At-Large Sioux Falls City Council hopeful Richard Thomason has been racking up the endorsements in the run up to next Tuesday’s election.

Earlier this week, Thomason had a mailer featuring his endorsement by State Representative, and long-time City Councilman Greg Jamison…

And today, Thomason continued with endorsements from some of the most popular political figures in the city, with State Rep. Arch Beal, Former City Councilwoman (and future mayor?) Christine Erickson, out-going at-large City Councilman Alex Jensen, and former State Representative Mark Mickelson all throwing their support behind the leading candidate in the race:

Keep watching this race, as it looks as if it could be a winning race for Thomason on April 9th.

South Dakota Searchlight has posted a profile of State Senator Lee Schoenbeck, who is in the twilight of his legislative career as he heads off into the sunset after carving out a place for himself as one of South Dakota’s legislative giants, after a career where he was not afraid to lead in the way he saw fit, and to shape policy and lawmaking during his tenure:

The following Monday, back at the Capitol, some Republicans who were upset about Schoenbeck’s verbal attacks blocked him from entering a caucus meeting.

But then something happened: Lawmakers started talking to him about the bill. His outbursts against Republican leaders had emboldened some rank-and-file members.

and..

The episode was an example of Schoenbeck’s unique brand of lawmaking, combining blunt public rhetoric with private maneuvering to get results. His perfection of those tactics made him perhaps the most powerful member of the Legislature during the last several legislative sessions while he served as president pro tempore of the Senate.

Schoenbeck said there’s a simple reason he’s been willing to speak his mind when others were afraid: “I don’t care if I lose an election.”

“That’s the difference,” he said. “That’s it.”

Read it here.

In a time when we have far too many cookie-cutter candidates campaign on platforms that all look and sound the same, maybe the best lesson that Senator Schoenbeck provides to those who follow him are to worry less about pleasing factions, never forget to connect to your community, and be unafraid to lead.

 

 

Becky Drury Announces Bid for District 34 House Seat

Rapid City, SD—Representative Becky Drury proudly announces her election bid for the SD House of Representatives in District 34.

Representative Drury has served two terms in the House, the first as a Representative of District 32. After a move across town and vacant House seat within her new home’s district, Governor Noem appointed Drury to serve as the District 34 Representative.

“Knowing the move was the right timing for us, I was deeply appreciative of the Governor’s appointment that allowed me to continue in my leadership role as House Majority Whip and serve District 34 for the remainder of the term,” said Drury.

Along with serving as House Majority Whip, Drury’s committee assignments include State Affairs, Military & Veterans Affairs and Chair of Local Government. She continued as an advocate for children as she was the Prime Sponsor in the House for Senate Bill 98. This bill established the admission of evidence in the courtroom of similar crimes in child molestation cases. She also supported SB 187 providing funding for cyber security and putting into effect a 4% increase for K12 and Technical Institutions and CSP providers. House Bill 1132 was also a key bill for which Representative Drury was the prime sponsor, beginning a major clean-up of statutes dealing with municipalities at times deleting sections of code that have been obsolete since the 1970’s.

Representative Drury has a record of service to Rapid City that is unmatched. She was elected to the Rapid City Common Council representing Ward One and served as Chair of Legal and Finance during the 2019-2020 term. She has served on many municipal and private boards and committees throughout her career here in Rapid City. She is most proud of her volunteer work as a board member for Passages—Women’s Transitional Living program and her appointment to the Rapid City Community Relations Committee by Mayor Salamon in February of 2024.

Becky Drury has been a member of Parkview Evangelical Free Church for over 20 years. She and her husband, Neal, owned a small business in Rapid City. Their daughters were raised in Wall and Rapid City. They attended Middle School in Rapid City and continue to reside in the area where they are now also raising their families.

Johnson Opposes Central Digital Bank Currency

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) cosponsored the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act to prevent the creation of a central digital bank currency (CDBC), protecting the financial privacy of all Americans.

Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, a CBDC is a digital form of sovereign currency that is issued, monitored, and managed by a central bank. In short, a CBDC is government-controlled programmable money that, if designed without the privacy protections of cash, could give the federal government unilateral authority to surveil Americans’ transactions and restrict politically unpopular activity.

“Digital assets help the private market grow and innovate, but the government should not monitor and police the transactions of private, law-abiding citizens,” said Johnson. “This bill is necessary to protect the financial privacy and liberty of our citizens.”

Specifically, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act:

• Prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC directly to anyone, ensuring the Fed cannot turn itself into a retail bank with the ability to collect financial information on Americans.
• Bars the Federal Reserve from indirectly issuing a CBDC through financial institutions or other third-party intermediaries.
• Prevents the Federal Reserve from using any CBDC as a tool to implement monetary policy and control the economy.
• Requires authorizing legislation from Congress for the issuance of any CBDC.
• Protects innovation that reflects American values.

The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act is led by House Republican Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN). Read full bill text here.

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This week, District 28 Republican State Senate candidate Susan Peterson successfully was placed on the ballot after a delay in her candidacy. She will be facing Sam Marty in the primary, and later Dean Schrempp in the general election.

But on the flipside, District 29 House candidate Aaron M Schrader had his petitions successfully challenged, and was decertified from the ballot.

Which brings up a few questions, as I’m personally aware of a number of other petition challenges that were filed last week/early this week. But the news from the Secretary of State’s office? Crickets.

Understandably, those challenges take some time, and probably involve a review by staff and/or counsel. But they drew for ballot position this morning, and the printing of ballots is impending.

So you would think they would move a little faster on this?

After posting the interesting brochure for District 17 Republican State Legislative candidate Robin Schiro, I decided to go own the rabbit hole a bit more, because I know nothing about this person. And what a rabbit hole it is.

From public postings on websites such as Linked-in, you get a flavor for what Ms. Schiro may bring to the table as a legislator, and a few more specifics regarding her concern over “IRS Contract Investigators:”

Or more recently…

 

Oh my. This is someone who wants to write our laws.

And what about those laws? Because according to court filings with the Unified Judicial System, there’s a matter of breaking one of them that she may want to resolve in Lawrence County:

It appears that this candidate has a bench warrant over a speeding ticket that’s been hanging out there since last October in Lawrence County. Nothing they’re going to send the sheriff out to actively chase her down over, but the next time she gets pulled over, she might have to get out her checkbook.

Please. Just please. Don’t send someone like this to Pierre.

For all our sakes.

Well.. this is a new one on me.

District 17 Republican State Legislative candidate Robin Schiro has a ..’unique‘ set of issues in her literature that she’s promoting in support of her candidacy, and what she intends to if she’s elected.

Go ahead and take a gander, as she declares that she has “proven I am not afraid to take stands and make decisions that are important, necessary, and unpopular.”

As a candidate, Schiro provides her platform under headings such as Transparency of Government, Economic Development, Fiscal Responsibility.. and then she gets into the weeds a bit when she starts talking about Less Government – IRS:

Distrcit 17 House candidate Schiro declares in her brochure that:

I will work with our Federal Legislators to:

• • Eliminate IRS illegally required tax payments that go directly to the terrorists under the guise of being IRS Contract Investigators instead of the IRS
  • Eliminate IRS illegal investigations (especially those over 10+ years time and targeting unbelievers).
  • Eliminate the use of IRS Contract Investigators since they are trained as terrorists to hack into literally everything including our 9-1-1 system

I somehow get the sense there’s a story there. Similarly under her section title “Less Bureaucracy/Red Tape – FBI” where she promises to

• • Put in place firewalls so that illegal terrorists under the guise of being IRS Contract Investigators cannot hack into Linkedin or Facebook to prevent you from reporting an FBI Tip On-Line Tip Web Site and prevent you from submitting an FBI Terrorist Tip On-Line.

Definitely a story there that we’re not aware of, that I suspect we’re going to hear about on the campaign trail.

