Category: Uncategorized

Apparently a number of states are adding use of apple wallet for driver’s licenses, including a neighboring state to South Dakota:

Apple has announced that Arizona and Georgia are to support Apple Wallet for state ID and drivers’ licences in iOS 15, with six more states to follow.

Apple has long been preparing to have passports and other ID stored on iPhones, and iOS 15 will add support for it. Now the company has announced seven states that have signed on to accept ID through Apple Wallet.

DPS Provides Ravnsborg Investigation File to Speaker Gosch

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem and the South Dakota Department of Public Safety provided the full investigation file into the fatal crash involving South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg and the late Joseph Boever to Spencer Gosch, the Speaker of the South Dakota House of Representatives. The file includes a minimal amount of redacted information referring to unrelated investigations and/or security matters.

“This investigation file represents incredible work by our excellent law enforcement officers, and I thank them for their efforts,” said Governor Noem. “The remarkable detail in this investigation file will assist the House in its important work of considering whether to proceed with impeachment articles for the Attorney General.”

The cover letter from Craig Price, Secretary of the Department of Public Safety, to Speaker Gosch, which is contemporaneously being released, sets out generally what is included within the investigation file. You can read that letter here.

Speaker Gosch said in March that the House would wait until after “the judicial system is able to do its job” to proceed with articles of impeachment against Ravnsborg. The South Dakota Sheriff’s Association, the South Dakota Police Chiefs Association, and the South Dakota Fraternal Order of Police previously called on him to resign.

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FCC Implements Johnson’s COVID-19 Telehealth Extension Bill

Washington, D.C. – Recently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced award recipients for round two of its COVID-19 Telehealth Program, following the passage of U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson’s (R-S.D.) COVID-19 Telehealth Program Extension Act.

In April 2020, the FCC launched the COVID-19 Telehealth Program authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The program supports health care providers responding to COVID-19 by funding telecommunications services, information services, and the purchase of connected devices necessary to provide critical connected care services to patients at home.

Due to the popularity of the program, on June 25, 2020, the FCC announced it would no longer accept applications from providers. By July, the FCC released the final round of funding to approved applicants, exhausting the original $200 million appropriated for the program.

In July 2020, U.S. Representatives Johnson and Abigail Spanberger (D-V.A.) introduced the COVID-19 Telehealth Program Extension Act to appropriate additional funds to the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program. This bill was included in the $900 billion COVID-19 relief package that passed in December.

“South Dakota has seen the benefits of expanding telehealth firsthand,” said Johnson. “Additional funding for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program enables health care providers to use technology to meet patients’ needs wherever they are. South Dakota patients deserve quality care, so I’m glad to see the additional funds being used to strengthen telehealth programs in South Dakota and across the country.”

“Sanford Health is grateful for these FCC grant funds, which will help expand telehealth services and bring exceptional care closer to home for those in our rural footprint. These funds will allow us to upgrade our systems and install new wireless access points across our network in the Upper Midwest.” Corey Brown, Sanford Health System Vice President, Government Relations.

South Dakota health care providers were recipients of the program in both rounds.

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Selection Process for United States Senate Youth Program is Underway

Two South Dakota High School Students Will Be Selected for 2022 Washington, D.C., Program

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today announced the annual statewide selection process for the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) has begun. Two South Dakota high school juniors or seniors will join student delegates from around the country to participate in the USSYP’s 60th annual Washington Week, which will take place March 5-12, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

“The U.S. Senate Youth Program is an incredible opportunity for student leaders in South Dakota to learn firsthand about the inner workings of the U.S. government, policy making, and public service,” said Thune. “This program is an opportunity of a lifetime, and I encourage all student leaders across the state to apply.”

Each of the student delegates will receive a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., for next year’s program. During their trip to Washington, student delegates will potentially visit Capitol Hill, the White House, the Pentagon, and the Supreme Court, among other locations, and will meet with policymakers, which in the past have included members of Congress, the president, and cabinet secretaries.

