Necessary Transparency
By Congressman Dusty Johnson

BIG Update

Shein and Temu are two Chinese fast fashion online shopping platforms that are known for their low prices in American markets. Their low prices are partly due to the “de minimis” rule, which allows goods with a value of $800 or less per shipment to enter the U.S. duty free, allowing these companies to avoid paying taxes and duty fees to ship to America. This loophole could threaten American competitiveness and increase prices on U.S. goods.

The de minimis rule also allows them to avoid bearing responsibility for complying with forced labor standards. Work from the Select Committee on China has revealed there are serious concerns about both companies’ products being made with forced labor, and an extremely high risk that Temu utilizes forced labor. This is unacceptable, and America must step up enforcement to ensure these goods do not cross our shores.

Recently, 21 state attorneys general sent a letter to Temu to pursue answers for these concerns and other concerns over Americans’ private data that may be collected by Temu. I hope consumers are informed and can make wise decisions to protect their data while shopping.

For more information, view Keloland’s story here.

BIG Idea

Lewis Drug and independent pharmacies are working to meet the needs of their community members day in and day out. They do this while burdened by a system that unfairly benefits pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Congress must continue to work to pass policies aimed at creating more price transparency and fairness for pharmacists. Many small, rural communities rely on their independent pharmacy to receive their drugs. Without them, rural Americans will be left without viable options.

This week, I visited the Lewis Drug in Huron. They did a phenomenal job showing me around their workflow and processes.

Johnson and Lewis Drug employees

BIG News

The Biden Administration’s continued attempts to cancel unpaid student loans was paused again by the Supreme Court. Over the past three years, President Biden has attempted to spend an unprecedented $1 trillion to cancel student debts.

The President doesn’t have authority to unilaterally spend these funds – the power of the purse lies with Congress. The United States is facing an unprecedented debt and deficit crisis. Instead of spending into oblivion, we should work to identify ways to make college tuition more affordable for students.

Fairgoing
By: Gov. Kristi Noem
August 30, 2024

Each year, we celebrate the South Dakota State Fair in the days leading up to Labor Day. Things kick off Wednesday and wrap up Monday. I love the State Fair for so many reasons. I always head for the pork sandwiches and ice cream. The bull riding and concerts are excellent, and we have plenty of celebrations!

What I love in particular is the wide variety of those celebrations. I spent a day at the Fair this year, and these are just a few of the things that we celebrated:

• Family farms and ranches that have been in the same family for 100 years, 125 years, or 150 years – (isn’t that incredible?);
• Our annual Salute to Veterans program, which thanks all of our veterans from each American conflict and those who didn’t make it home;
• The Daughters of the American Revolution and the work that they do to educate our kids on America’s history and founding principles;
• The work that our various agriculture advocacy groups do to promote our state’s most important industry;
• The groundbreaking of the next revolutionary facility at the State Fairgrounds: the SHED; and
• The Bull Bash, a terrific competition that also included another program to honor our veterans.
• And that was just Thursday at the State Fair!

Even with all of South Dakota’s amazing growth, we are still a state that runs on small town values. And we see that in full effect at the State Fair. People are happy and friendly. They have a smile on their face and say “hello” when you walk by. They run into old friends and make plenty of new ones.

I wish that every South Dakotan took the opportunity to see everything that our State Fair has to offer. It’s a tremendous educational opportunity for our kids, and there’s lots of fun to be had, as well! And the concerts offer something for folks of all different musical tastes.

Next year’s State Fair will take place between Wednesday, August 27, and Monday, September 1, 2025. We hope to see you there!

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That’s quite the statement coming from President Trump with regards to the legalization of marijuana.

Does that mean the initiated measure 29 people are going to get a boost from his support?

In case you were wondering whatever happened to Annette Bosworth..

Just think.. she could have been our US Senator instead.

This just popped up in my facebook feed, leaving me scratching my head:

Last I had checked, Ben Krohmer had withdrawn from running for the legislature on August 6th.  Yet, he starts advertising “Krohmer for State House” on August 16th?

