Category: Uncategorized

The Argus Leader has a story tonight of an apparently acrimonious working relationship between Speaker of the House Spencer Gosch and Governor Kristi Noem.

Did I say working? I don’t seem to think that the leader of the House of Representatives is working with the Governor on much of anything:

“As for the personal attacks, DC politics are not welcome here,” Gosch said. “South Dakotans deserve better from their elected officials, and that’s what they can expect from their Legislature as we continue the crucial work of ending abortion in America.”

Noem said generally her relationship with other Republican leaders in the House, as well as the Senate, is positive, but said it’s obvious Gosch has chosen to repeatedly attack her for reasons she’s not aware of.

and..

“There’s something, some reason this guy doesn’t like me and it seems like a personal agenda but I don’t know what it is.”

Read the entire story here.

Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg is speaking to the press today on a couple of subjects, including how he believes investigators were looking at the September 2020 car accident which has been the subject of significant scrutiny, as well as speaking to delegates about the next election around the corner.

According to the article by Stephen Groves of the Associated Press:

“I was willing to take a lie detector test. I was willing to go to North Dakota,” Ravnsborg said when asked to respond to the investigators’ testimony. “I took their testimony to basically say that they didn’t want me to because they knew I would tell the truth. So I think that speaks volumes.”

and..

He acknowledged that he had been making calls to the state Republican party’s delegates, who in June will decide the party’s nominee for attorney general, though he cast it as part of his regular order of business. Ravnsborg would face Republican Marty Jackley, his predecessor, at the state convention.

Read the entire article here.

Gov. Noem to Sign Fairness in Women’s Sports Legislation

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem will sign Senate Bill 46, which protects fairness in women’s sports. Governor Noem will hold a public signing at 4 pm CT in the Rotunda of the South Dakota State Capitol. The bill signing will be livestreamed on Facebook atFacebook.com/GovNoem.

Following the bill signing, Governor Noem will be holding a press conference at approximately 4:15 pm CT. Below is the information for that press conference:

WHAT: Governor Noem to hold press conference after signing fairness in women’s sports legislation

WHEN: 4:15 pm CT / 3:15 pm MT

WHERE: South Dakota State Capitol – Governor’s Large Conference Room

CALL #: 1-866-410-8397; Conference Code: 833-598-7236

LIVESTREAM: SD.net; Facebook.com/GovNoem

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For some reason, Representative Milstead has a problem with the executive branch seeking passage of legislation, and wants those in the executive branch to only do the bidding of the State Legislature. According to her bill, House Concurrent Resolution 6005:

2022 South Dakota Legislature
House Concurrent Resolution 6005

Introduced by: Representative Milstead

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, Urging the executive branch to refrain from seeking or promoting specific legislative outcomes.

WHEREAS, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right of the people to petition their government; and

WHEREAS, the right to petition the government often involves transmitting information and articulating how a legislative decision will likely affect a particular issue, cause, circumstance, or group of people; and

WHEREAS, given the realities of work commitments and travel constraints, the right of the people to petition their government is often exercised, on their behalf, by lobbyists; and

WHEREAS, lobbying has, since its earliest days, been a mechanism by which the people could, directly or indirectly, participate in the legislative decision-making process; and

WHEREAS, the right of the people to petition their government does not, through a metamorphical process, extend to or become a right or obligation of the executive branch; and

WHEREAS, Article II of the Constitution of South Dakota promotes a system of checks and balances through the creation of three distinct branches of government, each having specifically prescribed duties; and

WHEREAS, while the Constitution of South Dakota assigns to the Legislature the power to legislate, it assigns to the executive branch only the duty to faithfully execute the law;

WHEREAS, it is a direct conflict of interest for the executive branch to introduce legislation that, once enacted, is subject to the executive branch’s independent exercise of enforcement authority;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the House of Representatives of the Ninety-Seventh Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the Senate concurring therein, that the executive branch is urged to serve as a transparent resource in the provision of accurate and objective information to the Legislature, but to refrain from utilizing public resources, directly or indirectly, to introduce legislation or lobby members of the Legislature, in an attempt to seek, or promote, a specific legislative outcome.

