KELOland news is covering the Dusty Johnson Gubernatorial Announcement, and alluding to the fact that it already looks like at least one of the candidates is going to be the poop-flinging ape in the race:

Doeden has already attacked Johnson in an interview with KELOLAND News. While saying he’s proud to be an “outsider,” Doeden said there will be two choices for voters: light vs. dark.

“I’m light; I’m good. Dusty’s dark; Dusty’s evil,” Doeden said June 16. “Those are going to be the two choices.”

and..

Johnson said Monday he anticipates a contentious primary.

“My politics are about addition and multiplication, not about subtraction and division,” he said. “There are certainly some angry voices out there. But I think it’s my job to push back against those angry voices. I think voters are tired of the fear and anger that is coming from small minds with small visions.”

Read the entire story here.

Here’s a facebook exchange that edged it’s way into the twilight zone, under a recent post on the Dakota Scout facebook page between Dakota Scout co-owner Joe Sneve, and someone writing as “Sam Ross” claiming to have information on a Human Trafficking gang:

If you click on the “Sam Ross” profile picture it brings up this:

This “Sam Ross” looks kind of familiar…  And if you look at her profile further, she sounds familiar as well..

Wait.. wait..  “The county auditor would not help me when criminals under the guise of being IRS Contract Investigators from Pagosa Springs, Colorado committed election fraud….”   I think we’ve heard this before:

Yep. And that would be former D17 candidate Robin Schiro. If you recall..

I think that might even be the same picture.

You know, somehow, in her “undercover alias” when she says she has information on a Human Trafficking gang, I think I would tend to take that with a grain of salt as well.

The Dakota Scout is writing today on Congressman Dusty Johnson’s entrance into the Governor’s race, as the front runner in state polling on the contest didn’t acknowledge those at the bottom of the polls, but reportedly had nice comments for the man who would be his main rival for the office, current Governor Larry Rhoden:

“I love this state,” he said in an interview with The Dakota Scout. “I think the next 20 years could be South Dakota’s best, but it’s not inevitable. I think we need a real plan. I think we need real leadership, and I’m excited to pull together that plan and pull together that team.”

and..

A spokesman for the Doeden campaign said it would issue a statement following Johnson’s announcement.

In a statement to The Dakota Scout, Hansen said his campaign represented the biggest conservative fighters on the biggest issues faced in the state.

and..

Johnson declined to address his potential opponents, other than saying he gets along well with Rhoden.

“I think a lot of things are going well in South Dakota, and I know there are some candidates that the premise of their campaign is attacking where South Dakota is at right now. That’s not me,” Johnson said. “I know South Dakota’s got challenges. I know we can do better, but South Dakota is pretty well run. Pretty gosh darn well run.”

Read the entire story here.

Not sure Dusty really needs to say anything about the also-rans at this point, other than to point out how South Dakota views them, according to recent polling:

Does the person leading at 28% need to acknowledge the guys at 2% or 4% yet? Probably not.

The Dusty Johnson for Governor campaign kicked off today with his announcement in Sioux Falls, and the release of a new campaign video encouraging South Dakotans to Dream Big:

Johnson Announces Gubernatorial Bid

Sioux Falls, S.D. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) announced his candidacy for Governor of South Dakota.

“It’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve South Dakota in Congress and to have the opportunity to help secure the southern border, cut trillions in wasteful government spending, and reclaim the fight against the Chinese Communist Party,” said Johnson. “But it’s time for a new chapter—a chapter that drives South Dakota to a brighter future where we build better schools and safer communities, a chapter that governs with conservative principles to create new jobs, new businesses, and new opportunities in every community, and a chapter where being a workhorse, not a show horse, still means something. Today, I announce my candidacy to be the next governor of the great state of South Dakota.”

To watch Rep. Johnson’s gubernatorial announcement video, please click here.

Johnson has served as South Dakota’s lone voice in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019. Prior to his time in Congress, Johnson was a Vice President at a South Dakota-based engineering and consulting firm specializing in rural telecommunications. Johnson also served as Chief of Staff to Governor Dennis Daugaard and served on the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. He lives in Mitchell with his wife and three sons.

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That cat is just not going to stay in the bag any longer, and it’s almost completely out! 

The Dusty Johnson for Governor Campaign Committee has filed documents with the Secretary of State which have been posted on-line, naming retired Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom as the Dusty for Governor Committee Chairman:

Dusty Johnson for Gov campaign committee by Pat Powers on Scribd

Kevin Thom had served as the Pennington County Sheriff from 2011 through his retirement in 2023, after choosing not to run in 22. Prior to that, Thom was a special agent with the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI).

Congressman Johnson is scheduled to make political announcements at noon in Sioux Falls today at the Canopy by Hilton Sioux Falls Downtown, and at 5PM today at the David Lust Accelerator in Rapid City.

Attn: NYC CEOs, no state corporate income tax in South Dakota, and no personal income tax in SD for your people. Call me. https://t.co/ee33xo5bB3

— Paul TenHaken (@paultenhaken) June 29, 2025

Gov. Rhoden’s Bill to Address Property Taxes Will Takes Effect

PIERRE, S.D. – Tomorrow, Governor Larry Rhoden’s bill to address the rising burden of property taxes on South Dakota homeowners, SB 216, will take effect.

