At least one Minnehaha County Commissioner is calling out County Auditor Leah Anderson for her circus-like approach to elected office, as Minnehaha County Commissioner Joe Kippley calls out Anderson as “embarassing.”

A Minnehaha County commissioner criticized county Auditor Leah Anderson Tuesday, calling her behavior an embarrassment to the county.

Commissioner Joe Kippley was reacting to Anderson’s request two weeks ago for a pay increase amid news that Anderson allowed her supporters to secretly sit in on a phone call with staff from the Secretary of State’s Office and officials with Election Systems & Software, the company that is the vendor for the software used in vote tabulating machines.

and..

Kippley accused Anderson of stoking conspiracy theories about election integrity and “burning down” the institution from within. He said that other local election officials have “grave concerns” about next year’s elections given her performance in office.

Read the entire story here at the Dakota Scout.

Commissioners have the power of the purse, and should make sure they exercise it when it comes to Anderson’s antics…

The Madison Daily Leader has a story on their website noting that the recently retired Lake County Sheriff Tim Walburg is going to be a candidate for State House in District 8:

Walburg has dedicated decades of his life to serving his community. For 30 years, his law enforcement career included service as a correctional officer, deputy sheriff, assistant police chief and chief deputy. In 2012, he was appointed Lake County sheriff and retired earlier this year. Walburg also has 30 years of experience in emergency medical services, including 18 years at Madison Regional Health Systems, where he currently serves as a paramedic. Walburg has been active in the community, serving as a member of the Madison Housing and Redevelopment Commission for Lake, Miner and McCook counties, the Trinity Lutheran Church council and the Community Counseling board of directors.

Walburg has achieved success working with lawmakers in Pierre. He was an active member of the South Dakota Sheriffs Association, including serving as the association’s president in 2022.

Read the entire story here.

This expands both D8 races into primary elections, with both the Republican House and Senate seats now facing contested ballots on June 4, 2024:

District 8 State Senate:

Casey Crabtree (R – Incumbent)
Patty Shiery (R)

District 8 House:

Matt Wagner (R)
Rick Weible (R)
Tim Walburg (R)
Tim Reisch (R-Incumbent)

Stay tuned!

It appears that State Dems intend to try to run a stronger candidate in District 15 Senate than Linda Duba, as Jamie Smith announces he’s going to run after losing to Governor Noem:

The 52-year-old teacher-turned-realtor has stayed active within the South Dakota Democratic Party since falling short in his challenge against the governor during the last election cycle when Noem cruised to reelection. His decision to run for the Legislature again comes amid much uncertainty for District 15, a Democratic stranglehold in the last decade.

Read that in the Dakota Scout.

District 15 used to be a Democrat District.. but since redistricting, it is not. Now, it just depends on who steps forward on the side of the GOP to run.

At the very least, the opposition research is already done for the fall.

Attorney General Jackley Releases 2024 Legislative Package

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that the Attorney General’s Office’s proposed legislative package for 2024 features five bills including separate legislation to regulate the drug Xylazine, add fentanyl protections, and make Artificial Intelligence Generated Child Pornography a felony crime.

“This is a proactive legislative package designed to protect South Dakotans, especially the most vulnerable,” said Attorney General Jackley. “We look forward to working with the Governor and legislators on securing passage of these bills this session.”

The bills are: 

1.    An Act to Regulate Xylazine.

The Attorney General’s Office and the state Department of Health will jointly introduce the bill. The draft legislation would criminalize the use and possession of Xylazine. The proposal also would add the drug to the state statute that criminalizes the possession of multiple controlled substances.

Because Xylazine is not an opioid, the use of Narcan by law enforcement is not effective in dealing with a person suffering from an overdose.

“Xylazine is important for veterinary uses and will remain available for those intended uses, but human consumption has led to overdoses and deaths,” said Attorney General Jackley. “This drug is dangerously being mixed with fentanyl by drug distributors.”

