What is it with the far right wrapping their arms around controversial people who are accused of racism recently?  First, we have Toby Doeden having an event with Mark Robinson as the keynote speaker, and now we have D9 legislative candidate Joy Hohn emceeing an event bringing Steve King to South Dakota as their advocate against co2 pipelines:

The event will feature Congressman Steve King (Ret.) of Iowa, a property rights advocate who has been across Iowa and elsewhere to “defend the rights of landowners.”

and..

South Dakota Senate Candidate Joy Hohn of District 9 will emcee the event. “Citizens’ rights are under immediate threat with the passage of SB201 (RL21). Despite our relentless efforts—testifying in Pierre, meeting with officials, issuing press releases, and collecting tens of thousands of signatures—our voices have been ignored, and backroom deals have been struck,” said Hohn.

Read the entire story here.

With regards to King serving as their advocate, what about the other part that caused him to be stripped of his committee seats in Congress, and not be “Congressman from Iowa” anymore?

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) faces a potential censure motion from congressional Democrats and splintering support among Republicans after using racist language in a New York Times interview, questioning when the terms “white nationalist, white supremacist and western civilization” became “offensive.”

The statements drew denunciations from across the political divide, including from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. King later issued a statement rejecting the labels of “white nationalism and white supremacy” and calling himself a “nationalist.”

and..

Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina released an op-ed in the Washington Post, blasting King and the Republican Party’s lackluster response.

“When people with opinions similar to King’s open their mouths, they damage not only the Republican Party and the conservative brand but also our nation as a whole,” said Scott. “Some in our party wonder why Republicans are constantly accused of racism — it is because of our silence when things like this are said.”

Read that story here.

Ugh. Well, I’m sure that will just be a feather in their cap.

You know, I think it has been a while since we’ve seen the phrase “Atty General Marty Jackley joining District 30 Republican Senate candidate..”

Possibly because the last one spent her time on paranoia claiming that schools were going to transgender your kids, and delivering not so helpful advice on vaccines and breast-feeding.

Strengthen Parental Rights Through Parental Consent
by Linda Schauer, Concerned Women of America

It’s no secret that we are living in the digital age, with more at the tips of our fingers than ever before. This has had both positive and negative impacts on our society and, more importantly, our children. While children have been able to learn, create, and stay in touch with friends online, there have also been some serious concerns about their safety in the unregulated digital world.

These safety concerns have started to be raised all across the United States with parents calling on lawmakers to find a solution. Parents here in South Dakota are no different and understand the importance of finding a solution to this growing issue now.

Across the country, 95% of teens use or have access to smartphones. This has led to our nation’s youth being only a few clicks away from being exposed to graphic and non-age-appropriate material. The access to this type of material can cause children both mental and physical harm. Currently, app store owners do not hold any of the responsibility for the content that our children, and they are actively threatening lawmakers with lawsuits to kill any legislation that would require them to care about protecting children who use their devices.

Companies like Apple and Google create the devices these teens use and then regulate the app stores through which our children access online platforms. It’s only common sense that, if they are the promoters and gatekeepers for our children to get online, they take the necessary steps to help protect our children from inappropriate content. That is why Concerned Women for America of South Dakota believes it is time to enact legislation that will require age verification at the app store level.

The development would require app stores to receive parental approval prior to allowing any apps to be downloaded or purchased by children under 16 years old. Along with these precautions, parents should receive a comprehensive summary of what services will be provided so they can fully understand what their children are downloading on devices and are able to make well-informed decisions. Time after time, we have seen these app store companies deflect blame while failing to protect children. It is time we put parents in the driver’s seat and give them the tools they need to monitor and approve what their children can do online more easily.

Requiring parental consent on these platforms is already widely supported by parents on both sides of the political spectrum. A Pew Research Center poll found that 81% of U.S. adults support social media companies requiring parental consent for minors. Additionally, earlier this year the Bipartisan Policy Center, established by former South Dakota U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle, held an open dialogue discussion on social media and our youth in Sioux Falls. The bipartisan panel, which featured Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken (Republican), former Florida U.S. Congresswoman Val Demings (Democrat), and others, concluded that we need to take action to protect kids’ mental health from social media.

