After dropping all three District 7 legislative candidates, Brookings County Dems have at least one replacement to fill their void on the November ballot.

According to Facebook reports, SDSU Student Blake Stevens who appears to have spent the last decade or so in Oregon will be running against Republican incumbent candidates Roger DeGroot & Mellissa Heermann in the D7 house race.

Viewing his profile on Linked In, Stevens describes himself as:

..a returning student at SDSU majoring in Political Science. My goal is to work in politics to help improve the lives of my fellow citizens. I want to focus mainly on civil rights and rebuilding communities to make them more friendly to people. I am very well versed in communication and am a very astute researcher. I believe with my current skill set I can get any legislation I desire to be at least considered on a state level.

My next few goals are to do well in school, get in better shape (recovering from covid) and to make new friends. I haven’t been back to the Midwest in almost 8 years so its time to reach out and meet some new faces.

Well, good luck with that.

Sturgis Man Sentenced to 65 Years in Prison After Conviction on 11 Counts of Felony Crimes Involving Children

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that a Sturgis man has been sentenced to 65 years in prison after earlier being convicted of 11 counts of felony crimes involving five different children.

Lance Lowell Long, 40, was sentenced Monday in Corson County Circuit Court. He had been convicted in May by a Corson County Jury of one count of Second Degree Rape, one count of Third Degree Rape, one count of Fourth Degree Rape, three counts of Aggravated Assault, and five counts of Abuse of or Cruelty to a Minor.

The defendant was sentenced to 50 years in prison on the various rape and assault charges. He also was sentenced to 15 years in prison on the various child abuse charges, which will be served consecutively with the 50-year sentence.

Long had previously served time in prison for similar child abuse crimes that occurred in Minnehaha County. The Corson County case was prosecuted after the child victims disclosed the abuse to law enforcement in Sioux Falls.

The Corson County case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). The Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case.

“Our thoughts and support remain with these young victims,” said Attorney General Jackley. “This was a difficult case to investigate and prosecute, and thank you to those who worked on this case.”

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Hot off of the facebook press.. the South Central Republican Women will be hearing from Family Voice’s Norman Woods on “how to communicate with Gen Z.”

Why do I think it’s going to resemble this?

Presenter Norman Woods is also the only person to testify against a measure to establish the minimum age for marriage as 18.

Those darn kids and watching their Mtv..  Why aren’t they married off already?

There’s no amount of spin that can change the fact that President Biden and Border Czar Harris created an unprecedented disaster at the border, made possible by their own failed policies and lack of leadership. pic.twitter.com/sU2fz64YGl

— Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) July 30, 2024

Gov. Noem Appoints Judges to the 2^nd Judicial Circuit Court

 PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced the appointment of Mandi Mowery, Jeff Clapper, and the Honorable Eric Johnson to the 2^nd Judicial Circuit Court.

“The Judicial branch is fundamental in establishing law, order, and justice in American society,” said Governor Noem. “Upholding the Constitution is of utmost importance for every branch of government, and this duty carries extra weight with the judiciary.  I am confident that Mandi Mowery, Jeff Clapper, and Eric Johnson will lead with excellence as 2^nd Judicial Circuit Court judges.”

Mandi Mowery grew up on her family ranch and graduated Valedictorian of her class from New Underwood High School. She obtained magna cum laude honors from the University of South Dakota and received her Juris Doctorate from Baylor Law School. In 2006, Mowery returned home to South Dakota where she joined the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Office. She began handling misdemeanor cases and eventually joined the felony prosecution division, focusing on narcotics prosecution. Mowery has been a prosecutor in the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Office for 17 years and currently serves as a Team Lead of one of the felony divisions.

“I am very grateful to Governor Noem for appointing me to the position of Circuit Court Judge and allowing me to serve my State and Community,” said Mandi Mowery. “I endeavor to serve the State of South Dakota and its people with fairness and justice; I will follow the laws as set forth by the people of South Dakota to accomplish those goals.”

In her free time, Mandi enjoys running, reading, and helping raise her two beautiful nieces. A photo of Mowery can be found here.

Jeff Clapper graduated from Creighton University in 1989 and the USD School of Law in 1993. He began his legal career in Sioux Falls at the law firm of Moore, Rasmussen, Kading & Kunstle where he engaged in criminal defense and civil litigation; he continued his involvement in civil litigation at the Boyce, Murphy, McDowell & Greenfield law firm. In 2002, Clapper became an Assistant United States Attorney, where he handled a wide range of cases including bank robberies, financial fraud, violent crime, and sexual assault in Indian Country. For the past 15 years, Clapper’s efforts have focused on prosecuting online child sex predators and sex traffickers. In 2024, he was designated as Senior Litigation Counsel for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota.

