Flags at Half-Staff at State Capitol in Honor of Former State Legislator Dr. Donald Van Etten
PIERRE, S.D.– Today, Governor Kristi Noem ordered that flags be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol from sunrise until sunset on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, in honor of former state legislator Dr. Donald Van Etten. He represented Pennington County in the South Dakota State House of Representatives from 2001-2008.
Broadband Blunders Leave Americans Disconnected BySen. John Thune
President Biden promised that his infrastructure law would make high-speed internet “available everywhere in America,” and he put Vice President Harris in charge of broadband initiatives to accomplish that goal. Three years later, this administration’s signature broadband program – the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program – has not connected a single household to the internet. In fact, not a single BEAD project has started construction and none are expected to begin until sometime next year or later.
So what’s taking so long? The BEAD program is a sad story of government inefficiency and progressivism run amok. Rather than focusing on delivering broadband service to unserved areas, the Biden-Harris administration chose to load up the BEAD program with a wish list of requirements that Congress never envisioned. There are climate change mandates, biased technology mandates, it prioritizes government-owned networks, union labor, and DEI hiring practices; and it even attempts to impose price controls in direct violation of the law. As a result, what should have been a straightforward application and approval process has become a mess.
Then there’s the Biden-Harris administration’s poor implementation of the program. During debate on the bill that authorized the program, I expressed reservations about the agency tasked with running it. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has previously fumbled administering broadband expansion programs with much smaller budgets than the $42 billion now under its charge. Not to mention another agency, the Federal Communications Commission, has the expertise and capacity to better administer broadband deployment programs like BEAD.
Unfortunately, my fears have been realized. One state official testifying before Congress said this of the program’s implementation: “NTIA’s functional requests are akin to building a plane while flying it without having the necessary instructions to be successful. NTIA has provided either no guidance, guidance given too late, or guidance changing midstream, all with a lack of appreciation for state operations and costs and the needs of our telecommunication providers.” Another state official called BEAD “the most burdensome federal program” she has ever managed.
While the president touts his administration’s efforts on expanding internet access, the reality is hardly worthy of boasting. And the vice president seems to have been about as effective as the “broadband czar” as she has as the “border czar,” which is to say she has failed at both. Three years into a $42 billion program, not a single dollar has been allocated, not a single project has begun, and not a single household is better off.
Rural and unserved communities were promised an internet connection, but this administration’s mandates and poor management have prevented that connection from being delivered. My Republican colleagues and I will continue our oversight efforts into the failure of this program – unfortunately, it’s one of many failures we’ve seen of the Biden-Harris administration.
Welcome back to another edition of the Weekly Round[s] Up! It’s been a while since I’ve been able to give an update of my work in Washington. I was back in South Dakota for all of August, where I was able to make visits across the state. I attended the Brown County Fair in Aberdeen, went 4,850 feet underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility outside of Lead, spoke with two of the South Dakota Legislature’s summer study groups: the artificial intelligence (AI) working group in Pierre and the Ellsworth working group in Rapid City, visited with teachers in Brandon and met with many other South Dakotans.
Toward the end of August, I had an unexpected eye surgery which prevented me from traveling back to DC at the beginning of September. This past week, I was cleared by my doctor to travel back to DC. It was good to return to usual business in DC – hearings, meetings, votes and briefings. Read more about it in my Weekly Round[s] Up
South Dakotans I met with: South Dakota representatives from the Basin Electric Power Cooperative; South Dakota members of Associated General Contractors; leaders from South Dakota’s Impact Aid schools; South Dakota members of the National Federation for Independent Business; Vicki Lowry with Rapid City Head Start; Jenny Briest with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation; and Madhu Gottumukkala, Secretary of South Dakota’s Bureau of Information and Telecommunications.
Met with South Dakotans from: Bonesteel, Box Elder, Bullhead, Chamberlain, Custer, Dupree, Eagle Butte, Fort Pierre, Geddes, Hill City, Kenel, Madison, Martin, McLaughlin, Mobridge, Mount Vernon, New Underwood, Pierre, Pine Ridge, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Timber Lake, Tulare, Wagner, Wall, Winner and Yankton.
Other meetings: Jason Ambrosi, President of the Air Line Pilots Association; General Randy George, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; Robin Vince, CEO at BNY; Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Tom Siebel, Chairman of C3.ai. I attended a coffee and conversation event with Charlie Cook. I also had our weekly Senate Bible Study, where our verse of the week was Philippians 4:8.
