Here in Brookings, my home for about 20 years now, the local Boys and Girls Club has had a community raffle for a long time where they raffle off a new truck, at $100 a ticket such as this one they did in 2024. As described in the local paper..

This year’s grand prize is a 2024 Dodge RAM 1500 Classic Warlock Quad Cab 4×4, or the winner’s choice of $25,000 in cash or $25,000 credit toward a vehicle at Einspahr Auto Plaza.

and..

 In addition to the grand prize options, the truck, the cash, or the vehicle credit, two runner-up winners will each receive $1,000 in cash. Only 1,200 tickets will be sold, and each ticket purchased early is automatically entered into weekly Friday drawings for early bird prizes. 

Read that here.

Each ticket is for a 1/1200 chance for a 25k prize, plus a couple of minor, but reasonable second prizes.

I bring this up, as the SDGOP is at it again for their fundraising attempts to make up for only bringing in $85 in June, which they didn’t want to tell anyone about.  This time in fundraising efforts, we have their current version of the SDGOP and their own $100 raffle ticket:

How many tickets do they intend to sell?

According to e-mails sent out to County GOP groups today,  Their plans are to sell “only 2000 tickets.”  What does your $100 raffle ticket earn you a .05%  or 1/2000 chance to win?  Well, here’s the list and the values filed with the Secretary of State:

 

You could win a $250 12 gauge… or a $320 .keltec 22lr  pistol, which you can pick up at Cabela’s $100 cheaper than the GOP can apparently buy it for.  And there’s a Arken SH4J scope which is marked up by $200 over Amazon. Is it me, or does this kind of seems out of proportion for a $100 raffle ticket?  They do have a $5000 custom gun with a carbon fiber stock from a Miller, SD gun dealer which is the big prize, but the lesser prizes drop off quickly.

None of them really make me want to rush out and buy a ticket like a $25,000 car would.  And, unlike the car which I believe is somewhat sponsored, I don’t know if any of these guns are donated.   I can’t help but wonder which gun dealer they’re going through on this, because it seems like they are the big winner, as someone who is buddies with the chairman is getting an opportunity to clear out some stock at healthy prices courtesy of the SDGOP, which might otherwise be gathering some dust. Unless there’s a run on .22lr keltec pistols I don’t know about.

According to the party’s own website on the raffle, what do you get if you win?  First off, aside from showing up on fundraising reports, if it’s one of the guns, you also win a $25 fee on top of your gun, because “Winner is responsible for the FFL transfer fee of $25 per firearm.”  They might win a $225 .22 pistol, and have to pay a $25 fee to get it? Hold me back.

As noted in their fundraising wish list from the last central committee meeting, the SDGOP claims they’ll raise $25k with this raffle in 2025, and 50k through next year.

I can’t imagine how this raffle is going to pay off with what seems to be with whatever the chairman was sold by his local gun dealer.  I guess we’ll see.

As tends to be the case with the SDGOP nowadays, good luck with that.

Senator Tom Pischke – whom I believe sits on the SDGOP Executive Board – is catching more heat today over his attacks on facebook against Republican Women.

Today, the woman who was on the receiving end of the social media insults which triggered his earlier censure by the Minnehaha County GOP is publicly speaking out on her treatment & experience in the face of Senator Pischke’s more recent sexual innuendo and harassment of a Republican woman on facebook.

Let’s not forget the 2024 incident which earned him the nickname of “Sticky Tom,” and a ban from the floor of the House of Representatives, was directed against a female state representative.

I hate to ask, considering the source.. but does Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene have a point?

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican and steadfast supporter of President Donald Trump, has publicly criticized her party over its treatment of women and has said the GOP is out of step with the priorities of the Make American Great Again (MAGA) movement.

“I don’t know if the Republican Party is leaving me, or if I’m kind of not relating to Republican Party as much anymore,” she told the Daily Mail.

She added that women in her party were “really sick and tired of the way men treat Republican women.”

Read that here.