For all you potential candidates out there, take a look at the brochure above. And don’t do this. At all. Ever.

Name and Office, a good picture, and a few bullets about yourself. You don’t need much more than that. And maybe consider leaving your opinions about IRS Contract Investigators supposedly being trained as terrorists at home.

Sometimes, less is more when it comes to your political advertising.

Amber Hulse today was on facebook noting the endorsement of the Pennington County Sheriff, checking off the support of all of the chief law enforcement officers in her District in her race for State Senate:

Rounds Requests Tribal Law Enforcement Training Center in South Dakota

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) sent a letter to the Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior requesting a meeting to discuss options for law enforcement training in South Dakota.

Currently, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) requires a majority of tribal law enforcement officers to receive training at a facility in New Mexico. Discussions with tribal and law enforcement leaders have indicated that the distance to this facility is a barrier for recruiting law enforcement officers in the region. Recently, leaders of tribes in South Dakota have declared states of emergency because of rampant crime.

“With no basic federal training options for tribal law enforcement on the Great Plains, prospective officers are opting to work for local agencies or leave the law enforcement field altogether,” Rounds said. “This has been especially difficult for law enforcement in the Great Plains Region, which is home to some of the largest tribes in the nation. We need to support them during a time where crime is rising everywhere nationwide, but especially on tribal lands.”

Read the full letter HERE or below.

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Dear Assistant Secretary Newland:

I write to you to address the tribal law enforcement crisis in the Great Plains Region. It has become clear that a lack of law enforcement personnel is contributing to the ongoing crime wave, and that recruiting and training appear to be root causes of this situation.

As you are well aware, tribal law enforcement leaders are struggling to hire and retain law enforcement officers in tribal communities. As you also know, several tribal law enforcement agencies in the Great Plains Region only employ a handful of officers. As a consequence, as few as two officers can be tasked with patrolling millions of acres during a shift. Criminal entities are taking advantage of these shortages and are distributing higher volumes of illegal drugs, including fentanyl.

It is my understanding the BIA requires the majority of tribal law enforcement officers to receive training at the U.S. Indian Police Academy in Artesia, New Mexico. In my recent discussions with Great Plains Region law enforcement leaders, it has become apparent that the distance to this academy is a recruitment barrier. With no basic federal training options for tribal law enforcement on the Great Plains, prospective officers are opting to work for local agencies or leave the law enforcement field altogether. This has been especially difficult for law enforcement in the Great Plains Region, which is home to some of the largest tribes in the nation. I have consulted with tribal leaders and believe that the possibility of opening a tribal law enforcement training facility in the Great Plains Region would address this issue.

In our consultation, I have become aware of several suitable, existing training facilities that could address the recruitment and training problem without significant cost. I believe that such an outcome would garner support from tribal leaders and result in the building of greater law enforcement capacity throughout the region. With the current situation in mind, I respectfully ask you to meet with me to discuss this issue.

Please contact members of my staff to coordinate such a meeting.

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Johnson Fights to Secure Payments for National Guard Members 

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) urged National Guard Bureau Chief Daniel R. Hokanson to ensure the availability of incentive programs for National Guard members.

“Missing or delayed bonus payments for our soldiers has become a troubling trend—one that cannot continue,” said Johnson. “Our servicemembers are counting on bonuses they were promised to pay their bills. We must uphold our word to the men and women serving our country.”

On March 1 of this year, the Army National Guard suspended reenlistment bonuses. While the incentives program was restarted on March 8, this is not the first time incentives programs were suspended or delayed. In October 2023, more than 9,000 soldiers experienced delays in receiving their enlistment bonus, some by up to five years. A similar scenario occurred in 2021. Further, the National Guard suspended student loan repayments for soldiers in July of 2023.

The Armed Services significantly missed its recruitment goals for 2023 by over 40,000 people. This leaves our military with the smallest active-duty force since 1940. Johnson’s letter asks if the Armed Services are short of their recruiting goal, why the incentive programs are not funded properly.

Read Johnson’s letter to Hokanson here.

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