Category: Uncategorized

Kristi for Governor Issues Statement on Government Accountability Board’s Illegal Action

PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, in response to the actions taken by the Government Accountability Board (GAB), Kristi for Governor Communications Director Ian Fury issued the following statement:

“The actions taken by the GAB today did not follow state law or precedent. They have yet to point to one single statute the Governor has violated in either of these complaints.

“These complaints are all political and filed by a disgraced former attorney general who literally killed a man, lied about it, and tried to cover it up. Governor Noem was the first to call him out for this, and he filed these complaints in retaliation.

“It is unfortunate the board chose not to bring this charade to an end today. Kassidy Peters did not receive any special treatment, and Governor Noem followed the law, period!”

###

After one of the identified leaders of the group refused to answer who their members were, The mystery of who the undisclosed members of the Freedom Caucus group are might have been uncovered with the release of a letter sent to Governor Noem demanding the retention of election records from the 2020 General election.

The release sent today notes in part:

Nearly a third of the current South Dakota legislature signed onto the letter, which argues that the ES&S contract’s provisions which would render election results to become proprietary information should be considered unenforceable. The letter stated that, “such agreement should not be the basis to obstruct or abolish the inherent right of citizens to oversee their elections.”

“Whether there are election issues or not, we stand united that the elections belong to the citizens and it is their right to oversee them to insure they are open, honest, and transparent,” said Freedom Caucus Chairman Representative Aaron Aylward, who was the first to sign the letter.

Nearly a third? Well, no. 24/105 legislators would nearly be 1/4 of the current State Legislature, not a third.  And “ensure” means to make certain, and  “insure” is what you pay your insurance company to do.

So, who is the group backing the Freedom Caucus’ attempt to preserve records to litigate the 2020 election? According to the letter attached to the release…

With the letter signed by..

Representative Aaron Aylward
Representative Drew Dennert (gone for ’23)
Representative Fred Deutsch
Representative Randy Gross
Representative Jon Hansen
Representative Taffy Howard (thankfully all 86% of her is gone for ’23)
Representative Kevin Jensen
Representative Phil Jensen
Representative Chris Karr
Representative Sam Marty (gone for ’23)
Representative Liz May
Representative John Mills
Representative Tina Mulally
Representative Scott Odenbach
Representative Ernie Otten
Representative Marty Overweg
Representative Carl Perry
Representative Sue Peterson
Representative Tom Pischke
Representative Tony Randolph
Representative Bethany Soye
Representative Kaleb Weis (gone for ’23)
Senator Julie Frye-Mueller (still stuck with her in ’23)
Senator Marsha Symens (gone for ’23)

..that tells us that South Dakota Pillow Guy groupies Tina, Taffy and Julie might have found some friends to sign on to their wacky crusade, but over 3/4 of the legislature have no interest in re-litigating the 2020 election in South Dakota. Especially considering no one can identify any elections in the State that had their outcomes altered by the alleged fraud they claim to be searching for.

If you take out the number of people who are not coming back next year, that knocks down the number of rebel caucusers participating with the Freedom Caucus down even further.

Stay tuned.

From Twitter:

1.5 miles of smiles & fun at the #RiverboatDays #parade! @yanktonrbd is an amazing way to celebrate one of the last big #SouthDakota summer ☀️ traditions before school starts. We loved every minute (and mile!) of it. pic.twitter.com/63L5kazzJO

— John Thune (@johnthune) August 21, 2022

July 2022 marked a 388% increase in border crossings compared to July 2020 when President Trump was in office. This number is slightly down compared to June—however—July is the 17^th consecutive month under Biden’s presidency that the southern border had over 150,000 illegal border crossings. Not to mention the 200% increase of fentanyl seizures from June 2022 to July 2022.

Recent news articles detail drug and migrant smuggling—both are now multi-billion-dollar industries. Over 5,000 people were arrested and charged with migrant smuggling last year, and federal agents are raiding stash houses holding dozens of migrants on almost a daily basis.

