Thune: Tulsi Gabbard Will Protect All Americans, Safeguard Our National Interests
“The intelligence community needs to refocus on its core mission – collecting intelligence and providing unbiased analysis of that information.”
Click here to watch the video.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor.
Gov. Rhoden Signs 14 Bills into Law
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden signed the following 14 bills into law:
Governor Rhoden has signed 15 bills into law this legislative session.
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The ten commandments bill, Senate Bill 51, which notes in part the following…
Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 13-24:
The board of a school district shall display the Ten Commandments in each classroom in each school located within the district. The display must be a poster or document that is at least eight inches by fourteen inches. The text of the Ten Commandments must be the focus of the poster or document and must be printed in large, easily readable font.
..proposing to post the ten commandments in every High School swim class and welding class is up for debate today, and I’m already listening to proponents try to pooh pooh the fact that they will have to teach this in every class.
We can hope they get rid of this nonsense and leave schools alone – via local control – to decide what’s in the curriculum of our local schools.
Someone had mentioned this in a prior post, but it brings up a good point about what legislators are doing in Pierre this year, versus how they talked about following the Republican Party platform in the last election:
4.0 Education and Cultural Affairs
4.2 Local Control – We support returning control of the school curriculum to the parents and communities that fund it. We support the elimination of all federally mandated requirements.
(From the SDGOP 2024 platform.)
So, when legislators are trying to force items on to local school districts such as posting the 10 commandments in every classroom, are they going to give themselves a de-merit for not giving community school boards local control?
The domestic abuse case against former Black Hills area TV news anchor and Neal Tapio campaign staffer Shad Olson appears to be winding to a close almost a year to the day after allegations first arose from his girlfriend who had called police:
If you recall when the arrest was first made, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader:
Olson, 51, was arrested last Sunday after an alleged altercation two days prior in Rapid City, where he “slammed” his girlfriend down on the ground multiple times and chased her around the house, a probable cause affidavit states.
Olson previously served as campaign counsel to Tapio, a Republican candidate who lost to U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson and then-Secretary of State Shantel Krebs in a bid to win the incumbent congressman’s district during the state’s 2018 House of Representative’s election.
and..
The report continues that Olson then “flipped her over and picked her up and threw [her] down on the floor” four or five times.
The victim expressed she felt lucky she was thrown on a carpeted floor, because the alleged assault did not leave her with broken bones.
Olson was charged with felony assault charges, and which left him unable to bond out of jail and petitioning for a court-appointed attorney on the basis of his inability to afford counsel. Until Olson was bailed out of jail on a $5000 cash bond by former District 34 State Legislative candidate Jodi Frye at the end of February.
Moving forward, in November of 2024 in a surprise move the Meade County State’s Attorney dropped the felony charges, leaving the former TV anchor facing two class 1 misdemeanor assault charges.
Olson had requested a jury trial on the misdemeanor charges which had been set for February 6th, however according to court records the hearing that was supposed to happen last week has now been changed to a Change of Plea/Sentencing hearing at the defendant’s request, set to take place on March 13th:
Set your calendars ahead to March 13th, which also happens to be the last day of the regular run of the legislative session.
It looks like crazy will be in full force in House Education Committee in the AM, with an awful slate of legislation on deck. Here’s what legislators – including Phil Jensen, whom House leadership left in place after his embarrassing bill to defund the Huron School District – will be judging the worthiness of to continue to the House Floor:
BILL HEARINGS
Like many South Dakotans, I find this legislative session just painful to watch at this point.
100th Legislative Session 2025 – Week 4
by Rep. Mike Weisgram
It’s Friday after session and I am wrapping up my thoughts and checking my notes for the week. We just completed a five-day week, and the pace of bill hearings and floor activity is accelerating.
I won’t dwell on the most upsetting thing that happened this week, but I feel I must address it. One of our House members proposed legislation (HB 1224) to deny the Huron School District of any further appropriation through state aid to education. His reasoning, as I understand it, was to protest a bathroom policy that he perceived to allow biological boys to use the girls’ restrooms. This legislation caused a fire storm of controversy, which led him to withdraw the legislation and to his vice-chairmanship of the House Education committee to be revoked.
