Memories of the 2011 Flood
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

It is hard to believe that it has been almost five years since the Missouri River flood.

I first received word of the escalating water releases from the Oahe Dam on a Tuesday as I was on my way back from Chicago. We had been visiting with Bel Brands about doing business in South Dakota, and in a matter of moments our focus shifted from business recruitment to how we would manage the rising waters.

At the time I had no idea that flood response would be our primary focus for the next several weeks. The Army Corps of Engineers told us the releases would be at record-high levels and it was uncertain how long they would continue.

My kids had planned to come to Pierre that Memorial Day weekend to relax. After hearing the news I called them to cancel our plans. They came to Pierre anyway and spent the weekend filling sandbags with my wife Linda.

The following days were a flurry of activity.

In short order we opened up the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), blocked one lane of Interstate 29 for use as a haul road, and asked the citizens in some areas of Dakota Dunes and Fort Pierre to evacuate.

We watched as Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters placed one-ton helibags of sand in and around places like McCook Lake, Wynstone and Yankton.

I recall flying over Lake Oahe and seeing the big whirlpool that formed where the water was draining through the dam.

I spent hours in the EOC, assisting in the Pierre/Fort Pierre area response, while Lt. Gov. Matt Michels coordinated efforts in the southeast.

We walked the levees, to ensure the berms of earth and rock were solid; we rode in dump trucks to monitor traffic so it flowed as efficiently as possible; and we helped our neighbors carry their possessions to higher ground.

I remember the frustration we felt as the water-flow peak estimates changed from 85,000 cubic feet per second, to 110,000 cfs and ultimately to 160,000 cfs. The previous peak release from the 50-year-old Oahe Dam was 59,000 cfs. Things looked grim but there was no time for doubt.

There was a noticeable feeling of relief when the National Guard arrived. They worked for 96 consecutive days on 12- to 15-hour shifts. It was the largest in-state deployment since the 1972 Rapid City Flood. Prison inmates also pitched in. At one point, the National Guard members and the inmates started a competition to see which group could fill the most sandbags.

I can still see the faces of the state and local emergency response officials, mayors, county commissioners, and the individuals from the Red Cross and Salvation Army who worked so tirelessly. I remain grateful for the long hours they labored.

I will never forget the crews who worked so hard to construct the levees. In just a few days, they did a job that would normally take months or years. They constructed earthen berms that held back the Mighty Missouri for several miles. As crews were building the levees, there were times they could see the water rising and did not know if they could finish in time; but they kept on going.

Most of all, I remember the volunteers. People from all over the state came to help. They came by the busload. They filled thousands and thousands of sandbags to protect homes, businesses and loved ones. They brought food, drink, comfort, encouragement and hope to the crews.

At one point, I met a retired woman living in Pierre who didn’t know if she’d get her house sandbagged in time. She lived on her own and was struggling. Before the water arrived a group of young volunteers showed up just in time and got the job done. There are many similar examples up and down the river.

South Dakota had had disasters before – tornadoes, blizzards, fires and floods. We always have joined together to help our neighbors recover and move forward. But this flood was different. We had never been given so much advance warning. Thousands of South Dakotans joined together to avoid a disaster.

Many homes were damaged, and some were destroyed. Still, we did all we could, and thanks to our efforts, a great deal of property damage and human suffering was avoided. As high as the floodwaters rose, South Dakota rose higher. I am just as proud today as I was five years ago.

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I was just sent this from today’s mail in Rapid City:

The “All South Dakota” Political Action Committee is one of several that former State Senator Stan Adelstein funnels money through to alternately attack his enemies or support his friends. You can see the latest filing from it as noted below:

all_sd_pac by Pat Powers

I’ve long documented Stan using PACs to ferry money here and there. And while serving in the State legislature, Adelstein was referred to by one colleague as being a cancer on the caucus, as he sought to gain favors and position.

The attack ad comes at a surprising point in time when Adelstein has faded from view, and his name only comes up in news stories about him fighting with his neighbors, and insinuating people are anti-semetic for disagreeing with him.