Votes taken: 7 – most of these were on nominations to a position within the Department of State as well as judicial positions in Wisconsin and the U.S. Tax Court. Most importantly, we voted on a Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded into December.
As you may recall, the House and Senate have a deadline of September 30 each year to complete our appropriations process, which delegates funding to different areas of the federal government. When this process isn’t complete by the September 30 deadline, the federal government shuts down unless both chambers pass a Continuing Resolution (CR). A CR extends funding to a set deadline (December 20 in this case) to give us more time to complete the appropriations bills, which is why it’s commonly called a “stopgap” funding bill.
I voted yes on the CR this week. While our government funding process is dysfunctional at best, it’s critical for our nation, particularly our defense and national security, that we keep government open and funded. This clean CR continues to fund the government at the same levels as last year through December 20, 2024. It also includes additional funding for the Secret Service so the agency can beef up security for presidential candidates.
Hearings: I had two closed hearings in the Select Committee on Intelligence.
Classified briefings: We had a busy week with five classified briefings: a briefing on Guam as part of my work on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC); a briefing with SASC’s Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee; our bi-weekly cyber education seminar; a briefing on activity in the Red Sea; and an all-senators briefing on election security.
Letter to President Biden: This week, I joined a letter with Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) and Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) to President Biden urging him to issue a major disaster declaration for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe following extreme weather, particularly strong winds, that occurred July 13 and 14, 2024. Read more about it here.
Legislation introduced: I introduced a bill to leverage AI for national pandemic preparedness and response through a program called MedShield. Given the millions of deaths and trillions of dollars in economic costs resulting from COVID-19, we need to make strategic investments in pandemic prevention and preparedness. I believe AI should play a key role in those efforts. Read more about this legislation here.
My staff in South Dakota visited: Aberdeen, Sioux Falls, Vermillion, Waubay and Wakonda.
Steps taken this past week: 57,348 steps or 28.37 miles
Video of the week: I joined CNN this week to give the facts on a briefing I received on 2024 election integrity, as well as the Senate’s report this week about the assassination attempt on former President Trump in Butler:
Port workers at East and Gulf Coast ports are threatening to strike on October 1 if they can’t reach an agreement with their employers. A port strike would be devastating to the economy, costing $5 billion each day. Not only is there a financial impact, but a strike would create a weeks or months-long backlog of shipments. These ports handle nearly half of our agricultural exports to international markets, especially during harvest time. More than half of imported apparel and shoes come through these ports, and a strike could significantly delay gifts for Christmas, which is quickly approaching. I hope both sides can reach an agreement before Tuesday to prevent another supply chain crunch.
I joined Fox Business to talk about the repercussions of a port strike. You can watch my interview here or by clicking the image below.
BIG Idea
This week, I met with the Associated General Contractors to discuss Biden’s harmful Project Labor Agreement rule, which is hamstringing our contractors’ ability to bid on projects and could cause delays for the work at Ellsworth Air Force Base. I recently hosted a roundtable in Rapid City to talk to more contractors about the impact this rule will have on their business. I’ve been working to stop this burdensome rule to keep our construction projects on time and on budget.
BIG News
During my most recent Vietnam Veteran Pinning Ceremony in Sioux Falls, I recognized and pinned my 1,100th Vietnam-era veteran. When veterans returned home from the war, many weren’t received with gratitude for his or her service. I’ve partnered with the Vietnam War Commemoration project to give Vietnam-era veterans a long-awaited, proper welcome home. During each ceremony, I hear stories of the veterans’ life and service, shake their hand, and give them a pin that says, “A grateful nation thanks and honors you.”
I’ve hosted pinning ceremonies big and small across the state and was recently notified by the Department of Defense that I am a “Top Performer” for being in the top 15% of participating organizations for the number of veterans we have honored.
Round ‘Em Up By: Gov. Kristi Noem September 27, 2024
“There’s nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.” That quote hung on a gate on our family farm and ranch growing up. It wasn’t until years later that I realized who said those words: the Gipper himself, President Ronald Reagan.
We have two incredible events in late September in South Dakota that showcase just how much men and women can accomplish on “the outside of a horse.” On the last Friday in September, we celebrate the Buffalo Roundup at Custer State Park. And that same Thursday through Saturday, cowboys and cowgirls ride horses (and bulls) at the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls. Our western heritage is celebrated on both sides of the state in just one weekend – I love it!
The Buffalo Roundup might be my very favorite event on the calendar every year. It’s quite a spectacle as 1,500 bison thunder through our beautiful Custer State Park. It’s also a celebration of America’s history.
