Billy Mawhiney, Executive Director of the South Dakota Afterschool Network appears to have filed paperwork last night to begin a run for Congress in 2026 as a Democrat, according to the Federal Elections Commission:

According to his bio, Mawhiney grew up on a farmland in a rural Missouri town of 113. He is a member of the Wyandotte Nation, and began his career in afterschool while in college at the Boys & Girls Clubs in Springfield, Missouri. Before South Dakota Afterschool Network, he was with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire where he was the Director of Operations. He and his husband Kyle live in Sioux Falls.

Long-time political reporter Kevin Woster has a column at SD Searchlight this morning noting how he sees the GOP race for Governor. And he has some strong opinions.

Such as how Toby Doeden winning the GOP primary is the only path for a Democrat to win the governors seat in South Dakota. And Jon Hansen is hardly worth a mention, because his chances are slim and none:

“If Toby Doeden won the Republican primary, Billie Sutton could beat Doeden in the general,” I said confidently over coffee with a couple of friends. I repeated it to another friend, a traditional South Dakota conservative, a week or so later.

And..

I didn’t mention Jon Hansen, a Republican state lawmaker and lawyer from Dell Rapids who is in the race. I guess I think his chances of winning the primary are so slim (no offense, Jon) he didn’t figure into my speculation.

And..

Beyond that, Doeden has been managing to come off as reasonable, which has been a surprise to me. He slips sometimes, like when he called Dusty Johnson evil. Which was, well, crazy talk.

And..

Oh, and he’s not evil, by the way. You can disagree with Johnson’s politics or rhetoric or how he votes, but it’s ludicrous in a mean-spirited sort of way to call him evil.

Read the entire column here at SD Searchlight.

What do you think?

Attorney General Jackley Announces Canada Reconsents to Extradition For John Graham Convicted in 1975 Murder of Annie Mae Aquash

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that the Canadian Ministry of Justice has reconsented to the extradition of John Graham who was convicted in the 1975 kidnapping and murder for Annie Mae Aquash in South Dakota, meaning the defendant will remain in state custody.

“Having personally prosecuted this case as both a United States Attorney and as South Dakota’s Attorney General, I understand the pain experienced by Annie Mae’s family,” said Attorney General Jackley. “The decision to continue to hold John Graham responsible for Annie Mae’s murder is a significant victory for South Dakota’s tribal communities who have long dealt with missing and murdered indigenous persons.”

Aquash was an American Indian Movement (AIM) activist, who participated in AIM’s 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee. Members of an AIM faction that included Leonard Peltier and John Graham accused Aquash of being a government informant.  She was kidnapped from Denver, Colorado, by Graham, Arlo Looking Cloud, and Theda Clarke, driven to Rapid City, and then to the Badlands of South Dakota where Graham executed her.

Graham left the country and relocated to Canada but was eventually extradited to the United States and tried for Aquash’s murder.  He was convicted by a jury in December of 2010 and his conviction was affirmed by the South Dakota Supreme Court in May of 2012. In May of 2013, Graham sought to overturn his conviction through a writ of habeas corpus filed in Pennington County. That request also was denied by the State Supreme Court.

In Canada, Graham argued that he was not given the opportunity to speak at the extradition process. A Canadian Appeals Court ruled that Graham was entitled to but not afforded notice and opportunity to be heard during the extradition process. The court set aside the extradition and remanded to the Canadian Ministry of Justice for reconsideration of the request for extradition. The Ministry reconsented to the extradition.

Graham remains in custody in the South Dakota Penitentiary at Sioux Falls.

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Mother of Four, Carrie Sanderson, Announces Run as Republican for South Dakota House of Representatives, District 25

Attorney, business owner, and lifelong South Dakotan pledges to put families and community first in Pierre.

Flandreau, S.D. — August 25, 2025 — Carrie Sanderson, a wife, mother, attorney, and small business owner from Flandreau, has announced her candidacy as a Republican for the South Dakota House of Representatives in District 25.

With more than 15 years of service to South Dakota communities, Sanderson has worked as a federal prosecutor, civil litigator, and public health leader. She is now the owner of Good Stewards Consulting, where she helps nonprofits and organizations across the state find solutions to community-based challenges, from food security and childcare to workforce development and access to justice.