“SB 216 is a big win for South Dakota homeowners. It is impactful and workable, and it will certainly slow down any future tax increases,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “I am grateful for the legislators who worked with me and engaged in meaningful discussions along the way. Everyone pulled their weight in order to get this important bill passed.”

SB 216 addresses the property tax burden on homeowners in the following ways:

• Limits the increase in owner-occupied assessments to 3% countywide for the next 5 tax years;
• Sets a 3% cap on the amount taxing districts and school capital outlay budgets can increase as a result of new construction – local government budgets don’t need to grow just because a homeowner makes a small improvement to their property; and
• Increases the maximum income limits for the assessment freeze program to $55,000 for single member homes and $65,000 for multi-member homes – the bill also increases the maximum eligible home value to $500,000.

Governor Rhoden signed SB 216 at a signing ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. You can find a photo of the signing here.

Governor Rhoden also recently announced his Homeowner Tax Relief Proposal, which would further reduce the burden of property taxes.

“SB 216 was an important step forward, but we are not done bringing property tax relief to South Dakotans,” continued Governor Larry Rhoden. “The best way to do that is through my proposal, which would give counties the option to cut property taxes and replace the revenue with a county-option sales tax. This proposal would allow out-of-state residents to pick up some of the tab, and I am confident that it will provide a meaningful property tax cut.”

You can find additional information about the Governor’s Homeowner Property Tax Proposal here.

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The left-leaning ProPublica newspaper/website posted an article this morning digging into campaign committees set up to pay some of former Governor Kristi Noem’s expenses while she was out on the national speaking trail over the course of the last election season, as well as to raise funds for those purposes:

In the intervening years, American Resolve has maintained a low public profile. In March, it purchased Facebook ads attacking a local news outlet in South Dakota, which had been reporting on Noem’s use of government credit cards. Noem’s lawyer did not answer questions about whether the group paid her more money after 2023, the most recent year for which its tax filing is available.

and..

American Resolve’s treasurer referred questions to Noem’s lawyer. In his statement, Noem’s lawyer said she “did not establish, finance, maintain, or control American Resolve Fund. She was simply a vender for a non-profit entity.”

While Noem failed to report the fundraising income Ashwood Strategies received on her federal financial disclosure, she did provide some other details. She described the LLC as involving “personal activities outside my official gubernatorial capacity” and noted that it received the $140,000 advance for her book “No Going Back.” The LLC also had a bank account with between $100,001 and $250,000 in it and at least $50,000 of “livestock and equipment,” she reported.

Read the entire story here.

Happy Independence Day

Greetings. Land of the Free Because of the Brave is a great logo to use in celebrating our 249th Independence Day. Yep! 249 and one year away from the 250th celebration of this great constitutional republic. No other country in history has lasted this long. Now that’s for sure a big hooah hooah!

It was 5 years ago on the 4th of July that we had the huge fireworks show at the “Shrine of Democracy” Mount Rushmore. Marcia and I had the opportunity to attend that spectacular event.

I enjoy representing the home of not only the two gigantic monuments, those being Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. I like to mention that all the features in a South Dakota tourism brochure are in District 30 except for that big bird feeder in Mitchell. My good friend, Dale Bartscher, really gets perturbed when I say that because he thinks I’m making fun of the Corn Palace (big bird feeder); and yes, I am! LOL.

So, here’s the next great monument project in our country – you ready? It’s called America’s Heroes Statue Garden. It’s going to consist of up to 250 statues. “These should depict historically significant Americans with examples that include military heroes, civil rights leaders, elected officials and others,” according to Pres. Trump.

President Trump started this initiative of a heroes garden saying, “We’re going to be honoring our heroes, honoring the greatest people from our country.” He went on to say, “We’re not tearing down, but instead we’re going to be building up.” Of course the president was referring to tearing down epic landmark statues, primarily in the south.

The last president even went so far as renaming military bases. An example is Fort Bragg in North Carolina, home of the famous 82nd Army Airborne Division. What happened? They changed the name from Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty, costing millions in signage and various ways of removing the name Fort Bragg and changing it to Fort Liberty. President Trump has gotten this changed back to Fort Bragg again, along with 7 other military installations that had this “woke” movement trying to erase history.

So, back to the American Heroes Statue Garden. Here are 30 of the possible 250: John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Daniel Boone, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Henry Clay, Davy Crockett, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Franklin, Billy Graham, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Douglas MacArthur, Dolley Madison, James Madison, Christa McAuliffe, Audie Murphy, George S. Patton, Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Betsy Ross, Antonin Scalia, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Booker Washington, George Washington, Orville and Wilbur Wright.

The location of the American Heroes Statue Garden is totally up for grabs. Our governor, Larry Rhoden, asked Pres. Trump to consider private land by Mt. Rushmore, owned by Pete Lien and Sons, a Rapid City mining company. In Gov. Rhoden’s letter to Pres. Trump he states, “We have a plot of land available in sight of Mount Rushmore that would be ideal for this fantastic effort.” Gov. Rhoden has invited Pres. Trump to celebrate our 250th anniversary at Mt. Rushmore next year with a fireworks display. It will take place, just like 5 years ago, and will be televised worldwide and will happen right here in South Dakota in District

God bless the United States of America! Hooah! Hooah!

Representative Tim Goodwin, District 30
U.S. Army Lt. Colonel, retired Chair Military and Veterans Affairs
Ag. And Natural Resources and Transportation Committees