Johnson Secures Prohibition of CCP-Backed Shipping Software in NDAA 

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) secured a provision prohibiting the use of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) state-controlled shipping platform LOGINK at U.S. ports. Johnson’s amendment is a part of his larger effort to crack down on CCP influence at American ports and was included in the House Armed Services Committee 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

LOGINK is used at more than 20 ports worldwide and stores unrivaled data and visibility into global shipping container flows. It’s estimated the CCP and its state-controlled shipping platform have contact with at least half of the global shipping container flows. If LOGINK gained access to U.S. carriers and ports, the CCP would be at an extreme competitive advantage, allowing them to underbid foreign competitors and further increase dependency on Chinese markets.

“More 90% of traded goods are carried through ocean shipping,” said Johnson. “LOGINK provides massive amounts of monitoring, data, and logistics infrastructure to the CCP – it’s imperative we keep LOGINK out of American ports. China already competes unfairly in the global shipping arena. Blocking their access to American port data is one small step to keep this advantage to a minimum.”

The Armed Services Committee-passed NDAA awaits a vote on the House floor. Read the full amendment here.

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Thank you for electing me last night, Watertown. Excited to get to work. pic.twitter.com/VkUhOWqPPl

— Kyle Peters (@kyle_a_peters) June 21, 2023

In the Watertown city elections that took place this week, newcomer Kyle Peters smashed the competition, including incumbent Colin Paulsen, who ended up bringing in the rear:

In Ward B, Kyle Peterson won a three-way race over former councilman Jason Redemske and incumbent Councilman Colin Paulsen. Peters finished with 361 votes. Redemske had 146. Paulsen was third with 105.

Peters is the son-in-law of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.

In Ward E, Lynn Jurrens defeated Jason Buechler 276-207.

Read the entire story here.

If you recall, Paulsen who trailed in this weeks’ city election at 17% of the vote was the candidate that the hard right put up to challenge State Senate President Pro Tem Lee Schoenbeck in the 2022 District 5 Senate Primary. Only receiving 41% of the vote in that election, he later sued the city of Watertown, claiming the lack of sign ordinance enforcement hurt his election chances.

While the court case appears to be dragging on in limbo as “pending” at the moment (according to state records), as a candidate, Paulsen’s political career seems to have had a definite ending point on Tuesday night.

Attorney General Jackley Recognizes Historic South Dakota v. Wayfair Decision

PIERRE, S.D.  –  South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said five years after it was decided, the United States Supreme Court’s decision in favor of South Dakota in South Dakota v. Wayfair remains a major victory for small businesses and Main Street South Dakota.

Today (Wednesday) is the five-year anniversary of the Court’s 5-4 majority ruling in favor of South Dakota. The June 21, 2018 decision meant that states have the right to determine how to address out-of-state sellers of goods.

“It was my honor to stand before the U.S. Supreme Court as South Dakota’s Attorney General representing South Dakotans,” said Attorney General Jackley. “This was about States’ Rights and fairness for Main Street business across our State and the Nation.”

In his remarks to the Supreme Court during arguments held in April 2018, Attorney General Jackley argued that the State was losing large amounts of sales tax revenue because of Congress’ inaction. He said the disparity resulted in local businesses being hurt by “an unlevel playing field.”

South Dakota’s case was supported by local, state and national organizations as well as 40 States, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands.

“This case could not have been brought forth without the support of former Gov. Dennis Daugaard, legislators, the South Dakota Retailers Association, education leaders, and others,” said Attorney General Jackley.

The court’s ruling can be found here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/17-494_j4el.pdf

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Sounds like a rough day at the office, as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Laura Boebert have words on the House Floor:

According to two sources that saw the exchange and a third familiar with the matter, the back and forth began when Boebert approached Greene—then seated in the chamber—and confronted her over “statements you made about me publicly.” All three of the sources said Greene called Boebert a “bitch.” One of the sources said Greene called her “a little bitch.”

According to two of the sources, Greene then stood up and alleged that Boebert “copied my articles of impeachment,” to which the Colorado lawmaker fired back that she hadn’t even read Greene’s resolution.

“I’ve donated to you, I’ve defended you. But you’ve been nothing but a little bitch to me,” Greene told Boebert, according to a source who witnessed the exchange. “And you copied my articles of impeachment after I asked you to cosponsor them.”

Read it all here.

Why can’t we all get along?

Starting with the last election, the South Dakota Canvassing Group has been active in promoting several election conspiracies, leaving a lot of people to scratch their heads as they weave their theories, and try to put candidates they favor in County Auditor positions as well as other offices.  But as you read the first posts on their newly launched website, they don’t leave you scratching your head as much as going “Jesus.” Because as they weave quotes from the bible and Ronald Reagan together with claiming laziness comes with watching Netflix in their first post, the level of paranoia goes completely off the rails in their second time at bat:

Early into our research, we realized the Federal Election Laws like the NVRA and HAVA weren’t for the good of the States, or the integrity of the vote. Neither was the Patriot Act. Federal interference comes with Federal funds, which come with strings attached. Then, pick your favorite three letter agency and how they meddle in United States (s)elections. You may or may not know that the US perfected the election steal on other countries before using it on us. More on that later.

and..

