Looks like Team Doeden is tipped over and retaining water in Mitchell at the Corn Palace Festival after setting up their tent without any weights to secure it and walking away overnight.
If Team Doeden isn’t smart enough to know you’re going to have to secure your tent in SD, I have my doubts that they can figure out how to secure votes.
Protect, Trust, and Honor
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
August 22, 2025
BIG Update
Dakotafest showcases the best of South Dakota agriculture. I joined our senators and the South Dakota Farm Bureau to discuss the Farm Bill, conservation programs, agricultural research, and the need to protect American farmland from being purchased by China and other adversaries. Farm security is national security, and it is vital that the U.S. works to secure our agricultural land from the Chinese Communist Party and affiliated groups.
I’m continuing to fight for policies that will protect and support South Dakota producers.
Johnson visits with attendees at Dakotafest
BIG Idea
Members of Congress should not be trading individual stocks. Let’s be clear—insider trading is already illegal and there are former members of Congress sitting in prison today, including one following insider trading convictions. I still believe it looks lousy for a member to trade individual stocks as they cast votes that impact the market. My bill, the TRUST in Congress Act, would ban representatives from this practice and I am pushing Speaker Johnson to put this bill on the floor.
Johnson joins KOTA to discuss the TRUST in Congress Act. Click here or the image above to watch.
BIG News
As the Department of Defense winds down the Vietnam-era Veteran Commemorative Pinning program, I’m working to recognize as many veterans as possible. This week, I honored 41 veterans in Rapid City and 14 in Mitchell. These brave men and women answered their country’s call to serve, and we owe them our gratitude. I’m planning more of these important events across South Dakota. If you or someone you know served in the Vietnam era, fill out my nomination form here so we can thank even more veterans for their service.
Johnson honors Vietnam-era veterans for their service (from left to right: Marc Bernard, Jim Kirwan, Jim Anderson, Rep. Johnson)
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Former staffers start SDPB Alumni to assist South Dakota Public Broadcasting
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Former staff members of South Dakota Public Broadcasting have started an alumni group to assist the network and its Friends organization in the wake of federal funding cuts.
The group has four mandates: 1. Give money to SDPB to fund programming and operations; 2. Ask others to donate funds to SDPB and Friends; 3. Advocate for SDPB in various forums; and 4. Reconnect with former colleagues.
“In light of the recent federal budget cuts, a couple of us who are former staff members decided we needed to help SDPB,” said Dr. Michael Marek, one of the group’s founders. “Many of us got our professional starts at SDPB. We are proud of the work we did for the citizens of South Dakota and want to support the great work SDPB continues to do in enhancing the lives of South Dakotans.”
For example, beginning in 1969, Marek has worked at SDPB or Friends as a student, an intern, a journalist, and a fundraiser. SDPB stations have served South Dakota with educational and public radio since 1922, educational and public television since 1961, and SDPB online programs and educational content almost since the advent of the internet.
The “SDPB Alumni” Facebook page, which anyone can find and follow, will share information about the network, funding, the long-term educational and public service provided by public broadcasting to South Dakota, and how the public can best support SDPB in a positive manner during this challenging time and into the future.
“We view the SDPB Alumni as a ‘force multiplier,’” said Ryan Howlett, Friends of South Dakota Public Broadcasting CEO. “These alumni have particular insight into the importance of SDPB and public broadcasting. They have also contributed or are contributing to the network’s missions of serving the cultural, educational, and informational needs of South Dakotans for as long as 60 years.”
The group will operate under the guidance of the Friends of SDPB. The alumni group is open to all current and former SDPB staff, board members, and others who have contributed to the success of the network. There is also a public-facing Facebook page that SDPB supporters can join.
For more information, interview requests, or to join the SDPB Alumni group, contact Todd Epp at tepp@sdpbalumni.com or 605.351.5021.
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After one day of selling votes to those who feel the need to buy a faux sense of support, the SDGOP‘s straw poll seems to have garnered little for the organization except scorn.
So far, the party has declined to release the actual number of dollar votes it has sold, but at the same time they’re releasing information in which they seem to claim that current Governor Larry Rhoden has no support in the race.
