Attorney General Jackley Warns Public About Flood-Related Scams

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley warns residents impacted by the flooding in southeast South Dakota to be careful about flood-related scams involving fraudulent home repairs and charity appeals.

“These are the times when scam artists prey on those dealing with natural disasters,” said Attorney General Jackley. “They will try and take advantage of South Dakotans’ generosity and say anything to convince you to give them money.”

Attorney General Jackley encourages the public to work with contractors and charities that they know. The Attorney General Office’s Consumer Protection Division also recommends these steps:

• Do not give into high pressured sales tactics.
• Be cautious with contractors who solicit business door-to-door.
• Always get any repair work, construction orders and other types of contracts in writing with expected cost estimates.
• Compare written bids from several contractors prior to signing a contract.
• Never pay for the entire job upfront and withhold the final payment until the work is done to your satisfaction.
• Don’t take a contractor’s word that your insurance company will cover the damage. Check directly with your insurance company.
• When it comes to charities, give a donation to a local organization that you know.
• If you have questions about a business or charitable organization, telephone them first to make sure they are legitimate.
• Talk to someone you can trust before you provide money or personal information to someone who contacts you.

Consumers who believe they may 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/.

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Today, former Jones County GOP Chair Rocky Hayes pled “Nolo Contendere” or No Contest to a single felony count of possessing child pornography in Lincoln County court, according to UJS records.

The No Contest plea allowed Hayes to resolve the claims against him without admitting guilt, while conceding that the prosecution had sufficient evidence that he could be convicted should a trial move forward. As noted when charges were brought (via this article on Sioux Falls Live):

After confirming from Midco via subpoena that the IP address belonged to Hayes, investigators continued searching through his Dropbox account, where they found two other files believed to depict child pornography. One file was a 9-second video depicting a girl, estimated to be 13 years old, performing a sex act, and another 15-minute video of a girl, estimated to be 8-10 years old, being raped.

Read that story here.

After his “No Contest” plea, the judge issued an order for a psychosexual evaluation prior to sentencing. According to State Law,

Any person convicted of a felony violation as provided in subdivisions 22-24B-1(1) to (15), inclusive, and (19), (24) and (25), shall have included in the offender’s presentence investigation report a psycho-sexual assessment including the following information: the offender’s sexual history; an identification of precursor activities to sexual offending; intellectual, adaptive and academic functioning; social and emotional functioning; previous legal history; previous treatment history; victim selection and age; risk to the community; and treatment options recommended. 

Read that here.

For the Class 4 felony charge (22-24A-3) Hayes faces up to ten years imprisonment in the South Dakota State penitentiary.

SB 201 Referendum Would Take Away Property Tax Relief and Landowner Rights

(Pierre, SD) The SB 201 Referendum would repeal the Landowner Bill of Rights passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor last Session. Senate Bill 201 is called the Landowner Bill of Rights because it includes extensive benefits for landowners including property tax relief, indemnification, and annual compensation.  The Referendum is anti-landowner and anti-agriculture because it would strip away the property tax relief and landowner protections in
SB 201.

“If I were a pipeline company I’d be 100% supportive of repealing SB 201,” said Jason Glodt, founding member of the SD Ag Alliance. “I believe the sincerity of most of the SB 201 opponents.  However, I’m afraid what they’re selling doesn’t match the reality of what they are doing. They think they are going to stop a carbon pipeline, but the referendum does not address eminent domain and it won’t change federal law. If successful, they will simply repeal all of the landowner rights and property tax relief in SB 201 while the pipeline can still get built.”

“Repealing SB 201 will not stop carbon pipelines from being built in South Dakota,” said Rob Skjonsberg, founding Member of the SD Ag Alliance. “In fact, we believe carbon pipelines will pursue their project with or without landowner benefits found in SB 201.”

Landowner Bill of Rights

1. Compensation for Landowners: Requires carbon capture pipelines to pay landowners reoccurring annual payments of .50 cents per linear of pipeline through their property.
2. Compensation for Counties: Allows counties to collect an additional .50 cents per linear foot of pipeline that runs through their county for property tax relief.
3. Indemnity for Landowners: Requires pipeline companies to indemnify landowners for liability.
4. Minimum Burial Depth: Requires pipeline to be buried at least 4 ft deep, exceeding federal regulations of 3 ft.
5. Disclosure of Dispersion Models: Requires carbon pipeline companies to make dispersion modeling public.
6. Lifetime Drain Tile Repairs: Requires pipeline companies to repair any damage to drain tile
7. Impact Mitigation: Requires pipeline companies to file an impact mitigation plan.
8. Leak Liability: Makes carbon pipeline companies liable to the landowner for any damage caused by leaks.
9. Land Surveyors Must be from SD: Requires land surveyors be South Dakota residents.
10. Bans Perpetual Easements: Limits easements to a maximum of 99 years.
11. Information Disclosure: Requires carbon pipeline companies to report linear footage of pipes in counties and disclose if they claim a tax credit.