Students interested in applying for next year’s program can find more information by visiting the South Dakota Department of Education website or by contacting Mark Gageby (mark.gageby@state.sd.us), the South Dakota selection administrator, or their school’s principal.

The deadline for submitting applications is Friday, September 24, 2021.

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Gov. Noem Statement on State Attorneys General Amicus Brief in Rushmore Fireworks Appeal

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, sixteen state attorneys general filed an amicus brief in theKristi Noem, et. al. v. Deb Haaland appeal, which seeks to restore South Dakota’s annual Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration. Governor Noem thanked the attorneys general with the following statement:

“The Biden Administration’s arbitrary decision to cancel the Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration sets a bad precedent for other states who want honest and predictable federal processes,” said Governor Noem. “I am grateful for the sixteen attorneys general who are standing up with South Dakota so that we can return theFireworks Celebration to Mount Rushmore and honor our nation’s birthday at America’s Shrine to Democracy for next year and in the future.”

The Amici States support Governor Noem’s challenge to the federal government’s unlawful decision denying South Dakota’s permit for the Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration. They argue that National Park Service’s decision-making was erratic, flimsy, and based on unsupported rationales. The denial itself was devoid of specifics, facts, data, and was internally inconsistent. The Amici States file this brief to defend a federal permitting process that is well-reasoned, consistent, and well-supported.

In particular, the Amici States criticize National Park Service’s contradictory rationale for using the COVID-19 pandemic as a purported reason to cancel the Fireworks Celebration. “Much of the letter refusing to grant South Dakota’s permit was focused on the COVID-19 pandemic,” write the attorneys general. “COVID-19 concerns did not prevent the National Park Service from holding a fireworks display on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It was arbitrary and capricious to rely on the same concerns to refuse to allow a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore.”

The attorneys general are led by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who is joined by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery III, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

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The Argus Leader is busy clucking today as they pat themselves on the back for trying to represent their community better based on the color of people’s skin and their gender:

Our challenge was compounded by the fact that we haven’t spent enough time building meaningful relationships in the Black community or working to include our Indigenous, Latinx and Asian neighbors in our coverage.

and..

The Argus Leader team has seven women and eight men. Our management team of three has one woman on it. We are closer to parity on gender, but still have work to do.

Read that here.

If they’re concerned with representing the diversity of their community, I can’t help but wonder how many Republican/Conservative reporters they have on staff, and what they’ve done to increase the representation of conservative voices?

They can’t make hiring decisions that way? Well, they’re going on about their racial and gender initiatives, and I didn’t think they were supposed to make hiring decisions based on that, either.

Just holding them to account, as they asked.

(I might yank his chain on occasion, but I do have to say that their current political reporter Joe Sneve is head and shoulders above the prior political reporter in that regard. Now if the entire newsroom would reflect the political makeup of the community. )

 

This afternoon on the Rapid City Journal’s facebook page, a reader was calling on the State Representatives for Lawrence County to remove Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg from office as a consequence of traffic violations, including a speeding ticket he received in Pierre earlier this week.  One of the violations, failure to maintain in his lane, is considered to be a factor in the death of Joe Boever last fall.

In response, it appeared that State Representative Mary Fitzgerald responded that she was “on it.”

This is interesting because of a couple of reasons.

First, Fitzgerald is a member of the State House of Representatives, the body which has the sole power of impeachment and would be bringing a measure to send the matter to the State Senate for trial.

Secondly, Fitzgerald’s husband, John Fitzgerald, ran against Ravnsborg for Attorney General at the 2018 State Republican Convention.  And, it is possible that he may be up for consideration for appointment should Ravnsborg be removed from office.

There’s a lot in that statement which is a cannon being loaded for bear in the months ahead.

The office of Attorney General is up for election in 2022, and currently, the only announced candidate is former Attorney General Marty Jackley, who ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 2018. Ravnsborg could run for the office, or if the office is vacated, an appointee of the Governor’s may seek to run.  However, Jackley is widely anticipated as being formidable in the 2022 AG race regardless of who the opponent may be.