It’s a weird flex against the Governor, given they’ve already set their bridges aflame with Senator Rounds, attacking him on social media and reportedly asking him for money just a few hours later. (Hint: they walked away empty-handed).
The fake straw poll was also a bit of a shot at Congressman Dusty Johnson, not that he’s too concerned. Since anybody willing to spend a dollar on his Gubernatorial race is going to give it directly to him at his fundraiser next week in Sioux Falls, instead of giving one dime to the party. (Which by some estimates could bring in excess of half a million dollars in one setting.)
What was I saying about scorn? Commenters overwhelmingly dunked on the party over the whole thing.
At this point, I’m not sure that they can do anything right.
If I were to offer any advice, I would start with suggesting Chairman and 32-year Democrat Jim Eschenbaum quit pooping on the party’s top office holders, and for the SDGOP to start acting like a competent organization.
Like they used to be before this crew got put in charge.
Working on my “experiment” just to see how the product looks, and I have to say it didn’t turn out bad at all. I only ruined 1 decal/shirt in the testing phase working on my heat press, and I managed not to burn the house down.
Not that I want to go back into screen printing and doing t-shirts myself, but it seems to work sufficiently well for very, very small projects.
Attorney General Jackley Praises State Supreme Court for Upholding State Appeal in Drug Testing Case
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley praises the South Dakota Supreme Court for reversing a circuit court ruling dismissing drug possession charges based on the defendant’s argument that it took the State Health Lab too long to complete drug testing.
A Minnehaha County Circuit Court had granted a motion to dismiss 2024 charges of possession of a controlled drug or substance and possession of drug paraphernalia against Aidan Bradshaw. The defendant argued that it took nearly seven months for the testing to be conducted by the State Health Lab. The state appealed the dismissal.
In its decision the Supreme Court noted that while there was a delay in testing, the substance had been submitted immediately for testing after the arrest and that the prosecution was not at fault for the delay.
“It was unfortunate that there was a delay in obtaining the test results in this case,” said Attorney General Jackley. “I will continue to work with the State Health Lab to encourage them to do their work in a timely manner so that prosecutions may proceed on schedule.”
The Attorney General’s Office represented the state on the appeal to the Supreme Court. The decision can be found here: https://ujs.sd.gov/media/4qujbrpd/30809.pdf
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Governor’s Resilience and Infrastructure Task Force Convenes
PIERRE, S.D. – Yesterday, the Governor’s Resilience and Infrastructure Task Force (GRIT) convened for an initial meeting to work through specific goals and duties in their mission to keep South Dakota strong, safe, and free.
“South Dakota is preparing a more resilient state for the future, and this initial GRIT meeting was an important step,” said Lt. Governor Tony Venhuizen, Chairman of GRIT. “Thank you to the task force members for engaging in a productive discussion. Our proactive leadership will help keep our communities safe for generations to come.”
The GRIT task force, which was established by Governor Larry Rhoden earlier this summer, serves as a strategic advisory body to develop policy recommendations, assess risks and vulnerabilities, and support long-term planning and investment in critical infrastructure systems across our state.
Members of GRIT include:
Additional stakeholders will be brought in to assist the GRIT task force’s efforts through work groups, which will continue to meet informally going forward. These working groups include telecommunications, energy, water and wastewater, transportation, policy and framework development, and federal coordination.
“I’m honored to serve on this task force. Moreover, I’m highly encouraged,” said Adjutant General Mark Morrell, GRIT Vice Chair. “These highly accomplished leaders are serving the needs of all South Dakotans through prudent planning, resourcing, and problem solving. Together, we will ensure the resilience of the infrastructure that we and our families rely on every day.”
This task force supports President Trump’s Executive Order 14239, “Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness,” which empowers state and local governments to play a more active role in national resilience and preparedness.
Due to the sensitive and secure nature of GRIT, these meetings are not public; however, information that will not inhibit public safety will be shared when appropriate.
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If you thought Marty Jackley just had a big fundraiser, you should check out this one.
When serious campaigns are out fundraising, they’re not taking tips at Pizza Ranch. And how many sponsors were willing to put their name on the Toby Doeden fundraiser? If you were polydactyl, you could get it on one hand. Those are the events with the 2% and 4% candidates.