Sanderson’s campaign will focus on supporting safe communities, strengthening the workforce in rural and tribal communities, and ensuring families in rural South Dakota have the resources they need to succeed.

“My life’s work has been about strengthening communities,” said Sanderson. “Strong families build strong communities, and I’ve seen firsthand how local leadership can make a real difference in people’s daily lives. I’m running to ensure that families in District 25 and across South Dakota have the resources and opportunities they need to thrive.”

Rooted in faith, family, and service, Sanderson has built her career on integrity, accountability, and collaboration. Her work has connected her with leaders, families, and organizations across the state, giving her a deep understanding of both the opportunities and challenges facing South Dakota.

“I am proud to call District 25 home,” Sanderson said. “My husband farms the same land his family has worked for five generations, and together with our daughters, we are invested in building a safer, brighter future right here. I am ready to bring that same commitment to Pierre.”

—

About Carrie Sanderson

Carrie Sanderson lives in Flandreau with her husband, Jared, and their four daughters. She has dedicated her career to serving South Dakotans through law, public health, and nonprofit leadership. Sanderson is running as a Republican for the South Dakota House of Representatives, District 25, to put families and communities first.

The Building of America’s Golden Age Can Start in South Dakota
By Rep. Kent Roe, District 4

When President Trump talks about Making America Great Again, he’s calling for the ushering in of a golden age, one built on restoring law and order, American energy dominance, and the security of knowing our kids will inherit a stronger nation. To get there, we must produce affordable, reliable energy, making America not just independent, but unstoppable. And we must build the technology infrastructure of tomorrow here at home, not in China.

South Dakotans have the resolve to answer that call. From renewable fuels to natural gas, coal, and hydro, our state can punch above her weight and help power the nation. Energy development means reliable electricity, economic growth and diversification, and property tax relief. It’s how we keep America strong and South Dakota families secure.

But energy production alone isn’t enough. AI is fast becoming a driving force and will undoubtedly help shape America’s future. America needs AI infrastructure powered by American energy. If China controls AI, they will control the weapons of the future, the global economy, and the very flow of information. That is a direct threat to our national security and our freedoms.

This is where South Dakota can lead. We can meet the growing energy demand while providing a skilled workforce trained at Dakota State University and our technical colleges. AI infrastructure projects mean good-paying careers, new tax revenue for schools, roads, public safety, and property tax relief. Most importantly, they give our kids the chance to build their futures here at home instead of leaving for the big cities.

South Dakotans have always been builders of families, communities, farms, ranches, businesses, and even Mount Rushmore, the Shrine of Democracy itself. Now we can help build America’s golden age, combining energy dominance and technological leadership.

I’m proud to stand with President Trump in this fight. I invite every South Dakotan to stand with us, to work, to build, to power, and to grow.

South Dakota is a great state. Let’s help President Trump Make America Great Again.

 

 

NFIB Releases New Ads Thanking Senate Majority Leader John Thune for Making the 20% Small Business Tax Deduction Permanent
New Radio and Digital Ads Start This Week in South Dakota Thanking Majority Leader Thune for Stopping Massive Tax Hike on Small Business Owners

PIERRE, S.D. (Aug. 25, 2025) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, today released new radio, billboard, and digital advertisements thanking Senate Majority Leader John Thune for taking action to make the 20% Small Business Tax Deduction permanent.

The multi-platform campaign, which represents a continuation of NFIB’s multi-year advocacy effort in support of the Small Business Deduction, is running statewide. The ads thank Leader Thune for voting to make the deduction permanent and for stopping a massive tax hike on small business owners.

You can listen to the radio ad and view the digital ad here, and view the billboard ad here.

“Making the 20% Small Business Tax Deduction permanent is a big win for Main Street,” said NFIB South Dakota State Director Jason Glodt. “By voting to protect this tax relief, Leader John Thune has given small business owners in South Dakota the certainty they need to grow their operations, continue creating jobs, and give back to their communities. NFIB appreciates his leadership in standing up for small businesses in our state.”

The 20% Small Business Tax Deduction, first passed as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, allows small business owners to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income. This critical provision helps level the playing field between small firms and large corporations.

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SD News Watch has a story they’ve posted today with House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach declaring that he has a mind to ban anyone being able to drill a water well west river in his march to ban things like development and progress. And he’s declaring war or economic development organizations like Elevate Rapid City/

Rep. Scott Odenbach, a Republican from Spearfish who is majority leader in the House of Representatives, said he began to think about water conservation in western South Dakota after seeing a U.S. Geological Survey study released in late July.

and..