Less than 150 years ago, there were fewer than 1,000 bison left alive in the United States. That number is over 500,000 today largely thanks to our state bison herd at Custer State Park. The legendary Scotty Philip started our state herd and became known as “the man who saved the Buffalo.”
When I was in Congress, I led efforts to name the bison as America’s National Mammal, and we got that bill passed in 2016. And I hold the years that I’ve helped round up the bison at our annual Buffalo Roundup among my most precious memories. About 20,000 visitors join us every year (we actually broke our record in 2023 at more than 22,500). If you haven’t seen it for yourself, you should join us next year!
The Governor’s Cup is the final event in the CINCH Playoffs – meaning it is the final opportunity to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo. This is the second year running that we’ve held this fantastic rodeo in Sioux Falls. Dozens of the best rodeo cowboys and cowgirls duke it out for a $1 million purse, making it “The Richest Rodeo in South Dakota History.”
Rodeo is our state sport in South Dakota, and I’ve prioritized bringing the biggest and best rodeo competitions to our state. In July 2020, the Professional Bull Riders rodeo in Sioux Falls was the first major indoor sporting event to take place with fans in the stands anywhere in the country since the COVID pandemic started. Freedom and rodeo go hand in hand, and folks across the country have found themselves coming back to rodeo because of its celebration of American values.
I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy one or both of these events – if not this year, then sometime soon! Our western heritage is such a beautiful symbol of the Freedoms that make America so special. We should take the opportunity to enjoy this heritage every chance that we get.
The NAACP sent a press release out today encouraging community leaders and law enforcement to prepare for acts of hate that may arise from the Mark Robinson event being put on in Sioux Falls by former congressional explorer Toby Doeden’s PAC on Tuesday:
“This decision, backed by Dakota First Action PAC—a group known for sponsoring hateful and racist legislation—represents a troubling escalation of intolerance in our communities.
The infiltration of hate into our public spaces is not an isolated incident but a glaring indication of a larger, systemic issue. We are witnessing a rise in hate crimes across South Dakota, and welcoming figures who espouse such harmful ideologies only serves to exacerbate this climate of fear and division.
And…
Law Enforcement: Take a proactive stance against any acts of hate that arise from this event. Security measures must be reviewed to ensure that hate is not allowed to flourish in our public spaces.
Elected Officials: Publicly condemn this visit and the ideologies it promotes.”
Boy.. “Dakota First Action PAC—a group known for sponsoring hateful and racist legislation..” I wonder what on earth caused them to have that opinion about Toby Doeden’s PAC?
This guy wants to represent South Dakota in Congress yet disrespects victims of anti-Semitism. No thank you, @TobyforCongress. Here’s a tweet from Toby Doeden’s recently deleted Twitter account: https://t.co/GFIduGbn5apic.twitter.com/z4hvap3Pdc
I have to be honest with you. My heart skipped a beat when I received my box marked FRAGILE from the auction house, with it arriving on my doorstep partially smushed. But, I also know this is filled with political pins and styrofoam popcorn. They usually travel well, even when UPS plops a set of weights or a mail order kitchenaid mixer on my box.
It only cost me an arm and a leg.. but the collection of over 450 South Dakota political pins are here, and there are several I don’t have.
Here’s just a sampling:
That Egan pin is a new one, and those A.E. Lee pins are tough.
McCarter, Norbeck, Knappen are all new.. and a lot of great duplicates on others.
I’ve only seen that Mellette Commemorative pin in photos. That Janklow Schoenbeck pin is fun as well.
Here’s a group of tough pins. I’ve got the A. B. Kittridge pins, Crawford, but Ed S Johnson for Senate, and USG Cherry are all tough pins to find. Burke First is a vast improvement over my copy. I’ve never seen that Sterling pin. Not sure I have that Murphy pin, either.
And then we get to the reason I shelled out what I did. The holy grail. The impossible to find 1933 Inaugural pin.
I finally have it after 35 years, (and the more common Kneip pin I was missing), completing my set.
I’ll have to go through them in the coming weeks, and figure out what’s extra. But for those of us who collect these things, they are a reminder of our state’s history encapsulated in tin, paper and plastic helping to remind us of those political figures who shaped a sparsely populated territory into the state we know today as South Dakota.
Went to the local forum here in Brookings last night on Referred Law 21. And it might have been the most painfully stupid thing I’ve ever attended in over 35 years of politics. And that says alot, because I’ve been to a lot of stupid events, where people say a lot of stupid things. But, I might have a new winner.
