Governor Noem Closes State Government Offices for Winter Storm

@SoDakCampaigns

Governor Noem Closes State Government Offices for Winter Storm

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Gov. Kristi Noem ordered all state government executive branch offices in certain counties to be closed Wednesday, Feb. 22, because of the winter storms in South Dakota.

State offices are closed in the following counties: Aurora, Beadle, Brookings, Brown, Buffalo, Campbell, Clark, Codington, Davison, Day, Deuel, Douglas, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Hamlin, Hand, Hanson, Hutchinson, Hyde, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Lake, Lincoln, Marshall, McCook, McPherson, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Potter, Sanborn, Spink, Sully, Turner, Walworth.

While executive branch offices in these counties will be closed, state employees will be working remotely.

Much of the Eastern part of the state is in a blizzard warning from 6am Wednesday until 12pm Thursday. The Western part and the southeasternmost portion of the state will be in a winter storm warning.

Snowfall of between 8-18 inches is expected across the state over the next two days. Winds will pick up overnight and into Wednesday, especially in the eastern part of the state. On Thursday, temperatures are expected to drop to around -20°.

Citizens should be prepared to stay home if possible. Many state highways already have no travel advised, and numerous roads are physically blocked. Portions of I-29 and I-90 will close at 10pm on Tuesday night. If South Dakotans must travel, they should check the sd511.org or the SD511 mobile app.

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More on Frye-Mueller Scandal: Did her suspension leave voters “disenfranchised and unrepresented?” Or is it just Julie?

@SoDakCampaigns

Referring back to yesterday when my spies sent me over what is said to be Julie Frye-Mueller’s next attempt to shift blame from her harassment of a legislative employee and resulting censure, one item in the latest supposed plan to get revenge on all her colleagues for suspending lamented that Frye-Mueller was “unconstitutionally stripped of her rights, duties, and function of office, and subsequently intimidated, threatened with criminal prosecution, maligned by her fellow legislators…” yadda, yadda, yadda…  “and her constituents were left disenfranchised and unrepresented.”

Referring to the three days she was put in time-out while the Senate investigated the extent of her alleged harassment of a legislative employee, JFM claims that during this period her constituents were left disenfranchised and unrepresented?

Neverminding that Frye-Mueller skipped the Friday after she was suspended. And ignoring that 6 days she missed in 2021, and 5 days in 2022. Her people claim when she was forcibly suspended that THIS TIME her constituents were left disenfranchised and unrepresented!

But really, were they left disenfranchised because of her absence (in a string of them)? Or it the quality of what she is able to accomplish (or not accomplish) her problem? Because a glance of her legislative record this session does not paint a pretty picture as to how she’s doing for her voters.

Let’s look at the measures that the Legislative Research Council has her noted as prime sponsor for, along with where those measures are in the process…

Status Bill Title
Deferred to 41st Day HB 1072 subject lithium to severance tax.
Deferred to 41st Day SB 122 address the potential abuse of opiate and opioid drugs.
Deferred to 41st Day SB 123 require certain reviews and updating of voter registration records and data sharing.
Deferred to 41st Day SB 124 update maintenance and verification requirements for voter registration files.
Deferred to 41st Day SB 125 prohibit the imposition of additional immunization requirements on children.
Deferred to 41st Day SB 126 expand the availability of emergency services in state parks.
Deferred to 41st Day SB 128 remove the option to register to vote by a signed statement.
Withdrawn at the Request of the Prime Sponsor SJR 503 Proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election an amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, limiting the amount of ad valorem tax on real property, and limiting the increase in the assessed value of real property.

With a third of the legislative session yet to go, every single one of Frye-Mueller’s bills have been killed, with the exception of the Joint Resolution she herself withdrew.

If her people try to turn in the weird “Victim Impact Statements” claiming they were somehow left “disenfranchised and unrepresented?” There’s a legislative record that would seem to disagree.

If they feel “disenfranchised and unrepresented,” it’s not necessarily the Senate’s fault. Taking a look at what she’s gotten done while she was there, the problem might just be Julie herself.

Julie Frye Mueller Scandal continues: Big thing to do supposedly coming on creating Victim Impact Statements and Affidavits in Support of Prosecution

@SoDakCampaigns

Hot off the press, it looks like Julie Frye-Mueller is going back at her fellow senators as she attempts to gin up to get people to file “Victim Impact Statements” and individualized affidavits in support of the prosecution of 27 of her fellow state Senators as claimed by this blank affidavit…  “unconstitutionally stripped of her rights, duties, and function of office, and subsequently intimidated, threatened with criminal prosecution, maligned by her fellow legislators, denied access to essential legislative resources and state email communications, deprived of her committee assignments, and her constituents were left disenfranchised and unrepresented.”

(No word about affidavits being filed for the day she just plain skipped session.)

I have to go back and look, but wasn’t the vote 33 – 1?   Where is the victim impact statement against Arch Beal, Red Dawn Foster, Brent Hoffman, Wiik, Wink?

The word I’m getting passed to me from my spies is that Senator Frye-Mueller supposedly wants this kept under wraps until Wednesday, as if it leaked early, it would ruin all of their plans.

