Competing in a Global Market
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
August 15, 2025

 BIG Update

I joined Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska on a panel at the Midwest Ag Export Summit in Sioux Falls to discuss how Midwest agricultural producers compete in a global market. I’m encouraged by the work the administration has done on securing trade deals with the European Union, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Japan and others to give a fair shake to South Dakota producers. I’m hopeful President Trump will continue to make strong deals with other trading partners that will support our ag industries.

The One Big Beautiful Bill also promotes United States agricultural products around the world. The Supplemental Agricultural Trade Promotion (SATP) program will aid in developing foreign markets for American products.

Johnson and Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) at the Midwest Agricultural Export Summit in Sioux Falls. Click here to read more about the event from Dakota News Now.

 BIG Idea

Silencer Central is the leading manufacturer of firearm suppressors in the United States. I stopped by to discuss how the One Big Beautiful Bill eliminates the tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns.

I was honored to receive their Legislator of the Year award for my support of the Second Amendment in Congress.

Johnson accepts Legislator of the Year award from Silencer Central Founder and CEO, Brandon Maddox

BIG News

South Dakota reported their largest meth bust in history this week. South Dakota Highway Patrol seized 207 pounds of meth, worth $12 million, that was being transported by an illegal immigrant across our state.

While border crossings are at an all-time low, South Dakota is not exempt from the lasting effects of Biden’s border crisis. This arrest and drug seizure underscore the important work the Trump Administration is doing to keep the southern border secure and remove dangerous, illegal immigrants from our country. I’m grateful for the local law enforcement officers and federal agents who protect South Dakota and keep America safe.

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South Dakota’s Greatest Generation
By Sen. John Thune

Eighty years ago this month, Americans switched on their radios and heard the long-hoped-for news that Japan had surrendered. In towns across South Dakota, people celebrated, and families breathed a sigh of relief that their loved ones would be coming home.

Like all Americans, South Dakotans had made sacrifices during the war years. Food and fuel were rationed, and farms and ranches struggled through supply and labor shortages. More than 68,000 South Dakotans served in the armed forces, and 2,200 of them never returned.

I grew up with stories from my dad and uncles who had fought in the war. My dad was an accomplished pilot, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, but he didn’t talk much about his own exploits. He talked about the men he served with, what they had done, and what they gave. He told us about the legendary Cecil Harris, the Navy ace from Cresbard, who led my dad’s squadron on the U.S.S. Intrepid, and the tip Harris gave him that saved his life. My dad shared the qualities of so many in his generation: humility, patriotism, and quiet service.

They might not describe themselves as such, but World War II created a number of heroes from our state. There were Cecil Harris and Joe Foss, both flying aces in the Pacific. Arlo Olson, who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, after he gave his life leading his men in Italy. John Waldron who lost his life leading his torpedo squadron in the first engagement in the Battle of Midway. And Marcella LeBeau, a member of the Two Kettle Band of the Cheyenne River Sioux who served in the Army Nurse Corps, including time on the front lines treating the wounded at the Battle of the Bulge.

On the home front, too, South Dakotans left their mark. The state was transformed. Airfields popped up around the state to train military pilots. The Army Technical Training School opened in Sioux Falls to train 50,000 radio operators and mechanics. Out west, work began on the Black Hills Ordnance Depot and the new community of Igloo that would house the families of those who came to work there. Even Mitchell’s Corn Palace had a role to play, selling war bonds and enlisting new recruits.

South Dakota’s farms and ranches were also critical to the war effort. Farmers ramped up production, and wool and sugar beets were in high demand. Faced with labor shortages, draft deferments were offered for harvest time, and South Dakota State University canceled Hobo Day so students could work the fields. And it was South Dakota farmers who provided the pheasants for the Aberdeen Canteen’s famous pheasant sandwiches, which fed 500,000 troops on their way through the city.

Tom Brokaw, who spent part of his boyhood at the Black Hills Ordnance Depot, popularized the phrase, “the Greatest Generation.” He said of this generation, “they love each other, love life and love their country, and they are not ashamed to say just that.” We are fortunate to have had their example. And while the members of this generation are fewer with every passing day, what they did and how they lived will endure.

