stuff was piled high with no real organization, and my wife immediately voiced “here we go,” knowing that this was my kind of shop.  While I was pawing through a box of comic books, my wife pointed out a frame of ribbons hanging on the wall.. and it was clear I’d hit the jackpot.

Not only were there three Mitchell for capital silk ribbons, there were three Ribbons which appear to be for Coe Crawford, Attorney General, US Senator, and our 6th Governor.  All of the ribbons appear to be from the 1903-1904 era, a time when Crawford would have likely ran for Governor in the primary, only to lose to Samuel Elrod, before his next run for the office where he was successful.    Someone had sewn them together into a decoration, where it appears to have stayed since that era, as some of the backing fabric was incredibly brittle, but it protected the ribbons which are all still very supple and in great shape. And in good enough shape to survive being separated, as I picked them apart thread by thread.

I could have lived without them being trimmed up to be equal length, but they would often be trimmed up by the wearer. I suspect someone might have put this together for a rally, and snipped it up for their design.. and then it went into an attic or elsewhere, where it eventually found itself into my hands. Often, silk campaign ribbons found themselves being sewn into a quilt after the campaign was over, and people were looking for fabric scraps, as in this quilt which is held by the Smithsonian..

That’s 432 silk ribbons stitched together and backed with plain white linen. According to the Smithsonian and family tradition, “the Lanes acquired—or were left with—an overstock of ribbons for Mrs. Lane to assemble the quilt.”

My piece was not so well conserved, up against fiberboard in the frame I bought it in. The backing fabric would fall apart in a person’s hands, so I was lucky enough that the wall hanging was easily dismantled, allowing the extraction of some great ribbons, including one of the better Capital fight ribbons I’ve come across:

Always happy to come across another great item showing the richness of our State’s history.

Here’s a funny tale I caught this weekend.

I’m catching stories that the Patriot Ripple Effect group out of Sioux Falls has started kicking people out of their anti-establishment club for various offenses against.. well, I guess we’d say for offenses against the establishment.

Word is they’ve booted at least two local elected officials out, at least one for offenses against the organization such as critical words about the group.

I didn’t realize that the group had grown so large they could afford to start booting out elected officials willing to claim association with them.

Stay tuned.

The South Dakota Republican Central Committee met this last weekend, and made a point to show their support for Governor Kristi Noem as the campaign heats up for this fall..

 

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The Argus Leader is pointing out today that a lot of people are registering to vote… and a lot of them are happy to be Republicans, as registration numbers are soaring:

Between June and August, Republican voter registration went up nearly 4,000 people, a little more than a 1% increase, according to data from the SD Secretary of State website. Democrat voter registration has remained stagnant for the same period in comparison.

and..

At a more localized level, Ben Kyte, the Minnehaha County auditor, said it’s pretty normal to see voter registration numbers trending upward before a general election, whether it be a governor’s race or presidential race.

“It depends a lot on the organization of the party, and some of it has to do with the interest in the election,” he said. “In this case, we have the governor’s election that’s drawing interest from voters that might be inclined to vote Republican.”

When I was younger my dad always said, “Kristi, we don’t complain about things. We fix them.” As Governor, I focus on fixing problems for our state every day, especially when it comes to public safety. I consistently look for new ways to make our communities safer.

I meet regularly with both Secretary Kellie Wasko in the Department of Corrections and Secretary Craig Price in the Department of Public Safety to plan how to continue improving safety in both our prisons and our entire state. Those meetings have paid off in a big way, with two big announcements for our law enforcement officers. In the last week, I was able to approve significant pay increases for security staff in our prisons and our highway patrol troopers out on the roads.

These raises are an investment in public safety for our communities. They will help us to retain the excellent officers that we already have and recruit new officers eager to give back to their communities by protecting their safety every day.

I won’t sugarcoat it: staffing has been a challenge, particularly in our state prisons. The security officers who work in our corrections facilities and the law enforcement officers in the Highway Patrol deserve the same opportunities as all other employees: to take vacations, spend adequate time with their families, and avoid burnout and unnecessary work-related stress. That hasn’t always been the case for a correctional officer at their post or a trooper out on the road. They often miss birthdays, weddings, or baseball games on extended shifts or mandatory overtime. I’m hopeful that these pay increases will help recruit new staff, which will help improve the work/life balance for current employees, too.

There are more challenges left to take on. Many of our prisons need to be renovated, expanded, or completely replaced. This might not be particularly exciting, but new prisons are safer prisons, which will lead to safer communities. New facilities will help us take on these challenges, and I look forward to working with the legislature to accomplish it.

These new facilities will also help us to focus on rehabilitation, assist and counsel inmates struggling with chemical dependency, and improve educational programs so they can leave prison as more productive members of society. Most inmates will someday be back in their communities, so these services are critical. We need more staff – and to improve morale – to accomplish those goals safely and effectively, and we need facilities that are equipped to achieve these goals.

I want you to watch your kids and grandkids grow up in the freest state in America knowing that they will be safe in their communities. I know we haven’t “fixed it” yet (as I would tell my dad), but with these pay increases, we are one step closer to getting it done.

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