Let me wrap my arms around this.. in our strong governor/part-time legislature system, Rep. Milstead wants it declared that the Legislature exclusively has “the power to legislate,” and the executive branch has “only the duty to faithfully execute the law.”

So, Governor Mickelson should not have created a revolving fund for business development, Governor Janklow should not have advocated for wiring the schools, Governor Rounds should never have suggested we turn Homestake Mine into a world class science center, and forget Governor Daugaard saying we needed to fix roads.  And absolutely nevermind Kristi Noem leading South Dakota through the COVID crisis.

If you didn’t catch it. The previous paragraph was sarcasm. Because the resolution is utterly preposterous.

It’s a bit ironic that this resolution comes from the House of Representatives, they can hardly agree on anything within their own chamber much less work across the rotunds with a currently more stable and unified State Senate to accomplish major policy items.  South Dakota is long used to the Governor leading, and equally used to the legislature coming to Pierre for several weeks in the winter and hopefully not doing too much damage.

The big chair on the second floor advocates for progress and gets to shoulder the solving of big problems. It’s what the people elect them to do. And it’s silly to have a resolution to literally disobey voters who demand that the Governor fix things.

Sorry, but this resolution does little more than come off as covetous of Governor Noem’s ability to exercise the authority of the office.

If House members don’t like it, they always know where they can take petitions out to give it a run themselves.

Steve Kolbeck announces election for South Dakota Senate

Steve Kolbeck of Brandon today announced that he is seeking election to the South Dakota Senate to represent the newly formed District 2.

“It is my pleasure to announce that I have circulated petitions, filed them and will appear on the ballot to represent the newly formed District 2 in the Brandon, Valley Springs, Corson, Rowena, and Sioux Falls area,” Kolbeck said. “Having previously won elections to the Brandon City Council and the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, representing Brandon in the state Legislature would be a great honor.

“I ask for your continued trust and support in my campaign for the state Senate. My top priorities will be to work hard, listen and do my best for the great state of South Dakota,” Kolbeck added.

Originally from Salem, S.D., Kolbeck and his family have lived in Brandon since 1998. He was elected to the Brandon City Council in 2004 and served until 2006 when he won a statewide election to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. The Kolbeck family then moved to Pierre in 2006 until the fall of 2011 when they moved back to Brandon.

Kolbeck currently serves two gubernatorial appointments: the South Dakota Housing Authority and the South Dakota Workforce Development Council through the Department of Labor. He has received gubernatorial appointments from the last three Republican governors.

He is a member of the Brandon Revolving Loan Fund Board of Directors and the Brandon/Corson Development Foundation (Corson Industrial Park) Board of Directors.  Kolbeck is a member of the Brandon and Sioux Falls Chambers of Commerce and serves on the Immerging Issues Committee for the Sioux Falls Chamber that focuses on legislation and public policy issues.  He serves on the Sioux Falls Development Foundation Board of Directors where he is the current vice president and is in line to be president. In his role with the Sioux Falls Development Foundation, Kolbeck is chairman of the Real Estate Committee and co-chair of the Talent and Workforce Committee. Kolbeck serves on the Forward Sioux Falls Board of Directors as a member of the Joint Venture Management Committee.

Kolbeck is a member of the Sioux Falls Downtown Rotary club. Kolbeck previously served on the Brandon Valley Booster Club for more than 12 years and was on the executive committee for six years, serving as president twice. He spearheaded fundraising for the new outdoor display board installed in 2020. Kolbeck also was the Brandon Valley Booster Club Volunteer of the Year in 2020.

Kolbeck is 51 years old and he and his wife Stacy have four children:  Wilson 23, Alex 21, Joe 19, and Mary 17.  All three boys graduated from Brandon Valley High School and Mary currently is a junior.  Steve is the Principal Manager for Xcel Energy-South Dakota.  Stacy is an English teacher at Brandon Valley High School.  Steve has an associate of applied science degree from Mitchell Technical College in telecommunications, a bachelor of science degree from South Dakota State University, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell where his is also an adjunct professor.

