After the North Dakota utilities regulator hit the pause button on their approval of the Summit Carbon sequestration pipeline project, the CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions sent a letter to North Dakota newspapers noting that the project will continue to move forward as they address the concerns raised in the North Dakota application process.

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A Letter from the CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions

To the People of North Dakota,

I’m writing to you as the CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions to share some updates and our commitment to your great state. First off, a big thank you to the landowners who have shown trust in us. Because of you, we’ve secured 80% voluntary easements along the North Dakota pipeline route.

Now, we’ve heard the feedback from the North Dakota Public Service Commission, including concerns with respect to the pipeline location around Bismarck. We’re looking at our plans again and will address those issues in our application, including reroutes. We want to get this right for everyone involved and will reconsider those parts of our pipeline permit. Our goal is simple: to work together, understand everyone’s concerns, and make sure our project fits well with what North Dakota wants for its future, especially in areas like energy and agriculture.

Our ties in North Dakota are growing. We’ve partnered with the great North Dakota company, Minnkota Power, to have access to their sequestration site if necessary. With partnerships in 34 Midwest ethanol plants, we’re looking at a big investment here – to the tune of $900 million.

That means:

• Giving a boost to the ethanol industry and supporting everyone involved – from plant workers to the farmers selling corn.
• Helping secure a market for liquid fuels and the internal combustion engine.
• Opening up new market opportunities in the region.
• Making sure farmers and ranchers are treated right, from good compensation to taking care of their lands.

I’m also happy to say we’ve secured almost 90% of the space we need for our own sequestration sites in North Dakota. In simple terms, that’s a big step forward for our project.

I want you all to know that Summit Carbon Solutions is here for the long haul. We’re excited about what’s ahead and truly believe that together, we’ll make a positive difference for North Dakota.

Thanks for your trust, and we look forward to a bright future together!

Best,

Lee Blank
CEO, Summit Carbon Solutions

What tends to be downplayed by the opponents of those working for the future of ethanol is that a strong majority of those along the pipeline route have signed voluntary easements.

As noted in North Dakota, it’s about 80%, and in South Dakota, it was recently reported 70% of those along the pipeline route voluntarily signing easements.  (Update – 75%)

Stay tuned for more coming on this, as the project continues to move forward with the approval of a strong majority.

Former State Senator Jordan Youngberg seems to be increasing speculation on whether he’s going to be getting into the D25 State Senate race against incumbent Tom Pischke with his latest Facebook post:

Given Senator Pischke’s most notable activity of the last legislative session was either getting kicked out of the Republican caucus, or his unsuccessful, and somewhat crackpot demand for his fellow senators be arrested, Youngberg is likely going to have a lot of support if he decides to pull the trigger in this race.

Looks like South Dakota Democrats are unifying behind a common cause.

Unfortunately for chairwoman Jennifer Slaight-Hansen, the cause they’re unifying behind is dumping her from party leadership:

“Your actions are unacceptable and unbefitting of the office they hold. We asked you to resign. You refused.”

And..

“Yesterday, our legal counsel resigned because of the split in our party caused by you, yet you failed to communicate this to our executive board. For all the above reasons, we are unified in upholding the South Dakota Democratic Party Constitution and recalling you as our SDDP Chair.”

Read the entire story here.

Pretty rare to see South Dakota Dems agree on anything. Yet they are managing to find common ground on the need to dump Jennifer Slaight-Hansen,

Stay tuned.

WOW. Here’s a major bomb dropping about the new Democrat Party Chair Jennifer Slaight-Hansen.

In a story breaking on the Dakota Scout, after barely lasting 60 days, South Dakota Democrat Party Executive Director Dan Ahlers has apparently resigned, citing that the SDDP is hostile work environment, and that Democrat Party Chair Jennifer Slaight-Hansen is not very nice to her colleagues:

And his decision to step down from the position stems from what he said was mismanagement of the party by South Dakota Democratic Party Chairwoman Jennifer Slaight-Hansen, including allegations of a hostile work environment and violating campaign finance and party bylaws.

“When I try to advise the chair on these matters, she becomes angry and reminds me that I work for her,” Ahlers wrote in an email Friday to the party’s State Central Committee members informing them of his resignation.

and..

Ahlers alleges that Slaight-Hansen, elected chair of the party in February, uses “demeaning and foul language” when dealing with party staff.

Read the entire story here (Subscription required).

Do you think it’s because Dan Ahlers was a middle-aged white man?  Just asking.

There has been a facebook post being forwarded around among some of the far right from the SD Canvassing group, an organization whose raison d’être is the belief that US Elections lack integrity, which has been a notion endorsed by former President Trump. Even though many in both parties disagree with the notion, or at least the extent of issues.

In the post, the group goes out of their way to dissuade South Dakotans from attending the upcoming Monumental Leaders rally featuring former President Trump, Governor Kristi Noem, and others as they appear for the benefit of the South Dakota Republican Party.  As they attack the SDGOP, they claim in part…

As the SD Canvassing goofballs claim “the SDGOP does not stand for the average American…. Buying a ticket to the Trump Rally is funding their agenda..“

Adding to those comments, I’d remind you of a post I did pointing out the Minnehaha County GOP being utterly silent on the former President coming to the state, as well as what unsuccessful congressional candidate Taffy Howard felt the need to bray forth on facebook:

..I don’t want to help in any way.

The political outliers who have such hate for the GOP threw their stones earlier this week. And what was the result?  Literally only one week later the biggest Republican Party rally in state history is already sold out. 1 week, and 6000 tickets are gone in a flash.

Where does that leave the people who hate the Republican Party that much?

For the Minnehaha County Republicans, who went completely radio silent.. at least when their chair wasn’t complaining..  it is going to leave a number of people wondering why they were so passive and felt the need to hide when they could have helped their people get tickets.

For those who were actively trying to poison the well with regards to the South Dakota Republican Party, such as SD Canvassing and Taffy Howard, it leaves them with serious egg on their face.

SD Canvassing who goes out and courts Republican leaving groups to join their paranoia, and Taffy Howard, who is alternately rumored to want to run for Congress again, or is said to be trying to stage a party coup, are now going to be left trying to sell their anti-Trump and anti-party messaging and explaining why they felt the need to devote their efforts towards attacking Republicans.

Not a good look for those who need South Dakota Republicans to further sell their ambitions.

From Twitter.. and from the media.. There are unconfirmed reports of an active shooter near US Senate buildings. Scary stuff. Everything is on lockdown..

NEWS — Hill staff just got this email from Capitol Police. pic.twitter.com/6Vlp8kI5Ts

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) August 2, 2023

Please keep our Senators and their staff in your thoughts.

Update – looks like this was a bad call… but scary.

“A call came in for an active shooter. It appears to be a bad call. No injuries and no shooter were located. MPD is assisting US Capitol Police,” a spokesperson for D.C. Metro police said in an email.

 

Governor Noem Pushes Vanguard for Anti-China Emerging Markets Fund
Advances South Dakota’s Blueprint to Fight Communist China 

PIERRE, S.D. –  Today, Governor Kristi Noem urged Vanguard to finalize creating an emerging markets fund that excludes any investments in China. She did so in a letter to Mortimer Buckley, Chief Executive Officer of Vanguard, which you can read here.

“The largest risk to America’s security is posed by the Chinese Communist Party – including to our financial security,” wrote Governor Noem. “Communist China continues to infiltrate and target my state and others in the United States, making this specific product key in protecting state assets and investment dollars managed by your company.”

This was a follow-up letter to a May letter strongly encouraging Vanguard to offer an emerging market funds that excludes China as soon as possible. China is no longer an “emerging market,” and Vanguard has a duty to help insulate citizens from the risk posed by the Chinese Communist Party. Governor Noem led that letter with three of her fellow Republican governors.

In the letter, Governor Noem stresses that China “can no longer be fairly characterized as an ‘emerging market’” because they are the second largest economy in the world and are posturing themselves as a strategic competitor to the United States.

According to a Reuters article from just a week ago, “Global investors are increasingly choosing to bypass China’s markets in favour of other emerging countries.” And Barron’s reports that “Emerging market funds that exclude China are beating the index,” meaning that they are outperforming funds that do include China.