Arrived at the event outside, and had a burger with the pro-ethanol people who were set up in the parking lot handing out food left and right as catered by HyVee. Nice folks – a lot of ethanol producers and advocates.
And then it went downhill from there. If you walked into the event, you were instantly struck by the tables full of anti-pipeline merchandise, where sponsors were selling… er, trading for a donation of varying amounts t-shirts and signs. They were handing out sheets which had information about who was sponsoring the event, and who was speaking.
The event sheet says that the Forum Hosts were Craig Hoffman, Clint Hoyer and MeLisa Elijah without any other disclosure. I didn’t get a chance to look until I got home, but the nature of the sponsors might have been disclosed up front. Here’s Craig Hoffman actively opposing the pipeline, Here’s Craig Hoffman & Clint Hoyer on a podcast opposing the pipeline, and here’s MeLisa Elijah Opposing the pipeline here and here. And here. Obviously, the forum hosts are all anti-co2 pipeline, despite the fact the event was not advertised as such. And things didn’t improve from there.
Opponents and proponents were given 10 minutes per speaker.. except for the extra 20 minutes they gave geologist Tim Kenyon to go on and on to make claims about how c02 pipelines leak and kill prairie dogs. There was maybe 3 seconds where he mumbled that pipelines were safer than trucks.. but it was three seconds out of 20 mind-numbing minutes of fear-mongering over co2 pipelines. That was the set up for Nebraskan Trent Loos.. whom someone described to me as a “western shock jock.”
Are they importing opponents or self-promoters?
Here’s where we get to the painfully stupid parts with the opponents who were both hauled in from out of state. Trent Loos, who claims he’s broadcasted daily on 100 stations across the United States gave me pause to lament how stupid he is making his listeners with his angry pronouncements and ridiculous claims. Two of the big takeaways from Trent Loos – 100 people DIE every year from changing out co2 canisters on soda fountain machines. And sequestering carbon in the ground is causing volcanoes in other parts of the world.
What? Did I actually hear someone say those things? The soda machine claim in relation to the RL 21 debate was a huge red flag that we were on a bus to crazytown, but the volcano comment left no doubt that we’d arrived in the center square.
Opponent/Economist from Iowa Doyle Turner spent his time attacking Bruce Rastetter. Literally that was his biggest point. So he doesn’t like the guy. OK. That happens, but how is that the basis to travel to South Dakota to yell about a ballot issue? Offering crazy tales about exploding co2 canisters killing the masses might hold some people rapt…
State Rep. Karla Lems paying attention. Rep. Sjaarda, not so much.
…but it doesn’t do a lot for non-kool aid drinkers.
The event did feature a couple of actual people who actually live in South Dakota, both proponents. I thought they had good information, despite being invited into the viper’s den. But was anyone listening?
Prepared to discuss Legislation. Not prepared to discuss exploding soda fountains…
Proponent State Representative Roger Chase is a landowner actually affected by the pipeline, and has signed an easement to allow it’s construction on his land. As a legislator, he seemed in unfamiliar territory he was there to actually discuss Referred Law 21/Senate Bill 201, and not crazy conspiracies from the Internet.
However, in the time allotted, he did a good job explaining the Landowner Bill of Rights, and how it would provide for additional protections for landowners, revenue for landowners and counties, and the provisions of the bill as passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Noem.
Jim Seurer, CEO of Glacial Lakes Energy. Good info, but were opponents listening?
Jim Seurer, CEO of Glacial Lakes Energy provided a eye-opening industry perspective on why hooking to the pipeline is vial to the South Dakota Ethanol industry, and how they have been watching where the world is headed, towards de-carbonization, whether people like it or not.
Ethanol plants are not doing this because they want to, but they are doing it as driven by the consumer market, and industry trends. Seurer notied how decarbonization is coming, and those efforts are only going to continue to get stronger. He pointed to one specific presentation he attended where a white paper was discussed that he recommended that everyone look up. A Strategic Roadmap for Decarbonizing the U.S. Ethanol Industry notes the following:
Ethanol is a vital component of U.S. rural economies that contributed over $57 billion to the national gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022. Ethanol accounts for 28% of U.S. farming GDP alone while sustaining over 420,000 jobs. Not only is ethanol the most commonly produced and used biofuel in the United States, but the nation produces over half of the global ethanol supply.
While ethanol has much lower carbon intensity than conventional fuels, considerable room for decarbonization still exists.
and..
