Governor Kristi Noem‘s chief of communications, Ian Fury, sent out a note to State media tonight, criticizing the state of the tribe address that was given today by Chairman Lengkeek of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe.

Folks,

Our state’s Native American heritage and culture is such an important part of what makes South Dakota a special place. Governor Noem recognizes that. She acknowledges it every time we deploy resources to help the tribes, sign law enforcement MOUs to keep our tribal people safe, and incorporate Native American heritage and culture into our education standards. She invested in the first ever tribal-run meth treatment facility to help the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. She has repeatedly invested in regional mental health resources, which will also help our tribal communities. She highlighted the Department of Tourism’s efforts to advance tribal tourism in her State of the State Address this week. She has repeatedly made efforts to reconcile our differences and come together as one state.

I wish the same spirit of shared culture and reconciliation was present at today’s State of the Tribes Address. Chairman Lengkeek of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe chose instead to deliver a message of division and perpetuate false narratives about Governor Noem and her Administration.

I will make corrections to many of his statements today, in turn.

Chairman Lengkeek criticized Governor Noem’s proposed Social Studies Standards, both in content and in process. He repeatedly stated that “Oceti Sakowin history is South Dakota history.” We agree! Governor Noem’s standards represent the largest emphasis on Native American history of any proposed standards to date. Commission members very specifically focused on the importance of incorporating Native American history by infusing them throughout every grade level, and they contain significantly more references to Native American topics than the current standards. It is important to note that a number of the proposed standards are directly aligned to the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings (OSEUs); the Standards repeatedly cite to the OSEUs. Teachers are encouraged to continue using the OSEUs as they address Native American history and civic topics, as well as in other academic content areas where they might be applied. However, Chairman Lengkeek insinuated that the OSEUs are not being utilized – Governor Noem’s standards ensure that they will be.

Regarding the recent winter storms, Chairman Lengkeek stated that “emergency services were slow to react.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, former Chairman of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Rodney Bordeaux recently wrote a letter to Governor Noem thanking her for the efforts of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety (which are detailed here) and the South Dakota National Guard (which are detailed here and here) to assist in the storm response. In fact, after the false media narrative that the Governor was not responding to tribes like Rosebud was corrected, Rosebud Chairman Scott Herman statedthat he was grateful for the assistance the state provided. Communication between the Office of Emergency Management and the tribes remained robust throughout. It’s a shame that Chairman Lengkeek chose to perpetuate a false narrative.

Chairman Lengkeek then blamed the state for the fact that the Code Talker Memorial at Capitol Lake hadn’t been completed. Every veteran memorial at Capitol Lake was built through fundraising by various veterans’ organizations. And that was the plan for the Code Talker Memorial, as well. The fundraising efforts have not materialized, so now they are asking the state to foot the bill. The reason this conversation resurfaced in the first place after years of silence was that Governor Noem and Secretary David Flute reopened the door to discussion about the Code Talker Memorial.

In an unprompted diatribe, Chairman Lengkeek also implied that he wants boys to play girls’ sports.

Governor Noem pushed for the funding of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons office when disgraced, impeached, and removed former Attorney General Ravnsborg neglected it. She has entered into agreements with tribes to fight the meth epidemic, and her Department of Tribal Relations has hosted meth summits to fight this scourge – the 5th of which will be held later this month. She has hosted tribal leadership breakfasts, luncheons, and a Round Dance at the State Capitol. Chairman Lengkeek was invited to these but chose not to attend. She has visited tribal leaders on their reservations at their invitation. She has never received such an invitation from Chairman Lengkeek. She has also delivered major broadband investments to the reservations, including $456,000 in grants to Flandreau Sioux Tribe and $474,500 in grants to Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Unfortunately, other tribes chose to reject the Governor’s broadband grants.

“It is time to put aside personal and political discord and recognize and embrace our shared history for the benefit of all South Dakotans,” Chairman Lengkeek said at the end of his address. We agree – but that message is polar opposite to the spirit with which he delivered this address.

Sincerely,

Ian Fury
Chief of Communications
Governor Kristi Noem (

From Twitter:

Tom Brunner has picked Tamera Weis to run as his vice-chair for the @sdgop race this coming weekend. Weis was formerly the Chair of the Turner County GOP.

— Austin Goss (@AustinGossSD) January 12, 2023

Wow. Tom Brunner has as his running mate for the GOP Chair/Vice-chair race Tamera Weis? I believe she was just ousted as chair of the Turner County GOP group, and who kept trying to cut off Governor Kristi Noem at the microphone at their last Lincoln Day Dinner. (Or was it a “we the people” dinner, because I heard it wasn’t branded a Republican event.)

That’s not a positive leadership option for the GOP.

What’s happening with House State Affairs has the attention of a number of people in the State Legislature, as State Representative Will Mortenson has apparently updated the ground rules for the committee and is running a far tighter ship than people may have experienced in the past:

He said Wednesday that night meetings would be scheduled only as “a last resort.” He doesn’t plan to delay bill hearings for amendments and said the committee won’t take remote testimony.

As for what he described as “repeated issues” that the committee has already voted on, Mortenson said those will receive “shorter but equal” time for testimony, “no matter how contested.”

Read the entire story here.

The “No remote testimony” rule stands out, as it changes the landscape. If you want to be heard on a measure, you need to go to Pierre and show up.

I think there’s good and bad in that, but we’ll see.

Governor Kristi Noem had her second inauguration this last weekend, and unfortunately, my plans to attend were somewhat scuttled.

After my wife traveling back and forth to Washington DC twice, both flying and in a vehicle each time over the last few weeks, plus slipping on the ice and straining her knee, everyone was tired, and a weekend at home ended up being an OK thing.

However, since we couldn’t go, the Inaugural committee was kind enough to send over my inaugural pins for the event, which was one of the main reasons I wanted to show up.

The 2023 Inaugural pin marks 90 years since South Dakota Inaugural pins started being issued for the event starting in 1933 and handed out for nearly every gubernatorial inauguration except for the 1943 Inaugural during World War II.

The Governor’s likeness started being included on the pin with the 1935 Tom Berry pin, after the 1933 pin just depicted a more politicized donkey’s head for the Democrat Governor.

Starting in 1999 with Governor Janklow, all pins issued by the Inaugural Committee since have also included the Governor’s spouse as part of the design.

Attorney General, DCI Rule Rapid City Officer Involved Shooting Justified

PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says a Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI review indicates that a Rapid City Police officer was justified in the shooting death of a man who charged at the officer during an incident Nov. 18, 2022 in Rapid City.

“The Rapid City Police Department Officer encountered an armed individual in a dangerous, escalating and tense environment,” said Attorney General Jackley. “The officer attempted to deescalate the situation but the individual they encountered continued with threatening behavior.  This was a justified use of lethal force by the officer.”

The officer had responded to an incident at a Rapid City apartment complex. The DCI investigation found that James Mathew Murphy had charged at the officer with a knife and attempted to the stab the officer. The officer subsequently discharged a duty-issued firearm twice and was justified in using lethal force. Murphy died as a result of his wounds.

Video and audio recordings from the officer’s body worn camera, witness interviews, examination of evidence by the South Dakota Forensic Laboratory and surveillance camera video corroborated the findings of DCI investigators and the officer’s account that they faced clear and present danger and that there was danger to the public.

“My thoughts and prayers remain with both Mr. Murphy’s family and the officer who was placed in this most difficult situation,” said Attorney General Jackley.

The Attorney General and the Division of Criminal Investigation would like to thank the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the Meade County Sheriff’s Office, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, the Rapid City Police Department, and the South Dakota Forensic Laboratory for their assistance and cooperation during the investigation.

The summary of the incident can be found here.