Both Democrats and Republicans agree that the fate of our children is on the line. We must act now. App stores are uniquely positioned to most effectively implement age verification and stop our nation’s youth from harmful and non-age-appropriate content. Adding these age verification requirements is a commonsense solution that will move the ball forward in this regard. South Dakota parents should support legislation that empowers us to do what we do best – protect our children.

–

Linda Schauer is state director for Concerned Women for America of South Dakota.

From the internet, Yelloh a.k.a. Schwan’s is ceasing home delivery after next month. (Probably because no one knew what the new name Yelloh was..)

Yelloh^TM announces November end of operations

Facing economic and market headwinds, Yelloh prepares to close operations and permanently park its iconic yellow delivery vehicles

MARSHALL, Minn. – Yelloh has announced it will cease all operations in November 2024, closing out a storied 72-year history as a Minnesota pioneer in the food home-delivery market. Founded in Marshall, Minn., where it still maintains a headquarters, the company grew to a nationwide frozen food delivery leader with the country’s largest fleet of freezer trucks.

Since its founding in 1952, Yelloh made high-quality frozen meals, foods, treats, and ice cream accessible to American homes by delivering products to neighborhood doorsteps with its fleet of iconic yellow trucks. The company set itself apart with the friendly, trusting relationships it built between customers and team members, some of which lasted for decades.

“It’s with heavy hearts that we made the difficult decision to cease operations of Yelloh,” said CEO Bernardo Santana. “We are thankful to our many loyal customers and hard-working employees for everything they have done to support us. I am deeply grateful for our employees’ tireless and bold efforts, and our customers’ dedication. It has been our utmost pleasure and honor to serve our customers their favorite meals and frozen treats.”

“As it is for the people of Yelloh, closing this company is a heartbreaking decision for me personally,” said Michael Ziebell, Board Member, who was a 22-year veteran of the company holding leadership roles in the 1990s and early 2000s before returning recently as a Board member. “Our concern is now for our employees and caring for them as we all come to terms with the fact that this business – that served millions of families and provided a livelihood for thousands over the decades – has regrettably run its life cycle.”

The company cited multiple insurmountable business challenges for the decision, including economic and market forces, as well as changing consumer lifestyles.

“The current Yelloh team has worked hard against external headwinds such as the nationwide staffing challenges and crushing food supply chain disruption caused by the pandemic,” said Ziebell. “These challenges, combined with changing consumer lifestyles and competitive pressures that have been building for over 20 years, made success very difficult. Digital shopping has replaced the personal, at-the- door customer interaction that was the hallmark of the company.”

Yelloh will wind down operations over the next two months, taking care of employees with notice and pay in accordance with the WARN Act. The last day products may be purchased via Yelloh trucks will be Friday, November 8.

# # 

I used to have them come to the house when I had a pile of kids at home, as my mom did when we were growing up.  They’d phased out the iconic giant 5 gallon buckets of ice cream a number of years ago, but they could be handy in a pinch for convenience meals and ice cream.

For many midwesterners, especially in South Dakota, no more Schwan’s man after November marks the end of the era, as they’ve been done in by COVID, Door Dash, and Uber Eats.

 

In case you’re a regular reader, but not a listener of Dakota Town Hall, make a point to check out the podcast that was just put up this last Friday, where Murdoc & Jake Schoenbeck were kind enough to have me in their third segment on to discuss some of the ballot measures we’ll be voting on this November.

Don’t early vote

— Joe Sneve (@DakotaScoutJoe) September 21, 2024

That was an odd tweet to pop up all of a sudden. And don’t know that I agree at all.

As a parent of a child in the Navy who may be underwater in a sub on election day, and a spouse who is working across the state who absolutely will be voting in the November election but will not be in town on election day, early voting is what allows them to participate.

Driving down turnout is not the answer.

Not sure if I can get in on this with the Ray-o-vac batteries in my drawer.. but a giant energy project is coming to Brookings County for the storage of power as part of the grid:

The Cloverleaf Battery Project, as it’s known, is being spearheaded by Miami, Florida-based Spearmint Energy. If all goes according to plan, it will be built southeast of White in the vicinity of the Deer Creek Station.

