Build the Wall
By: Gov. Kristi Noem  
August 16, 2024    

“We don’t complain about things – we fix them.” When my dad taught me that, he was talking about cows, horses, fences, and ranch chores, not the wide-open Southern Border. But the lesson holds true.

The truth is, we could complain about President Joe Biden and Vice President (and Border Czar) Kamala Harris’s failures at the Southern Border until the cows come home. Instead of complaining, South Dakota is doing our part to fix it. 

We recently welcomed home our seventh detachment of South Dakota National Guard troops to the border. The last few groups have all had the mission of working with Texas to construct the border wall. We sent an engineering company – we sent builders.

South Dakota guardsmen constructed more than five miles of border wall. They fortified 20 miles-worth of wall with concertina wire. And they repaired 46 breaches in the crucial area between Del Rio and Eagle Pass, TX.

I spent a day with them helping them build the wall – it wasn’t easy work. They had to clear miles of rough ground in 100-degree heat and Texas humidity before they could get to work on barrier construction. But they were glad to do it in service to our country.

These brave soldiers were more than 1,000 miles from home. Their work was crucial to keep South Dakota – and every other state – safe. The sad reality is that due to the incompetence and mismanagement of our border, every state is now a border state.

When we control the border with physical barriers, we make it tougher for cartels to facilitate their drugs and human trafficking into our country. We funnel the traffickers towards areas where we have a stronger presence. And if anyone does try to breach the barrier, we give law enforcement and Border Patrol precious time to respond. That’s just common sense – but the Biden Administration abandoned common sense when they stopped constructing the wall.

 South Dakota will continue to do this work – but we shouldn’t have to. President Biden and Vice President Harris are leaving the border wide open on purpose. Texas is working with South Dakota and other states to pick up the slack.

 We will continue to do our part. We have another group of South Dakota National Guard soldiers scheduled to deploy to the Southern Border on a federal activation later this Fall. And we will continue to do everything we can to mitigate the cartels’ influence here at home.

 I have seen such incredible patriotism and leadership from the South Dakota National Guard troops that we’ve deployed to the border over the years. The commander of the most recent detachments was a young female lieutenant who is working on her PhD in Animal Science at SDSU, meanwhile she is also an ROTC instructor. She’s a leader. She’s getting results. I wish that I could say the same about our current “leadership” in the White House.

 In the meantime, we won’t complain about things. We’ll continue to fix them. If the Biden-Harris Administration won’t build the wall, we will. We will continue to do everything we can to keep our people safe.

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South Dakota Receives Presidential Disaster Declaration after Historic Flooding 

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that South Dakota has received a presidential disaster declaration due to the historic 1000-year flooding event that occurred between June 16 and July 8, 2024. 25 counties have received disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and four of those counties have qualified for individual assistance for residents and business owners.

“South Dakota has worked tremendously hard to get to this point and will continue working to rebuild our communities. I am so proud of our people,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “This event was unprecedented, but our response was exactly what South Dakota always does. We work together to get our neighbors back on their feet.”

Residents and business owners in the following four counties qualified for individual assistance: Davison, Lincoln, Turner, and Union. Residents must contact FEMA to register.

Disaster Recovery Center dates & locations will be announced very soon.  It is not necessary to go to a center to apply for FEMA assistance. Impacted individuals located within one of these counties can go online to disasterassistance.gov, call 800-621-3362 or use the FEMA mobile app to apply.

In addition, federal funding is available to state, tribal, eligible local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the flooding in the following 25 counties: Aurora, Bennett, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Clay, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hand, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jackson, Lake, Lincoln, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Sanborn, Tripp, Turner, Union, and Yankton.

As Governor Noem reiterated many times throughout this historic flooding event, for those local communities, the cost share will be 75% federal, 15% state, and 10% local. These local entities will work with state and FEMA officials to obtain this assistance.

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Rapid City Democrats were announcing yesterday that they had a replacement for the Democrat running for District 34 Senate.. but I’m not seeing that on the Secretary of State’s website:

The Brookings County GOP is hosting it’s annual summer picnic tomorrow evening in Hillcrest park, if you’re so inclined.

I can’t make it this year as I’m traveling, but it’s actually one of the more tolerable GOP events, as it ticks off a lot of boxes – the speeches are short, the food is good, and it is always worth the $5.   What more can you ask for in a political rally?

Remember my post a short time ago noting that the SDGOP’s Confederate caucus is having some meeting in a few weeks to go over demands they’re going to make on the party for their fall effort?

It sounds like they’re not going to accomplish a darn thing except talking and talking and wasting the day if you look at their agenda:

Ballot Propositions Discussion
• Purpose
• Goal
• Action Plan
• List of ballot propositions: (They list all of the ballot measures, one by one by one.)

Strategy/Coordination of Key Races
• Public Utilities Commissioner
• Other

Read that here.