Regarding spending, I have gotten a few inquiries and opinions from constituents about the proposed prison construction, even though it is a hotter topic for citizens in the Sioux Falls area. This is a big deal as it is an 825-million-dollar investment. Yet, in my opinion, it is responsible to replace the old prison sooner than later. My reasons are as follows:
1. It is undeniable that it will need to be replaced in the near future.
2. One-time money from unclaimed property is available for this project (as previously allocated to the prison fund).
3. The building costs will only continue to inflate the longer we wait.
As a legislature, we have never given the SD Department of Corrections a reason to not move forward with planning, preparing, and expending money to have architectural and engineering plans drawn up for site preparation. In fact, we’ve continued to fill the prison construction fund, session after session, with money, which undoubtably gave that department the indication that moving forward was prudent. The Department of Corrections may not have successfully communicated the proposed location of the new prison with residents in the area, but I don’t fault them for going forward. That discussion will come forward next week, and I expect lively, heated, and emotional testimonies… and hard votes for legislators.
All in all, it was a good week with a couple of bumps in the road. We are moving forward with the goal of doing our due diligence on proposed legislation and casting our votes appropriately.
I choose to be optimistic and will do my best to do good things for South Dakota.
Where’s the Beef From?
By Sen. John Thune
Grazing cattle are not an uncommon sight in South Dakota. Ranching has long been a part of our way of life, and we take our beef seriously. But when you go to the grocery store, you can’t determine if the beef you’re buying is from the ranch down the road or from another country. You can look at the label on your shirt to find out where it’s from, but why don’t we label the beef we eat?
I’m a longtime supporter of mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef. American beef producers – in South Dakota and across the country – work hard to produce high-quality beef. Many consumers would prefer to know whether the package of ground beef or steak that they’re buying is an American product. Requiring a country of origin label would provide transparency that benefits both consumers and producers.
I supported provisions in both the 2002 and 2008 farm bills that required MCOOL for beef. Unfortunately, in 2015, the World Trade Organization (WTO) struck down America’s labeling requirements. Since then, I’ve worked with many of my colleagues in Congress and successive administrations to restore country of origin labeling for beef. While I appreciate recent U.S. Department of Agriculture changes limiting the voluntary “Product of the USA” label to beef born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States, there is still more work to be done.
I recently reintroduced the American Beef Labeling Act, which would require the U.S. trade representative (USTR) and the secretary of agriculture to develop a WTO-compliant means of reinstating mandatory country of origin labeling for beef. My bipartisan bill would require the USTR to have a reinstatement plan in place within six months and implement it within the following six months. If a year passes without MCOOL being reinstated, it would be automatically restored.
South Dakota beef producers will have a friend at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the Trump administration. President Trump’s choice for secretary of agriculture, Brooke Rollins, grew up on a family-run farm. She understands the needs of farmers and ranchers, and I was pleased that she expressed a willingness in her confirmation hearing to work with me to reinstate MCOOL for beef.
South Dakota agriculture producers work hard every day to produce high-quality food and fuel for America and the world. They deserve fair and transparent markets to sell the fruits of their labor. I will continue to work to keep America’s farms and ranches strong.
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Keeping men out of women’s sports and fentanyl off our streets
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
February 7, 2025
BIG Update
The Biden Administration’s open border policies allowed fentanyl to flow across the border for four years. The outcome is tragic. Fentanyl poisoning is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18-45. This illicit drug has ended thousands of lives, causing heartbreak and distress in families and communities nationwide.
Most of this fentanyl is coming from China, where it’s manufactured and then smuggled across America’s borders. I’ve been leading efforts to get tough on China and voted to pass the HALT Fentanyl Act to prevent fentanyl from becoming street-legal, ensuring law enforcement have the authority to seize the lethal drug and keep Americans safe.
President Trump has been leading efforts to crack down on Chinese fentanyl in America. Working with Congress, we will secure the border and get fentanyl off the streets.
BIG Idea
I met with Clay County Sheriff Andy Howe to discuss the Regional Information Sharing System (RISS). RISS is an important tool that assists law enforcement at all levels to help facilitate information sharing for criminal investigations and protect officers.
Sheriff Howe and Johnson
BIG News
February 5 was National Girls and Women in Sports Day. We’ve heard stories like Riley Gaines’ who had to compete against a biological man in a collegiate women’s swimming event. This is unfair to female athletes who have worked for years to improve and excel at a sport.
This week, President Trump signed an executive order to protect women’s sports. Whether at the elementary, middle, high school, or college level, females will no longer be forced to compete against biological men.
I strongly agree with the President and millions of Americans who want to ensure a level playing field for our daughters, nieces, granddaughters, and sisters. I cosponsored and voted to pass the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to do the same as Trump’s executive order to permanently prevent men from competing in women’s sports. Now, the Senate must pass this bill so it can become law.
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