Johnson Announces Guests for Trump’s Joint Address 

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) announced that Meade County Sheriff Pat West and Clay County Sheriff Andy Howe will join him for President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress.

“The law enforcement community is well acquainted with the effects of the Biden Administration’s soft-on-crime policies,” said Johnson. “President Trump’s leadership is a welcome change for our men and women in blue. I’m glad Sheriffs West and Howe will be able to hear how the President will partner with our law enforcement community to make America safe again. Law and order has returned to America.”

“I want to extend my sincere gratitude to Congressman Johnson for the opportunity to attend the upcoming State of the Union Address in Washington, D.C. It is truly an honor to witness firsthand President Trump’s address to the nation,” said Sheriff West. “This event underscores the significant accomplishments achieved under the President’s leadership and highlights his vision for the future. Attending the State of the Union Address is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and I am deeply appreciative of this opportunity.”

“I’m sure that being personally present while the President of the United States addresses a Joint Session of Congress will be an unforgettable experience,” said Sheriff Howe. “I appreciate and am honored by Representative Dusty Johnson’s invitation to attend this important event.”

Sheriff Pat West was first elected in 2022. Prior to being elected, he served South Dakota as an agent with the Division of Criminal Investigation for over 20 years. Sheriff West has worked on cases in Meade County and western South Dakota caused by the opioid, methamphetamine, and fentanyl crises. He’s also worked on sex trafficking cases, like when he and other law enforcement agencies found a missing 13-year-old girl, who had been abducted by a 33-year-old male sex offender.

Sheriff Andy Howe was first elected in 2002. He also serves as South Dakota’s delegate to the Mid-States Organized Crime Information Center, advocating for support for the Regional Information Sharing System, which helps law enforcement at all levels to facilitate information sharing for criminal investigations and protecting officers. Sheriff Howe has assisted in the arrest of a suspect involved in a fentanyl overdose death of a 15-year-old girl.

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House Judiciary Committee Approves Attorney General Jackley’s Anti-Trafficking and Corrections Bills

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota’s House Judiciary Committee Monday approved two bills, proposed by South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, regarding human trafficking and unauthorized items being brought into state correctional facilities.

“I appreciate this Legislature’s continued support of the Attorney General’s proposals to better protect victims, our communities, and our correctional officers and staff,” said Attorney General Jackley.

The two bills approved were:

• Senate Bill 58: Which revises provisions related to human trafficking, to prohibit the obstruction of human trafficking enforcement, and to provide a penalty.
• Senate Bill 59: Which revises provisions relating to the delivery, possession with intent to deliver, and possession of unauthorized articles in a state correctional facility, and to provide a penalty.

Committee members tabled a third Attorney General proposal, Senate Bill 57 which would have revised presumptive probation.

The two approved bills now go to the House floor for further consideration. Both bills previously passed the Senate.

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Gov. Rhoden Announces Habitat Conservation License Plate

PIERRE, S.D. –  Today, Governor Larry Rhoden and South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) announced the Habitat Conservation License Plate, which is now available for individuals to show their support of habitat conservation across the state.

“Habitat conservation is crucial to keep our animal populations strong and healthy and conserve South Dakota’s natural beauty. I look forward to seeing these new plates on the road,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “They will raise awareness for habitat management and also provide additional revenue to support conservation efforts.”

Habitat Conservation License Plates can be obtained at local courthouses, and there is no additional charge when renewing the plates. Like other specialty license plates, this plate is valid for three years.

“Habitat is the foundation of wildlife management. It is truly exciting for individuals to be able to show their support with every drive,” said GFP Secretary Kevin Robling. “We thank everyone for their support, and we look forward to seeing fellow habitat supporters on the road.”

Once a habitat conservation license plate is obtained, individuals will be able to select between four approved habitat decals, which include a deer, meadowlark, pasque flower, and pheasant. You can find the visuals of the license plate and decals here.

Habitat decals are $50 per set and can be purchased online at Go Outdoors South Dakota or at any Game, Fish and Parks office.

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Had the lightbulb go off earlier today after I pointed out that goofball mattress guy Chris Larson was chirping about meeting up with someone last week in Pierre who is supposedly going to run for US Senate against Senator Mike Rounds.  And while it’s possible that it could be a different c-lister, it makes the most sense that he is referring to the man who could not get on the ballot to save his life last election, failed Republican congressional wannabe/failed Independent congressional wannabe Justin McNeal.

Why do I think he was referring to McNeal?

• McNeal was most definitely at the Capitol in Pierre last week when mattress guy Larson was.  I happened to be watching House Floor proceedings when I think it was awful Rep. Phil Jensen introduced McNeal in the gallery. So, we know he was in the building.
• Mattress guy Larson cited that the person was “roaming the halls on some unspecified business.”  Well, McNeal’s Supreme Court case dismissal also took place that same day, on 2/27.  That may likely be “unspecified business.”

Mmm.. maybe you think those breadcrumbs are a little light?