The SDGOP might have elected the first woman to serve as South Dakota Governor in 2018.. but it seems like some people still act like it’s 1918.

Attorney General Jackley Warns Public About Scam Involving Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force

 PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley warns the public about a text scam involving the State’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC).

“These text messages are designed to create fear and confusion – don’t fall for it,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Legitimate law enforcement agencies will never demand payment or threaten arrest.”

Attorney General Jackley said ICAC was notified after an adult male from Connecticut had communicated via text message with someone that they met on a dating site. The following day, the Connecticut resident received a call from a male subject claiming to be “Sgt. Walker” with the South Dakota ICAC Task Force. The scammer told the Connecticut resident that the person he had been communicating with via text message was a minor. The resident was asked to pay $1,000.

The Connecticut resident did not send any money and instead contacted the South Dakota ICAC Task Force and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to confirm the validity of the phone call. The ICAC Task Force does not have any members named “Sgt. Walker.”

Attorney General Jackley said his office also has received complaints from individuals who have received text messages claiming they were photographed watching porn sites and demanding money. He said that is also a scam.

People who have been a victim of any type of scam should contact the Attorney General’s Office’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-300-1986 or at https://consumer.sd.gov/.

-30-

From Facebook, South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden is in Sturgis promoting the Motorcycle Rally on Fox News:

State Representative Rebecca Reimer had strong words for KELOland over their story platforming a sex offender running for Governor:

“I’m disappointed in KELOLAND News for giving a platform to a gubernatorial candidate who is on South Dakota’s Sex Offender Registry.

As someone who represents Chamberlain and stands with survivors, this coverage was disrespectful and harmful. Survivors deserve to be protected.

I’ve sent a letter to KELOLAND urging them to issue a written apology. South Dakotans deserve better.”

“Got A Nut”: When Mr. Mackay loses his job, he desperately tries to find a new way to make a living.

South Park’s 27th season continues this Wednesday, August 6 at 10/9c on Comedy Central and next day on Paramount+. pic.twitter.com/13ZGAfYmp3

— South Park (@SouthPark) August 5, 2025

South Dakota’s former Governor Kristi Noem is featured in a promotional image for Comedy Central’s South Park tonight, and according to the Hill, her agency is using promotional materials from the episode to help recruit personnel to join ICE:

The DHS post came shortly after “South Park” released a teaser for its next episode, featuring an animation of a woman closely resembling DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. That character is depicted pointing a gun in the air, wearing a “POLICE ICE” vest and posing in front of photographers.

and..

“We want to thank South Park for drawing attention to ICE law enforcement recruitment,” a DHS spokesperson said in the statement.

“We are calling on patriotic Americans to help us remove murderers, gang members, pedophiles, and other violent criminals from our country. Benefits available to new ICE recruits include an up to $50,000 signing bonus, student loan forgiveness, and retirement benefits. Apply today at join.ice.gov,” the spokesperson continued.

Read the entire story here, and watch South Park tonight at Comedy Central, or tomorrow on Paramount+

In case you caught the comment thread from Representative Logan Manhart’s bewilderment that the interim rules committee passed a reduction of the speed limit in his county and he didn’t notice, there was a comment in there from State Senator “Sticky” Tom Pischke.

Which predictably garnered some eyerolling. But, after one innocuous comment about why people don’t take Tom seriously, he launched into a tirade where I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a South Dakota legislator address anyone like this, much less a South Dakotan. But he did:

That’s a South Dakota State Senator, calling a South Dakotan a “douchebag” and taunting him with a claim that “your wife said I was impressive too?”   Ew.

I know that’s not true, as “the wife” has been involved in politics and government for more than a decade. And she is well aware how classy Tom Pischke is. Unfortunately, it’s all low class.

Pischke later edited/deleted the later comment, but not before a screenshot was taken to be preserved for the ages.

Maybe he should not have tapped it out in the first place?

Facebook is the home for State Representative Logan Manhart’s latest focus of outrage as he is upset a speed limit was dropped in his county..