One look at South Dakota’s government officials and we understood why things are the way they are. Many of the state’s republicans call themselves republicans, while bearing no allegiance to the republican party platform, conservative values, or the Constitution. This was shocking at first; now it is expected. The true conservative republican government officials in the state can be counted on two hands. Thus, the state of our elections today.

South Dakota has lost control of it’s elections. It’s death by 1,000 cuts.

Read the bag of lunacy here.

Really, what do you do with that?  When your group is so far off the rails that you’re actually claiming that “three letter federal agencies are meddling in US Elections…” I don’t think those are any people you want dictating anything about elections.

Stay tuned. Unless you’re being watched. 

Governor Noem Launches Nationwide Workforce Recruitment Campaign

“Freedom Works Here”

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem launched a nationwide workforce recruitment campaign. The focus of the campaign, entitled “Freedom Works Here,” is to recruit Freedom-loving people from all over America to live and work in South Dakota.

“We have the best economy in the nation, our unemployment is the lowest in American history, and South Dakota work ethic has never been stronger. Even so, South Dakota has 25,000 open jobs,” said Governor Noem. “We need to recruit more workers to fill these positions. We are going to show America that South Dakota is the best place to live, work, and raise a family. I look forward to continuing to build our winning workforce by welcoming new families to our great state.”

In the “Freedom Flows Here” ad, Governor Noem talks about the fact that South Dakota was the first state to bounce back from the pandemic, the strength of our economy, and our growing apprenticeship programs.

In the “First Day” ad, Governor Noem says that “in South Dakota, you’ll never pay a penny in personal state income tax. And we accept most out-of-state professional licenses.”

The South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation will also provide job search assistance to individuals who express an interest in looking for a job in South Dakota.

In addition to the television ads, the campaign includes direct marketing that will take place over digital ads and direct mail. The campaign is being guided by research that was done to identify people who would be likely to move to South Dakota to best target the ads to the identified demographics.

More information about the Freedom Works Here campaign can be found here.

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Governor Noem Appoints Dr. Judy Dittman to Board of Regents 

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced Dr. Judy Dittman’s appointment to the South Dakota Board of Regents. Dittman replaced Joan Wink, whose term recently expired.

“South Dakota has what it takes to become an example to the nation of what quality higher education looks like. It is the job of the Board of Regents to get us there,” said Governor Noem. “I have been working with the board to ensure that our kids and grandkids are receiving the best education possible, free from indoctrination and harmful, divisive ideologies. I am confident that Dr. Dittman will advance this cause through her new role on the Board of Regents.”

Governor Noem has consistently made education a top priority. Last month, she sent a letter to the Board of Regents challenging them to do more to strengthen higher education in the state of South Dakota. Governor Noem also established a whistleblower hotline for students, faculty, parents, and taxpayers to express any concerns they may have about our universities.

Governor Noem also sent a follow-up letter to the Board of Regents last week discussing some of the concerns that were received in just the first two weeks of the whistleblower hotline. The concerns included pushing for mask mandates in classrooms, endorsing critical race theory, and compelling speech in support of particular political positions.

Dr. Judy Dittman earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education with a minor in history from Black Hills State University. She went on to earn her master’s degree in health, physical education, and recreation from South Dakota State University and her Ph.D. in sport, health, leisure, and physical studies from the University of Iowa.

Dr. Dittman began her career as a K-10 physical education teacher in the Newell Independent School District before becoming an instructor of health and physical education, as well as the head women’s basketball and softball coach, at Dakota State University. After 34 years of teaching at both the University of Iowa and Dakota State University, Dr. Dittman became the Dean of the College of Education at DSU. Since 2013, she served as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, a professor of physical education and exercise science, the assistant to the president of special programs, and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at DSU. Dr. Dittman retired in 2020. A photo of Dr. Dittman can be found here.

“Education and guiding the next generation have always been passions of mine. I want to thank Governor Noem for this exciting opportunity to serve on the South Dakota Board of Regents,” said Dr. Dittman. “I am looking forward to working with my fellow board members to continue improving higher education in our state. We already have the tools to become an educational force in this nation – we just need to put them into practice.”

The Board of Regents consists of nine members: Tim Rave (President), Brock Brown, Judy Dittman, Randy Frederick, James Lochner, Douglas Morrison, Jeff Partridge, Randy Rasmussen, and Pam Roberts. Information on the Board of Regents can be found here.

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Here’s one that’s hot off the press.  I’m hearing from sources this morning that Sioux Falls City Councilman Alex Jensen might be foregoing another term on the Sioux Falls City Council to return to the South Dakota State Legislature and run for the District 13 State Senate Seat in 2024.