Here’s the one that sent up the larger flare for me:

justinmcneal.com only recently went live and on-line.  And before you think this was a leftover from his failed congressional campaign(s), according to internet records, this website was just purchased in late December, and is now telling visitors that it’s “launching soon.”

Here’s another item that caught my attention.  McNeal still has a $50,000 unpaid loan his failed campaign(s) owe to him:

Is there any way his mess of a congressional campaign is ever going to be able to pay him back. Very, very doubtful, leaving him $50k in the hole.   But launch a campaign for US Senate where the dollars are larger, and there are always groups willing to throw cash around if just to be a disruptor, that would be the US Senate.

Remember when Gordon Howie was running for US Senate in the Republican Primary and a related PAC picked up $118k from a Democrat PAC with money from the Soros family?  Candidates can and will collect cash and support from a myriad of sources including those who want to try to disrupt a solid Republican officeholder to help beat them up in a primary to weaken them for the general.

No cash coming in to support a race that never launched, versus fundraising for an active US Senate challenger campaign?  Running for Senate is the only chance that someone like McNeal could bring in $50k of other people’s money to pay himself back.

To summarize; McNeal at the capitol at the same time his confederate mattress guy who announced he met up with someone running for Senate, JustinMcNeal.com is a website “launching soon,” and Justin has a big campaign loan that’s not getting paid off without a campaign.

It’s entirely possible I might erroneously be making assumptions. But the fact that there’s a new website kind of ties many things together with a bow.

Which means one thing…

 

… that you need to make sure you get over to RoundsForSenate.com to contribute and volunteer for Senator Mike Rounds.  Because especially now, when we need fewer goofballs in office. Very happy to continue to have Senator Rounds doing the job for South Dakota.

Looks like Justin McNeal’s lawsuit against the Secretary of State and the SDGOP was spiked a final time this last week, as the Supreme Court ordered it’s dismissal as a moot point:

McNeal Appeal Dismissed by Pat Powers on Scribd

If you check out Senator Randy Deibert’s facebook page, he seems to be getting contact from constituents, as he notices what local governments have to say as they oppose HCR 6010, Scott Odenbach’s big government proposal to create an interim committee for more regulations on mining and development in the hills:

When Rep. Odenbach writes in a column what he considers on the table as part of his proposed committee…

..whether that is mining severance tax for Lead or Deadwood gaming revenue, we need to balance east-river levels of growth with preserving the Black Hills way of life..

Glad to see at least one member of the delegation noticing that we don’t need a legislative committee with the mandate to create MORE government, and MORE taxes on mining, economic development, gaming and housing.

The goofy mattress guy (Chris Larson of Sioux Falls), who creates “purge lists”  to expel people from the Republican Party for thought crimes was writing on his substack that he was in the State Capitol building this last week hanging out with someone who intends to run for US Senate in the next election against US Senator Mike Rounds:

Another fun surprise was running into a non-legislator friend of ours who happened to be roaming the halls on some unspecified business of his own…  Without mentioning his name here (yet), I can report that his gentleman shared with us the exciting news that he will soon be replacing Mike Rounds in the US Senate.

(You can go look for it yourself if you want to read the idiocy)

It doesn’t come as a shock, but does tell us that this person hasn’t run (or at least not successfully) for the legislature. So, another C-list candidate like they recruited against Thune.

Unleash American Energy to Power America’s Future
By Sen. John Thune 

For the last four years, the Biden administration’s energy policies put our country on a dangerous path toward a future defined by less affordable and less reliable energy. America is rich in energy resources, and we should be leveraging those resources for a safe, secure, and affordable energy supply. Energy is critical for national security and economic prosperity, which is why unleashing American energy dominance is a priority for President Trump and Republicans in Congress.

Over the last few years, we’ve seen some of the warning signs of a coming energy crisis. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation warns of “mounting resource adequacy challenges” in the next decade. A headline in the Washington Post last year declared, “Amid explosive demand, America is running out of power.”

In the not-too-distant future, America is going to need much more power. One reason for the increase in demand is data centers for artificial intelligence. It takes roughly 10 times as much electricity to run a ChatGPT query as it takes to run a Google search. Imagine the energy demands of AI at scale. Failing to leverage all our energy resources is simply an unforced error.

President Trump is taking this challenge seriously. On his first day in office, he declared an energy emergency with the goal of producing more energy, building more infrastructure, and ultimately bringing energy prices down. Senate Democrats don’t share this sense of urgency. Recently, they attempted to end the energy emergency, calling it a “sham.” Fortunately, their efforts failed, and President Trump and Republicans will proceed with our efforts to unleash American energy dominance.

The U.S. Senate is also moving to eliminate some of the Biden’s administration’s anti-energy regulations. We recently passed legislation to block Democrats’ natural gas tax from going into effect. This $6 billion tax would limit energy production and increase costs for energy producers – and ultimately increase Americans’ utility bills. Not to mention it would put tens of thousands of jobs at risk.