“I am extremely grateful to Governor Noem for placing her trust in me to serve the citizens of South Dakota as a judge,” Jeff Clapper remarked. “It is a serious responsibility that I will not take lightly.”

Jeff Clapper has been married to his wife, Cathi, for over 30 years. They have two adult children: Bevin and Vince. A photo of Clapper can be found here.

The Honorable Eric Johnson currently serves as the 2^nd Circuit Court Magistrate Judge and the 2^nd Circuit Veterans Treatment Court Judge. A native of Vermillion, South Dakota, Johnson attended Augustana College and graduated summa cum laude in 1996. He continued his education at the University of Nebraska College of Law, receiving high distinction. He began his legal career clerking for the Honorable Everett O. Inbody of the Nebraska Court of Appeals. Prior to accepting his current Magistrate Judge appointment, Johnson worked at the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office.

“I am honored and humbled by my appointment to the circuit court bench and am excited to continue to serve the citizens of the Second Judicial Circuit in this new capacity,” said Eric Johnson. “I want to thank Governor Noem for the appointment. I am so grateful for the confidence she has shown in me, and I plan to do my best to make her proud of this decision.”

Eric Johnson lives in Sioux Falls with his wife, Nicole. Together, they have two children: Emma and Harper. A photo of Johnson can be found here.

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The Davison County Auditor who cited harassment and abuse as a problem that rural county auditors face as a pressing issue has herself now resigned from office to take a job in the private sector.    Back in February, Davison County Auditor Susan Kiepke had written an article for the National Association of County Officials pointing out some of the issues that she has to deal with on a day to day basis:

I never know when folks will show up to try to convince our commissioners that the DS850 scanner and tabulator that we use to count ballots has a microchip in it that feeds information to Russia.

We have to dispel other misinformation. It has been alleged that CVRs (Cast Vote Records), as well as audit logs aren’t proprietary, which they currently are in South Dakota.

We’ve been accused of not being bonded properly, not being insured properly, not being transparent.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Read the entire story here.

According to KELOland News, the crazy and the harassment has been never ending. And Susan is tapping out:

Kiepke said the claims of the 2024 June Primary being skewed are false. She added her office dealt with people on a regular basis claiming the results were wrong.

“We just had our first post-election audit in Davison County and it came out 100% accurate and we are still being told that it was done wrong,” Kiepke said.

and..

Kiepke said while her time of being employed at the county is coming to an end, she doesn’t plan on going anywhere.

“The new company will allow me to continue to help at the county wherever I’m needed, so I’ll be around,” Kiepke said.

Read the entire story here.

What does it say about the state of our society when the people we hire to run our elections are doing everything right – yet they are constantly harassed and hounded out of their jobs from doing the exact thing they’ve been hired to do?

Maybe someday we’ll come back from the brink.

Thune: Democrats’ Supreme Court “Reforms” Amount to Changing the Rules in the Middle of the Game

“[I]t seems that my Democrat colleagues are resolved not to learn from history – and are perfectly willing to sacrifice the long-term stability of the Supreme Court for their own short-term political gain.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today called out Democrats’ relentless attempts to politicize and undermine the legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court. Thune noted that the administration’s most recent ploy would set an incredibly dangerous precedent and undermine the Supreme Court’s independence.

Thune’s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):

“Mr. President, yesterday evening, in the tradition of another Democrat president and his infamous court-packing scheme way back in 1937, President Biden announced a proposal to interfere with the Constitution’s separation of powers and permanently politicize the Supreme Court.

“He dressed it up with appeals to permanent American values.

“But what it all boiled down to, Mr. President, was this:

“Democrats don’t like some of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions.

“And so they’ve decided to change the rules of the game.

“That’s it.

“Mr. President, I’ve disagreed with more than one Supreme Court decision in my time.

“I’ve disagreed with Supreme Court justices nominated by presidents of my own party.

“But I have never thought that my not agreeing with a Supreme Court decision meant that the court itself was illegitimate – or that my party should attempt to change the law to make over the Supreme Court in our image.

“Not so for Democrats.

“The Supreme Court releases a handful of decisions Democrats don’t like, and they decide that the court is illegitimate – and that it’s time to remake the court to their liking.

“More than one Democrat has already introduced legislation in Congress to do so.

“And now, with the president’s announcement yesterday, it’s become clear that those plans have accelerated – and that if Democrats take the White House and Congress in November, we can expect them to lose no time in destroying the court as we know it.