The lax illegal immigration policies by the administration have allowed for mass releases and encourage more border crossings. One thing is clear—this administration should never have ended the Remain in Mexico program.

Taking a weak stance on the border isn’t the humanitarian thing to do—it’s created unmanageable organized crime. Human and drug smuggling have caused thousands of deaths and people continue to remain held against their will in stash houses. This is inhumane. Congress must act to stop the illegal actions by coyotes.

There are simple steps to combat illegal immigration. The administration should start with ending catch and release—allowing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain those who illegally enter our country while their cases are pending. We should reimplement the Remain in Mexico program. The Biden Administration should also fully fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol, and deploy technology to stop the humanitarian crisis at the border.

I am committed to keeping America safe—for those who live here and those who plan to come here legally. Keeping South Dakota’s communities safe includes securing our borders.

###

I’ve never been the type to settle for “good enough.” No matter what I’m doing, I try to strive for excellence. That’s all the more true when it comes to policies that impact our kids. Everything that I do as Governor is to make our state safer, stronger, and healthier for our kids and our grandkids, and I want to set the bar. We should set an example for the entire nation and send the message that South Dakota pursues excellence for our kids.

And that’s what we are doing with my administration’s new social studies standards.

After nearly a year of diligent work, my administration has released standards that will shape our children’s social studies education into the future. These standards focus on teaching American history and civics in a true, honest, and balanced fashion.

We won’t allow political ideologies to invade our classrooms. We are proactively removing divisive teachings like Critical Race Theory before they can infiltrate our kids’ education. We will not have our children being taught to hate.

Over the last year, there has been quite a bit of conversation about teaching the history and culture of our state’s Native American tribes. These standards do that to a greater extent than any standards that have been proposed in South Dakota to-date. That’s important – and it needs to be done in a balanced way that takes into account the full context of our nation’s history. These standards achieve that goal and give Native American history the acknowledgement that it deserves.

That education will include some difficult conversations about mistakes that were made in our nation’s interactions with our tribes. And there will be tough conversations about other mistakes made in our nation’s past. We have to learn about those mistakes so that we can take lessons from them and never repeat them.

But we must also teach our children about the tremendous triumphs in our history. Our nation’s founding was a tremendous accomplishment and marked a huge step forward for human freedom. Our nation set the bar for defense of the rights of our people. And in the years since, we have built on that to advance our freedoms to more and more of our people. These standards will tell that story.

I love our nation, and I love talking about our history. I hope that our kids will come to love it, too. My hope is that by setting the bar for social studies education, we will deliver to our kids a healthy respect for our nation’s story and the freedoms that made it possible. I hope they will grow up and pass those onto their own children, just as we’re passing it onto them.

###

After a little business yesterday, enjoying the Black Hills this weekend. And no visit would be complete without a visit to America’s Shrine of Democracy, Mt. Rushmore.

I’m also pairing it with a stay at the South Dakota Game Lodge at Custer State Park.

If you visit, remember not to pet the fluffy cows. They definitely don’t want to share their personal space.

This month’s Federal Campaign Finance report for South Dakota Democrats show a donation that might get some tongues wagging:

On July 25th State Democrats report they received $9,237.47 from Alexander Soros, a son of George Soros.

You can read the entire August 20 South Dakota Democrat FEC Report here.

This week, KELOland’s Angela Kennecke started throwing bombs at Governor Kristi Noem’s administration because someone at the state didn’t have any interest in talking to Angela, and she claimed there must be a plot against her. Governor Noem’s Comm’s Director Ian Fury rebuffed that notion, noting that they’re talking to reporters all the time, and it might just be her..

Governor Noem has spoken with 8 separate local news reporters so far this week (so far).

But you can’t believe everything you hear from @AngelaKennecke… probably why she can’t get an interview. https://t.co/a32TsxghSG

— Ian Fury (@IanTFury) August 18, 2022

.. and the Twitter war is off and running.

