The blockchain industry yields benefits for businesses and individuals in South Dakota and across the country
by Dirk Lohry

As the general election approaches, both major political parties have now concluded their national conventions and presented policy platforms outlining their priorities for the coming years. While voters are focused on a variety of key issues, I urge both voters and our elected officials to prioritize responsible, pro-business regulation in emerging industries—particularly in the crypto and blockchain sectors.

In July, the Republican National Committee’s platform highlighted a commitment to fostering a pro-crypto environment, signaling a notable shift in the party’s stance from previous years. Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee, in their August platform, did not mention cryptocurrency or blockchain technology. However, Vice President Kamala Harris recently addressed both AI and digital assets at a fundraiser, pledging to encourage further investment in these areas. This marks the Vice President’s first positive acknowledgment of the crypto industry, reinforcing the importance of this issue and the need for informed legislative action.

Former President Trump also made headlines recently with his endorsement of World Liberty Financial, a decentralized cryptocurrency platform, expressing his vision of making the United States the “crypto capital of the world.” With both presidential candidates signaling support for the crypto industry, momentum is building around the potential of this dynamic sector.

The blockchain industry has already begun to yield significant benefits for businesses and individuals in South Dakota and across the country. As this sector continues to grow, Congress has a unique opportunity to enact policies that support innovation and economic advancement here in America.

In the House, Representative Dusty Johnson led bipartisan efforts to pass the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21). This landmark legislation lays the groundwork for consumer protections while encouraging American innovation in digital assets.

I urge Senator Rounds to build on this momentum in the U.S. Senate. Through strong leadership and bipartisan cooperation, Congress can craft legislation that enables American businesses to harness the full potential of crypto technology. Just as with other industries, it’s vital that Americans lead in this space, driving innovation and growth.

D32 State Senator Helene Duhamel was in mailboxes this past week with a new postcard which talks about how she’s worked with many of our elected officials to solve problems. (there’s a GOP and non-GOP version out there, here’s the GOP card that went out):

Protecting Mt. Rushmore, making sure drinking water ia available, supporting Ellsworth, protecting communities and supporting law enforcement, helping to fund the expansion of the Rapid City Regional Airport, etcetera is all a good list.  For the Republican faithful, the quote on the front from State Senator and South Dakota Republican Party Chairman John Wiik is very much worth taking notice of:

That’s ONE Republican in the race for District 32 State Senate. And it isn’t the other person.

Chris Larson, Sioux Falls’ mattress guy – not to be confused with the equally conspiracy minded pillow guy – is out campaigning against most of the ballot measures as he leads the “No on everything” effort.

As well as once again posting how he’s no longer a “normie,” (as he derisively terms people who don’t mindlessly believe facebook conspiracy theories), and explains:

..the Enemy (bad actors who serve their father, the devil – see John 8:44) is employing a strategy of “flooding the zone’’, which has overwhelmed the sense-making abilities of average citizens. It’s just too much to keep track of. From our borderless border, to endless wars, to non-stop blatant lying from our government/media cabal, to runaway gov’t spending & inflation, to presidential assassinations that are “no big deal” anymore, to an absolute loss of trust in our election systems, to Klaus Schwab and the WEF, to the possibility that nefarious shadow groups are somehow controlling the weather (!), the average American is being carpet bombed by negativity, lies and chaos.

In case you need to read the goofiness here.

I’m not sure how he managed to leave out the trilateral commission, Q-anon warnings about child stealing pizza parlors, the Rothchilds, British Monarchy’s various conspiracies, and jewish space lasers causing fires out west as well as Toby Doeden’s Taylor Swift/Vaccine conspiracy.

Just remember, these are the guys who want to take over the Republican party in SD.

Burying Republicans one crazy facebook post at a time.

Oacoma Democrat David Ries is running as an independent against Representative Rebecca Reimer for the House in 26B this election.

And he just sent out a postcard encouraging his people to get out and vote:

He’s asking his supporters to Vote Independent on November 6th for a change. 

I’m ok with that. Although, they might find the doors shut.  Considering the election is November 5th.

Just over a week to go. Stay tuned.

From “Frank Speech,” it looks like we know where “self-declared election expert” Rick Weible has been since he was at the receiving end of a campaigning 101 lesson on how to run for office in the primary.  Weible seems to be the fill-in guest host for the pillow guy show on the pillow guy website.

I’m surprised he’s running this far above the radar, considering Rick declared to the Brookings County Commission that his “life is at risk” on March 19th.

Although, this could actually be an underground bunker. Or a storage closet.

Stay tuned.

 

Celebrating South Dakota’s Unofficial State Holiday
By Sen. John Thune

As the crisp fall temperatures begin to break through, an unmistakable anticipation builds in the air for our state’s unofficial holiday. The days and nights get cooler, the leaves change colors, and South Dakotans start counting down the days to the third Saturday in October: the start of pheasant season.

Growing up in Murdo, my family and I always looked forward to getting out in the fields and bagging some roosters. My dad passed this tradition on to us, hunting with us into his nineties. We have proudly passed it down to our kids, and I look forward to sharing this heritage with my grandkids someday, too.