It’s so cute how they talk about an “action plan.”  Because if you look at the monthly FEC Report that was just filed by the Republican Party, I don’t think there’s enough money to pay for any action:

SDGOP 2024 AugustFEC Federal by Pat Powers on Scribd

I don’t see that any of the people who were calling this meeting on the list of people who donated.   And as they’re going to find out, almost nobody else’s name is on the list, either. When groups rant on about too many people being under the Republican tent, and they need to kick people out of the Republican Party, what happens when they get their wish? A State Republican Party that 4 months before the election only raises $278.

$278.43 raised, $7705.26 spent, $49943.19 cash on hand.   At that burn rate, the party has about 6-7 months left, and that’s spending the bare minimum. Throw some campaign expenditures in there, and it’s going to be gone much faster than that.

A donation for $250, a donation for $25, and 3.43 in interest is not a sustainable model.  We’d be even further into it if they had been able to hold TAR camp this year. County GOP groups are holding on to their cash, statewide candidates are not going to send in cash that might be used against them if there’s a takeover, And the state party is left unable to support it’s candidates.

$278.43.. wow.  To put it in perspective, I spent about that last week to have a few comic books professionally pressed and cleaned for my collection (first world problems, I know).    This is not a good situation. SDGOP fundraising has been brought to a near-halt by agenda driven groups who have no interest in the fact that “a rising tide lifts all ships,” and are more concerned with attacking “the establishment,” and wanting to force the GOP off the road.

At this rate, they’ll have their wish by the time of the next State Party officer election.

Attorney General Jackley’s Statement On DCI Investigation Into Actions of Former Division of Motor Vehicles Employee

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley issues this statement regarding the investigation into the actions of a former South Dakota Division of Motor Vehicles employee.

“The Attorney General’s Office was contacted in February of 2024 by the state Department of Revenue after the agency reported a former Division of Motor Vehicles employee had created a false/fraudulent motor vehicle title. The Department of Revenue and the Governor’s Office cooperated with the investigation conducted by the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).

The DCI investigation led to the discovery of 13 forged vehicle titles by the former employee between 2016 and 2023. The titles were used to secure almost $400,000 worth of loans. There is no evidence that others were involved in this criminal activity. Since the former employee has passed away, no charges will be filed.”

-30-

Attorney General Jackley Challenges Biden’s Election Executive Order

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has joined Attorneys General from seven other states in challenging a Presidential Executive Order that would encroach on the States’ authority to regulate voter registration.

Executive Order 14019, signed by President Biden, creates a federal bureaucracy that serves as a voter registration organization. The Attorneys General argue that the plan creates a bureaucracy that violates the U.S. Constitution and exceeds the executive branch’s authority. The challenge states that voter registration is a state function and responsibility.

“This is an election integrity issue and another overreach by the federal government against the States,” said Attorney General Marty Jackley. “Federal agencies should not become instruments for the Biden Administration’s partisan voter registration drive.  South Dakota Secretary of State Johnson and County Auditors should not be subject to federal interference in their duties regarding voter registration and our elections.”

South Dakota Secretary of Monae Johnson also opposes the Executive Order. “I’m proud to represent South Dakota and join Attorney General Marty Jackley in support of this lawsuit and the fight to protect election integrity,” she said.

Other Attorneys General joining the challenge are from the states of: Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

The challenge can be read here:

Communities Face $51M Budget Shortfall with IM-28
Proposed Initiated Measure A “Disaster” for Cities and Towns

PIERRE, S.D. – A new analysis from the South Dakota Municipal League estimates that if IM-28 passes, cities and towns would lose at least $51.5 million in sales tax revenue each year. The fiscal analysis includes IM-28’s impact on each municipality in the state.

IM-28 would reduce municipal sales tax collections in larger communities like Sioux Falls and Rapid City by more than 8 percent, according to the analysis. Smaller towns like Roslyn, Tulare, White River, and Wolsey would see losses above 40 percent. The highest estimated loss would occur in Bonesteel with a 59 percent reduction. The full analysis with city information is available at nosdincometax.com/impact.

“Local governments directly impact the daily lives of South Dakotans,” said Sara Rankin, Executive Director of the Municipal League. “IM-28 would create massive holes in local budgets used for police, roads, parks, and everything residents expect their community to provide. Simply put, IM-28 would be devastating for our daily lives.”

The language in IM-28 conflicts with South Dakota Codified Law 10-52-2, which allows cities and towns to impose a sales tax of up to 2 percent on the same items taxed by the state. This means that if the state cannot tax “anything sold for human consumption,” neither can a city or town.

The poor drafting of IM-28 is referenced in the Attorney General’s explanation of IM-28, which notes that “Judicial or legislative clarification of the measure will be necessary.”

An annual loss of $51.5 million would reduce funding to fix potholes, update infrastructure, staff libraries, operate pools, and maintain parks.

The estimated loss for each municipality was calculated by first aggregating all of the monthly sales tax reports for communities by SIC code from the Department of Revenue for 2023. Then a percentage was assigned to each SIC code to represent how much of the sales tax revenue generated by businesses under that code comes from consumables. Lastly, those percentages were applied to the 2023 tax data for each community in the state to develop the estimate.

