From S.D. Searchlight comes an article on this weeks’ Republican Convention.

It’s going about as well as expected, as members of the hard right claim to the media that they’re being sidelined and oppressed. (insert eyeroll here, and cue the world’s smallest violin):

“There is a lot of frustration from the grassroots people who have come to partake in the convention,” said Rep. Karla Lems, R-Canton, who won her primary.

She said some of those people feel party officials are attempting to sideline the everyday Republicans who make up the base of the party.

And..

“They believe themselves to be the base, but they don’t take into account the other 80% of registered Republicans,” Powers said. “They are by no means reflective of the views of South Dakota Republicans as a whole.”

He said the allegation that some people at the convention are being sidelined is “silliness.”

“If they have the votes, they can do what they want,” Powers said.

Read that here.

It’s not often I have to point out that well-to-do legislators probably should not consider themselves oppressed in any way, but, yeah. I don’t think PAC funding Karla Lems has been sidelined or oppressed.

And everyday Republicans are not here. It’s activists only, because everyday Republicans are in the fields, watching kids play ball, and doing everything EXCEPT being at a Republican Convention on a Friday in June.

With that being said.. Then there’s Phil Jensen.

…Rep. Phil Jensen, of Rapid City, is challenging Watertown Mayor and former legislator Ried Holien for the position of national committeeman.

Jensen said party members want and deserve more deeply conservative leadership.

“I want to be a voice for the grassroots,” Jensen said. “These county parties have gotten organized so that they can be represented.”

Read that here.

As I wrote on my website yesterday, as Republicans, it should give us all pause as to what image we want to represent. Because Phil Jensen might be the worst role model to represent South Dakota Republicans. Ever.

If you are unsure what I am referring to, I have a list. And it’s not complete.

And the convention continues to roll on.

Gov. Noem’s Freedom Works Here Wins ANOTHER National Award 

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem’s Freedom Works Here Ad, “Kiss My Abacus,” won a national award for Art Direction at this year’s Telly Awards. Previously, the “Bright Side” ad also won a national award at this year’s Reed Awards.

“Freedom Works Here tells South Dakota’s inspiring story to the entire nation,” said Governor Noem. “Freedom-loving folks from across America are recognizing that South Dakota really is the best state for them, for their businesses, and for their families. And I am proud that these ads are receiving so much national recognition.”

Freedom Works Here is the most successful workforce recruitment campaign in South Dakota history. Over 10,000 people have started the process to move to South Dakota, and thousands are already here!

To learn more, visit FreedomWorksHere.com.

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Here’s more about the woman who has thrown her name into the race for Public Utilities Commissioner against Kristie Fiegen. Because she sounds like a kook:

Amber Christenson of rural Strandburg and Linda and Timothy Lindgren of rural South Shore had filed a formal complaint on September 21, 2022, that Crowned Ridge Wind’s turbines in the area were making more noise than allowed by the PUC’s permit that was granted for the project in 2019 and alleging that Crowned Ridge failed to comply with a 2021 mitigation plan.

and..

Fiegen agreed with the contention by Crowned Ridge’s attorneys that the technical expertise involved in this case is beyond the knowledge of the average lay person. “As a commissioner, I’m upholding the law regarding the rules of evidence,” Fiegen said. “So Crowned Ridge, be prepared tomorrow (Wednesday) for the tough questions Amber has asked in her rebuttal, although they won’t be on the record in the evidence.”

and..

Said Nelson, “It’s unfortunate, certainly.” He noted that the commission had been working for four years on the sound-level issue. “Today was the day appointed to get to the bottom of this.”

Hanson described the situation as like “showing up at the wedding and the brides not there — it’s a little difficult” and said he was surprised. “I’m just amazed she is not here. I hope nothing bad happened on the drive here,” he said. “It leaves us with no other direction than to support the motion.”

and..

Christenson said the commission can still delve into the issue that she raised. “They don’t need me.” As to not showing up, she said, “I guess it was my civil disobedience.”

Read it all here.

So, this gal files and gets a hearing on a formal complaint where experts were drug from across the country, AND she sucks up taxpayer time and money on the hearing. But she skips attending as her “civil disobedience.”

And now she wants to be a PUC commissioner?  Hard pass on a goofball candidate.

And if the State GOP Convention disagrees? Well, it was nice being a party that used to know how to win elections.

Circling back to last afternoon’s announcement that State Rep. Phil Jensen will be challenging Watertown Mayor Reid Holien for representing South Dakota at the national level as the SDGOP National Committeeman, as Republicans, it should give us all pause as to what image we want to represent.

Because Phil Jensen might be the worst role model to represent South Dakota Republicans.

Let me count the ways…

During Vietnam, Phil was a draft-dodger:

“I was drafted,” Jensen said. “And I filed for conscientious objector and I was going through a process of looking for alternative service. And then Nixon cancelled the drafting power before I got established.”

Read that here.

He’s been a Member of the far-right Oath Keepers Militia

“In 2014 I was sitting at my desk in the Senate chambers and I had read some information about the Oath Keepers. I took an oath to uphold the Constitution and the South Dakota Constitution, and it seemed like a good group of guys to belong to.”

Read that here.

He brought a bill that would’ve made it justifiable homicide to actually kill a doctor who performed abortions.

Phil says that he believes to be OK for businesses to deny service on the basis of race or religion:

While the bill was killed, Jensen defended it to the Journal as legislation that would ensure businesses have the freedom to choose their clientele. He also said that businesses should also have the right to choose based on race and religion – whether that’s right or wrong, he said, can be fairly addressed by the free market, not the government.

Read that there.

Let’s not forget his skills in phrenology.

Speaking over the phone on the way to Pierre on Tuesday, Jensen recalled when one of his constituents told him he witnessed “dozens of South Americans” fleeing a white bus parked near downtown Rapid City.

“He knew they were South Americans,” Jensen said, “because they had different skull structures and skin tones from Mexicans.”

Read it here.

Did I miss any of the high points?

If the South Dakota Republican Party wants to portray to the rest of the nation that we are a bunch of backwater redneck crazy uncles who might be racists, then he might be a good selection.

I for one tend to disagree, and think we can do better.  Ried Holien has done a nice job, and will not bring the SDGOP National embarrassment.

I’m hearing an early report (nothing official yet) that Justin McNeal has failed in his petition signature collection once again, and did not get sufficient signatures to run, this time as an independent on the ballot.

2 different party campaigns attempted. 2 failures.

At this point, is he going to switch to Libertarian? He hasn’t done that one yet. Or maybe he can get with Terry LaFleur and revive the Constitution party?

You never know.

It sounds like convention chaos has already kicked off.

The word I am hearing is that infamous state legislator and awful person Phil Jensen will be challenging Watertown Mayor Reid Holien at the South Dakota Republican Party convention for the office of party national committeeman.

A Rapid City woman, Amber Christianson, has supposedly also made an announcement for Public Utilities Commission, challenging sitting PUC Commissioner Kristi Fiegen.

In case the conversations starting today get a bit contentious at the Republican convention, just a reminder that South Dakota Republicans have somehow managed to get along since 1889.

 

 

Maybe I’m the only one, but reading this account of how Minnehaha county Auditor Leah Anderson seemingly ambushed a precinct superintendent in conjunction with election conspiracy group head Jessica Pollema, it throws up some red flags as to how closely the two walk hand-in-hand on election issues:

“I just want to give you a heads up about something,” Anderson said in a voicemail to Mikkelsen, which has been obtained by the Argus Leader. “We’re going to be headed over there, and we need your precinct board to, um, work on an issue.”

And…

Pollema and Anderson were seen talking together to some degree: An Argus Leader reporter was speaking with Pollema while ballots were being counted, when Anderson interrupted to ask if the canvassing group leader knew whether some or all of the challenged ballots were tossed. Anderson later handed Pollema, a citizen, a stack of unknown documents, as the county auditor was wrapping up the ballot count for the night.

It’s unclear what those documents were and what Anderson’s next steps will be in the matter, as well as whaat role the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office, which oversees the election process statewide, may have down the line, if any.

Read the entire story here.

For the last several years, I had produced the SDGOP Newsletter, including a special convention edition that was distributed at the SDGOP Convention.  Since I’m no longer doing that, I thought I’d share one of the most interesting items that I would regularly include in it; a history of the South Dakota Republican Party’s conventions.