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Summit Carbon Solutions Granted Approval by IUB for CO2 Pipeline
Approval paves the way for new opportunities and support for Iowa’s farmers and ethanol producers.

AMES, Iowa (June 25, 2024) – Today, the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) announced the approval of Summit Carbon Solutions base pipeline project (HLP-2021-0001). This approval represents a significant milestone not for just Summit Carbon Solutions, but for the entire agriculture industry as it seeks access to new and emerging markets, like sustainable aviation fuel, by lowering ethanol’s carbon intensity score (CI).

This comes on the heels of successful reapplication hearings for its Summit’s North Dakota pipeline permit in front of the North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC).

“The momentum will continue as we prepare to file our South Dakota permit application in early July,” said Lee Blank, CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions. “We look forward to engaging with the state throughout this process and are confident in a successful outcome.”

Summit Carbon Solutions is partnering with 57 ethanol plants across five states and has signed voluntary easement agreements with 75% of Iowa landowners along this route. The company will continue to work with landowners every day.

Summit Carbon Solutions appreciates the Iowa Utilities Board’s fair and transparent handling of the pipeline permit proceedings.

About Summit Carbon Solutions

Summit Carbon Solutions is driving the future of agriculture by expanding economic opportunities for ethanol producers, strengthening the marketplace for Midwest-based farmers, and creating jobs. In developing the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world, the company seeks to connect industrial facilities via strategic infrastructure to store carbon dioxide safely and permanently in the Midwest United States. For more information, visit: www.SummitCarbonSolutions.com.

Gov. Noem Provides Supply Shortage Relief for Flooding Recovery

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem signed Executive Order 2024-05 granting an hours-of-service waiver for certain products being transported through South Dakota.

The 14-day order declares a state of emergency and exempts delivery of needed supplies in support of flood relief efforts from federal motor carrier regulations regarding drivers’ hours of service.

Although hours of service have been temporarily suspended for commercial deliveries, companies may not require or allow fatigued drivers to make deliveries. All other road safety and vehicle compliance regulations still apply.

The executive order expires at midnight on July 8, 2024.

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Governor Noem Signs Emergency Declaration for Storms and Flooding  

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem signed Executive Order 2024-04 declaring an emergency for the recent storms and associated flooding. State agencies have already been responding and will continue assisting local governments throughout the emergency.

“Even though the rain is slowing down, we need to keep vigilant. The worst of the flooding along our rivers will be Monday and Tuesday,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “Check SD511.org for updates on road conditions, and please reach out to your county emergency manager if you have immediate needs.”

The EO also issued a “no boating declaration” on the waters of Lake Alvin in Lincoln County, Lake Henry in Bon Homme County, Marindahl Lake in Yankton County, Menno Lake in Hutchinson County, and Swan Lake in Turner County, South Dakota.

Took a few days off this last weekend to try to do something with my youngest who starts a summer job in a week or so, and to take a couple days with my wife who is spending her time in Spearfish for work.

Family get togethers are supposed to be relaxing. My son only has 2 more years in school, and it would be nice to do something while we still have time. So we thought, Disney is an easy, mindless vacation. We can do some shopping, hit some rides, etc.  I should have known better.

I seemed to be particularly singled out for extra security checks at the airport and at Epcot, where they had to wand me each time because my belt buckle was setting off the detectors. Of course it was as hot as hades with humidity to match.

And that was if the rides were working. Star Wars Rise of the Resistance was glitchy the day we were there. Almost didn’t make that one, but we got there in our mad scramble across the parks.

On the way back, planes were very delayed. Chicago became a mad sprint to the next gate on the way home as my two 1/2 hour layover turned into no layover as the last flight to Sioux Falls started boarding as we pulled up.

I did make it home late last night. And it sounds as if my youngest had fun.

But now I need more time for a vacation to recover from my vacation.

Biden’s Latest Student Loan Giveaway
By Sen. John Thune

One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rightly ruled that President Biden did not have the authority to unilaterally forgive federal student loan debt. But that hasn’t stopped the president from contriving new student loan giveaways that amount to de facto loan forgiveness and will cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

In April, the president announced his latest $150 billion student loan giveaway. Among other things, this latest scheme would waive accrued and capitalized interest for certain borrowers, and it would provide student loan forgiveness to 750,000 borrowers with an average income of more than $300,000.