Odenbach added that he is concerned that some individuals and entities in the Black Hills, such as the development agency Elevate Rapid City, are promoting “growth for the sake of growth” that could negatively affect the existing high quality of life in the Black Hills.

and..

Johnson said enacting legislative barriers to growth could backfire by creating “artificial markets” that interfere with the free market and unwittingly block the arrival of people who aren’t already wealthy. That, he said, can drive up the cost of housing and necessary goods and services and make it harder for locals to remain.

“It’s easy to pick on a group like Elevate because we try to work toward wealth and prosperity, not unfettered growth,” Johnson said. “We try to allow kids to stay here, for the next generation of kids to have jobs.”

Johnson said Odenbach is taking an “anti-growth” stance that will prevent the Black Hills and its current and future residents from reaching their highest potential.

“The problem with folks like Odenbach is they’ve got their piece of the pie, right? They’ve got the Black Hills that they want and they don’t want your kids or your kids’ kids to have a piece of that,” Johnson said.

Read the entire story here.

As the House Majority Leader is doing everything he can to stop economic development out west, I have to go remind myself about those things the Republican Party’s platform says about development..

2.1. Economic Growth – We support the creation of new jobs, economic development, and job training which will encourage our youth and adults to stay in the great State of South Dakota.
2.3  Infrastructure – We support the development of modern infrastructure to foster economic growth.
2.4 Government Intrusion – We believe economic activity thrives in an environment of limited government intrusion and can be stifled by government overreach and excessive taxation and overregulation.

If Scott is so concerned about water availability, he should lead by working with others. State Senator Helene Duhamel has long been a champion of building in the infrastructure to make sure we don’t have water shortages. Yet, I don’t hear anything from him about supporting that effort which he actually voted for.

Instead, from Scott, we get BANANA talk – Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything.

Either we want places where we can live, grow, and have our families decide to return to because we have a quality of life and jobs. Or we are just going to be a bunch of old farts who die alone, lamenting that we wish our kids could have lived here after we made it impossible for them to do so.

The campaign’s supporters are looking kind of fluid lately as the bottom tier candidates are racing to the bottom. And some of the passengers on their respective buses are jumping off while they can.

In fact, just this weekend, it looks like there’s another case of legislators switching teams in the gubernatorial contest.

First, as you recall, State Senator Carl Perry put his finger in the air, and went flip-flopping over from the Doeden campaign over to the Hansen Campaign.  Now in the latest, in the past few days it appears that Sioux Falls State Representative Bobbi Andera who had been on the Jon Hansen bandwagon..

..must have gotten sick of listening to Hansen playing his guitar, and gotten her check… err.. sold her soul…  ahem.. changed her mind and has abandoned the Hansen for Governor campaign for the Doeden for Governor campaign:

Will Hansen continue to shed major supporters as the pizza ranch fundraisers go bust? Will people jump ship from Doeden as he falls apart under media questioning and is compared to Joe Biden?

Stay tuned as the decks continue to shuffle.

State Representative Brandei Schaefbauer is writing unintentional comedy tonight as she takes to Facebook’s comment sections to defend the honor of the former newscaster who many consider lacking in that category, Shad Olson:

Brandei Schaefbauer: You have no idea the kinds of personal hits (Shad Olson) has taken…

How many hits does Rep. Brandei think Shad has taken? I would wager it’s not as many hits as his former girlfriend told law enforcement she received at his hands:

Unfortunately, you have to ask if it an unintentionally ironic choice of words, or if the District 3 Representative is just that gullible?

Secretary of State Monae Johnson is currently in a war of words with State Representative Heather Baxter who is fronting for the election conspiracy goofballs.. (a.k.a. SD Canvassing) who is demanding a redo of elections because they think election equipment might have bluetooth:

Start about 35 seconds in..

“South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson is pushing back on one lawmaker’s complaints about South Dakota’s elections. Johnson saying that “Recycling misinformation does not make it true.” and assuring voters that South Dakota’s elections are safe, secure, and transparent.”

and..

“Baxter is now urging a full review of elections held since 2020, and is advocating for what she believes to be compliant systems..OR a return to hand-counting.”

You can view KOTA TV here.