Ensuring the Security of God’s Chosen People
By: Governor Kristi Noem
March 8, 2024

When I was growing up, my dad would always gather our family together and we would pray for Israel. It was instilled in me from a very young age that the Jews were Gods chosen people, that Israel was the Holy Land, and that we should always pray for them.

I brought those fundamental ideals with me when I was in the State Legislature, when I served in Congress, and now as Governor of South Dakota. Supporting the State of Israel and our Jewish community has always been extremely important to me. It’s important to support Israel for spiritual, historical, and national security reasons. I am continuing to stand with the Jewish people by signing historic legislation to protect them from antisemitism.

I was shocked and devastated to see the horrific terrorist attacks on the State of Israel on October 7^th, 2023. And I have continued to be heartbroken to see radical individuals in the United States of America standing with Hamas – standing with terrorists. Ever since October 7^th, we have seen a shocking spike in antisemitic acts of hatred around the world. We have even seen isolated incidents right here in South Dakota.

No one should ever feel concerned for their safety when going to school, when going to work, when they are just trying to live their normal lives. But that is the reality for so many Jewish people across America right now. We see antisemitism on college campuses, among high school students, and even as young as middle and elementary school students. That is unacceptable.

I was very proud to sign HB 1076, a very important bill to combat antisemitism. This bill defines antisemitism and makes it easier to prove when discriminatory conduct is motivated by antisemitism. It is an impactful piece of legislation that will ensure the safety of Jewish people and strengthen South Dakota’s anti-discrimination laws.

We held a beautiful, moving signing ceremony for this bill in the Rotunda of our State Capitol in Pierre. Many prominent Jewish leaders attended, including Elan Carr, the CEO of the Israeli-American Council for Action, nationally renowned Jewish leader and founder of the Jacobson Society Dan Rosen, Rabbi and Director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center Dr. Mark Goldfeder, Rabbi Mendel Alperowitz of the Chabad Jewish Center of South Dakota, Renie Schreiber on behalf of Yinam Cohen, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, and Jordan Cope from Stand With Us. A few of our special guests said some words about the impact this legislation will have for the Jewish people. You can view footage of the full bill signing ceremony here.

There are a few other people to thank for their efforts in getting this bill passed and signed into law, including Representative Mike Stevens, Representative Rebecca Reimer, Dan Lederman, and Stephen Rosenthal.

The prime sponsors of this bill, Representative Deutsch and Senator Mehlhaff, put in a lot of hard work with my office and with members of the Jewish community to make sure this is the best bill possible to stop antisemitism and hate. This bill puts the gold standard International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism into state law.

I hope that more states across our great nation will follow this example that we are setting here in South Dakota. It is more important now than ever for our nation’s leaders to stand up and fight against antisemitism. We must always work to ensure the security of God’s chosen people.

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A few candidates have popped up filing paperwork of some sort to run for office in the last week.

2 new State Senate candidate filings this morning; Democrat Steve Natz filed his petitions to run for District 11 Senate, and in a return to try to capture the District 15 Senate Seat, Brenda Lawrence, who ran in 2022 is going to give the race another go, after her prior loss to Reynold Nesiba.

Big list of returning candidates filing petitions for State House yesterday, Jake Schoenbeck (R) for D2 House, Bethany Soye (R) for D9 House, Jon Hansen for D25 House, Peri Pourier for D27 House, and Scott Odenbach for D31 House. We also had Minnehaha Dem Erik Muckey (D) filing for D15 House.

One Senate Primary got larger with Republican Forrest Foster of Rapid City joining Amber Hulse and the completely awful Julie Frye-Mueller in the D30 Senate primary contest.

Aaron Matson, former Dem statewide candidate filed petitions for D11 House, as did Brook Kaufman, a new Republican who will be running for District 32 House. I’ve heard positive things about her, so always glad to have good people running.  The polar opposite of her would be Brad Lindwurm who filed his signatures for District 15 House.

I mentioned earlier this week that Taffy Howard is going to once again inflict herself on us in the campaign for D34 Senate. Her paperwork was dropped at the SOS.  We also saw paperwork from several other Republicans who are running for House; Wendi Hogan (D6 House), Scott Moore (D23 House), Becky J Drury (D34 House), Heather Baxter (D34 House) and Tony Randolph (D35 House).