Contrast that with Phil Jensen, who has his own notoriety as a member of the State Senate, as I reminded everyone back in February:

Just when you think Phil Jensen had that foot out of his mouth from last election’s comments over racial discrimination….

“If someone was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and they were running a little bakery for instance, the majority of us would find it detestable that they refuse to serve blacks, and guess what? In a matter of weeks or so that business would shut down because no one is going to patronize them,” Jensen told the Rapid City Journal.

Read that here.

…. he manages to wedge it back in there with the other foot with his comments in today’s Rapid City Journal:

Speaking over the phone on the way to Pierre on Tuesday, Jensen recalled when one of his constituents told him he witnessed “dozens of South Americans” fleeing a white bus parked near downtown Rapid City.

“He knew they were South Americans,” Jensen said, “because they had different skull structures and skin tones from Mexicans.”

Read it here.

The political hit-piece is basically Adelstein is attacking Jensen for an action he took 44 years ago. Which brings up the question whether it’s an issue that should hold sway in 2016?

And who wins when no one is likeable?

The issue may resonate for Vietnam Era Veterans and their families, or possibly veterans in general, and they have every reason to feel that way. But beyond that, It’s a political attack using 44 year old information because someone, when they were 18, didn’t really want to go to fight in a controversial war during a turbulent time in our country’s history.

You know, this is one of those cases where you can’t find yourself compelled to root for anyone. And I’m not sure how effective it’s going to be in moving voters. Jensen supporters will likely excuse it, and Jensen haters are still not going to like him.

I tend to think you just watch the mudslinging for the two or three minutes of entertainment, go “meh,” and go back to whatever you were doing.

If you’ll note my post a few hours back about District 3 Democrat House Candidate Nikki Bootz offering a rather stark opinion of the University community at NSU she hopes to represent in Pierre (after this thirty-something-year-old was lamenting that “Theatre class is hard? Since when“)..

… Apparently, seeing it in print caused this candidate to suddenly grew a sense of discretion.

Or, at the least, she decided that her Bootz are made for hiding.

 

There are times when comments are left that just plain force me to go look. Today was no exception.

Under the post where District 3 Democrat House Candidate Nikki Bootz explained that Legislators only deal with certain issues…

Someone left a notation from her Twitter feed which is either really eye-opening, or at the least, in-artfully stated:

@DaRealAmberRose Been retired for over 8 yrs from stripping, some people aren’t born with that #silverspoon #privledge.

— Nikki Bootz (@NikkiBootz) February 17, 2015

Um, yeah. OK.  I’m not sure I understand. So, which is retired from stripping? Another word composed of 3-5 characters added to the statement would have added a lot of clarity to that tweet.

Darn it.  Of course, with a statement like that, I had to go look and see what other pearls of wisdom that Democrat Candidate Ms. Boots decided to pass to the world. Suffice it to say that I wasn’t disappointed. (and pardon the language):

You didn’t happen to work in a Taco John’s recently, did you?

Say, I hate to mention it, but the whole “R” word thing isn’t really cool, you know.

Seriously, Nikki. Not cool. And thank God I’m done having children. 

Why do I think Democrats may have to offer her some sensitivity training?

Ohhh my. Lots and lots of sensitivity training. Yep.

Why do I think for Republicans, Nikki is the gift that’s going to keep on giving in District 3?

So, Nikki’s opinion is that “slave factory workers” are “morons?”  Not going to be a supporter of 3M in Aberdeen, is she?  Is there anyone left for her to offend?

“Theatre Class is hard? Since when  #f***Northern”

So, is #f***northern going to be a hash tag for everyday use of her campaign? Or is she saving that for when she’s elected to the legislature, and would be asked to vote on the budget for the Board of Regents?

Heidelberger, Briscoe, Bootz—District 3’s next Legislators at McGovern Day Sioux Falls #Democrats pic.twitter.com/YnX1G7DnaC

— CAHeidelberger (@coralhei) May 1, 2016

Sorry Cory. I’m thinking you’re going to be 0 for 3 on that one.