This comes on top of the $475 billion loan forgiveness plan the president announced last summer. The so-called SAVE Plan will implement de facto forgiveness on a massive scale by creating a system in which the majority of future federal borrowers will never fully repay their student debt. The U.S. Department of Education estimated that undergraduate borrowers would expect to pay back just $6,121 for every $10,000 borrowed. That means that, on average, taxpayers will be taking on almost 40 percent of these borrowers’ student loans.

By one estimate, recent student loan policies will cost more than all federal spending on higher education in the nation’s entire history. For all this money, the Biden bailout plans do nothing to fix the actual problem: the cost of higher education. In fact, they could make things worse. For one, these plans don’t incentivize colleges to rein in their prices. They could also encourage students to increase their borrowing. And then there’s the troubling message it sends to students that they can expect to be bailed out for debt they take on, even though they agreed to repay it.

The president’s student loan schemes all involve a fundamental unfairness though. Many Americans never attended college. Others worked hard to pay off their entire student debt, or they worked to put themselves through college. Many Americans covered the cost of education by serving our country in the armed forces. Why should these Americans have to shoulder the massive cost of all this loan forgiveness now?

My Republican colleagues and I are pushing back against these misguided and costly policies. I’m also working on policies that help people pay off their student debt without putting taxpayers on the hook for massive amounts of money. My bipartisan Employer Participation in Repayment Act became law in 2020. It allows employers to make tax-free payments toward their employees’ student loans. It’s no silver bullet, but it’s a fiscally responsible way of easing the burden of student debt.

President Biden’s student loan giveaways are not the right answer, and they may cause more problems than he claims they will solve. Unfortunately, I suspect the president sees a chance to win a few votes he will need in November – at the expense of taxpayers across the nation.

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The Shad Olson S**t Show looks like his court case will continue though at least August, as motions were granted in the case this week:

He is charged with domestic abuse aggravated assault/strangulation, for an incident in February of this year.

and..

The judge granted all motions heard including a motion of discovery for tangible evidence, a motion to disclose witnesses, a motion for expert testimony, and a motion for investigation.

Read the story here on KOTA News

Keeping South Dakota Ag on Offense
By: Governor Kristi Noem
June 21, 2024

Farmers are some of the biggest gamblers I know. They go to a bank, borrow money to buy land – borrow more money to buy equipment. Then they go back and get an operating note so they can buy seed, fertilizer, and chemical. And then they bury it all in the dirt. They pray that it might rain, that something might grow, and that they’ll have something to sell so that they can pay back those loans.

But if we didn’t have people willing to make that gamble, then families across the country and around the world wouldn’t have food to put on the table. 

Their work is not easy – and we have so much appreciation for our ag producers.

Agriculture is South Dakota’s most important industry for good reason. We feed the world. We have more cows-per-person than any state. I am tremendously proud of that fact. About 95% of South Dakota farms are still family-owned and operated. Ag contributes more than $32 billion to our state’s economy – about 30% of our economic output. 

When ag prospers, South Dakota prospers; when droughts hit or markets slide, everyone feels that, too.

Thankfully, South Dakota’s economy is booming. But we are not leaving ag behind in all this growth. My Governor’s Office of Economic Development has identified Precision Ag and Value-Added Ag as key sectors of our economy to grow and develop. Our Dairy industry
is one of South Dakota’s fastest-growing economic engines. And with new food production coming in, like the state-of-the-art Asian food production plant that Schwan’s is building in Sioux Falls, we are not slowing down.

With all the growth we have seen, it is vital that we keep farmers farming. My team is constantly focusing on ag’s growth – asking questions like what’s the next opportunity, the next innovation, the next risk to take? 

We want to keep South Dakota ag on offense. And to do that, I’m happy to play defense wherever necessary.

Attacks on Ag are coming from both within and from outside of our nation. The Biden Administration seems determined to put as much red tape and regulations in our producers’ way as possible. I have testified against such regulations in front of Congress, and I am working to challenge whatever unconstitutional regulations the Biden Administration puts in our way.

We decided a long time ago that it is important that we grow our own food in this country – that we have a diverse, safe food supply that provides for our people without undue foreign interference. So we are defending South Dakota ag from undue foreign influence.  

This past legislative session, I signed legislation to protect South Dakota ag land from being purchased by six “Evil Foreign Governments” and their agents. The Chinese Communist Party has increased their holdings of American ag land by more than 5000% in the last 10 years. These Communist dictators are not our friends. They are not our allies. They should not be our neighbors.

My dad always told me, “Kristi, God’s not making any more land.” In a lot of ways, our land is our most precious asset, and we should encourage one another to be visionary about protecting our farms. We shouldn’t be selling that asset to nations that hate us – and now we have the laws in place to stop that from happening.

Ag is so important to our economy, and it’s also important to the future of our nation. South Dakota will continue to focus on how to keep ag growing and thriving for the future.

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