And we’ll keep watching from there.  If you want the most up to date list outside of the Secretary of State, check out my 2024 Candidate List page, where I try my best to keep tabs on who has announced, and who has turned in petitions or statements of organization.

Gov. Noem Signs Bills into Law 

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem signed the following four bills into law:

• HB 1185 amends provisions regarding entry on private property for examination and survey of a project requiring a siting permit;
• HB 1186 defines the requirements for granting a carbon pipeline easement;
• SB 201 provides new statutory requirements for regulating linear transmission facilities, to allow counties to impose a surcharge on certain pipeline companies, and to establish a landowner bill of rights; and,
• SB 177 permits the appointment of a circuit court judge or Supreme Court justice as a member of the Public Utilities Commission in place of a disqualified or incapacitated commissioner.

Governor Noem has signed 159 bills into law this legislative session.

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State Representative Scott Odenbach is hosting a civic involvement forum on March 14th in Spearfish at 5:30 PM to help explain the process of running for office in Lawrence County to people at the Joy Center in Spearfish.

District 13 Republican Candidate for House Brad Jankord is having a big fundraiser at Look’s Marketplace in Sioux Falls on March 21 from 4:30 to 6:30 PM.

Lots of familiar names, including former Governor & first lady Dennis & Linda Daugaard, House member Tony Venhuizen, former legislators Corey Brown, Phyllis Heineman, Mark Mickelson & his wife outgoing School Board member Cynthia, Current City Councilman Alex Jensen, County Commissioner Joe Kippley, etcetera and so on. I know I’m leaving a lot of noteworthy people out, but suffice it to say that it’s a large host list, and looks to be a big event.

Mark it on your calendar, and make sure you attend!

Gov. Noem Signs Bill to Fund Women’s Prison into Law
Signs 17 Other Bills 

PIERRE, S.D. – Yesterday, Governor Kristi Noem signed SB 50, which funds the women’s prison in Rapid City.

“We are saving taxpayer dollars by avoiding future debt and funding this important project now,” said Governor Noem. “This new facility will provide important rehabilitation programming and resources that we aren’t able to provide in our current facility, and I am glad that the legislature did the fiscally conservative thing and set the money aside for it now.”

Governor Noem also signed the following 17 bills into law:

• SB 10 requires that a notification of medical cannabis certification be provided to a patient’s primary or referring practitioner;
• SB 18 allows the secretary of state to share information from the statewide voter registration file;
• SB 61 repeals the Visitation Grant Advisory Group;
• SB 98 establishes the admissibility of evidence of similar crimes in child molestation cases;
• SB 115 prevents a county, township, or municipality from authorizing a guaranteed income program;
• SB 117 revises provisions regarding industrial hemp;
• SB 147 provides for the distribution of informational materials regarding palliative care;
• SB 148 provides permissive authority to a governing body of a municipality or county to deny reissuance of an on-sale license not actively used;
• SB 172 allows a person to temporarily take responsibility of a feral cat for the purpose of spaying or neutering the animal;
• SB 175 adds a domestic abuse shelter to the definition of a community safety zone;
• HB 1071 revises a provision providing authority to the Governor to enter into agreements with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission;
• HB 1120 provides special motor vehicle license plates for advanced life support personnel and emergency medical technicians;
• HB 1132 revises certain provisions pertaining to municipal government;
• HB 1194 clarifies provisions pertaining to tax increment finance districts;
• HB 1220 allows an appeal of a decision of the Department of Education regarding special education or related services by a civil action against the department;
• HB 1229 adds a county as able to be assigned responsibility for secondary highways on municipal boundaries; and,
• HB 1232 creates the Indian Child Welfare Advisory Council.

A photo of Governor Noem signing these bills can be found here.

Governor Noem has signed 155 bills into law this legislative session.

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House bill 1257, the anti-porn measure authored by State Representative Bethany Soye that went through the House, but found opposition in the State Senate as a result of questions over it’s constitutionality, has now become a summer study as South Dakota legislators seek a path forward that won’t trigger constitutionality lawsuits where taxpayers end up footing the bill:

“We should deal with the scourge of children’s access to pornography, but we should do it right and in a way that doesn’t pay checks to the ACLU,” Schoenbeck said earlier this week.

and..

But defenders of the original effort aren’t as confident a summer study will prove useful.