“IM-28 would be a disaster for cities and towns,” said Harry Weller, Mayor of Kadoka and Municipal League President. “In my town of Kadoka, we’ll lose at least 24 percent of our sales tax revenue. Local governments run on lean budgets as it is. If IM-28 passes and we’re barred from collecting sales tax, we’ll have no choice but to increase property taxes.”

IM-28 is on the ballot as an initiated measure in the General Election on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

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ABOUT SDML: The South Dakota Municipal League was organized in 1934 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit association of incorporated municipalities in South Dakota. The League’s mission is the cooperative improvement of municipal government in South Dakota. A vote of the members at the annual conference determines the League’s major policies.

Resources:

1. IM-28 Municipal Sales Tax Impact
2. Legislative Research Council Report, July 30, 2024
3. Photo: Sara Rankin
4. Photo: Harry Weller
5. Sara Rankin Audio
6. Harry Weller Audio

Yesterday, South Dakota Democrats filed 2 more replacements for positions that had been vacated on the ballot:

Dennis Solberg filled the District 5 State Senate position vacated by Russell Ronke, and Fedora Sutton-Butler filed for one of the two District 7 House races that had been vacated by Democrats.   That makes 15 of 35 Senate seats that Democrats have a candidate for, and 31 of 70 House seats.

And a good reminder. You’re guaranteed to lose the seats you don’t run a candidate for.

Interesting discussions on how political parties replace candidates yesterday. Do you know they changed some laws on that in the last few years?

For the Ben Krohmer District 20 replacement, being a multi-county legislative district, there is a specific law that applies:

12-6-57. Meeting of party committee to fill vacancies–Manner of voting.

To fill a vacancy for a party candidate to a:

(1) State office or as a presidential elector, the party State Central Committee chairman shall call a central committee meeting to fill the vacancy, and designate the time and place where the meeting shall be held;

(2) Multi-county legislative district, the party State Central Committee chairman shall call a meeting of affected county party central committee members to fill the vacancy, designate the time and place where the meeting shall be held, designate the person who will conduct the meeting, and notify all affected central committee members of this information;

(3) Single-county legislative district or county office, the county party central committee chairman shall call a meeting of the county party central committee to fill the vacancy and designate the time and place where the meeting shall be held.

Vacancies filled by State Central Committee shall be by unit representation, each county casting the number of votes cast in that county at the last general election for that party’s candidate for Governor. All other vacancies shall be filled by a majority vote of the affected committee members present.

Read that here.

The law seems to be pretty specific in that it spells out “the party State Central Committee chairman shall call a meeting of affected county party central committee members to fill the vacancy, designate the time and place where the meeting shall be held, designate the person who will conduct the meeting, and notify all affected central committee members of this information;”

What was that notice that went out about the meeting a couple days ago? I think you can find it here on the website:

From: Rich Hilgemann
Date: Wed, Aug 7, 2024, 11:25 AM
Subject: D20 replacement meeting notice

I am Rich Hilgemann, a region director for the state Republican party, Chairman Wiik has tasked me with running this replacement meeting. I am reaching out because all of you are eligible voters and need to be notified of a replacement meeting to be held on Monday August 12th at the Mitchell Public Library, 221 N. Duff Street in Mitchell, SD.

Yesterday afternoon Representative Krohmer withdrew from the 2024 general election ballot. All elected Republicans residing in District 20, and organized county party executive boards are eligible to vote at a replacement meeting. Davison County Republicans have a room booked for us and will also help with credentialing.

Credentials will run from 6pm to 7pm.
Nominations and voting starts at 7pm.
Spectators are welcome but I will ask they be seated separately from the credentialed voting block.

Those eligible to obtain credentials: There are 2 organized counties in District 20, Jerauld and Davison and their executive boards are eligible as long as they are still registered Republicans in District 20/their counties. District 20 partisan office holders, current Legislators/Senator, county elected officials (Coroner, Sheriff, Auditor, Deeds, Treasurer, Commissioners, State’s Attorney) and precinct people.

Nominations and a second will be required to be considered a candidate. Nominating speeches and candidate speeches I believe would be in order, seconding speeches optional. Nominations and seconds can only be made by credentialed voters.

I do want to apologize for the short notice and nature of this notice but the deadline for replacement is the day after the meeting so email, social media, and phone calls are what we are relegated to. Also I would ask your help in forwarding this email to those who are eligible but have not seen this email notice or know about the meeting yet.

Please feel free to reply to this email with questions or concerns.

Thanks!
Rich Hilgemann

Rich Hilgemann calling the meeting does not appear to be the party State Central Committee chairman calling the meeting. While he might’ve been tasked with it, that notice doesn’t really seem to indicate that he is the Republican party state central committee chairman himself, does it?

I hate to be that guy, but on the surface, it would not appear that the notice requirements of 12-6-57 were followed.

Which casts some aspersions on that entire Monday night process.