Current incentives provide a foundation for ethanol decarbonization but are not enough on their own. Additional policy measures will accelerate the adoption of the strategic decarbonization roadmap for the ethanol industry to reach net-zero carbon intensity and move beyond. This report makes thirteen recommendations to ethanol producers, Congress, the administration, USDA, DOE, IRS, EPA, and state governments
Seurer noted that these are the challenges the ethanol industry faces right now, and they are not going away. He also pointed out that whether ag producers like it or not, and speaking as someone who is on the front lines of agriculture – decarbonization is coming, and it is coming for not just ethanol, but for individual ag producers. And now is the time for ag to prepare to deal with it.
Not that this crowd wanted reality. From there it moved into Q&A Time, with the pipeline opponents who sponsored the event filtering them forward at their preference, predictably. The questions, and much of the discussion for the portion I hung around for did not have a lot (anything?) to do with the landowner bill of rights that people will actually note on, as much as opponent’s focus on carbon credits and pipelines, and crazy statements on carbon dioxide.
I exited around 8-8:30, as I had to get my dogs out. So I didn’t hear if we were in danger from anything else exploding. I think I had enough at that point.
So, my final assessment of the event last night was that despite a reasonable presentation of what the law actually says, and the challenges the ethanol industry faces, that was not the purpose of the forum last night, because they were after fear mongering and anything but what the measure actually does. When you fail to disclose it was organized by opponents for opponents at the get-go, it was an event that was biased as hell when it wasn’t being painfully stupid.
Caught the Dakota Scout story that was just posted, as they revealed that Toby Doeden’s PAC has more than just a passing connection with the Robinson Campaign.
CNN first reported on unearthed sexually explicit and racist messages made on pornographic websites by an account that was determined to be linked to Robinson. In several posts, Robinson identifies himself by name and referred to himself as a “black Nazi,” while describing the type of explicit content he preferred.
and..
A contact for the event did not respond to a request for comment about the decision to stand by Robinson in the wake of his scandals. An attempt to contact Matt Hurley, Robinson’s campaign manager as of this week, was also unsuccessful. Hurley’s wife, Rachael, is listed as the campaign treasurer for Dakota First Action on the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website.
The spouse of the person now managing the campaign for Mark Robinson – who might have sunk the Trump election nationally with the implosion of his race in North Carolina – is the Treasurer for Doeden PAC?
Did not expect this. But, Friday is the dumping ground for news you want to downplay. Dakota First Action PAC is actually doubling down on bringing this years’ most reviled politician to Sioux Falls as their big speaker.
In case you have forgotten the CNN Story:
Mark Robinson, the controversial and socially conservative Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, made a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website’s message board more than a decade ago, in which he referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” and expressed support for reinstating slavery, a CNN KFile investigation found.
Despite a recent history of anti-transgender rhetoric, Robinson said he enjoyed watching transgender pornography, a review of archived messages found in which he also referred to himself as a “perv.”
and..
In the pornographic forums, Robinson revealed his unvarnished thoughts on issues such as race, gender and abortion.
Writing in a forum discussing Black Republicans in October 2010, Robinson stated unprovoked: “I’m a Black Nazi!”
That same month, Robinson wrote in another post that he supported the return of slavery.
“Slavery is not bad. Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring it (slavery) back. I would certainly buy a few,” he wrote.
In March 2012, Robinson wrote that he preferred the former leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler over the leadership in Washington during the administration of Barack Obama.
“I’d take Hitler over any of the sh*t that’s in Washington right now!” he wrote.
Top Republican leaders in North Carolina have called on Mark Robinson to provide proof that he wasn’t behind salacious posts on a pornography website — but new information continues to point to his involvement in the type of online sexual activity he denies.
and..
“We don’t comment on internal strategy or investment decisions, but we can confirm what’s public — our current media buy in North Carolina expires tomorrow, and no further placements have been made,” said RGA spokesperson Courtney Alexander. “RGA remains committed to electing Republican Governors all across the country.”
and..
“I’ve seen some of the statements, I haven’t seen them all. Some of them are pretty gross, to put it mildly,” Vance said during a campaign stop in Charlotte. “Mark Robinson says that those statements are false, that he didn’t actually speak them. I think it’s up to Mark Robinson to make his case to the people of North Carolina that those weren’t his statements and I’m going to let him make that case.”
Basically, everyone isn’t just sidling away from Mark Robinson – they are running – and completely abandoning him over the forum posts attributed to him on a porn website.