The Senate also blocked the Biden administration’s marine archeology rule, which was just another way to slow down production and heap more costs on producers. Offshore oil and gas projects have long been required to submit an archeological report before drilling if their project area was thought to include shipwrecks, settlements, or other archeological sites. The Biden administration expanded this to all projects, even when nothing suggests the project will be near archeological sites. It was just one of many actions from the Biden administration designed to end energy production in America’s waters.

Energy is one of our nation’s most critical assets. For the last four years, the Biden administration took a number of actions to limit use of these resources. Those days are over. Under President Trump and Republican majorities in Congress, we will leverage our natural resources to produce more energy, lower prices, and restore American energy dominance.

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Insolvency is not an option
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
February 28, 2025

BIG Update

President Trump and his Administration have been in office for just over a month, and the results at the southern border are remarkable. In a single month, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested more than 20,000 illegal aliens. Under Biden’s Administration, ICE arrested 33,000 for the entire year. The Trump Administration has seen a 627% increase in arrests – removing criminal illegal aliens from our communities. Legislation passed by Congress, like the Laken Riley Act, has been effective in helping ICE arrest and remove these criminals.

Additionally, daily border encounters have dropped 93% and hit a 15-year low. Working together, we are securing the border and keeping America safe. Promises made, promises kept.

BIG Idea

Welfare programs exist to help people who need it the most – they are not a handout to those who are unwilling to work. Yet, each year, millions of dollars in SNAP benefits (commonly referred to as food stamps) get sent to adults who are able-bodied and without children who are choosing not to work. In fact, there are 42 million people receiving benefits, which is the same number of enrollees seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, but 64% of the able-bodied adults on food stamps don’t work at all.

I introduced a bill, the America Works Act, to ensure that people receiving these benefits work at least 20 hours a week. As a former SNAP recipient, I’ve experienced firsthand how work is the best pathway out of poverty. Let me be clear – these work requirements would not be applied to children, pregnant mothers, people over 65 years of age, and those who are disabled.

The success of enforcing work requirements is clear. For states like Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi that implemented work requirements, able-bodied adults who began working saw their income double or triple within a few months or years. I want to help people up and out of poverty, not leave them there.

Fox News wrote about my bill – read that article here.

BIG News

America is $37 trillion in debt, and trillions more in debt get added each year with current spending levels. Essential programs are headed for insolvency within a decade if real reforms are not made and waste, fraud, and abuse are not ended. Now is the time to reverse the curse and put America on the right path.

Thankfully, this week, House Republicans put forward a goal for significant cuts across the federal government. Don’t worry, cuts will not be made to Social Security and SNAP benefits for hungry children, pregnant women, elderly, and disabled individuals. This bill will allow Congress to enhance border security, lock in your current tax rate and child tax credit, and unleash American energy.

I was proud to vote for this budget framework. I refuse to stand idly by and allow America to fall off a fiscal cliff. Congress must restore fiscal sanity to protect the financial health of our country for our children and generations to come.

Click here or the image above for Johnson’s interview with CBS News

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It Is Time to Reset
By: Gov. Larry Rhoden
February 28, 2025

Living on a ranch, I’ve never had much time for technology. I’ve always preferred riding a horse over online entertainment, and at work, I stick to the traditional pen-and-paper approach. However, I do rely on my phone daily. And when my technology fails, the first suggestion I often hear is, “Have you tried restarting your device?” Nine times out of ten, this simple solution works.

I think the same concept can be applied to other problems in our lives. Sometimes all we need is a reset — to pause, regroup, and keep moving forward.

I recently announced Project Prison Reset – a working group that will determine the best path forward for a new prison. We’ve received the message that the current prison plan does not have buy-in this legislative session. We’ve also heard agreement from pretty much everyone that we need a new prison. I signed an Executive Order to stand up the working group, and they’ll get to work on April 2.

This working group is our “reset” button. Everything that came before is in the rearview mirror. From now on, we’re looking forward.

Project Prison Reset convenes a group of solution seekers, including House representatives, senators, and outside parties. It will be chaired by Lieutenant Governor Tony Venhuizen. I intentionally appointed both proponents and opponents of the current plan to have a seat at the table because it is important to listen to different perspectives. I am empowering this group to determine the best path forward and build buy-in to whatever that solution may be.

This reset is an important step towards improving public safety in our state. But it’s also time for a reset on a broader level.

When I became your Governor, I pledged to reset – with the press, the legislature, and the public. I see so much division today – even between those within the same political party. As South Dakotans, we need to regain perspective and unite. We need to talk with each other and not at each other. We need to reset.

Ronald Reagan once wisely said, “The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally – not a 20 percent traitor.” As fellow South Dakotans, we are all friends and allies. And we have so much to be proud of!

South Dakota boasts the lowest unemployment rate, the highest birth rate, and the fastest decline in overdose deaths in America. We are also the number one state to support the Second Amendment and have the lowest child-care costs in the nation. There is much to celebrate!

South Dakota is “Open for Opportunity,” and I’m excited for the journey ahead. We are on the right path. With a simple reset, I believe we can achieve even greater things. By uniting together, I am confident that we will keep South Dakota strong, safe, and free.

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