Congressman Dusty Johnson, in his race for Governor, is hosting a fundraiser this next week in Sioux Falls. In fact, the list is so long that they had to go to 2 pages just to list the people who want to be hosts/co-hosts:
That’s a big list. Especially of the people coming forward to be hosts. If you count all these names the list is about 285. And I’m told they have people who aren’t on this list and lower level donors such as the key donors and attendees who have already signed up and are not listed, which brings the number of hosts closer to 325.
It sounds like it’s going to be one heck of an event, well worth attending. And if you can’t make it, you can also send a donation into Dusty here.
It is pretty easy to do better than the South Dakota Republican Party nowadays, especially during a period when they raised zero dollars.
South Dakota Democrats managed to outdo them by over $60,000 during the month of July, according to the August 2025 FEC report that was just filed:
The hard numbers are $60,370.04 raised against $59,680.46 spent. It’s a high burn rate, but they also have an office, paid employees, and put close to 1000 butts in seats for a major fundraising event.
Considering that, coming out positive is doing pretty good.
$58,603.68 cash on hand when it’s all said and done.
If you’ve read dakotawarcollege.com for any amount of time, you know I am an avid fan of political history in the form of the ephemera of political campaigns. If you have to look up the term – it’s a term for the swag. Political memorabilia. I have long collected political buttons, and especially South Dakota political memorabilia. My collection doesn’t hold a candle to that of Lee Schoenbeck who arguably has the largest collection of South Dakota political buttons, but it’s not anything to be ashamed of either.
That’s one big group of them.. and I badly need to do an update, because I have another case full that’s in a bin that I haven’t had time to get to.
With my obsession established.. (remember, it’s not hoarding if you call it a collection).. I have to note that, except for Kristi Noem, many of the official political pins in recent years in South Dakota are kind of bland. But, it’s with good reason. People are not big into them except collectors. So, why would campaigns invest a lot of time and money into variety? They’re going to get their logo on a couple hundred pins, and hand them out at fundraisers.
4 years ago, just for fun, I made some “vendor pins.” Buttons that were not campaign produced, but made for friends or for sale, and they turned out really well. A Kristi Noem Country Pin (after the Reagan Country pin) and a Dusty Johnson “punchy the elephant pin” after a 1953 Young Republican National Convention in the Black Hills pin.
In fact, they turned out so well, that Governor Noem who has always had fun political pins for her campaign commissioned me to produce an official campaign version of the Kristi Noem Country pin, a similar Larry Rhoden pin, and another pin – a Goldwater throwback pin – for the Noem for Governor campaign.
Fast forward to 2025 with the campaigns kicking off ..and I’m back to seeing the more generic “logo” political buttons being produced. Nothing wrong with them at all, as any smart campaign is pushing campaign and office. But as a collector, I kind of like the stuff that’s …different. So, I couldn’t help myself. I put two different “vendor pins” in the production line, and the first one landed on my doorstep a short time ago. And it turned out great.
I was thinking I wanted to do something somewhat obnoxious and in my thought process the light bulb lit up. You’ve all seen the over the top t-shirts of Abe Lincoln riding a grizzly bear? Like this one? That’s what informed my thought process.. And I came up with pin #1, of which I now have a very limited number available.
With the caveat that this is a completely unofficial vendor pin, it’s a button which I have titled the Dakotawarcollege.com “Dusty Johnson Hell Yeah! pin.”
Yes, that’s a graphic of candidate for Governor Dusty Johnson riding a buffalo shooting a flame thrower. Because we need more candidates pictured riding wild animals triggering incendiary devices. Obviously, the concept amused me, so I turned it into a big 3 1/2 inch pin.
I will have a VERY limited number of them available (about 5-6 dozen). I’m thinking for about $7.50 each, which will mainly cover my shipping. I’ll get a link put up shortly to buy them on-line. Probably late next week, when Pin #2, which is currently in the finishing process with my production house should drop on my doorstep. And it’s equally as fun and off the wall.
Stay tuned. Because we need more fun and off the wall in our politics.