The project, which is currently pegged at 175 megawatts, is part of a trend in the energy-generating industry that’s gaining steam: The ability to store excess energy generated from multiple sources, including solar power and wind energy, so that it can be used to keep the power grid stable and avoid blackouts during times of high demand.

The batteries that allow this are the same ones that power our smartphones, laptops and other devices — just bigger. Much bigger.

and..

“There’s a number of existing, high-voltage transmission lines that come together and connect to one another at this location. There’s a gas generating plant, the Deer Creek Station, there … and a couple of other facilities that come together.”

Read the entire story here in the Brookings Register.

I’m guessing the protests of the never-builders will begin in 3.. 2.. 1..

South Dakota’s senior US Senator John Thune continues to barnstorm across the country raising money for the Trump presidential campaign as well as to inject funding into the Republican contests for US Senate, according to a story this morning from Dakota Scout:

Last week, Thune raised $2 million for Donald Trump’s campaign at events that raised a total of $4 million for the Republican presidential nominee and Republican Senate candidates.

and..

Much of that disparity is because of Thune and his drive to shake the trees for the committee and Republican Senate candidates. By mid-September, Thune had raised nearly $30 million, most of it for candidates looking to pick up Democratic seats in battleground states that Trump won in 2020.

and..

Thune joined Ohio Sen. JD Vance to headline last week’s fundraiser in Washington, D.C. Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president, would be the tie-breaking vote in a scenario in which the GOP won 50 Senate seats and the presidency.

Read the entire story here.

As he always has in supporting other Republican candidates, Senator Thune is out pushing hard to make sure there’s a Republican Senate come November.

South Dakota Democrats are reaping the benefits of running federal presidential campaigns through their coffers, as they capture some of the cash as it goes by:

Sept 2024 Sddp Fec by Pat Powers on Scribd

$994,150.26 flowed into the Democratic Party’s federal account, and $986,136.92 went right back out the door, leaving them an additional $8,000 on top of existing cash on hand, which now totals $135,177.99 to put into campaigns and salaries after the campaign funds flowed by.

Where on earth is North Carolina Lt. Governor Mark Robinson?  Don’t ask Toby Doeden, because our dumpster-fire of a momentary Congressional candidate seems to have forgotten his name almost overnight.

Remember last week when Toby’s group was sending text-blasts out and looking for people to go to his $250-500 a head event at the District in Sioux Falls with Keynote Speaker Mark Robinson?

Please notice that was “Keynote Speaker” Mark Robinson.

And then, there was that news story about that whole “black Nazi” thing..

According to Business North Carolina, Mark Robinson is expected to go on CNN later today to defend himself against a pending story that supposedly accuses him of referring to himself as a "Black Nazi," smearing MLK and making antisemitic comments.https://t.co/Ebb5RqRNBY pic.twitter.com/GGBwbFr2UQ

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 19, 2024

Which blew up.. well across the planet, since there’s not a lot of people who claim they would be happy to own slaves and that they’d “take Hitler over any of the sh*t that’s in Washington.”

If you remember that, then you might find it interesting that Toby Doeden who controls the Dakota First PAC seems to have developed amnesia, and forgotten his keynote speaker’s name:

“Keynote Speaker Mark Robinson” suddenly seems to have been demoted into a somewhat amorphous group of “National & State speakers.” Despite the person who invited him in the first place has expressed views that aren’t that far off of Robinson’s.

There has been no information provided that they disavow Robinson’s views, or have canceled him as a speaker because he expressed a desire to “bring [slavery] back” and “buy a few” slaves (never mind the stuff that’s so outrageous and pornographic that most websites won’t print it).

They’re just changing the graphic they’re using to promote the event. Leaving it entirely possible that he’s still coming. And they just don’t want to talk about their favorite candidate this cycle who is so offensive that he may cost Trump his state’s electoral votes, and the entire presidential election.

But, lacking any disavowal, as far as we know he’s still Toby’s guy. Despite his sudden onset of amnesia.