While there are state laws which guarantee the openness of most documents, as there should be, there’s nothing that declares that reporters have interview access to employees on demand. Given the pressure to sensationalize stories for ratings, why would any employee want to speak with the media?

When it seems as if it’s a constant drumbeat of negativity declaring there must be some sort of scandal, or someone is allegedly corrupt, or simple fact is less attractive of a tale than a conspiracy, most people look at whether they want to get involved in any story and take a hard pass.

It’s not all the media’s fault, as social media has forced other outlets of information to turn up the volume to compete. But they don’t necessarily shy away from it, either.

 

Gov. Noem Announces Pay Increases for Correctional Security Officers

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced immediate pay increases for correctional security officers at the South Dakota Department of Corrections (DOC).

“These permanent pay increases will assist us with recruiting and retaining quality correctional security officers,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “These increases show officers our appreciation for their service to our state. Sec. Wasko and I will continue to focus on solving problems and prioritizing the security of both our correctional officers and the inmates that they manage.”

Pay will increase for officers across the board. Starting pay for correctional officers will increase from $20 an hour to $23.50 an hour. Additionally, raises will be instituted for security officers up to $28 an hour.

“This is the latest step to improve safety and the overall culture at DOC. We are proud of our corrections employees and grateful for their service,” said Kellie Wasko, Secretary of the Department of Corrections. “Thanks to Governor Noem’s leadership, our Department has made tremendous progress in the past several months. There is still much work left to do, including newer and safer facilities, and we are committed to getting that accomplished.”

###

Lt. Governor Larry Rhoden Announces STEM Award for Lakota Tech High School

Pine Ridge Reservation, SD – Today, Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden announced that Lakota Tech High School will receive an award for its STEM programming from the National Lieutenant Governors’ Association Lt. Governors’ STEM Scholarship Program! NLGA awarded the school $1,000 as part of a national call for applications for funding STEM programming and curriculum in schools.

“Promoting and encouraging STEM activities in schools in critical to building the workforce of tomorrow,” said Lt. Gov. Rhoden. “Lakota Tech’s weather balloon project will further interest in STEM in our youth, and this funding from NLGA ensures that STEM learning will expand for the students at the only career and technical education high school on a Native American reservation anywhere in the United States.”

Lakota Tech is the only career and technical education high school on a Native American reservation in the U.S., offering students access to a diploma and career pathways. Through the use of the NLGA funding, students will learn about high-altitude weather ballooning and gain hands-on experience with designing and testing a payload.

NLGA opened the application period for the STEM Scholarship Program in May 2022. The application process was competitive, with NLGA receiving 170 requests for STEM funding from schools in 32 states and one U.S. territory. Submissions were awarded by region, with three schools in each of NLGA’s four regions receiving scholarships ranging from $500 – $1,000 each.

“As the seconds-in-command in state and territorial government, lieutenant governors are uniquely poised to lead on STEM Education,” said NLGA Executive Director Julia Brossart. “By supporting STEM-related activities in schools across the country, we can encourage a long-term interest and passion in STEM Education in America’s youth.”

The Scholarship Program is administered by NLGA, the nonpartisan, nonprofit association for the nation’s seconds-in-command, and sponsored by ACT, the education and career readiness nonprofit.

“STEM is for everyone, and the NLGA’s STEM Scholarship Program will help ensure that more students are prepared for whatever path they choose after high school,” said ACT CEO Janet Godwin. “ACT has spent decades assessing and analyzing the skills that students will need to be successful in college and career. NLGA’s leadership on STEM will provide more students, including young people from underserved populations, an opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills to fuel their own educational and career successes, as well as the country’s long-term prosperity.”

Public, private, and tribal schools in the 50 states and five U.S. territories were invited to apply for funding to support STEM-related activities, programming, curriculum, equipment, and other expenses. Funding will be provided to all winning schools in August.

Additional information on the STEM Scholarship Program can be found athttps://nlga.us/strategies/nlga-state-strategies-in-stem/.

###