Dakota News Now has posted their story on their reporter Austin Goss being arrested.. and they seem to be mincing few words on how they are portraying it:

Political reporter arrested for impersonating Noem

Political reporter Austin Goss of Dakota News Now was arrested for making a prank phone call while impersonating Governor Kristi Noem.

Read it all here.

They’re pretty abrupt about the matter, and it seems like they’ve ripped the bandaid off. We’ll see how this story continues to develop.

In other court news.. besides a convicted felon/track coach/Regents employee allegedly slapping a student, and the arrest of one of South Dakota’s political reporters, former Republican State Senate candidate Joel Koskan is now part of South Dakota’s sex offender registry, with the central clearinghouse for state sex offender information noting his mugshot, crime, and present place of residence at the South Dakota State Penitentiary.

You can look up sex offender information at the state’s Sex Offender Registry website here.

From the Argus Leader comes additional reporting on the story we broke earlier today:

A Dakota News Now reporter has been arrested on charges alleging he made a prank phone call to the former chair of the South Dakota Republican Party using Gov. Kristi Noem’s personal cell phone number, according to court documents.

The Stanley County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Austin Goss, the capitol bureau reporter for Dakota News Now, had been arrested Thursday morning and released on a personal recognizance bond.

and..

Investigators said given that Goss likely had both Noem’s and Lederman’s cell phone numbers, and that his internet connection was password protected, probable cause existed that he made the call.

Read the entire story here.

I did reach out to former SDGOP Chair Dan Lederman for comment, and he noted that he “wasn’t going to comment on an ongoing criminal investigation.”

In the breaking story today of Dakota News Now reporter Austin Goss’ arrest for a prank phone call that spoofed Governor Kristi Noem’s identity and phone number, I can’t help but be reminded of the decade-old saga of Dan Willard, who along with Gary Dykstra (and unindicted co-conspirator Stace Nelson) was similarly accused of monkey business with phone calls in the political arena.

From the August 29, 2013 Argus Leader story titled “Key Witnesses in robocall trial talks about election effort”:

You might be able to research it more at argusleader.com.

The point being, even if a person thinks they’re anonymous in their pranking, whether it’s in person, or over the Internet, they really aren’t.

And if law enforcement is determined to do so, it might take some time, but the identity of the person initiating this stuff can be discovered.

In a story which is just breaking, Dakota News Now Political Reporter Austin Goss has been arrested for one count of violating SDCL 49-31-31(5)(b), making threatening, harassing, or misleading contacts, and displaying the telephone number of another person.

According to the probable cause statement, “the caller ID of the prank call had been set to appear as though it was coming from South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s personal cell phone,” and the complainant “provided law enforcement with a screenshot of this call which showed the Governor’s personal cell phone number and contact information to be displayed.”

The affidavit of probable cause continues to identify Austin Goss of Dakota News Now, noting that “Austin Goss did contact D.L. by telephone or other electronic device with the intent to harass and annoy him, and in doing so intentionally causes a fictitious and misleading caller identification or telephone number (that of Governor Noem) to be displayed.”

The arrest appears to have taken place yesterday, and you can read and judge for yourself the arrest and charging documents below:

AustinGossArrest_ImpersonatingGovNoem by Pat Powers on Scribd

The charge is a Class 1 misdemeanor, which according to South Dakota Law is punishable by one year imprisonment in a county jail or two thousand dollars fine, or both.

Flags at Half-Staff at State Capitol in Honor of Former State Representative Marie C. Ingalls

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem ordered that flags be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol from sunrise until sunset on Sunday, May 7^th, 2023, in honor of former State Representative Marie C. Ingalls. She served in the South Dakota State Legislature from 1987-1992.

Memorial services for former Rep. Ingalls will take place at 11:00 am on May 7^th, 2023, at the Faith Community Center, 204 N Main St, Faith, SD, followed by a celebration of life at 2:00pm at Bethel Lutheran Church, 419 Main St S, Faith, SD.

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I just caught this story in the Pierre Capital Journal, and had to highlight it because it takes a crazy number of twists and turns, as an employee of the Board of Regents – who also coaches track – reportedly assaulted a student under his purview. Not to mention the story notes that this state employee was convicted stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars and is still paying restitution.

A Stanley County High School student was “slapped in the face” by Buffaloes head coach Scott Van Den Hemel during a track meet in Todd County on April 14, according to witnesses and the student’s mother, who said she saw videos of the assault.

and…

In 2004, Van Den Hemel was found guilty on two counts of forgery and one count of embezzlement and served five years in prison. He was working as the comptroller at Wegner Auto and stole $284,000, according to court documents. He was ordered to repay the auto dealership; his most recent payment of $500 was docketed April 20, according to court records.