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Taking Action to Keep South Dakota Safe
By: Gov. Larry Rhoden
August 15, 2025  

I can’t sit still for long. Maybe it’s because I grew up on a ranch, where there was always something that needed doing. I’m at my most relaxed when I’m doing work with my hands, and it’s helped me out in public service. Sometimes, you just need to be willing to take action.

Recently, a couple South Dakota Highway Patrol troopers took action to keep our people safe. They didn’t wait to act – they saw what needed doing, then stepped up and did it.

One trooper took heroic action when she saw that a driver was driving on the wrong side of the Interstate near Sturgis. She sped off down the Interstate (on the right side of the road), got ahead of the vehicle, crossed the median, and pulled out in front of the vehicle. She was rearended, which was all part of the plan. Then, when the vehicle tried to pass her, she performed a tactical maneuver to force it onto the median where the driver was arrested for drunk driving.

Another trooper pulled over a speeding vehicle driving through Sturgis. What started as a routine traffic stop turned into the largest meth bust in the history of the Highway Patrol. The driver was a 42-year-old Mexican national driving cross-country with more than 200 pounds of meth in his vehicle – that’s a street value of over $12 million!

That criminal is already in immigration proceedings, and after due process, ICE will get him out of our country so that he won’t continue to traffic meth to Americans. This instance really underscored the need for Operation: Prairie Thunder, my public safety initiative that includes increased collaboration with ICE to get illegal alien criminals out of our country. A couple days later, I called the trooper who caught the perp, and he was nothing but humble.

We recently took one other action to advance Operation: Prairie Thunder, as well. The Board of Pardons and Paroles decided to parole ten criminal illegal aliens to ICE custody, individuals that my office and the Department of Corrections had helped identify as criminals who it would be appropriate to send back to their home country. South Dakota taxpayers shouldn’t be paying to house these criminals in our prisons – not when they shouldn’t be in our country to begin with.

That’s what you can count on from me and my administration: when necessary, we will take action to keep South Dakota strong, safe, and free.

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Flags at Half-Staff at State Capitol in Honor of Lyndell Peterson

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden ordered that flags be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol from sunrise until sunset on Monday, August 18, 2025, in honor of former state legislator Lyndell Peterson. He served in the South Dakota State Senate from 1977 to 1994.

Lyndell Peterson will be honored at the Central States Fair on Monday, August 18, 2025.

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Not so sure that I trust this message coming from a foreign country about how I might be charged money at a South Dakota tollbooth if I don’t send them money.

Senator Davis Responds to USD Sanford School of Medicine Relocation

 BURBANK, S.D. -Today, Senator Sydney Davis of District 17 issued the following statement regarding the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine’s decision to relocate its primary operations from Vermillion to Sioux Falls:

“The USD Sanford School of Medicine has been a proud part of Vermillion for decades. While its move to Sioux Falls will provide students greater access to hospitals and clinical training, we must ensure the school’s commitment to medicine remains strong. I will work with USD leadership to make sure this transition for faculty, staff, and students strengthens our ability to train physicians to serve all of South Dakota and beyond.”

Davis noted that medical students currently spend approximately 12 to 18 months in Vermillion completing foundational coursework before moving to Sioux Falls for the final two to three years of their medical education.

She expressed her appreciation for the faculty and staff who have built their professional and personal lives in Vermillion, calling them “a critical part of the medical school’s success.”

Davis emphasized that the move will also open the door for new academic opportunities in Vermillion, as USD plans to repurpose the space vacated by the medical school to meet other campus and program needs.

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The Turner County Fair is in full swing, and it seems that no one is interested in visiting with Toby Doeden’s people.   Well, for that matter, it doesn’t seem like they’re getting rid of any signs.. or interested in manning their booth, either.

Might have to start calling it the lonely Doeden campaign at this point.

Just caught this on facebook:

If you recall, I had a lot to say about this bill back then, because I’m in the camp that says 40 year old men should not be able to marry 16 year old girls because it’s legalized sex trafficking.   But, at the same time, I can’t help but point out Democrat propaganda leaves out a lot of information.

Such as that it was not 18 people who voted to kill Senate Bill 156. It was 19:

Yes, that’s Senator Red Dawn Foster who also voted to keep child marriage on the books. And she would be a Democrat. If we’re going to quibble, she would comprise 1/3 of the Senate Democrat Caucus.

I also notice that they’re leaving out another important piece of information. It was a Republican bill:

Yes, Democrat Rep. Kadyn Wittman was a sponsor. But the bill’s prime sponsor was Republican Senator Sydney Davis in the Senate and Republican Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt in the House.

Not such minor details if they’re going to going to try to throw rocks at Republicans in general.

Was that back on May 30th that Senate Assistant Majority Leader Carl Perry was happy to be in a picture as a special guest of 4% Toby Doeden’s for his announcement?

Yet, here’s Carl at the Brown County fair snuggling up with the 2% Hansen/Lemmings campaign in a photo today.

Don’t worry  – if you’re after a complete set of Perry endorsements, I have no doubt that Carl will have more opportunities to flip-flop a few more times before the June 2026 primary.

Illegal Aliens Paroled to ICE Custody under Operation: Prairie Thunder

 PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden announced that the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles (Parole Board) approved parole transfer to federal custody for deportation for 10 illegal alien criminals as part of Operation: Prairie Thunder.

“South Dakota taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for illegal alien criminals,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “This cooperation between DOC and ICE is uncharted and takes a bit of extra coordination, so I appreciate the Parole Board’s swift action to get illegal alien criminals out of our custody and out of our country. I trust President Trump, Secretary Noem, and the hard-working law enforcement agents of Border Patrol and ICE to keep these individuals from returning to our communities.”

The inmates were identified by the Department of Corrections (DOC) based on their immigration status, low-risk classification, and proximity to sentence completion. Each case was reviewed by the Parole Board in accordance with SDCL 24-15A-41.1. The inmates will be transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for deportation proceedings, ensuring they are not released back into South Dakota communities.

The inmates that were paroled for deportation include:

1. 1. Jose Sanchez #78283, Mexico, multiple counts of Possession Controlled Substance (Schedule I & II);
   2. Yahia Hassan #77076, Sudan, multiple counts of Possession Controlled Substance (Schedule I & II), 3rd Degree Burglary,  and Receiving/Transferring Stolen Vehicle;
   3. Patrick Morris #78412, Liberia, Grand Theft < $2,500 and 1st Degree Burglary;
   4. Dustin Buffalo #73336, Canada, Reckless Burning and Aggravated Assault;
   5. Mohammed Kromah #69826, Liberia, Aggravated Assault;
   6. Victor Pacheco #72401, Mexico, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Weapon in Jail;
   7. Deng Ayom #69779, Sudan, Discharge of Firearm at Occupied Structure;
   8. Mustafe Hamud #57019, Somalia, Distribution of Controlled Substance (Schedule I & II);
   9. Miguel Caveda Perez #77916, Cuba, 4th Degree Rape; and
   10. Bereket Mekonnen #77412,  Ethiopia, 2nd Degree Burglary, Possession Controlled Substance (Schedule I & II), and Receiving/Transferring Stolen Vehicle.

Governor Rhoden previously signed a letter of intent to establish a 287(g) agreement between DOC and ICE under the Jail Enforcement Model. That letter set the stage for this collaborative effort.

Operation: Prairie Thunder is a comprehensive, targeted public safety initiative to protect South Dakotans. Operation: Prairie Thunder includes two main initiatives:

• A targeted anti-crime initiative in the Sioux Falls metro to interdict drugs, investigate gang activity, hold parole absconders accountable, and deter lawlessness; and
• A comprehensive effort to support the work of ICE secure our borders and deport illegal alien criminals.

Learn more about the Board of Pardons and Paroles here.

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