A morning in the field is made better with good bird dogs and good company, and coming together at the end of a long day offers a perfect opportunity to thank God for His many blessings and hopefully enjoy a plate full of pheasant. One of the things I cherish most are these moments with friends and family in our great outdoors.

In food plots, sloughs, and shelterbelts across our state, shouts of “rooster!” can be heard all season as locals and visitors alike take part in our famed pastime. For more than a century since that first hunting season commenced, generations of South Dakotans have taken up the mantle of providing suitable habitat for ringnecks and other wildlife, and it’s this spirit of conservation that has sustained our state’s proud tradition for so long and made South Dakota the “pheasant capital of the world.”

In Washington, I’m working to preserve and modernize the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a historic program that has helped keep our pheasant population bountiful. I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen CRP, and I will continue fighting to support this and other land conservation efforts in the U.S. Senate.

This season, I hope you enjoy some quality time with family and friends, take in the rich beauty of our wonderful state, and, of course, bag a limit of birds. To hunters across South Dakota, here’s to a safe and successful hunt.

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Growing and Improving
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
October 25, 2024

BIG News

It’s pheasant season in South Dakota! I’ve been able to break out the orange vest (my favorite color) and enjoy the crisp fall air and golden prairie. It’s one of my favorite traditions each year, spending time with family and friends in the hopes of a successful hunt.

We’re blessed to have the world’s best pheasant hunting in South Dakota. In 2023 alone, we harvested 1.2 million birds – more than every surrounding state combined. I’m hopeful for another bountiful harvest this season and for visitors and South Dakotans to enjoy the incredible landscape of our state.

BIG Idea

Xiomara came to LifeScape as a young girl only able to move her toe to control her electric wheelchair, but now, she is able to stand on her own! The incredible work of both patients and providers at LifeScape has transformed and is transforming lives, like Xiomara.

LifeScape provides services for more than 4,000 children and adults with disabilities and medical rehabilitation needs. Their facilities include a specialty hospital, school, residential services, and outpatient therapies. This year, they began construction of a new campus in Sioux Falls to serve even more patients, and hopefully the 500 families on their waitlist.

It was a privilege to meet those who are a part of this facility.

BIG Update

When you go to the grocery store, everything has a higher price tag – bread, milk, eggs, meat, flour, chips, and more. Over the past nearly four years, inflation has risen more than 20%, and we’re losing hope that these prices will return to what they were pre-pandemic. Families across America are struggling to scrounge together the additional $13,300 they need to buy the basics that they could buy three years ago.

Unnecessary bureaucratic red tape, reckless progressive spending, and high interest rates have slowed growth and skyrocketed prices. I’ve opposed more than $13 trillion in unnecessary spending and the Biden Administration’s regulations that make it harder for companies to invest and develop in America. We must encourage new and old businesses to grow and expand, improving the lives of individuals, families, and communities. America is the number one economy in the world, but we must take steps to ensure it stays that way.

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Passing Along Freedom
By: Gov. Kristi Noem  
October 25, 2024  

Next year, we will celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence – America’s 250^th birthday! When our Founding Fathers wrote that incredible document, they were in a war for their Freedom against Great Britain, the strongest military in the world at the time. They didn’t know that they would win – in fact, they knew that they might lose. So at the end of the document, they pledged “their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor” to support the principles that the Declaration stood for.

At that signing, Benjamin Franklin famously said, “we must all hang together or most assuredly we will all hang separately.” Our Founding Fathers knew how far they were willing to go to establish a constitutional republic built on Freedom and independence.

Every November, we as Americans have the opportunity to vote as part of this constitutional republic. We vote for local, state, and federal officials – we often vote on ballot measures that impact our lives and the lives of those around us. As the Declaration of Independence says, these votes provide the “consent of the governed” on which our entire government is built.

I think our South Dakota motto says it best: “Under God, the People Rule.”

And that system is only possible if we vote. We cannot take it for granted that those around us will vote for us. We have been blessed with Freedom, and the flip side of that coin is personal responsibility to participate in our government.

Election Day is coming up on November 5, and early voting has been open for a couple weeks already. I am asking all of you to get out, do your part, and vote.

As President Reagan famously said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

We all have an opportunity to pass down Freedom to our kids and grandkids – but only if we participate and vote. We aren’t being asked to pledge “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor,” but we should be willing to do our part to defend this great nation that we are so blessed to live in.

Get out and VOTE!

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Speaking of Dusty Johnson, I went to the Dusty Johnson fundraiser in Brookings a few days ago where they were handing out Dusty Johnson for Congress signs.  And there’s something different about the newest batch.

Comparing the new signs to the ones from last election, notice anything different?

The newest signs don’t have an office on them.

Maybe so thrifty South Dakotans can use them in the next election and they’re keeping options open at the moment?

Stay tuned.

We are the Republican Main Street Caucus.

Watch 👇👇 pic.twitter.com/2vJJjHe9OT

— Republican Main Street Caucus (@CaucusMain) October 25, 2024