A bit of a jump from last weeks’ numbers with nearly 20 more hospitalized, and a few up in the ICU and on Ventilators.

Seems that numbers are somewhat holding, which still puts the focus on those unvaccinated mainly being the ones who are getting sick enough to be put in the hospital (or worse).

Rounds, Gillibrand to Chair National Prayer Breakfast

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) will chair the 70^thAnnual National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, February 3, 2022.

“Each year, the National Prayer Breakfast is a chance for us to come together, Republicans and Democrats alike, and pray for the success of our nation,” said Rounds. “For years, the prayer breakfast has been a place where we set aside politics and focus on what binds us together, not what divides us. It’s an honor to help lead this year’s National Prayer Breakfast with Senator Gillibrand.”

“The National Prayer Breakfast provides us with an opportunity to pray for the president and the nation and to come together and share in a moment of faith and community,” said Gillibrand. “The challenges of the past few years have reminded us all of the role that faith plays in our lives, and during this time of division and polarization, faith can be a place of common ground. It’s been an honor to co-host this year’s breakfast with Senator Rounds and I hope this spirit of community and commonality can continue as we work to serve the American people.”

Every president since President Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 has participated in the National Prayer Breakfast. This year’s National Prayer Breakfast will feature musical performances by singer-songwriter Kari Jobe. Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of the New York Times Bestseller Just Mercy, will be the keynote speaker. Past speakers include Mother Theresa (1994), Bono (2006), Tony Blair (2009), Dr. Ben Carson (2013), Senate Chaplain Barry Black (2017), and Arthur Brooks (2020).

From Twitter:

Gov. Noem’s heartbeat bill failed to get a hearing in the House State Affairs. She talked to reporters about moments ago pic.twitter.com/SjAuvJQXxb

— Joe Sneve (@Argus_Joe) February 2, 2022

This is big news in the South Dakota political world.

Much like Ronald Reagan decided the Democrat party wasn’t for him anymore, and changed to GOP,  Former Public Utilities Commissioner Steve Kolbeck of Brandon, SD is now a registered Republican, and has filed paperwork to run for District 2 State Senate.

Kolbeck was chairman of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission during his tenure there, and was first elected in 2006 and served to 2011.

When an official release or more information comes out, you’ll be able to read more about it here.

But, I can tell you that I always found Steve to be a pretty good guy.

Kolbeck will be in a primary election for that District 2 Senate seat, and is slated to run against Spencer Wrightsman, Treasurer of the Minnehaha County Republicans and national committeeman for the South Dakota Young Republicans (another good guy).

By my reckoning, this marks about the 9th State Senate primary to date (plus around 15 in the House so far), which tells you how active a year it’s going to be.

Update – I am informed that Steve has not been a Dem since leaving the PUC (which was more than a decade ago).

Gov. Noem Issues Statement on Heartbeat Bill

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, South Dakota legislators took unprecedented action to deny introduction of Governor Noem’s legislation to protect all unborn life once a heartbeat can be detected. Governor Noem issued the following statement:

“Every single life is precious and deserving of our protection – but apparently South Dakota legislators think otherwise. It grieves me that they would take this unprecedented action at this time based on the advice of one out-of-state lawyer. National pro-life leaders believe that now is the time to have this sort of protection in law to save lives.

“The United States Supreme Court has allowed the Texas Heartbeat Act to go forward three times, and this legislation has essentially ended abortions in Texas. My focus is on ensuring that we are protecting as many South Dakota lives as possible.

“The South Dakota state legislature has always guaranteed that every bill gets a hearing, and that is something that I’ve always loved about our process. We have rules and an open process, and we play by those rules. To our knowledge, this is the first time in decades that a bill has been denied a hearing.

“South Dakota deserved to have a hearing on a bill to protect the heartbeats of unborn children. We can hear heartbeats at six weeks, but I’m disappointed this bill was not granted even one hearing.”

You can read the proposed heartbeat legislation here.

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