1889 – September 4, Huron 1890 – August 27, Mitchell 1891 – September 29, Aberdeen (Special to fill Cong. vacancy) 1892 – July 27, Madison 1894 – August 25, Yankton 1896 – July 8-9, Aberdeen 1898 – August 24-25, Mitchell 1900 – May 23, Sioux Falls 1902 – June 4, Sioux Falls 1904 – May 4, Sioux Falls 1906 – June 6, Sioux Falls 1908 – July 18, Mitchell 1910 – July 5, Sioux Falls 1912 – July 2, Huron 1914 – January 5, Pierre 1916- July 5, Huron 1918- July 2-3, Sioux Falls 1920 – August 9, Huron 1921 – December 7, Pierre 1924 – July 18, Huron 1926 – December 1, Pierre 1928 – August 17, Huron 1930 – May 20, Pierre 1932 – May 24, Pierre 1934 – May 29, Pierre 1936 – June 2, Pierre 1938 – June 27, Pierre 1940 – July 22, Pierre 1942 – June 6 – Pierre 1944 – May 29, Watertown 1946 – July 8, Pierre 1948 – July 12, Pierre 1950 – July 17, Pierre 1952 – July 21, Pierre 1954 – July 26, Pierre 1956 – July 16, Pierre 1958 – July 14, Pierre 1960 – August 1, Pierre 1962 – July 15-16, Pierre 1964 – August 1, Pierre 1966 – July 30, Pierre 1968 – July 15, Pierre 1970 – July 13, Pierre 1972 – June 26, Pierre 1974 – July 13, Rapid City 1976 – July 10, Pierre 1978 – June 22, Sioux Falls 1980 – June 27-28, Aberdeen 1982 – June 24-26, Yankton 1984 – June 28, Rapid City 1986 – June 28, Mitchell 1988 – June 22, Watertown 1990 – June 29, Sioux Falls 1992 – June 26, Spearfish 1994 – June 24, Pierre 1996 – June 27-29, Aberdeen 1998 – June 25, Pierre 2000 – June 22-24, Spearfish 2002 – June 21-22, Sioux Falls 2004 – January 23-24, Sioux Falls (Special to fill Cong. vacancy) 2004 – June 24-26, Mitchell 2006 – June 22-24, Watertown 2008 – June 19-21, Oacoma 2010 – June 25-26, Huron 2012 – June 21-24, Sioux Falls 2014 – June 19-21, Rapid City 2016 – June 24-25, Aberdeen 2018 – June 21-23, Pierre 2020 – June 19-20  “Virtual Convention” 2022 – June 23-25, Watertown 2024 – June 5-8, Pierre

Project BISON Achieves Milestone: Contracts Signed with Sierra-Cedar and Oracle

PIERRE, S.D. – The Bureau of Finance and Management (BFM) has taken a crucial step toward modernizing the State of South Dakota’s financial processes through Project BISON. Last week, BFM secured Oracle Fusion Cloud as its new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and selected Sierra-Cedar to lead the implementation of Project BISON.

Project BISON is spearheading a significant financial transition by replacing a 36-year-old system with a state-of-the-art, cloud-based ERP solution. The new ERP system will integrate all financial functions into a centralized platform, ensuring that all agencies work from a unified data set. This advanced technology will enable State financial staff to access accurate, real-time financial data with just a few clicks. This collaborative effort across all State agencies will leverage their collective expertise to design, test, and implement the new system alongside Sierra-Cedar, ensuring its longevity for decades to come.

The need to update state government’s financial operations has been a long-standing discussion due to the aging nature of existing systems and limited vendor support. The current core financial system, in use since 1988, has undergone numerous extensions to its critical infrastructure, however it now requires a comprehensive replacement. A feasibility study completed in January 2022 confirmed the necessity for a financial system overhaul.

“Governor Noem understands the importance of modernizing the financial system for the State of South Dakota,” said BFM Commissioner, Jim Terwilliger. “Not only that, but she also recognized the need for Project BISON to receive appropriate support to ensure successful implementation.”

Senate Bill 23 was introduced during the 2023 Legislative Session to support this project. The bill was approved by both the Senate and House of Representatives with widespread bipartisan support and was signed into law by Governor Noem on March 27, 2023.

Following over a year of planning, Request for Proposal (RFP) development, on-site demonstrations from multiple system integrators, and examining ERP systems, the Project BISON evaluation committee selected Sierra-Cedar to implement Oracle Fusion Cloud as the modern financial system of record for the State of South Dakota. Contracts with Sierra-Cedar and Oracle were signed by BFM Commissioner Terwilliger and Bureau of Information and Telecommunications (BIT) Commissioner Clines.

“We anticipate kicking off Project BISON to state employees in July 2024,” said BFM Commissioner Terwilliger. “This project is expected to go live in FY27, bringing with it a modern ERP system and financial processes following industry best practices.”

To read more about Project BISON and sign up for project updates, visit https://www.sd.gov/bison.

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