Category: Uncategorized

Campaign finance filings were due into the City of Sioux Falls today, and arguably the most interesting report coming in is from Sioux Falls mayoral candidate Jim Entenman. Mainly because it seems he’s throwing money hand over fist into his campaign out of his own pocket.

20180305-Entenman-cfdr by Pat Powers on Scribd

Entenman hasn’t exactly been running a mean and lean campaign, choosing to go with the Gold-trimmed Cadillac option. With such silliness as wrapping his truck with his face and logo, he’s spent nearly $90,000 so far as he pursues the race for mayor.  While he’s raised some money, the kicker is that he has ‘loaned’ his campaign a massive $75,000 at this early stage of the race.   That’s a lot of cheddar to see your face on your truck.

Word is that Entenman has some of the same team in place that Mayor Mike Huether used to win the election, and from the looks of it, they aren’t coming cheap ($8500+ just for consulting according to the report).

The $75,000 is over twice as much as the person who is viewed as leading the race, Paul TenHaken, has raised:

20180305-TenHaken-cfdr by Pat Powers on Scribd

That cash infusion might prove to be a negative for Entenman, as after reports were filed, TenHaken has turned used the massive loan his opponent gave himself as a call to action for his own supporters to gear up, noting:

“Will you help send the message that elections can’t be bought?

A contribution to our campaign of $5, $10 or $25 dollars helps us get the message out about my vision for Sioux Falls. It also sends a message that we are not self-funding our way to City Hall but rather, have a thousands of supporters throughout our community.”

This could be an instance where having too much money might not be a good thing.

Stay tuned.

Noem Releases Sunshine Initiative, Calls for Greater Transparency

Noem to Host Facebook Live Event Today to Highlight Opportunities for Improved Access

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Kristi Noem today released her Sunshine Initiative, which is designed to bring greater transparency to state and local governments. To highlight the opportunities we have to expand access to government entities and officials, Noem will host a Facebook Live event on Tuesday, March 6, at 11:30AM-CT/10:30AM-MT. To participate, please visit https://www.facebook.com/kristiforgovernor/

“Voters have repeatedly supported government integrity measures at the ballot box. I want them to know that I hear them,” said Noem. “As governor, I will build on the recent momentum, working to throw open the doors, not only of the state capital, but also encouraging county commission offices and school boards to give South Dakotans unprecedented access to the government decision-making process at all levels.”

For nearly a century, South Dakota was known as “The Sunshine State,” a name sewn into our flag until 1992. Noem aims to embrace the spirit of that motto once again and shed new light on the inner-workings of state and local government through her Sunshine Initiative. Click here for a copy of Noem’s plan.

KRISTI NOEM’S SUNSHINE INITIATIVE

Bring Debates from the Boardroom to the Living Room. Too many important decisions are made in small meeting rooms with limited public access. Using free technologies like YouTube and Facebook Live, I will work to bring these meetings into every home, moving toward an aggressive goal of having state board, county commission, and school board meetings livestreamed.

Modernize and Expand Open.SD.gov. Knowledge is power. As governor, I would work with the state legislature to encourage the universal posting of all agendas, minutes and livestreams to a modernized and easily searchable Open.SD.gov.

Develop an Online Property Tax Toolkit. Where do your property tax dollars go? To the state? The county? The school district? Working in collaboration with the Department of Revenue and using Geographical Information System data, my administration would build out a Property Tax Toolkit that would operate as a digital disclosure database. Here, South Dakotans could easily see how many dollars go to the school district, the county, the state and elsewhere – at any time. It would be paired with links to available programmatic information as well as updates on how to participate in any public debates.

Enable Independent Reporting to Hold State and Local Government Genuinely Accountable. Fact-based reporting can be a valuable tool in upholding the integrity of government entities. On the federal level, it helped shine a light on VA abuses against our veterans. In the state, it’s essential in getting to the bottom of the recent EB-5 and GEAR UP scandals. Even so, South Dakota reporters can be forced to testify for investigating important stories. If elected, I would support a commonsense Reporter Shield law, protecting the constitutional right to a free and independent press.

Limit Confidential Settlement Agreements. You deserve to know how your money is being spent, but current law allows the state to negotiate confidentiality agreements so as to protect wrongdoers – even when your tax dollars are used to pay out a settlement. As governor, I would work to limit the state’s ability to engage in secret transactions like this, allowing it only when necessary to protect a victim’s privacy.

Review Open Meetings Laws. Executive sessions allow state and local governments to conduct certain business behind closed doors. While necessary in some instances (such as when a school board is discussing hiring or firing personnel), these sessions should not be used to hide budget discussions and other important debates from public view. As governor, I would conduct a full review of existing open meetings laws and work to move as much official debate as possible into the public domain.

Governor Signs Jackley’s Bill to Strengthen Sex Offender Registry

PIERRE, SD: Governor Dennis Daugaard signed Senate Bill 61 on Monday, a bill sponsored by Attorney General Marty Jackley to strengthen South Dakota’s sex offender registry.

“Governor Daugaard’s signature on Senate Bill 61 will lead to clarified requirements for sex offender registration and provide enhancements for habitual registration violations,” Jackley said. “This legislation will strengthen South Dakota’s sex offender registry to better protect our families.”

In 2010, the South Dakota Legislature worked with law enforcement to revise South Dakota’s sex offender registry.  Under South Dakota law, any person convicted of a listed sex crime is required to register as a sex offender.

The proposed amendment seeks to further strengthen South Dakota’s registry and keep South Dakota compliant with federal requirements and certification.  It clarifies the requirements for registration, including better definitions of “community safety zone” and “school” for registration purposes.  It further provides an enhancement for those sex offenders that are convicted of their second and subsequent violations to become a class five felony punishable by a maximum of five years imprisonment and a fine of $10,000.

South Dakota was the fourth registry in the nation to be certified and has a compliance rate of 98.5 percent with 3,616 registered sex offenders.

There were a bill heard yesterday in House State Affairs which seemed to tie into some of the attacks a particular group has used against legislators to call some conservative and some not so conservative.

The measure was an attempt to pass legislation allowing use of the Legislative Research Council to do the dirty work of groups such as the Citizens for Liberty, who were strongly involved in the measure, because they want research help to assist in attacking legislators.

From the University of South Dakota College Republican group, a poll conducted over the last weekend or so via Twitter had a somewhat lopsided result:

Who do you think will win the South Dakota Congressional Republican Primary? Vote now!

— USD GOP (@USDCollegeRepub) March 4, 2018

Jackley Launches “Ready to Lead” TV Spot

PIERRE, SD: Attorney General and Republican candidate for governor Marty Jackley announced today that his first television ad of the primary campaign, “Ready to Lead,” will be hitting the airwaves.

“We believe South Dakotans deserve a conservative governor who will fight to uphold the values that our families live by every day,” Jackley said. “That’s why we wanted this ad to highlight my lifelong commitment to those conservative principles: Protecting the family, defending human life, honoring the promise of the Second Amendment, reducing the size and scope of government, and empowering the individual.”

The ad features actions Jackley has taken during his career to advance those principles, including his creation of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and his close work with law enforcement that resulted in endorsements from more than 60 local sheriffs.

“Our campaign today is optimistic, energized and working hard,” Jackley said, “and we look forward to traveling across the state to share more of our vision with the people of South Dakota.”

On Saturday April 21, 2018 at 8 am at the Center for Western Studies at Augustana University, Author and John Thune Staff Member Jon Lauck is going to be chairing a panel of speakers on the politics of the 1980’s in South Dakota. Here’s who you can hear from:

Session 15 Panel III: The Politics of the 1980s in South Dakota Chair: Jon K. Lauck (author) University of South Dakota

Sean Flynn – Dakota Wesleyan University Catherine McNicol Stock – Connecticut College Marshall Damgaard – University of South Dakota Drey Samuelson – TakeItBack.org Bob Mercer – Pure Pierre Politics

If you weren’t around during ‘the greatest decade’ make a point to attend and find out what you missed!