Stay tuned.

South Dakota National Guard to Support Monument Health in COVID Testing Efforts

PIERRE, S.D. – This week, nine soldiers with the South Dakota National Guard were activated to support Monument Health in their COVID-19 testing efforts. The soldiers were activated to Belle Fourche, Custer, Rapid City, Spearfish, and Sturgis.

“Since the start of the pandemic, the State of South Dakota has worked with our hospital systems to manage hospital capacity so that we can help those who need elevated levels of care. Testing efforts help us to identify and isolate cases to slow the spread of the virus,” said Governor Noem. “This past week, I had conversations with all three South Dakota hospital systems and asked them what they needed as cases start to rise again. Monument asked for the National Guard to assist them in their testing efforts, and we are happy to help.”

The soldiers are activated under FEMA Title 32, meaning that their efforts will be federally funded.

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COVID discussion remains on the tip of everyone’s tongues with rates spiking in the state, and it’s no different in the Republican contest for US Senate. And if you take a look at the candidates and their statements, there’s a definite range of views between the three.

A few weeks after Republican candidate for US Senate Bruce Whalen admitted that he picked up COVID at a rally in Sioux Falls he’s up front and telling people to treat it with Ivermectin, a sheep dewormer..

All I have to say about that is “For crying out loud, it’s an anti-worming medicine for animals. Quit reading crazy things off of facebook!“

In comparison, fellow fringe US Senate Candidate isn’t recommending sheep-medicine, but he’s happy to spread his knowledge. And COVID. He will probably be spreading COVID, as according to a recent podcast claiming to be the “America First” podcast, Mowry noted…

Mowry is giving us paranoia, and is actually saying that he does not advocate for any of the vaccines.  That’s just great.

That might be a signal of who NOT to stand next to at the Republican dinners. Assuming Mowry lasts that long, given that currently most hospitalizations and deaths are coming from those who are not vaccinated.

Compare that to current US Senator John Thune, who early on back in March was advocating that people should go take care of themselves:

For more information about COVID-19 vaccines, including answers to common questions and a state-by-state guide to vaccinations in your area, click HERE to find out more.

You can read that here.

Sheep dewormer, anti-vaxxer, or encouraging people to take care of their health and get vaccinated.  Which of the three candidates do you think aligns with what former President Trump is telling people?

Actually, given that the COVID vaccine development was initiated under the previous administration, it’s US Senator John Thune who’s recommendations align with those of the former President, as President Trump himself is recommending the vaccine.

Former President Donald Trump urged his supporters to get vaccinated against Covid-19, noting many of them have been reluctant to do so.

“I would recommend it and I would recommend it to a lot of people that don’t want to get it, and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday night on Fox News.

People have the freedom to choose, he said, adding, “It’s a great vaccine. It’s a safe vaccine and it’s something that works.”

Read it here.

Food for thought.  And the US Senate race rolls on.

SIOUX FALLS, SD – Americans For Prosperity – South Dakota (AFP-SD) recently released its legislative scorecard, a way to track the votes of legislators on key issues for South Dakotans.

This year, the key votes centered on AFP-SD’s major priorities: improving accessibility to quality health care in South Dakota, improving our education system, and creating more economic opportunity for all South Dakotans. This was a remarkably successful year that saw the passage of several bills that make tangible improvements to the lives of South Dakotans. To learn more about the reforms passed this year in South Dakota, click HERE.

AFP Regional Director Don Haggar discussed the legislative session and the successes achieved this year in South Dakota. That discussion can be found HERE.

AFP Regional Director Don Haggar released the following statement on this year’s scorecard and the legislative session:

“This year’s scorecard is reflective of the incredible efforts of activists and legislative leaders across South Dakota. We made great strides to secure meaningful reforms for South Dakota families, and we would like to thank the activists, legislators, and leaders who made it possible to create these positive changes during this legislative session.”