So, this is just between us.. don’t go telling everyone that we have more stupidity coming from Julie Frye-Mueller in an attempt to shift blame for her actions.

Argus Leader finds a way to make fishing about white male biases.

@SoDakCampaigns

In today’s article on how South Dakotans are racist, the Argus Leader has managed to find a way to make fishing about the white male patriarchy because many South Dakotans have traditionally not cared for carp.

It wasn’t a picture-perfect image of racial harmony, however; when white fishers discard a perfectly good fish like gar, David said that’s evidence some societal ley lines have yet to be crossed.

and..

This term, “rough fish,” is part of a racially biased vocabulary among the predominantly white fishing community, according to David, the fisheries expert who also runs Nicholls State University’s Gar Laboratory.

and..

According to a 2021 research paper from the American Fisheries Society, which David contributed to, European and white males have historically dominated the fisheries science in the U.S. Early fishery organizations, including the aforementioned society, laid the foundations of the nation’s management systems for freshwater fish, David said. However, since their contemporary leadership entirely or nearly-entirely comprised of white men, they followed a distinctly Euro-centric view.

Read the story on how most fisherman are racists here.

Nothing to do with the fact that many carp are bottom feeders, and people don’t care for the taste.

Darned white male patriarchy. Now they’re ruining fishing too.

Or maybe people just fish what they like to fish, and the Argus is calling it a white-male bias because their stylebook tells them that’s what they have to say. 

Senate Bill 40 vote on Measure to put Constitutional Officers to primary vote

@SoDakCampaigns

I had promised to post the vote on Senate Bill 40 this last week, and then I flew to the east coast for a visit to my daughter,  so I wanted to get back to the topic.

As of this writing, SB 40 will go to the House State Affairs committee in the coming days.  It may be a while, as the House is supposedly going to take a look at reworking it to make it more palatable, as it was a close vote in the Senate. Stay tuned for more on this.

 

POLL: South Dakotans Support Grocery Tax Cut

@SoDakCampaigns

POLL: South Dakotans Support Grocery Tax Cut

PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, Governor Kristi Noem released polling data indicating that South Dakotans strongly prefer the elimination of the grocery sales tax to other potential tax cut options.

A memo summarizing the poll results is attached. The poll was conducted by Front Porch Strategies on behalf of South Dakota Strong Leadership PAC.

Front Porch Strategies released a memo on the results, which is attached. Key results include:

  • 75% of South Dakotans support eliminating the sales tax on groceries, with 50% being very supportive.
  • 93% of South Dakotans have been significantly impacted by rising inflation.
  • 95% of South Dakotans say their grocery bill is more expensive than it was in 2020, with 82% saying their grocery bill has increased by over $50.
  • When informed of the pros and cons of different tax cut proposals, 58% prefer eliminating the grocery tax, 29% prefer reducing property taxes, and 3% prefer reducing the overall sales tax rate.

South Dakotans across the political spectrum and from every walk of life overwhelmingly support eliminating the sales tax on groceries, including:

  • 75% of Republicans;
  • 76% of Democrats;
  • More than 70% of every income breakdown;
  • More than 70% of both genders; and,
  • More than 70% of every age bracket.

Kristi Noem Grocery Tax Polling Memo by Pat Powers on Scribd

Former Argus Reporter Sneve in kerfuffle with current Argus reporter over ‘activist journalism’

Pat Powers

Former Argus Leader reporter, Joe Sneve, now of The Dakota Scout, is in a Twitter debate with Argus Leader education reporter Morgan Matzen over the language he used in a story about State Representative Fred Deutsch.

It’s an exchange which seems to give some insight into the work conditions that former Argus Reporters Sneve and Jon Ellis from the Dakota Scout worked under and the corporate demand for woke-speak from corporate parent Gannet:

What do you think? Is Sneve in the wrong for not following the “trans-journalism style book?”

Or is he correct to reject the demands from his former co-worker Matzen, commanding him to get in the woke-lane, grab a pronoun list, and go along with the crowd when it comes to his writing?

Attorney General Jackley Announces Lawsuit on Biden Administration WOTUS Rule

Pat Powers

Attorney General Jackley Announces Lawsuit on Biden Administration WOTUS Rule

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says South Dakota has joined 23 other states in filing a lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s “Waters of the United States” rules.

“This is a federal government attempt to exceed its authority granted by Congress as provided in the Clean Water Act,” said Attorney General Jackley. “This rule will drastically impact how South Dakota manages its waterways.”

The states’ lawsuit is filed against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The states contend that the rule, signed by President Biden on his first day in office in 2021, would redefine “navigable waters” to include ponds, certain streams, ditches, and other bodies of water that would be placed under the Clean Water Act as defined by the EPA and the Corps of Engineers.

“As it states in the lawsuit, this rule would require farmers, developers and other property owners to get permission from the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to use these water ways in most ways,” said Attorney General Jackley. “That places an undue burden on South Dakotans who would face federal government punishment for even the slightest misuse.”

Other states involved in the lawsuit are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

“We appreciate the involvement of other states on this issue, and we hope for a positive consideration from the courts,” said Attorney General Jackley.

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