As noted in Jensen’s bio:

Alex was born and raised in Sioux Falls, and attended Lincoln High School. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from the University of South Dakota, and is the CEO and a co-owner of Max Muscle Nutrition. He and his wife, Nikki, have sons, Jack and George.

Alex began his career in public service in 2014 by being elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives, serving the citizens of District 12 until 2016. In 2020, he was elected to his first term on the City Council as an at-large member.

The D13 Senate seat, currently held by Senator Jack Kolbeck, is due to be vacated because of term limits. No announcements for the Senate seat have been made by current D13 House members Sue Peterson or Tony Venhuizen.

Rep. Peterson is ineligible to run for another House Term because of the same term limits which  are preventing Kolbeck from another run, which might bring Sue to run herself.

If Jensen gets in the contest, it would make it an extremely competitive primary. Since the time he first ran for office in 2014, Jensen has been a monster of a fundraiser, able to bring in tremendous funds with which to run his race, as well as an able campaigner.

Sue Peterson has also traditionally been a good fundraiser, winning her last race in a primary contest.

One question would be whether they’d be competing for resources from the same big pond.

But there’s no disputing the fact that it would be one of the hottest primary elections to watch in June 2024.

South Dakotans know all too well the impacts that ill-considered regulations from Washington can have on a farm, ranch, small business, or family budget. Lately, we’ve seen no shortage of regulations from the Biden administration that place new burdens on hard-working people. But the president’s regulatory power is not without limit. In our system of checks and balances, the courts and Congress have the power to hold the White House accountable and even block excessive use of executive power.

Last year, the Biden administration put forward two of its most significantly burdensome executive actions. The Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule would have given the federal government jurisdiction over most water features on private property, including ponds and potentially ditches, and imposed heavy compliance costs and regulatory burdens on landowners. The president’s student loan giveaway would unfairly put taxpayers on the hook for half a trillion dollars in student loan debt. Both of these actions were challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court, which has already ruled that WOTUS exceeded the president’s authority and will soon rule on the president’s student debt action.

In addition to the courts, Congress has the ability to pass resolutions of disapproval to prevent presidential actions from going into effect. While the president needs to sign these resolutions, it’s a tool that can be used to check excessive use of executive power. Bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress voted to block the president’s student loan giveaway and the overreaching WOTUS rule. And Republicans are making additional use of this tool to push back on a range of new regulations.

In total, the Senate has disapproved of nine Biden administration actions this year – every one with a bipartisan vote. Many of these rules would unnecessarily impact Americans in service of the president’s radical environmental agenda. One rule limiting truck emissions would add thousands of dollars to the cost of heavy-duty vehicles and possibly drive small trucking operations out of business. Another would allow pension plans to consider environmental, social, and governance factors, not just the best rate of return, when investing American workers’ retirement funds. Others would unnecessarily add delays and red tape to infrastructure, energy, and other projects.

Despite bipartisan rebukes of its regulatory agenda, the Biden administration seems intent to continue pushing for more red tape. The administration recently finalized a rule that threatens to shutter more power plants while the energy industry warns that plants are already closing faster than they can be replaced with new renewable energy. And the Biden administration is also proposing regulations that could limit the availability of gas stoves and gas-powered vehicles over the next few years.

Rather than work with Congress, President Biden has made clear his intent is to advance a progressive agenda through executive action. But that doesn’t mean he can avoid accountability for the costs and other burdens this agenda places on our economy and on hardworking Americans. And it doesn’t mean that Congress won’t still have its say. As we move forward, Republicans will continue to use the Congressional Review Act to push back against excessive regulations and protect Americans’ livelihoods from burdensome red tape.

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Without action this week, rural airports in Aberdeen, Watertown, and Pierre would have faced over $4 million in new expenses over the next ten years. This cost burden would have many potential impacts: flight cancelations, higher ticket prices, and maybe even a risk of closure if our local governments can’t come up with these additional funds.

A committee I serve on proposed this change, and I stopped it. If this change had been made, traveling in and out of these towns would have impacted “life as we know it” for many travelers. One small change to a bill in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee made all the difference and saved these three airports from facing daunting expenses.

I was proud to lead efforts to exempt the most rural airports from the original provision that would have taken millions of dollars away from our small towns. These rural airports are well over 175 miles (a three-hour drive) from hub airports. Requiring our most rural airports to incur hefty costs isn’t sustainable. The financial burden would likely end in higher flight prices or the city government laying off employees or cutting other services, changing the social fabric of these towns.

We have a commitment to connect rural and metropolitan areas. The risk of losing these airport services would fracture that commitment. The airports in Watertown, Aberdeen, and Pierre connect South Dakotans to other parts of the state, region, and country.

Our state capital is the second smallest in the country. Without the Pierre airport, or with higher costs, our state legislators, state employees, and visitors would be forced to travel hours by car from airports like Sioux Falls and Rapid City or pay higher ticket prices for their flight.

Thankfully, my amendment was adopted and the airports in Aberdeen, Watertown, and Pierre won’t have to face this burden—protecting your airports and flights around the state.

Wheels up!