Unfortunately, he’s been a little too busy campaigning for Toby Doeden and declaring what kind of season it is to actually notice it was the legislature who did it. Unlike others in South Dakota who were quick to correct him:

The again, he wasn’t the only legislator who was griping about what the interim rules committee did.

SENATOR MIKE ROUNDS WEEKLY ROUND[S] UP: July 28 – August 3, 2025

We had another busy week out in DC as we continue to work on confirming the President’s nominees. While we also had our usual schedule of meeting with South Dakotans and attending hearings and briefings, I was honored to be invited to the White House by President Trump this past week to attend an event on Making Health Technology Great Again. The President and his administration are utilizing AI technology to improve access to patients’ electronic medical records. The information used in these records will make it easier for patients to be diagnosed using AI. As a co-chair of the Senate’s AI Caucus, I’m excited about the potential this has to save lives and improve the quality of life for those who voluntarily participate. Watch a clip from the event here, and read more on the rest of my week in my Weekly Round[s] Up:

South Dakota groups I met with: Dr. Ben Jones and Tyler Tordsen, who are both serving on South Dakota’s planning commission for America’s 250th birthday next year; Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, President of Dakota State University; and Billy Mawhiney and Malachi Nelson, leaders from the South Dakota Afterschool Network.

South Dakota towns represented: Madison, Rapid City and Sioux Falls.

Other meetings: Dr. Joseph Jewell, nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology; leaders from Rwanda; David Beck, nominee for Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration; Christopher Pilkerton, nominee for Assistant Secretary for Investment Security at the Department of Treasury; Neel Kashkari, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; and members of the American Council of Blind and American Foundation of the Blind.

I also co-hosted a dinner this past week for all of the former governors with my fellow former governor and current colleague Senator John Hickenlooper of Colorado. There are 12 of us in the Senate and we always enjoy reminiscing on what many of us consider to have been the best job in the world! I also attended our Senate Bible Study, where our verse of the week was Galatians 5:25, and our Senate Prayer Breakfast, where Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota was our speaker.

Committee work: I attended two committee events. The first was a business meeting in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. At this business meeting, we marked up and passed the Road to Housing Act out of committee. I had four of my bills included in this package of legislation addressing housing issues. Access to safe affordable housing is critical to the strength and future of our communities. I’m proud that my legislation became key provisions in this bill, including modernizing rural housing programs, cutting burdensome regulations and giving local communities more tools to address homelessness and housing shortages. View a full list of my bills and read more about this legislation here.

I also chaired a hearing this past week in the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment, titled “Guardrails and Growth: AI’s Role in Capital and Insurance Markets.” The hearing examined how artificial intelligence is transforming financial services and Congress’ role in fostering innovation while promoting transparency and accountability. Read more here.

Briefings and markups: I attended four classified briefings this past week: one classified briefing as part of my work on the Armed Services committee, one as part of my work on the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and two closed briefings in the Select Committee on Intelligence. I also attended another markup in the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

Legislation introduced: I reintroduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to promote artificial intelligence (AI) innovation in the financial services industry. The Unleashing AI Innovation in Financial Services Act would direct financial regulatory agencies to create Innovation Labs for regulated entities to test AI projects, allowing them to experiment with cutting-edge technologies in a safe way. Read more about this bill here.

Votes taken: 63 – we confirmed an additional 18 nominees to the executive and judicial branch this week. We also passed three of our 12 appropriations bills. The Senate is finally making a return to regular order appropriations under Leader John Thune and Appropriations Chair Senator Collins’ leadership. This past week, the Senate passed the Milcon-VA, Agriculture and Legislative Branch appropriations bills, with $21.9 million for projects in South Dakota included. Glad to have worked on these as part of my first year serving on the Committee. Three bills down, nine to go!

My staff in South Dakota visited: Aberdeen, Chamberlain, Mitchell and Rosebud.

Steps taken: 54,580 steps or 24.64 miles.

Video of the week: I discussed our housing legislation with KOTA Territory News this past week: