After dropping the hammer and traveling over 1000 miles yesterday, I’m happy to say that I am between Omaha and Sioux City right now.

I’m certainly glad to be heading to home territory, and will have the columns up for our representatives in Washington and South Dakota sometime this evening.

I’m hoping to fit in a quick trip down to Madison to see my brand-new college student who is starting classes early DSU. She went to college yesterday, and mom was a little upset that she wasn’t there to send her off. So, my traveling this weekend isn’t quite over when I hit the front door in Brookings.

Stu Whitney’s column in the Argus Leader this morning features former state representative and current city councilor Christine Erickson, Who, in an understated way, seems to keep capturing everyone’s attention and rises in popularity.

“She’s a refreshing new voice, and she’s got moxie,” says fellow council member and former Sioux Falls mayoral candidate Greg Jamison. “Because of her experience in the legislature, she understands the technique of debate and communication. Some of us get involved in personal issues and egos, but she sees it as issue-based and doesn’t let that stuff get out of hand.”

and…

The non-partisan nature of the job hasn’t stopped Erickson from dipping her toes in larger political waters. She was approached by the staff of U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rounds last October to emcee a Sioux Falls rally featuring Rounds and former presidential contender Mike Huckabee, an event that helped right the ship for Rounds’ eventual victory.

Read it all here.

  

I just heard from my daughter that she might’ve been elected vice chair of the South Dakota Teenage Republican Organization.

(Soon our takeover might be complete! Bwahahaha!)

just kidding! She’s a good kid and she certainly did it all on her own moxie and competitive spirit. Congratulations!

I caught this today, where a group of Democrats aren’t 100% that pro-tax and pro- abortion candidate Paula Hawks is going to call herself a Democrat in a challenge to congresswoman Kristi Noem:

…..the current State Chair, Ann Tornberg, announced that the current interim Executive Director, Zack Nistler, has resigned and will begin working for Paula Hawks’s yet to be announced campaign for the US House seat currently held by Kristi Noem. 

The fact Paula will employ the Democratic State Party’s former Interim Executive Director, increases the odds she will run, initially, as a Democrat. 

https://dakotawarcollege.com/up-dropping-last-minute-postcards-to-confuse…

Read it here.

Since when is it in doubt and they talk about odds that a liberal Democrats going to run as a liberal Democrat? 

Although, if I were Hawks, I’d want to hide the Democrat label too.

  
While I’m sitting here at Disney, where I just arrived, The Minnehaha County Republican Party just sent out a notice inviting people to attend a digital seminar on July 30. 

Please check out the flyer about an RSVP if it could be useful for you.

The Minnehaha County has out-of-state talent coming in to help do digital training. They’re hearing this to young GOPers looking to make their content matter. 

IRS Commissioner tells Noem IRS audit process remains at risk for abuse and targeting

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Kristi Noem, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, questioned IRS Commissioner John Koskinen yesterday on a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that detailed flaws in the IRS audit selection process that could lead to targeting of organizations based on their political beliefs and other First Amendment protected views. The GAO is the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress.

In the wake of the Lois Lerner scandal—which revealed the IRS targeted conservative groups – the House Ways and Means Committee asked the GAO to look into the IRS audit process for tax-exempt organizations. Noem and the committee were concerned the IRS could use its vast auditing power to target groups the same way. These fears were confirmed in the GAO’s report and Noem’s line of questioning.

GAO’s final report shows the current audit process is ripe for improper targeting. According to the GAO, “the control deficiencies GAO found increase the risk that EO (Exempt Organizations unit) could select organizations for examination in an unfair manner—for example, based on an organization’s religious, educational, political, or other views.”

The GAO report’s supporting findings include:

· IRS’s audit procedures are not sufficiently documented or followed, and in some instances, GAO found that even the IRS did not have a record of why certain cases were selected for audit.

· The same small group of people have been reviewing audit referrals, which are essentially third-party complaints made to IRS, for years without sufficient review or oversight of their decisions.

· Management within IRS does not consistently monitor selection decisions, which could allow people with bias to unfairly select organizations for audit.

The full report can be read here.

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The recent call for a special legislative session to address education apparently has some legislators confused as to who returned your letter to is actually sign the document.

According to a storu ar KCCR this morning some legislators have their own thoughts as to where to return the letters to:

The deadline for those letters calling for a special session to be sent back to May is Tuesday. However, there has been some talk around the state on the clarification as to where exactly lawmakers need to send their letter back to calling for the special session.

State Senator Corey Brown of Gettysburg says he is skeptical to what exactly the motivation of May really is.

Brown says that if lawmakers feel a special session is needed, he is suggesting that they forward the petitions to either Legislative Research Council or the President of the Senate Lieutenant Governor Matt Michaels.

Read it here.

From KCCR news in Pierre:

State Representative Tim Rounds of Pierre returned home earlier this week after being hospitalized earlier this month with what was thought to be a mild stroke.

Rounds has not spoken publicly since his time in the hospital, and a family member said he needs time to rest and relax.

Read it here.

Noem Supports Legislation to Hold Sanctuary Cities Accountable for Failing to Enforce the Law

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Kristi Noem today helped the U.S. House of Representatives pass legislation to cut off certain federal grants for sanctuary cities that ignore federal immigration law.

“As a mom, I want to make our communities as safe as they can possibly be for our kids,” said Noem. “It broke my heart to see the grief that struck Kate Steinle’s family after she was murdered by a man who came here illegally and had a criminal history but was still knowingly allowed to stay in our country. We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation where the rule of law applies – and for good reason. We need to secure our borders and that includes ending the practice of establishing sanctuary cities. That is what today’s legislation aims to accomplish.”

H.R.3009, the Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act, prohibits sanctuary cities from receiving federal grants to help pay for the incarceration of undocumented criminal immigrants. It also prohibits those localities from being eligible for COPS and Byrne law enforcement grants.
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