2.    An Act to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated child pornography. 

The proposal would revise certain definitions to the current child pornography laws and criminalizes the possession, manufacturing, or distributing of child pornography to include Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated image and videos. That would include “deepfake” images or videos of an actual child that have been manipulated to make it look like the subject is a child engaged in prohibited sexual acts and AI-generated images that do not depict any actual person but are created to look like a child engaged in prohibited sexual acts.

“Artificial Intelligence can do great things, but there is potential for serious harm that we are now experiencing with several investigations in South Dakota,” said Attorney General Jackley.  “That harm is real with ‘deepfakes’ that include the use of real children’s voices and photographs taken from social media to create computer generated child porn.”

3.    An Act to modify the sex offender registry.

South Dakota’s sex offender registry has three tiers of offenders. Tier 1 includes those offenders who have been convicted of having sexual contact with a person under legal age while being 21 years old or younger themselves.

One current state statute indicates that a Tier 1 sex offender registrant must remain on the sex offender registry for a minimum of 10 years while a second current statute sets the minimum time at five years. Attorney General Jackley recommends 10 years as the minimum amount of time for someone to remain on the registry before removal.

“This bill would strengthen the registry to protect the public and remove the confusion about how long a Tier 1 registrant must remain on the sex offender registry,” said the Attorney General.

4.    An Act to modify the membership of the open meetings commission.

The South Dakota Open Meetings Commission was created in 2004 to consider possible violations of the state’s open meeting law. The commission currently consists of five State’s Attorneys appointed by the Attorney General.

Current state law only allows for State’s Attorneys to serve on the commission. This revision would allow Deputy State’s Attorneys, who are equally qualified, to serve on the commission.

5. An Act to modify the 24/7 participation in fentanyl testing.

South Dakota’s 24/7 program is a voluntary offender pay program aimed at keeping participants sober and protecting the public. A participant in the 24/7 program who wears a drug patch currently pays a user fee of $50 for each drug patch that is attached.

The new patches cost more than that with the increased cost of fentanyl testing. This proposal would raise the fee to no more than $70 for each drug patch that is attached.

“Fentanyl use is a growing concern in South Dakota, and preventive testing is important to public health and safety,” said Attorney General Jackley.

All five bills will be filed with the state Legislative Research Council prior to the legislative session starting Jan. 9, 2024.

 

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The South Dakota Attorney General has released his brief provided to the South Dakota Supreme Court in reference to Governor Noem’s request for an advisory opinion, on what constitutes a conflict of interest between a legislator and the state of South Dakota under Article 3 of the constitution.

In case you were looking for some white reading this afternoon…

NoemopinionSCTbrf Filed 12-15-23 by Pat Powers on Scribd

Johnson Secures South Dakota Wins in Annual Defense Bill

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House passed the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with two bills led by U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.). One provision would create a congressional charter for the National American Indian Veterans (NAIV) organization, while another bans the use of LOGINK, a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) state-controlled shipping platform, at U.S. ports. The NDAA now heads to the president’s desk.

The NDAA also includes:

• $395 million for construction projects at Ellsworth Air Force Base.
• $2.325 billion for B-21 procurement.
• $5.25 million to complete the construction of the National Guard Readiness Center in Sioux Falls.
• A 5.2% pay raise for troops – the largest pay raise in over 20 years.

“South Dakota and our troops will certainly benefit from the NDAA,” said Johnson. “Our military will be stronger and our nation will be more secure. I’m proud of the work done to support our state.”

In March, Johnson introduced legislation to ban LOGINK. Read the full amendment text here.

Johnson’s NAIV legislation was introduced in May. U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced companion legislation in the Senate. Read the full amendment text here.