Republican candidate for governor Terry LaFleur is proposing quite the interesting health care plan for South Dakota. Interesting, as in it makes you question if he believes in unicorns and the Easter Bunny

Because his plan for free Universal government health care paid for exclusively by donations seems to originate from childhood fantasies where it’s the tooth fairy who delivers money to children whenever they lose a tooth.

Because only in fantasies like that does someone have unlimited funds that magically appear.

Amazingly, LaFleur declares that if you don’t believe in his utopian fantasy that makes Bernie Sanders sound conservative in comparison, “he doesn’t have time to listen to you.”

Oookay..

From the Argus Leader in December of 2016 comes a prophetic statement in the Argus’ series of 17 people to watch in 2017:

17 in ’17: Ann Tornberg, South Dakota Democrats

The chair of the South Dakota Democratic Party will have the opportunity to help the party regain momentum or continue to sink into oblivion.

and..

Tornberg has said the party is re-grouping and hoping that it can determine a course forward that includes re-branding and an appeal to more Republicans and independent voters. But the task won’t be easy as Democrats have nearly 83,000 fewer registered voters than Republicans.

Read that here.

“help the party regain momentum or continue to sink into oblivion?”  Noting how they lost 11,000 voters, I think it was the second one.

Big Wins for South Dakota
By Sen. John Thune

I’ve often said that my Senate committee assignments put me in a unique position to give issues that are important to South Dakota the attention they deserve, and there are plenty of results to show for it. For example, my spot on the Agriculture Committee allows me to advocate for South Dakota’s farmers and ranchers, and with their help, I’ve been introducing bill after bill over the last year as we approach this fall’s deadline on the next farm bill. No one knows agriculture policy better than the folks who help make agriculture our state’s top industry, and because of them, we’re in a much stronger position.

Serving on the Finance Committee, which sets our nation’s tax policy, gave me the opportunity to help deliver tax relief to South Dakota families and businesses, including farms and ranches. These reforms, which are the most significant changes to tax law in a generation, are already benefiting South Dakotans. While there have been plenty of good stories to share lately – like bonuses, higher wages, and expanded benefits for workers – I believe there’s still more to come.

I’ve served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation since January 2015, and while not everything generates front page headlines, there’s significant work that takes place behind the scenes, and it’s having a big impact on the state’s economy and the folks who call South Dakota home.

The Commerce Committee has one of the largest jurisdictions of all the committees in the Senate, covering everything from planes, trains, and automobiles to federal communications policy to interstate commerce to technology and beyond. Since so many of these issues have a direct effect on South Dakota, I’ve invited numerous South Dakotans, including Gov. Dennis Daugaard, former Pierre Mayor Laurie Gill, and Lake Area Technical Institute President Michael Cartney, to testify at committee hearings over the years. Their perspective on these issues has proven to be invaluable.

I recently released a report, which can be found on my website, that highlights my work on the Commerce Committee and several big ticket items that have positively affected South Dakota, including my effort to expand cybersecurity research at Dakota State University, enhance Ellsworth Air Force Base’s strategic value, address unique needs for agricultural transportation, and promote internet-enabled health care solutions for South Dakotans who live in rural parts of the state.

Last year alone, 10 committee-approved proposals were enacted into law, including my Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act. The committee approved nearly 50 bills overall, of which 20 received the full Senate’s stamp of approval. We approved 20 of the president’s nominees, including two cabinet officials and the Federal Communications Commission chairman, and we held 63 hearings and eight legislative markups.

The committee has more opportunities to deliver for South Dakota and the rest of the American people in 2018, not the least of which is getting my Senate-passed MOBILE NOW bill, legislation that would help lay the groundwork so America – specifically South Dakota, I hope – can lead the way on 5G technology, to the president’s desk.

Our goals are big, but achievable, and I’m continually humbled by the opportunity to pursue them on behalf of South Dakotans.

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