Secretary of State announces Petition challenge (18% ballot question) Unsuccessful

Pierre, SD – Today, Secretary of State Shantel Krebs announced that the challenge submitted for the initiated amendment to the South Dakota Constitution Limiting the Ability to Set Statutory Interest Rates for Loans (18%) was unsuccessful.

An Initiated Amendment to the Constitution Limiting Ability to Set Statutory Interest Rates for Loans (18% rate cap) was originally validated January 4^th and certified to be on the November 2016 general election ballot as a ballot measure the citizens will vote on. The sponsor turned in 63,772 signatures to the Secretary of state’s office. A Constitutional Amendment requires 27,741 signatures from South Dakota registered voters. Once the signed petitions were delivered to the Secretary of State’s office, a 5% random sampling was conducted in accordance with 2-1-16. It was determined that 66.17% or 42,195 of 63,772 signatures were in good standing.

The petition challenge was submitted by Cory Heidelberger of Aberdeen. The challenger submitted specific deficiencies on 1,219 signature lines to the Secretary of State’s office. The review concluded that 885 of the challenged signatures were invalid.

This will be Constitutional Amendment U.

An individual wishing to challenge the validity of the petitions can proceed to circuit court.

2-1-18.  Court challenge of validity of signatures.  Nothing in §§ 2-1-15 to 2-1-18, inclusive, prohibits any person from challenging in circuit court the validity of signatures or other information required on a petition by statute or administrative rule.

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Noem Votes to Keep Services at Hot Springs and Other Rural VA Facilities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Kristi Noem today joined the U.S. House of Representatives in passing legislation funding priorities for veterans, including language Noem has championed to prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from ending or limiting hospital-based services at facilities like the Hot Springs VA Hospital through FY2017.  The legislation – H.R.4974, the FY2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act – passed the House with bipartisan support, 295-129.

“South Dakota veterans have made clear how important it is to maintain services at the Hot Springs VA Hospital and yet the administration has gone to all lengths to reduce and eliminate services,” said Noem.  “Veterans and the Hot Springs community deserve long-term certainty about the future of this facility, but until we can do that in a way that preserves the care they’ve earned, I’m proud to once again prohibit the VA from spending money to shut down or limit services for rural veterans, including those who are treated in Hot Springs.”

Noem initially proposed this language as an amendment to last year’s Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, which was then included.  Understanding the importance of this provision, Noem’s language was built into this year’s legislation from the onset.

In addition to offering protections for rural health care facilities, like the Hot Springs VA Hospital, H.R.4974 would provide additional funding for VA medical services, including those that address mental health, suicide prevention, and traumatic brain injury.  Support was also given to help modernize the VA with electronic health records and address the ongoing claims and appeals backlog.  Additionally, H.R.4974 prevented the closure of Guantanamo Bay and prohibited funding for a facility in the U.S. for detainees.

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Being in the business of designing and selling campaign materials, I have to admit that sometimes something that sounds like a good idea, and something that looks attractive on the computer just doesn’t work.

I have to wonder if this is one of those times. Because I’m not sure what the designer was thinking.

No, I’m not stretching this out. This is how it really looks.

There’s multiple fonts and miscellaneous type-styles used at random, such as the  “Commitment Honesty & Integrity” which pivots over to “that you can count on,” as if they needed to go randomly to a script font.

There’s also the part where what looks like the candidate’s logo is hiding in the upper right hand corner, as if to acknowledge that there is a logo. But, it’s not allowed to this font party, so it’s waving at the rest of the piece, asking to be invited in to the conversation.

And I can’t help but notice that someone ran over this nice man with a steamroller, squooshing him tall.

It has all the material present where a nice piece could have been done. Unfortunately, someone decided to have a font party instead, and his logo wasn’t invited.

(Disclaimer: No comments made have anything to do with how good a candidate anyone is.  They’re just the innocent victim of questionable campaign material design) 

Apparently, District 3 Democrat State Legislative Candidate Nikki Bootz doesn’t think the legislature deals with issues such as abortion & gun rights.

Wow.

As you’re receiving campaign postcards in the mail, snap a photo, and send me a copy, especially the attack ones. I’d love to see them and share.

E-mail to me here.

Delegation Urges USDA to Reevaluate Selection Process for General CRP Sign-Ups
“We are very concerned that with CRP’s dwindling enrollment and loss of general CRP enrollment acres in South Dakota, our state will suffer damaging setbacks …”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) today urged U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack to reevaluate the selection process for the general Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) sign-ups. The results of the 49th annual general CRP sign-up, which was conducted December 1, 2015, through February 26, 2016, were recently released, and although 727 South Dakota applications for more than 42,000 acres were submitted under the general CRP sign-up, only 101 acres were accepted by USDA.

“Drastically restricting the number of general CRP contract enrollment acres in our state removes the option for most expiring large landscape CRP contract acres from being reenrolled in CRP,” the delegation wrote. “And as a result, because they are denied the option to enroll in general CRP contracts, tens of thousands of acres of marginal land in expiring CRP contracts will be returned to crop production, resulting in higher costs to taxpayers due to increased commodity crop base acres and payments, and increased crop insurance subsidy and indemnity payments. In addition, South Dakota’s already shrinking grassland landscape will dwindle at an accelerated pace.”

Thune, Rounds, and Noem also requested that in the absence of a general CRP enrollment in South Dakota, USDA allocate sufficient continuous CRP acres in a timely manner when needed and requested.

While the delegation acknowledges that USDA has accepted more than 37,000 acres in continuous CRP practices effective at the beginning of 2017, they point out that large landscape contracts enrolled under general CRP sign-ups are critically important for reenrollment of expiring contracts and for maximizing CRP’s usefulness in South Dakota.

Full text of the letter can be found below:

Secretary Tom Vilsack
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, D.C. 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack:

We are writing regarding the recently announced results of the 49th general Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) sign-up conducted December 1, 2015, through February 26, 2016. CRP has played a key role in South Dakota’s landscape, outdoor recreation, land stewardship efforts, and economy. However, we are very concerned that with CRP’s dwindling enrollment and loss of general CRP enrollment acres in South Dakota our state will suffer damaging setbacks in these critical areas.

South Dakota landowner interest in CRP remains at very high levels as evidenced by the 727 applications for more than 42,000 acres in the 49th sign-up by South Dakota landowners. However, we are very disappointed that for South Dakota only two CRP offers totaling 101 acres were accepted in the 49th general sign-up.

We appreciate that for fiscal year 2017 more than 37,000 acres have been accepted in continuous CRP in South Dakota as well as more than 18,600 acres in the Grasslands CRP initiative. However, we point out that acreage enrolled under general CRP sign-ups are larger landscape contracts that provide greater environmental and wildlife benefits than continuous CRP practices. In particular, larger acreage general CRP tracts play a critical role in support of South Dakota’s economically significant and treasured pheasant hunting heritage by supporting nesting pheasant needs.

Drastically restricting the number of general CRP contract enrollment acres in our state removes the option for most expiring large landscape CRP contract acres from being reenrolled in CRP. And as a result, because they are denied the option to enroll in general CRP contracts, tens of thousands of acres of marginal land in expiring CRP contracts will be returned to crop production, resulting in higher costs to taxpayers due to increased commodity crop base acres and payments, and increased crop insurance subsidy and indemnity payments. In addition, South Dakota’s already shrinking grassland landscape will dwindle at an accelerated pace.

We request that you reassess the selection process for general CRP sign-ups. It is imperative that each state’s cadre of CRP initiatives and programs that focus on and have successfully addressed specific environmental and wildlife needs remain balanced. An action such as the elimination of the 49th general CRP sign-up enrollment in our state leaves a significant void in CRP’s effectiveness.

We also request that in the absence of a general CRP enrollment in South Dakota that you timely allocate sufficient continuous CRP acres when needed and requested.

Please consider our requests so CRP can continue to successfully function in its key role as a land stewardship tool that protects South Dakota’s marginal land, water, and wildlife.

Sincerely,

John Thune
U.S. Senator

Mike Rounds
U.S. Senator

Kristi Noem
Member of Congress

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