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Secretary of State Monae Johnson is all over the media today with a second interview, this time with Dakota News Now where she talks about her Deputy Secretary of State taking over the position when she’s done:

And for Johnson, the buck stops at the Secretary of State’s office. She hopes to serve two terms, something that hasn’t happened since her former boss, Chris Nelson, did it from 2003 to 2011.

Then, she wants to retire to the Black Hills.

“We will have to find somebody to train, that is the way it should be,” Johnson said of her long-term plan. “The Deputy Secretary should end up being the next Secretary of State. I just want to do this job, and do it well…”

Read the entire story here.

Monae Johnson wants her Deputy to be the next Secretary of State?  Never mind that her Deputy Tom Deadrick came in last when he ran in 2010.

If her plan would bear fruit, with Tom Deadrick currently being at retirement age at 70 now, he would be …78 years old running for Secretary of State in 2030?

This should be interesting..

An interview with Secretary of State Monae Johnson in the Dakota Scout today ended with her trying to ride the fence on whether she believes elections are rigged or not.

As noted in the interview:

The new secretary, who won office in November, said she needs time to assess what laws should be changed. Top of her list is developing a post-election audit process for South Dakota elections.

and..

When it comes to elections in the state, Johnson said some people think everything is fine, and some think elections are rigged. Johnson said she’s somewhere in the middle.

Read it here. (Subscription required)

Secretary of State Monae Johnson intimates that she’s somewhere in the middle? Does that mean she thinks there is …some rigging of elections? How do you claim you’re somewhere in the middle between thinking elections are fine and thinking they’re rigged?

If being rigged a little is arsenic, you’re still peddling poison.

You have to wonder whether people are spending a little too much time on the Internet. Case in point would be Bruce Whalen, who badly lost the primary for US Senate against US Senator John Thune.

Because Bruce is out on facebook claiming some sort of fix was in as to why he lost. It was because of the algorithms:

If you listen to Bruce, his loss has nothing to do with the fact that US Senator John Thune is immensely popular, or that on the campaign trail he explained Jesus was coming for the rapture and the tribulation was going to hit, told people that they should take sheep dewormer for covid, and talked about stoning people and treating politicians with dewormer.

Nope. It was an “algorithm deployed during the primary selected Democrats.”

In one of the posts I linked, I noted that Bruce should get off the stage, because he was damaging the Republican brand by spouting off crazy stuff.

Obviously he hasn’t taken the advice.

Morning Consult is at it again, as they release their regular rankings of the popularity of our elected officials. And in the most recent edition, US Senator John Thune is noted as the second most popular US Senator in the entire country!

South Dakota’s Junior Senator Mike Rounds comes in the top ten as well, polling as #6 in the nation.

The takeaway is that we love our Senators in this state!

Rounds, Tester Bill to Protect and Expand National and Tribal Veterans’ Cemeteries Signed into Law

WASHINGTON – Legislation championed by U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-Mont.) has been signed into law by President Joe Biden.

The National Cemeteries Preservation and Protection Act of 2022, S. 4949, supports the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Cemetery Administration in honoring veterans nationwide.

“This law is a small way for us to show gratitude to our veterans and their families,” said Rounds. “It provides the tools necessary to operate and maintain national and tribal veterans’ cemeteries, which will make certain that generations to come will have a peaceful place to visit their loved ones. I am pleased this legislation was signed into law so our veterans are honored with a dignified resting place.”

Among its many provisions, the National Cemeteries Preservation and Protection Act of 2022 will:

• Require the VA to pay plot allowances for Native American veterans buried at tribal veterans’ cemeteries prior to March 15, 2022;
• Allow the VA Secretary to designate sections of the national veterans’ cemeteries as green burial sections;
• Allow the Department of the Interior to transfer land to the VA to expand or establish new national veterans’ cemeteries; and
• Ban the burial of additional criminals in national veterans’ cemeteries.

The National Cemeteries Preservation and Protection Act of 2022 received wide-bipartisan support, unanimously passing out of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Read the bill text that was signed into law HERE.

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