After being released from prison, Van Den Hemel was hired by the South Dakota Board of Regents as a financial compliance officer and is paid $93,504 per year.

and..

In a follow up phone call to the Capital Journal, Baldwin said there was no assault to report and the incident had been resolved by the school. He then said the Capital Journal should not report on the incident, then stated, “You want to have a positive relationship with the school.”

Read it here.

You have to love the fact the superintendent claims “there was no assault,” despite the fact he’s not an attorney. I think that’s up to a State’s Attorney to decide, not him. But it sounds as if there’s pretty some witnesses.. and video.. that might speak to the contrary. That’s bad. But then the story goes off the rails.

What the hell? Here’s someone who stole a little under $300,000 from a business, and as a convicted felon is paying it back at $500 a month, yet has the privilege of a fairly well-paying state job, making just under $100k a year with the State of South Dakota.

So many things to unpack here.

Aside from the assault of a student, and the School District’s light slap on the wrist; How does someone making $93,504 a year with the privilege of a job with the State of South Dakota – and has court ordered restitution for embezzlement – get away with only paying 6.4% of his salary to his victim?

I’m sure Stanley County athletics can find someone to coach who is less prone to use that kind of discipline with children.

And I know the state can do better for crime victims than requiring one of the State of South Dakota’s highest paid embezzlers to pay less in restitution than what’s charged for sales tax.

(Update – I did add the part in the article about the Supt. telling the paper they shouldn’t report on it, and making the thinly veiled comment about how the paper wants “to have a positive relationship with the school.” I’m sure that’s going to work well for him.) 

I hadn’t seen it mentioned, but former Republican State Representative Loren Anderson, who represented Yankton in the mid-late 1980’s through 1990 passed away on April 22, as noted by this obituary in the Pierre Capital Journal:

The Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00 p.m., on Thursday, July 6, 2023 at Kober Funeral Home in Vermillion. Burial of ashes will be at Bluff View Cemetery with military honors conducted by V.F.W. Clay CO. Post #3061. Our request is that any memorials be directed to a charity of your choosing.

and..

While at Yankton College, Loren opened and brokered Anderson Realty in Yankton until 2006. In 1983 he ran for the SD State House of Representative and served in that capacity until 1990. During that time, he was also brokering an office in Huron, SD, teaching Business Classes in Santee, NE, and teaching real estate courses throughout South Dakota to the people that wanted to become realtors, realtors that wanted continuing education and to auctioneers. Loren was elected by his peers as South Dakota Realtor of the year in 2003.

Read it all here.

Anderson had served in Pierre for 8 years, and was going for an additional term in 1990, when he lost to Democrats Garry Moore and Jim Abbott in what started to be a few tough years electorally for the GOP.

Thune Leads Colleagues in Fighting Back Against Radical Environmental Agenda

Senators’ bipartisan letter urges the FIO to abandon ESG policies that would increase premiums for policyholders

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen raising concerns with the Federal Insurance Office’s (FIO’s) efforts to force the Biden administration’s unrealistic environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda onto the state-regulated insurance industry. This could result in state insurance regulators and insurers being coerced into adopting costly, one-size-fits-all climate-mitigation strategies.

“Across the nation, insurers work day in and day out to provide reliable coverage to the public to ensure they are protected when adverse weather events strike or accidents occur,” the senators wrote. “And, to be clear, it is in insurers’ best interest to take into account these various risks – whether it be weather risks or otherwise – that could affect their customers and integrity of their policies. Therefore, it is concerning that the Biden administration is ignoring steps insurers and state insurance regulators are already taking and instead utilizing the FIO to continue pushing ESG policies as part of its unrealistic environmental agenda.”

“Insurance has been, and continues to be, regulated at the state level, including as it relates to what data is collected and reported by insurance companies,” said Nat Wienecke, senior vice president of federal government relations and political engagement at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA). “APCIA understands the potential national importance of the issue of climate and the possible impact on the financial services sector and agrees that FIO should be coordinating with the state insurance regulators when it comes to data collection from insurers, as Dodd-Frank requires.”

“FIO’s effort is a step back in understanding climate change rather than any sort of progress,” Jimi Grande, senior vice president of federal and political affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. “State regulators have been working with insurers for years gathering data on how climate has affected companies, their policyholders, and the communities they live and work in. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, FIO should seek to collaborate with existing research and build on the substantial progress already being made in understanding the impact of climate change.”