“I think the stakeholders on that bill have already done a lot of study on it, and this is what they came up with,” said Sen. Jim Mehlhaff, who sponsored the bill along with Soye.

Read the entire story here.

I’m sure the sponsors of the measure did plenty of study on pornography, but as was also the case with Soye’s earlier legislation abridging free speech, it was another big government measure that would ultimately fall when challenged in court.

If Republicans claim to be for limited government when they’re campaigning, they need to walk the walk in Pierre as well. More government is rarely as much of a solution as it is a problem.

I want to thank The South Dakota Academy of Opthalmology and the South Dakota Optometric Society for their support and advertising while competing on House Bill 1099 during the legislative session. As the legislative session comes to a close, once again we find ourselves with advertising space on Dakotawarcollege available for groups and individuals to promote their messages to opinion leaders in South Dakota as we move into the the 2024 campaign season.

Interested in advertising? Have a ballot measure, cause, candidate or campaign related business? There are limited advertising opportunities left for reaching South Dakota’s opinion leaders. Advertising on the Dakotwarcollege.com website is based on a first come, first serve basis for available positions.  As of this writing, we have several spots open now, including the #2 and #3 spots on the right, along with spots on the left, including the #1 spot on the left which will open up shortly.  Monthly spots are available, and I do provide discounts for longer ad commitments.  Information on ad prices, ad positions, and ad commitments may be directed to the webmaster by clicking here.

Please take a moment to visit our advertisers such as the fine folks at Summit Carbon Solutions supporting the ethanol and biofuel industries in South Dakota. America’s Governor, and South Dakota’s chief executive Governor Kristi Noem, soon to be #1 in the US Senate and our friend South Dakota Senator John Thune, our undisputed and undefeated Congressman Dusty Johnson, and the equally undefeated Republican United States Senator Mike Rounds. Our friends at South Dakota Ag Alliance are also here to fight for landowner rights and common sense ag development.

Please also support SDGOP Chairman John Wiik and the South Dakota Republican Party’s leadership team, as they move into the election season. Chairman Wiik has a challenging job, and as we know all too well, it’s not an easy one to try to recruit candidates and win elections when you’re fighting those from without and those from within.  Of course, at Dakota Campaign Store, down on the right, you’ll find me already busy in 2024 with yard signs, postcards, and all the things a professional campaign needs to make an impression.

Thank you to our advertisers for your support, and please reach out if you’d like to join them!

Made note of something interesting today.  Recalling the “ban” by the Republican State Central Committee imposed on the State GOP from doing business with me or hiring me to help candidates as they have the last several elections, because some consider me a petulant blogger, etc, as a result of my pointing out stupid, or in their words making attacks on some Republican politicians..  this posting by the Butte County GOP today didn’t escape my attention:

So, what I do as a private citizen (not holding GOP position or office) and criticizing Republican officeholders is bad enough for them to declare a ban on me.  But as the Butte County Republican organization takes to social media and is attacking the House Majority Leader, the Senate Majority Leader, and two Senators, with several of them also serving on the State GOP Exec Board and/or the State GOP Central Committee.. is that now ok as it comes from inside the organization?

If that’s the case, does that mean they’re going admit they messed up and un-ban me? Or does it mean they have to be consistent, and hold a vote to ban the Butte County GOP as well?

What’s the saying? Ok for thee but not for me..

Just asking.

Summit Carbon Solutions Responds to Passage of Landowner Bill of Rights

Today, Summit Carbon Solutions released the following statement in response to the passage of the Landowner Bill of Rights by the South Dakota State Legislature:

Summit Carbon Solutions is thankful for the passage of a series of bills, “the Landowner Bill of Rights,” that will provide significant landowner protections while ensuring regulatory certainty and promoting the future of the ethanol industry in South Dakota.

“Thank you, South Dakota legislators, particularly Leaders Crabtree and Mortenson, for their work on this landmark legislation, which is a win-win scenario for all involved,” said Lee Blank, CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions. “We appreciate the attention and engagement from so many South Dakotans, especially our partners and agricultural leaders. We look forward to doing our part to create and maintain successful relationships going forward. As South Dakota Ethanol Producers said, this legislation is unequivocally pro-landowner, pro-business, pro-farmer, and pro-ethanol. We are excited to have a path forward that establishes best practices we are committed to following in South Dakota and across our entire project.”