This letter advances South Dakota’s blueprint to fight communist China. Governor Noem has taken strong action against the Chinese Communist Party, including:

• Respecting Freedom and keeping South Dakota “Open for Business” when China unleased the COVID-19 virus on the world;
• Banning TikTok and Tencent for state government;
• Banning state government form doing business with certain telecommunications companies associated with six evil foreign governments, including China; and,
• Expanding South Dakotas medical cache and urging Congress and the FDA to take action to combat the shortage of prescription drugs in the United States.

South Dakota is continuing to set an example for the rest of the nation as to what state-led foreign policy can look like. This is South Dakota’s blueprint: More Freedom, Less China.

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Thune, Ricketts, Hickenlooper Introduce Bill to Address Seasonal Labor Needs
Senators’ bipartisan legislation would enable governors to secure supplemental H2-B nonimmigrant workers

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) recently introduced the State Executive Authority for Seasonal Occupations Needing Additional Labor (SEASONAL) Act, bipartisan legislation that would permit governors to petition the federal government for supplemental H-2B visas beyond the national cap of 66,000. Eligibility to seek additional H-2B visas would only be granted to states that have had an unemployment rate at or below 3.5 percent for at least nine of 12 months prior to their request.

“Federal inaction shouldn’t prevent state leaders from doing everything they can to strengthen their economies,” said Thune. “Labor needs plague nearly every sector in South Dakota, which is why I’m proud to introduce this legislation that would empower states to help alleviate workforce shortages while reinforcing protections for South Dakota workers.”

“Nebraska had the highest net employment rate in the country last year, yet many businesses have struggled to find qualified workers,” said Ricketts. “This bill will enable governors from states like mine to utilize more temporary workers to address this critical labor shortage and grow their economies.”

“Colorado companies rely on H-2B workers. But in recent years, our businesses are facing widespread worker shortages because available visas haven’t kept up with demand,” said Hickenlooper. “Our bill gives states more flexibility to advocate for the workers they need.”

The SEASONAL Act would permit governors to petition the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for a specific number of supplemental H-2B visas beyond the national cap of 66,000. DHS would issue such visas, and, if the number of employer applications still exceed a governor’s request, they would then allocate the visas through a lottery system. Governors would have the ability to request that visas only be made available for certain DOL Standard Occupational Classification Groups or employers in specific Economic Development Districts. Unless reauthorized, this authority would sunset four years after enactment.

Nothing in the bill would prohibit a state legislature from imposing limitations on a governor concerning the program, including the number of visas requested, the DOL classification group for which H-2B visas could be requested, or the Economic Development Districts where the visas could be used. Additionally, any supplemental workers provided under this bill would be subject to any existing or future DOL requirements. The bill would also require an annual report on the program’s utilization and outcomes, including worker displacement, wages, and economic growth and productivity.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is also a cosponsor of the SEASONAL Act.

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The Sioux Falls based Republican Roundtable group which has been meeting regularly for the last year or so is having a big public event, as the local group hosts a Debate Watch Party, with social hour on August 23rd at the Minnehaha County Country Club.

There will be a social hour with appetizers & desert, featuring national economic leaders, followed by the debate watch party with debate bingo, and a straw poll to determine who is the most popular among attendees.  Get your tickets today via eventbrite.

Chairman Wiik Announces Monumental Leaders Rally Sold Out

PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, South Dakota Republican Party Chairman John Wiik announced The Monumental Leaders Rally featuring President Donald J. Trump and special guest Governor Kristi Noem have sold out in less than a week of ticket sales, with over 6,000 tickets sold.

“The people of South Dakota have spoken and we look forward to hosting a record shattering event for the South Dakota GOP” said Chairman Wiik “ I am proud to welcome President Donald J. Trump to the Mt. Rushmore state on Friday, September 8th.”

The rally will be hosted at The Monument in Rapid City, SD on Friday, September 8th. Sponsorships to the event are available for purchase, please contact the state party team for more information. Visit www.SDGOP.com to join the ticket waitlist today and you will be notified if more tickets become available.

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