The letter was also signed by U.S. Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Kennedy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).

Thune recently reintroduced the Food and Energy Security Act, legislation that would prohibit the Biden administration from forcing its unrealistic environmental agenda onto the American economy.

Full letter below:

Dear Secretary Yellen:

In March, the Senate passed H.J. Res. 30, a joint resolution disapproving of the Department of Labor’s “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investment and Exercising Shareholder Rights” rule. Unfortunately, President Biden vetoed this resolution.

Though this was disappointing, it was not surprising given the persistence of the Biden administration in adopting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies as part of its effort to force its unrealistic environmental agenda onto the American public. And while there are countless examples of irresponsible and misguided efforts to adopt ESG through various federal rules, regulations, and guidance, we write today to highlight our concerns with recent climate-related actions taken by the Department of the Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO), including its proposed data climate call notice.

As you know, the FIO was created in 2010 by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 111-203), and it is tasked with monitoring the insurance industry. In August 2021, the FIO published a request for information in which it sought public input on climate-related issues ranging from views on the FIO’s climate priorities, like assessing gaps in the supervision and regulation of insurers, to assessing how climate change could affect the insurance market. Furthermore, in October 2022, the FIO proposed an unworkable data collection effort to obtain certain insurance data that the FIO believes is necessary in determining what insurance coverage areas are most susceptible to climate-related risks.

Across the nation, insurers work day in and day out to provide reliable coverage to the public to ensure they are protected when adverse weather events strike or accidents occur. And, to be clear, it is in insurers’ best interest to take into account these various risks – whether it be weather risks or otherwise – that could affect their customers and integrity of their policies. Therefore, it is concerning that the Biden administration is ignoring steps insurers and state insurance regulators are already taking and instead utilizing the FIO to continue pushing ESG policies as part of its unrealistic environmental agenda.

Insurance is regulated at the state level and has been over 150 years. And though the FIO’s actions to date do not enact formal rules or regulations, they do place pressure on state insurance regulators and insurers themselves. We are concerned that this may ultimately result in state insurance regulators and insurers feeling coerced into adopting one-size-fits-all climate-risk mitigation policies rather than building on existing efforts to mitigate risks and manage policyholders’ exposure to changing weather patterns as deemed appropriate by the insurers and state insurance regulators on the ground, which has served the industry and public well.

State insurance regulators and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) have long focused on requiring insurers to examine exposures to financial risks, including climate and weather risks. Additionally, the NAIC has several tools at its disposal, such as the NAIC Climate and Resiliency Task (EX) Force, the Climate Risk and Resiliency Resource Center, as well as an Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey, which was adopted in 2010, and has been updated as recently as April 2022 to capture additional information.

We are not in any way writing to suggest that insurers and their state insurance regulators should not be conscientious of changing weather patterns and the industry’s exposure to such. However, it is vitally important that the FIO and the entire Biden administration understand that efforts strong arming insurers and state insurance regulators into potentially adopting certain ESG strategies, all in the name of climate-risk mitigation, would have real-world impacts. These impacts would come in the form of higher compliance costs on insurers and higher premiums on Americans, all while families and businesses across our nation continue to deal with a persistent inflation crisis.

As you continue your work, it is of utmost importance that the FIO resist pressures to insert ESG policies into the heart of its work and pressure insurers and state insurance regulators into adopting tenets of the Biden administration’s unrealistic environmental agenda. Instead, we hope that the FIO will recognize that insurers and state insurance regulators are best positioned to make determinations about what risk mitigation strategies (environmental or otherwise) to implement, as they have responsibly done up to this point.

Thank you for your attention to our concerns, and we hope that you will be receptive.

Sincerely

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Gov. Noem Expands Paid Family Leave for State Employees Rules Package to Expand Benefit to 100%

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem and the Bureau of Human Resources expanded Paid Family Leave benefits for state employees to 100% for up to 12 weeks. This benefit covers birth and adoptions. The rules package was passed by the South Dakota Legislature’s Rules Review Committee.

“I want to make sure that South Dakota continues to be the best state in the nation to live, work, and raise a family – and that starts with making sure our state employees have the resources they need to care for their families,” said Governor Noem. “By expanding South Dakota’s Paid Family Leave opportunities, we will give our state’s hardworking moms and dads the chance to bond with a new child during the precious first few weeks after birth or adoption.”

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