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The Argus has an article today on members of the Democrat Party criticizing the Minnehaha County Auditor over her recent actions, as she intentionally erodes confidence in how County Auditors conduct elections:

“It is inappropriate for the Minnehaha County Auditor to sow distrust in the integrity of state and local elections in concert with private groups focused on spreading consistently debunked conspiracy theories,” said Minnehaha County Democratic Party Chair Erik Muckey in a statement released Wednesday by the South Dakota Democratic Party. “Minnehaha County residents should know that our elections have been, and will continue to be, secure regardless of the Minnehaha County Auditor’s personal beliefs.”

and..

Anderson concluded the call by revealing that unbeknownst to the other participants, a group of nearly two dozen of her supporters had been listening in.

and..

One of those supporters was Rick Weible, a candidate for a District 8 House seat who the next day spent an hour praising Anderson and Mathis to Brannon Howse on “The Lindell Report” while talking about clips from the call.

The show’s namesake, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, recently said he was no longer able to pay his lawyers to represent him in a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit brought by voting machine companies Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems.

Read the entire story here.

I don’t think it’s a partisan position to think the Auditor and her staff are a few ballots short of a box in their approach to elections, and the County Commission needs to rein her in before disaster strikes. I suspect there are many Republicans who also share that belief.

Rounds Secures South Dakota Victories in NDAA

Final NDAA authorizes construction projects totaling $269 million at Ellsworth Air Force Base, $2.3 billion for B-21 Raider stealth bomber

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the top Republican member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, released the following statement on the final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). Rounds authored 33 provisions in this year’s NDAA.

“The NDAA is a critical piece of legislation that provides for our national security and supports our service members and their families,” said Rounds. “Our members on the Senate Armed Services Committee have worked hard all year to craft this piece of legislation. The NDAA is a prime example of Congress putting politics aside to provide for our strategic national security interests and achieve results for our men and women in uniform.

“I’m particularly excited that this year’s NDAA includes legislation I’ve led for years that would create a congressional charter for the National American Indian Veterans. Additionally, the bill contains over $274 million in funding for construction projects in South Dakota. Most of this funding will support preparations for the bed down of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber at Ellsworth Air Force Base. As ranking member of the Cybersecurity Subcommittee, I am also proud of our work to strengthen our nation’s cyber capabilities and develop advanced technology to combat threats from our near-peer adversaries, the People’s Republic of China and Russia.

“I am pleased that this bipartisan legislation is heading to the president’s desk to be signed into law.”

This is the ninth NDAA that Rounds has helped craft as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. In last year’s bill, Rounds authored more than 45 provisions, which were ultimately adopted and signed into law. Earlier this year, Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia’s Center for Effective Lawmaking named Rounds as the second most effective Republican on Defense issues.

Thune: Annual Defense Bill Provides Critical Funding for Ellsworth Air Force Base

 “The security of our nation is the precondition for everything else – for the continued enjoyment of our freedoms, for a flourishing society, for a healthy economy, for government’s ability to do anything.”

Click here or on the picture above to watch the video.

 WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2024, which contains numerous priorities that benefit South Dakota and the B-21 bomber mission at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Thune noted that in addition to the NDAA, Congress must prioritize passing a national security supplemental bill that provides support to the United States’ allies – like Israel and Ukraine – and contains meaningful measures to secure the southern border.

Gov. Noem Supports Bill to Prevent Antisemitism

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem voiced her support for legislation declaring that antisemitism is discrimination.

“Jewish people around the world are facing discriminatory acts of hatred. Acts of violence against the Jewish people have even skyrocketed here in America. South Dakota will always stand with the Jewish people – and we will continue to support the State of Israel,” Governor Noem said. “Antisemitism is discrimination against the Jewish people. I am proud to support this legislation.”

This bill will support Jews in South Dakota by increasing their protections against antisemitic acts of hate. It will be introduced during the upcoming legislative session by South Dakota State Representative Fred Deutsch (R-04).

South Dakota’s Bureau of Human Resources and Administration (BHRA) is also encouraging state employees to participate in workplace antisemitism training this month. There are two different training courses available on SDLearn. For more information, contact BHRA.

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