“And while the president’s proposals are troubling enough – a measure to circumvent the Constitution’s lifetime appointments for justices and replace the Supreme Court’s own code of conduct with a code of conduct mandated by Democrat congressmembers – who knows if Democrats will stop there.

“After all, while their proposal would conveniently start by retiring Republican appointees, Democrats would only be able to retire one justice every two years.

“Who’s to say that would be fast enough for Democrats?

“We all know that court-packing – expanding the Supreme Court until you get a sufficient number of justices to endorse your policies – has gained significant traction in Democrat circles.

“Indeed, President Biden’s term-limits proposal is a version of court-packing by another name.

“And it would not surprise me at all if Democrats didn’t stop there.

“Because make no mistake, Mr. President, this is a slippery slope.

“Once you start interfering, there is no going back.

“If the Democrats implement this plan, it is easy to see a future where each subsequent administration acts to ‘return balance’ to the Supreme Court, with the result that the Supreme Court changes wildly from administration to administration, losing all independence and credibility and any resemblance to the Supreme Court as established by the Constitution.

“I’d like to remind my Democrat colleagues of what happened with the filibuster for judicial nominees here in the Senate.

“Back in 2013, Democrats – frustrated that they could not rubber-stamp all of President Obama’s appointees – abolished the filibuster for lower-court nominees.

“It turned out to be a quick step from that to abolishing the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees a few years later.

“And I’m pretty sure I’ve heard more than one of my Democrat colleagues express regret over that 2013 decision.

“But it seems that Democrats are resolved not to learn from history – and are perfectly willing to sacrifice the long-term stability of the Supreme Court for their own short-term political gain.

“Mr. President, even worse than any specific element of President Biden’s proposals yesterday is the incredibly dangerous precedent they would set for meddling in what is supposed to be a separate, independent branch of our government.

“If Democrats were really concerned about impartiality and the rule of law and promoting faith in the Supreme Court, the last thing they would be doing is interfering with the court’s makeup.

“And if there are any Democrats left in Congress who are willing to put the long-term health of our institutions over some temporary political gain, I urge them to join Republicans in opposing this power grab.

“Mr. President, I yield the floor.”

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Delegation Urges Biden to Grant Disaster Declaration Following June Storms and Flooding

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) recently urged President Biden to issue a major disaster declaration for the state of South Dakota following the severe storms and flooding from June 16 through July 8, 2024. Their letter, which was sent Friday, immediately followed Gov. Noem’s major disaster declaration.

“In light of these considerations, we respectfully request that you expeditiously review Gov. Noem’s request and declare a major disaster for relevant areas of our state,” the delegation wrote. “Along with our fellow South Dakotans, we appreciate your consideration of this request and stand ready to assist in any way possible.”

Full letter below:

Dear President Biden:

We write in support of Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R-S.D.) request for a major disaster declaration for the state of South Dakota as a result of severe storms and flooding that occurred June 16 through July 8, 2024.

As Gov. Noem’s request indicates, the catastrophic flooding began on June 16, 2024, resulting from a succession of heavy rainstorms that filled the creeks and rivers that coincide in the southeast corner of the state. The excess water flooded the Niobrara River, the Missouri River, and the Big Sioux River, causing an emergency evacuation of the affected areas before sink holes emerged, houses washed away, and the BNSF Railway railroad bridge connecting North Sioux City, S.D., with Sioux City, Iowa, collapsed into the Big Sioux River. The flooding caused significant damage to public infrastructure, homes, and businesses, and has disrupted the lives of the nearly six thousand residents that live in the North Sioux City and Dakota Dunes areas.

Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that the Big Sioux River crested at 44.98 feet, surpassing the previous 2014 record by 7.28 feet. Analysis from the National Weather Service shows the rain event that created this year’s flooding was a 1,000-year event. Eleven river gauges were at record-high levels. This disaster has impacted 25 counties and five tribal nations and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage to public infrastructure, homes, and businesses.

In light of these considerations, we respectfully request that you expeditiously review Gov. Noem’s request and declare a major disaster for relevant areas of our state. Along with our fellow South Dakotans, we appreciate your consideration of this request and stand ready to assist in any way possible.

Sincerely,

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From Facebook:

The SDGOP’s facebook page has a post up citing polling by “polymarket.” The problem? Polymarket.com is a crypto betting market, and not exactly what one might consider a provider of accurate polling.

Well, of course no one should trust polls like this. Not sure how many people, except crypto-bettors would even see this kind of silliness.

From Facebook: