Dem drinking group moves because of “insensitive advertising.”

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According to Johnathan Ellis, There’s a Democrat group of drinkers who quit their current drinking location because the bar also has a lingerie night:

Drinking Liberally, a Democratic group that often gets together on Fridays for adult beverages and political talk, is moving from Wiley’s to 18th Amendment starting this Friday. The reason for the move is because of “sexual insensitivity” regarding some of the promotional materials at Wiley’s.

Read it here.

So, drinking good, promotions for the businesses they drink in, bad.

They must also abandon libraries whenever the Sports illustrated swimsuit issue comes out. And television whenever it’s not turned to PBS.

Am I the only one doing an eye roll?

AFP S.D. Applauds Legislature On Stopping Penny Sales Tax

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AFP S.D. Applauds Legislature On Stopping Penny Sales Tax

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Today, Americans for Prosperity South Dakota is applauding the State House Affairs Committee on their vote to stop the penny sales tax. Over the past few weeks AFP South Dakota has actively engaged the legislature on the issue, launching a major patch-through phone call campaign and mobilizing its network of in-state activists to contact legislators to stop what could have been the largest tax increase in state history.

AFP South Dakota State Director Ben Lee released the following statement:

“We congratulate the State House Affairs Committee on standing up for South Dakota middle class families everywhere and defeating the penny sales tax. If every city participated, it would have been the largest tax increase in state history. At a time when many South Dakota families are still struggling to make ends meet, a new sales tax just wouldn’t have been fair,” AFP South Dakota State Director Ben Lee said.

Thankfully, today legislators did the right thing for middle class workers across our great state. We thank the many activists who contacted their legislators to be sure South Dakota remains a beacon for freedom both here and around the country,” AFP South Dakota State Director Ben Lee said.

Legislators who voted to stop the bill have the appreciation of the chapter’s thousands of activists, staff and volunteers as well as the appreciation of other organizations speaking out against the measure.

House Bill 189 floor consideration blocked for now. But has nothing to do with SDEA spending. Nope. Nothing at all.

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Senate Bill 189, An act “to provide a tax credit to insurance companies that contribute to an organization providing educational scholarships to certain students and instructional supply grants to certain teachers and parents.” has apparently run in to a roadblock in the House.

It failed in Committee 8-7…

SB 189, House Taxation, Do Pass

Bartling Nay Beal Yea Duvall Nay
Haggar (Don) Yea Killer Nay Kirschman Nay
Latterell Yea May Yea Novstrup (Al) Yea
Rasmussen Nay Russell Yea Wiik Yea
Willadsen Nay Rozum Nay Solum Nay

But was later sent to the floor without recommendation on an 8-7 vote:

SB 189, House Taxation, Report out of committee without recommendation

Bartling Nay Beal Yea Duvall Nay
Haggar (Don) Yea Killer Nay Kirschman Nay
Latterell Yea May Yea Novstrup (Al) Yea
Rasmussen Yea Russell Yea Wiik Yea
Willadsen Nay Rozum Nay Solum Nay

Today, a vote took place to calendar the measure (I’ll have the vote for you in a bit) which failed. Noting who voted for an against it left State Representative Lee Schoenbeck noting in an e-mail to colleagues:

From: Lee Schoenbeck
Date: March 6, 2015 at 2:23:09 PM CST
Subject: Re: SB 189

Wow. Every democrat voted NO. Block voted. Probably a coincidence, unrelated to 94% of SDEA’s cash going to Democrats in an effort to defeat us???? I bet SDEA won’t do that again

(I detect a little sarcasm in Lee’s comment about SDEA not supporting Democrats with 94% of their cash again.)   The House Dems block voted on a non-partisan bill which had Democrats sponsoring it?

So, does that make SDEA the Lobbying group of No?

Rapid City Mayor Sam Kooiker going for 3rd term

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According to reports this morning (This one from the Argus/Associated Press), Rapid City Mayor Sam Kooiker is going for a third term:

Sam Kooiker announced this re-election campaign Thursday.

The 40-year-old Kooiker says if re-elected he plans to improve race relations and resolve long-standing issues the city has faced in complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. He says he also will continue his focus on the improving city’s infrastructure.

Read it here.

His second race for the office was a repeat against then Mayor Alan Hanks, with Kooiker coming out victorious. His third race, and second as mayor was against challenger and State Senator Mark Kirkeby.

There’s no word as to whether Kooiker will face a challenger in this years’ contest, which will be decided this June.

KELO Report: Tribe bans Patrick Duffy from entering lands because of representation

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Apparently if you’re hired to defend someone the Tribe is good and mad at, you get the honor of being shunned:

A South Dakota tribe has barred a Rapid City-based defense lawyer from entering their land.

Oglala Lakota Tribe officials passed a resolution banning Rapid City lawyer Patrick Duffy from the Pine Ridge Reservation, after Duffy hired on to defend a Philip man charged with disorderly conduct for behavior toward Native Americans at a hockey game.

Tribal public information officer Kevin Yellow Bird Steele confirmed Thursday that the tribal ocuncil approved the resolution submitted by the Pass Creek District representatives on Feb. 24. He referred further inquiries to representatives from the district, who couldn’t be reached for comment.

Read it here.

I’m scratching my head at this one, as Duffy, who defended accused legislator Dan Sutton several years ago, is not someone you’d consider a right-winger. In fact he’d be the opposite.

Did Duffy deserve the evil eye from the tribe? Or is this a whole lot of silliness?

Press Release: AFP South Dakota Launches Patch-Through Call Campaign Against Sales Tax

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AFP South Dakota Launches Patch-Through Call Campaign Against Sales Tax

Calls Inform South Dakotans of Penny Sales Tax Measure, Offer To Connect Citizens Directly To Legislator’s Office

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Today, Americans for Prosperity South Dakota launched the latest installment in its campaign against the Penny Sales Tax proposal being considered by the State House Affairs Committee. AFP SD will be launching robocalls aimed at members of the State House Affairs Committee. The calls will inform South Dakota families of the Penny Sales Tax proposal and offer to connect them directly to their legislator’s office in order to urge a “no” vote on the sales tax measure, Senate Bill 135.

Fighting the Penny Sales Tax has been among AFP SD’s highest legislative priorities. Earlier, AFP SD had taken to talk radio to discuss the legislation, and engaged its network of statewide activists, asking its members to send a letter to their legislator in order to stop the sales tax increase.

“With all the talk about the gas tax, no one seems to be talking about the Penny Sales Tax, but make no mistake, this bill has serious consequences. A one-penny sales tax sounds small, but could add up to over $150 million in new taxes if every city implements it.”

“Study after study has shown that sales taxes hurt middle-class families the most. At a time when many South Dakota families are still struggling to make ends meet, a new sales tax just isn’t fair,” said Americans for Prosperity South Dakota State Director Ben Lee.

The phone call script is below:

Hi!  This is Ben Lee from Americans for Prosperity, with an urgent tax increase alert. Tomorrow, the legislature will vote on a bill that will open the door for a massive sales tax increase. Press ONE to be connected to your legislator to tell them: South Dakota can’t afford higher sales taxes! Again press ONE to be connected to your legislator to stop the sales tax increase, Bill 135.  Americans for Prosperity can be reached at 866-730-0150.

Press Release: Thune Requested Report Outlines Rail Service Challenges in Upper Midwest

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Thune, Klobuchar Requested Report Outlines Rail Service Challenges in Upper Midwest

-USDA report examines impact of rail congestion and underscores importance of robust rail network-

John_Thune,_official_portrait,_111th_CongressWASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) today commented on a newly released report that they called for from the U.S. Department of Agriculture examining the rail service challenges in the Upper Midwest in 2013 and 2014 and the implications these issues had on the region’s agricultural sectors. The report examines the causes and effects of rail congestion and underscores the importance of ensuring robust rail network capacity and investment in the future.

“Grain car backlogs, storage issues, and rail car premiums affect transportation costs and commodity prices, which are critically important to our agricultural producers in South Dakota,” said Thune. “This report is an important resource for understanding future vulnerabilities and the importance of maintaining strong rail service for our agricultural producers and other shippers. While the railroads have made important gains in rail service in recent months, we need to work to ensure that this service continues. As chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I look forward to working on long-term solutions that address the increasing demands for prompt, reliable, and safe service.”

“Reliable and affordable rail service is critical for providing Minnesota’s agriculture producers with access to markets beyond our state’s borders,” Klobuchar said. “While service has improved in recent months, delays have caused lost sales, involuntary shutdowns at processing facilities and disruption to agriculture markets. This report underscores the importance of strong rail service to agricultural producers and will serve as a critical tool as we continue to improve rail service in Minnesota and across the country.”

The report finds that in September of 2014 some of the major grain producing states most impacted by poor rail performance‎ had remaining grain and oilseed stocks in storage up to 40 percent higher than in previous years. USDA notes that the situation left less permanent storage available to accommodate another record harvest, as production and stocks exceeded permanent capacity by over 900 million bushels during the 2014-2015 harvest. The report also finds capacity issues and service concerns caused shippers to pay record-high car premiums, 28 to 150 percent above the average previous levels for roughly 65 consecutive weeks.

Access to the full USDA report is available here.

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