Is he already having second thoughts about supporting someone who lives in Brookings to replace him?

From my mailbox, my spies are noting that SDGOP party chair sent out an e-mail today to Republican Party officials reminding them that the Republican Party has no official position on any ballot measures besides Amendment H.:

And not all Republicans even agree on H, but the SDGOP can certainly take positions as they did at the convention.

Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training Commission Re-establishes Articulation Agreement with Western Dakota Technical College

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota’s Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to re-establish a reciprocity articulation agreement with Western Dakota Technical College (WDTC) of Rapid City. The articulation agreement allows eligible students who successfully complete WDTC’s Law Enforcement Technology program to gain certification as a South Dakota law enforcement officer without needing to attend the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation’s (DCI) 520-hour basic law enforcement certification course.

In January 2024, the Commission voted to terminate the previously in-force articulation agreement with WDTC after sustained allegations of non-compliance. Since that decision, WDTC has made substantial updates and improvements to its law enforcement education program, including not just the Commission’s previously identified deficiencies but all program areas.

WDTC President Dr. Ann Bolman, along with her staff, presented these changes to the Commission at Wednesday’s meeting and requested the Commission re-establish the agreement considering these updates. Dr. Bolman detailed these extensive efforts, which included fixes to program administration, new program leadership, and revamped curriculum. At the college’s request, the DCI’s Office of Law Enforcement Training collaborated with WDTC to advance these efforts. WDTC also engaged with Black Hills-area criminal justice professionals to ensure community needs were met.

“I appreciate WDTC’s diligent and extensive efforts to restore its law enforcement reciprocity certification program,” said Attorney General Marty Jackley, who is also a member of the Commission. “At a time when law enforcement officers are in great demand, the return of WDTC’s program adds a critical avenue for South Dakota’s law enforcement agencies to receive the best and brightest officers to serve their communities.”

The new articulation agreement will be signed by Commission Chairman DCI Director Dan Satterlee, the Office of Law Enforcement Training, and WDTC later this week.

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South Dakota Right to Life has a newsletter arriving in mailboxes about now, with an interesting article inside on the next to last page. One that seems to be sinful by it’s omissions. 

The headline on page 7 blares that SDRTL operates with a “Flare of Financial Integrity.”  And they even have a pie chart. Because everyone likes pie, you know.   You know what’s not on that pie chart of how donations were spent?  The $10,000 of donor funds that they diverted to defeat pro-life Republicans in the Primary. In case you have forgotten Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck’s expose‘:

Ten 100% pro-life voting record legislators were opposed by SD Right To Life, in spite of being PERFECT PROVEN pro-life public servants:

1. Representative Steph Sauder of Hamlin County has a 100% rating, and she was the top target of SDRTL in her senate race! Why you say? SDRTL diverted our donor dollars to help one of their board members, in spite of Steph Sauder having a perfect pro-life voting record.
2. Senator Erin Tobin, with a 100% pro-life voting record, and a nurse practitioner who worked with other legislators to try and position South Dakota to beat the abortion ballot issue (the one SDRTL was stealing funds from working against).
3. Senator Mike Walsh not only has a 100% pro-life voting record, he carried these life defining and pro-life attributes: American veteran, spouse of active military and retired respected law enforcement officer. Sounds like our perfect senator – SDRTL spent money to beat him!
4. Representative Brian Mulder carried a 100% pro-life voting record and has been an assistant pastor at Central Baptist in Sioux Falls. SDRTL spent money to beat him, and former Rep Keri Weems (see that odd story below).
5. In a Sioux Falls District, where we pro-lifers had the benefit of two incumbent 100% pro-life voting incumbents, Representatives Greg Jamison and Amber Arlint, SDRTL spent money to beat them! This is about as perfect of an example of SDRTL going to the dark side, except there are at least two districts where they were stronger in their anti-life actions!
6. Representative Tony Venhuizen has a 100% pro-life voting record, and SDRTL spent money to try and beat him. In that race, newcomer Brad Jankord was also pro-life, but SDRTL opposed him too !
7. In Yankton, Representative Mike Stevens, the House Speaker Pro Tempore has a 100% pro-life voting record as defined by SDRTL, but still they spent money to beat him
8. In Rapid City, two incumbents, Representatives Mike Derby and Becky Drury both had a 100% pro-life voting record as determined by SDRTL. Under those circumstances, donors like me would say, easy call: Derby and Drury. We would be wrong, SDRTL spent donor dollars to oppose both 100% pro-life voting record representatives.  Donors did not give SDRTL money all these years for them to oppose pro-life public servants.

