Category: Uncategorized

Governor Noem’s Comm’s Director, Angela Kennecke from KELOland tweeting at each other, because people won’t talk to her.

@SoDakCampaigns

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..

.. 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

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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.”

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

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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/.

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District 30 Dem Bret Swanson campaigning on raising minimum wage to not $15, but $20 an hour

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Is there something in the water in District 30?  While Republicans have our own cross to bear in that area, it looks like Democrats have a bit of a handful themselves in District 30 House.

Bret Swanson is a candidate who isn’t bothering with showing how he reflects the values of his neighbors in this heavily, heavily Republican District. He’s going full left-coast liberal with his campaign platform. According to his website, which bears little information, he declares in a video that he’s running because he had to “nut up or shut up.”  Classy. And he blares his platform:

One party dominates this state. Vote for me and make things fair.

“Right-to-work” is terrible for workers, and our minimum wage workers live in poverty.

Bret would like to end Right-to-work laws in South Dakota to strengthen worker’s rights and raise the minimum wage to $20 dollars an hour.

Read that here.

While the South Dakota Democrat Party is going for a $15 an hour wage in their platform (page 10), Swanson figures, what they heck, why not $20!

In either case, neither are going to win, so why worry about explaining that the cost of everything will go up to pay for it. Or they’ll just go out of business. He must think people really like checking themselves out at WalMart.

South Dakota has had enough of inflationary increases and gas prices that are leaving apartment dwellers without places to live, and people wondering why everything costs more.  Biden-omics is bad enough without liberal do-gooders trying to make it worse.

Freedom Caucus demanding immediate action on election oversight issues… that they won’t identify.

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Got one of the dumbest press releases this afternoon that I think I’ve seen in a while.  The leaders of the SD Freedom Caucus are raising the alarm about time-sensitive election issues and demanding not just action but immediate action from the Governor and Attorney General on a voter integrity issue…

…except, they won’t tell us what the issue is.

Freedom Caucus Calls for Election Integrity

Just weeks before the 2022 general election begins, the South Dakota Freedom Caucus called on the Governor and fellow legislators to join them in taking immediate action in light of election integrity findings the caucus says they have recently become aware of.

The caucus has not disclosed the specific details regarding their findings, but stated that some of the issues are time sensitive and affect the oversight of the election process.

and.

The Freedom Caucus stated that they will be speaking with the Governor and Acting Attorney General Mark Vargo in the next following days to seek immediate action due to the time sensitive nature of the issue. The caucus said that they will provide further details of their findings at that time.

Maybe they should wait until they can tell us what these time-sensitive election integrity issues actually are?

Rounds Introduces Legislation to Blacklist China from Buying American Farm Land and Agriculture Businesses

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Rounds Introduces Legislation to Blacklist China from Buying American Farm Land and Agriculture Businesses

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced legislation that would blacklist China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from investing in, purchasing or otherwise acquiring land or businesses involved in agriculture.

“Protecting American farmland is critical to maintaining our national security,” said Rounds. “As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I was alarmed when a Chinese company recently purchased farmland near an Air Force base in North Dakota. This acquisition could threaten our national security by allowing the Chinese Communist Party to closely monitor the operations and communications at a very important military facility.

“In my travels around South Dakota, I’ve heard from many farmers and ranchers who are concerned about foreign adversaries owning American farmland. It’s time to put a stop to this and take action. This legislation makes certain American interests are protected by blacklisting foreign adversaries from purchasing land or businesses involved in agriculture.”

On July 1, 2022, Representative Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) introduced the House version of the PASS Act. Rounds’ legislation retains key provisions of the House version and adds additional language related to foreign investments, agricultural land acquisition and reporting by the Secretary of Agriculture. The new provisions are outlined below:

  • Blacklists China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from purchasing or investing in agriculture land and companies.
  • Requires reporting from the Secretary of Agriculture on the risk to the American agriculture sector of foreign takeovers and/or investments in agriculture companies or land used for agricultural purposes.
  • Allows the President, after reporting to Congress on why doing so is vital to the national security interests of the United States, to waive the requirement prohibiting a transaction on a case-by-case basis.

The full text of this legislation can be found HERE.

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In case you missed it – Farm Bureau Carbon Pipeline Forum at Dakotafest is available to watch

@SoDakCampaigns

For those of you following the carbon pipeline which will connect state ethanol plants with solutions for Carbon Dioxide, as well as provide hundreds of jobs and millions in tax revenues for South Dakota, Farm Bureau just held a forum at Dakotafest for Carbon Pipelines which is also available to watch on-line.  The Summit Pipeline currently has 7 ethanol plants signed up in South Dakota.

Moderated by Scott VanderWal with South Dakota Farm Bureau, the panel also included representatives of Glacial Lakes Energy, Summit Carbon Solutions (who advertises on the right), and staff from the Public Utilities Commission.

Carbon Pipeline Forum from American Farm Bureau on Vimeo.

 

Convention of States funding in South Dakota’s primary battles featured in recent Associated Press article

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An Associated Press article is up on the Argus Leader’s website from a few days ago, pointing out how the Convention of States dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into state legislative contests, and managed to narrowly eke out one race in South Dakota, which isn’t really attributable to their efforts:

The fliers piled up in mailboxes in central South Dakota like snow during a high-plains blizzard: “Transgender Sex Education in Schools?” one asked. “Vote Against Sex Ed Radical Mary Duvall for State Senate.”

The mailers were part of a $58,000 campaign against the five-term Republican lawmaker, an enormous sum of money in a place where the cost of running for a statehouse seat is typically in the low five figures. Despite the subject of the attack ads, Duvall was targeted not for her stance on sex education but for her opposition to a longshot bid by some conservatives to force a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution.

and..

The track record of the convention group’s spending is spotty. In South Dakota, where the group and its affiliates spent more than $200,000 targeting four state Senate seats, Duvall was the only one of its targets to lose. And the challenger who beat her, Jim Mehlhaff, said in an interview that he thinks the group’s intervention hurt him.

“I didn’t appreciate the negative tone of their mailers. It probably cost me some votes,” said Mehlhaff, a former member of Pierre’s city commission who had his own base of support in the district before the intervention of Convention of States. “This is South Dakota. People don’t like negative campaigns.”

Mehlhaff was baffled at the notion that a possible constitutional convention factored so heavily in his race: “Convention of states is not my issue at all,” he said.

Read the entire story here.

As I noted in a previous article on the topic, Convention of States didn’t get the results they were looking for in the primary election. And in fact, their scorched earth campaign is going to have a negative effect for their issue.

Watch for calls for more disclosure in campaign finance for out-of-state groups pouring money into the state, as a result of this group trying to buy their way to the legislature they wanted.  And as a result of their tactics Convention of States legislation will be utterly and completely DOA in South Dakota for the forseeable future. As one legislator quipped to me, they almost feel sorry for whoever is unfortunate enough to be hired to lobby for them.