Read that here.

My reading glasses might need cleaning, but I just don’t see “Defeat pro-life Republicans” anywhere on that pie chart explaining where people’s donations have gone.

Maybe South Dakota Right to Life needs to start a “corrections” section for their next newsletter?

As the populist rebel faction of the SDGOP held their faux gathering this weekend, they called in people to give presentations which agreed with their positions on several of the ballot measures.  No, no opponents of theirs were invited. They just had the people they agreed with.

A few were entirely reasonable, and advocated for their position no differently than they would to any group or in any interview. Nathan Sanderson with SD Retailers has been going around the circuit and speaking advocating against Initiated Measure 28. State Rep. Tony Venhuizen has regularly been advocating for Amendment F, and he was the prime sponsor in the House of Representatives for the measure.  They go and speak anytime and any place on their issues, and leave it for the listener to agree or disagree, as would be expected.

I did catch that the GOP faction also included speakers who are a lot more skittish and selective about who they speak to.  I’m referring to the populists letting “the mattress guy,” Chis Larson speak to the group about his coalition to vote no on several measures.   Which is interesting, as I’d heard through the grapevine that if he gets spooked he’s quick to bail out of speaking about his vote no effort. Which doesn’t sound like much of a spokesperson at all.

Now, if you read Larson’s website, you’d understand why he’s not interested in being in an environment when people might ask him questions. Questions about.. things:

Our state-sponsored “experts”, promoted by the legacy media, are bought and paid for. By who isn’t always clear. Nothing is clear anymore. There never seems to be a reckoning. We’re never going to find out where covid really came from, and who is responsible. We’re never going to get the truth about the covid vaccines that aren’t actually vaccines. Bad actors won’t be brought to justice. No one ever takes responsibility. It’s always on to the next manufactured crisis that our government heroes can rescue us from.

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• RINOs are connected. Nearly every LibPublican in SD has benefactors at higher levels, a history of working for some high-level politician, and a direct line to the Donor Class. Examples: Summit, Sandford, Premier Bank. This is their armor. Money equals power, and power is everything to them.
• RINOs claim to be Christians. Now I certainly can’t judge people’s faith journey, or read their minds, but with RINOs it’s pretty clear that no matter what church they attend, their actions, words and attitudes out here in the world are nearly indistinguishable from the heathen. 

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 So we know the path to victory. Tell your friends, support Patriots & remember to Vote NO in NOvember!

You can read the crazy here.   I had previously also referred to his goofiness complaining about “normies” here.

Sooo…  Republicans are supposed to follow the direction of someone with delusions of grandeur and vote No. Or else we’re just RINO puppets of Summit and Sanford. And I love the part, where he can’t read people’s minds, but RINO’s are all a bunch of RINO heathens who can’t be classified as Christians?

That’s kind of hilarious.  As spokesman for a ballot measure group, I have to say that I don’t find that very spokesman-like. (Would we call that bad spokesmanship?)

You know, if you don’t really like the people you want to vote your way on measures, it might be challenging to make a convincing case.

Just caught this on Facebook.

Governor Kristi Noem is featured in this video clip. It’s a reminder of why she was elected, and how remarkably good of a speaker she is out on the campaign trail: