Freedom and Fresh Air
By: Gov. Larry Rhoden
September 25, 2026

There are many reasons to visit the Black Hills. The towering pillars of granite would be plenty enough on their own, and that’s before you factor in the amazing monuments of Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. But one of my favorite reasons to head for the hills happens once a year in late September: the Buffalo Roundup at Custer State Park.

Every year, a few dozen parks staff lead brave volunteers as we chase roughly 1,500 buffalo through the hills of Custer State Park. The thundering hooves, cracking whips, and the wild spirit of the American buffalo makes the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

The spectacle is truly one-of-a-kind, and word has gotten out. Every year, 20,000 visitors join us to watch the display. We round up the herd so that we can tend to their health, brand the new calves, and auction off a portion to maintain the herd’s stability. And the visitors come from across the country and around the world. This brings South Dakota’s two biggest industries, agriculture and tourism, together.

Every year when I’m breathing in the crisp morning air at Custer State Park, I stop to think about what makes this event so special. I go back to our state’s western heritage. Most of us are descended from the homesteaders – or at least the tough few who were able to eke out a living on the untamed South Dakota prairie. Our state still reflects the American Wild West in many regards. Tourists come to Deadwood to get a glimpse into Wild Bill’s life, hike through the wilderness trails in the Black Hills, and swing through 1880 Town along the way.

I think there’s something about all those experiences that is so attractive to the 21^st Century traveler. In a world that is increasingly online, it’s nice to get our faces out of our phones for a few days and get back to our roots. And that’s why they keep coming back to South Dakota. My wife, Sandy, has made it her mission to get South Dakotans of all ages off their phones – and I know the phone-free fellowship that happened at the Buffalo Roundup this year made her proud.

Our state is the freest state in a nation founded on the principle of freedom. And those Wild West experiences hearken back to a day when our nation was just a bit freer.

The late September Buffalo Roundup marks somewhat of a conclusion to the annual tourism season – though the orange jacketed pheasant hunters will be here in just a few short weeks. But it does not mark the conclusion of what makes South Dakota special. Our freedom and fresh air remain a tremendous draw year round.

Moments like the Buffalo Roundup are both a great opportunity to take a break from the daily grind and remember why I do what I do: to keep South Dakota the greatest, freest state in America – and to keep our future strong, safe, and free.

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Democrats Just Say No
By Sen. John Thune

Soon after Republicans took control of Congress last year, it became clear that if we were going to accomplish anything for hardworking Americans, we would largely have to do it alone. There is always some partisanship in Congress, but Democrats took it to a new level since last year, and they have shown themselves to be completely out of step with the American people.

At the top of Republicans’ priority list for this Congress was preventing a massive tax hike that was set to hit working families this year – a tax hike that would have cost a typical South Dakota family $2,500. But Democrats weren’t interested in working with us, and every single Democrat in Congress voted against providing tax relief to the American people. They voted against no tax on tips and overtime, against cutting taxes for working people, and they even voted against an additional deduction for seniors and raising the child tax credit for working families.

Democrats have also opposed Republican-led efforts to reduce costs. They opposed our efforts to block a tax on natural gas that they imposed during the Biden administration, which would have contributed to higher household energy costs. They have also opposed legislation Republicans put forward to block Biden-era regulations that would have forced Americans into costly electric vehicles and raised the price of appliances. And just recently, they blocked progress on bringing down energy prices, including a bill to protect hardworking Americans from increased energy costs associated with data centers.

Democrats have said no to more money in Americans’ pockets, reducing energy costs, and even to funding the basic functions of the federal government. One year ago, Democrats shut down the entire government for 43 days over a nonpartisan spending bill. At the beginning of this year, Democrats reprised that playbook and shut down the Department of Homeland Security over their refusal to spend even one dollar on Border Patrol and immigration enforcement. What was once a fringe position in their party – defunding law enforcement – is now an article of faith among Democrats.

It’s clear that, for my Democrat colleagues, hardworking Americans take a backseat to their political agenda and opposing President Trump and Republicans. Democrats are blocking the farm bill and the annual defense bill, they opposed keeping men out of women’s sports, and they rejected bipartisan efforts to bring down energy costs. What will it take for Democrats to put the American people ahead of their political interests?

Despite the incredible amount of obstruction from Democrats in this Congress, Republicans have managed to accomplish a lot these past two years – from regulatory relief to a secure border and the Working Families Tax Cuts. We have more work to do, and we’ll continue our work this year and in the next as Republicans remain focused on making life better for working families.

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Investments in South Dakota’s Mail

BIG Update

Just two years ago, the United States Postal Service (USPS) wanted to decrease the Sioux Falls Post Office processing and distribution center’s operational capacity. This week, they responded to South Dakota’s calls for improved service and announced increased investments in the facility. These upgrades will mean most mail originating in South Dakota will be processed and handled in South Dakota. I’m glad the USPS recognized it makes more sense for South Dakota mail to be processed here, rather than in North Dakota, Nebraska, or Colorado. I’ve been pushing Postal Service leadership to take the concerns of South Dakotans seriously and I am encouraged by this announcement.

BIG Idea

Main Street businesses are the backbone of South Dakota communities—creating jobs, supporting families, and keeping our local economies strong. It was great to meet with the South Dakota Retailers Association to discuss the importance of supporting small businesses and ensuring they have the tools and opportunities to succeed. I was honored to receive the South Dakota Retailers’ Hero of Main Street Award for my work in Congress supporting local businesses. South Dakota’s small businesses are an important part of what makes our state special, and I’ll continue working to strengthen our economy and ensure Main Street businesses can grow, create jobs, and serve our communities for years to come.

Johnson with the South Dakota Retailers Association

BIG News

This week, President Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, D.C. I’ve been vocal about my concerns with the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to undermine American interests and values. As a member of the House Select Committee on China, I’ve pushed for fairer trade deals, stronger protections for our kids, and policies that ensure America remains competitive on the world stage. These meetings could yield positive deals for the United States, but we need to understand Chinese leadership is a real geopolitical threat to American interests.

 

Click here or the image above to watch Johnson’s conversation on CNN

NFIB Endorses Sen. Mike Rounds and Attorney General Marty Jackley for Election to Congress to Represent South Dakota
Rounds and Jackley have demonstrated strong support for small businesses

PIERRE, S.D. (Sept. 25, 2026) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, endorsed Sen. Mike Rounds for reelection to the U.S. Senate and Attorney General Marty Jackley (SD-At Large) for election to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent South Dakota.

“Senator Rounds and Attorney General Jackley are both staunch advocates for Main Street,” said Tim Nungesser, NFIB Regional Director. “South Dakota small businesses are the foundation of the state’s economy, and it is important to have strong leaders to represent them in Congress. We look forward to working with Senator Rounds and Attorney General Jackley to ensure that independent businesses in our state can continue to grow and create jobs.”

“We are proud to endorse Senator Rounds and Attorney General Jackley to represent South Dakota in Congress,” said Louis Bertolotti, NFIB Political Director. “They have each demonstrated a steadfast commitment to advancing small business interests, and they understand the issues that matter most to South Dakota owners. We look forward to working with them to build on last year’s great win of making the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent.”

The endorsement is issued from NFIB FedPAC, NFIB’s political action committee. NFIB FedPAC is funded by voluntary contributions by NFIB members over and above their membership dues. Decisions made by the NFIB FedPAC are managed by a member-driven grassroots evaluation.

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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

Coming off of his plea deal to get his rear-end out of a felony charge, today Heather Baxter is crowing about this endorsement from Travis Ismay.

Is a Tom Pischke endorsement coming next?

Former US Senate candidate Julian Beaudion didn’t hold much back in a post he just did on facebook in response to Brian Bengs getting in the face of someone who disagreed with the Nebraska candidate he appeared with..

What US Senate Candidate puts his finger in the face of a constituent?
What type of US Senate Candidate snaps his fingers in the face of a constituent?
Brian has shown me that when he isn’t in agreement, he shows that in anger.

and..

Brian is also the same person that told my wife and I the day after our house fire, “If you remain in this race, things will get worse for you.”

and..

Today I am saying this to you all.

BRIAN BENGS IS INCAPABLE OF BEING A US SENATOR AND I WILL NOT BE VOTING FOR BRIAN BENGS!

Read that here.

This is hot off the press.. Instead of running his own Indy/Liberal/Dem whatever race for US Senate,  Brian Bengs apparently feels the need to go to Washington DC to defend Nebraskan Dan Osborn who is doing the same thing:

A man came up and heckled Osborn, asked why he had called Nebraskans an expletive (this is a family X account)

Bengs stepped in between them https://t.co/rl3lbuLpOM

— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) September 24, 2026

Why Does Dan Osborn need to be defended by Bengs? It might have been something that Osborn said..

But in a newly released recording, Osborn appears to describe a very different strategy: Say what he needs to say to win a Republican-heavy state, then govern according to the positions he has kept off the campaign trail.

“I can go and I can be the voice for LGBTQ and immigration and all of these issues. Then I lose the election,” Osborn said in the recording obtained by Townhall. “It feels good in the moment. At the end of the day, I’m gonna win this election. And then I’ll be the senator for six years and everybody else can f-off.”

Read (and listen) to this here.

Strangely, this seems to feel familiar in the South Dakota US Senate Race, where Bengs appears to be shifting his platform on things he was running on in the last election.

Here’s more of the video..

The person who was questioning Bengs was apparently displeased over Osborne referring to Nebraskans in less than Senatorial language.

This whole episode is weird, because it seems to have Bengs declaring he wants to be part of a third-party caucus along with the other two characters. And then going after someone who questioned him.

Rounds Issues Statement Following Release of USPS OIG Report on South Dakota Mail Service
Rounds requested OIG investigation in December 2025

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today issued a statement following the release of the United States Postal Service (USPS) Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) report on the status of mail service in South Dakota. This investigation was requested by Rounds in December 2025. The report comes following USPS’s announcement that the Sioux Falls processing facility will be upgraded to a regional facility at Rounds’ request, keeping more intrastate mail in South Dakota.

“It’s encouraging and unsurprising that the Inspector General’s report studying the mail service in South Dakota shows evidence to back up what we’ve been hearing and seeing for years: the United States Postal Service is not adequately serving South Dakotans,” said Rounds. “We’ve heard from thousands of South Dakotans who have real concerns about their mail service. Veterans aren’t getting prescriptions on time, bills are arriving after they’re due and newspapers are old news by the time they make it to your doorstep. At the same time, Postal Service executives are receiving bonuses and airport lounge memberships while telling South Dakotans there are no problems. Today’s report states otherwise.

“I’m grateful to Inspector General Tammy Hull and her team for their thorough review process in South Dakota and their thoughtful recommendations for improvements,” continued Rounds. “I’m also grateful for all of the South Dakotans who have sent feedback and contributed to this report. We’ll be watching the USPS’s team closely to see if and how these recommendations are implemented, and whether they actually make meaningful improvements in delivery time. Until then, we’ll keep the pressure on and continue to fight for a return to service standards that not only meet but exceed expectations.”

Read the report HERE.

BACKGROUND:

Rounds has been a leader on USPS issues in South Dakota, leading the push to keep local processing facilities in South Dakota. In April 2024, Rounds sent a letter to USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy urging USPS to avoid downsizing or significantly reorganizing mail processing operations in South Dakota. As a result, in February 2025, USPS committed to keeping the Dakota Central processing facility in Huron open, as well as investing $3 million in improvements to the facility. Rounds also secured a commitment from former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to keep mail that originates within South Dakota from leaving the state for processing.

In September 2025, Rounds sent a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner urging him to restore reliable mail service and requesting a meeting. Rounds and Steiner met in October. Steiner followed up on the meeting with a letter dismissing the issues raised by Rounds, claiming that the mail delays were caused by issues at processing facilities in Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City despite none of these facilities handling South Dakota’s intrastate mail. USPS leadership continues to deny any issues with South Dakota’s mail service despite the first-hand accounts from South Dakotans that say otherwise.

In December 2025, Rounds requested an investigation into persistent issues with USPS delivery in South Dakota. In April 2026, Rounds was notified that the Office of the Inspector General was on the ground in South Dakota to investigate mail service. In June 2026, Rounds sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs announcing his intention to place a hold on all USPS nominees until South Dakota’s issues are resolved. As a result, two Postal Service Board of Governors nominees were removed from the legislative calendar in August 2026.

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Gov. Rhoden Awards Behavioral Health Grants through RHT

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Rhoden announced 12 Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) modernization and infrastructure grants totaling more than $13 million. These grants are part of the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) funds and are specifically focused on behavioral health.

“Mental health is a key component of quality health care, so we’re investing in all aspects of healthcare in our rural communities, including behavioral health. South Dakotans in rural communities will have the resources they need to receive the care they deserve,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “Thank you to the Trump Administration for the opportunity to expand access to behavioral health services in South Dakota through our Rural Health Transformation funds.”

These grants will strengthen behavioral health care by expanding provider capacity, building out crisis services, investing in IT infrastructure, and strengthening the workforce. The next round of funding is anticipated later this fall.

“The Trump Administration’s Rural Health Transformation Program is based on one simple idea: your access to quality health care shouldn’t depend on your ZIP code,” said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “Funding new approaches to advance technology and expand access to behavioral healthcare is a critical step toward achieving that vision for South Dakotans and I look forward to seeing RHTP investments drive equally transformative innovations for rural communities nationwide.”

The CCBHC model has been successfully implemented in many other states across the country. Governor Rhoden and the State of South Dakota seek to build on that success and expand access to critical behavioral health services for South Dakotans.

“The CCBHC model has been shown to make behavioral health care more accessible and more comprehensive,” said Department of Social Services Secretary Matt Althoff. “We are grateful for the cohort of providers who have entered this exploration. These readiness grants will assist providers as they build out services and strengthen health care access across our state.”

The CCBHC Cohort is made up of 13 agencies throughout the State of South Dakota. The Cohort was selected in April following an open application period. Selections were based on organizational readiness, geographical locations, and other factors.

Cohort members include Avera Behavioral Health, Brookings Behavioral Health and Wellness, Capital Area Counseling, Community Counseling Services, Dakota Counseling Institute, Human Service Agency, Lewis & Clark Behavioral Health, Northeastern Mental Health Center, Southeastern Directions for Life, Southern Plains Behavioral Health Services, Three Rivers Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Center, VOA – Dakotas, and West River Mental Health.

Governor Rhoden previously signed HB 1044 to appropriate funding for the RHT Program. You can find more information about Rural Health Transformation efforts in South Dakota here.

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(h/t to Fred Deutsch who was posting on this):

Caught this ad that was in local papers in District 4 from the Independent candidate running for office. Can’t say that I’ve ever seen a candidate running on a platform of “cut school funding.”   But this was a legislative district that managed to elect Dylan Jordan for a term, so if any district was going to generate a goofball candidate like this, it might be D4.

Teaching them durned kids how to turn on a computer? A pox on that house of lurnin!  And if you also happen to enjoy watching your kid play football or play in the band (or any extracurricular activity) that’s a no go with District 4 House Candidate Sam Froehlke as well.

In case you’re wondering about what is supposed to be provided, the State Constitution says “it shall be the duty of the Legislature to establish and maintain a general and uniform system of public schools wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all; and to adopt all suitable means to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education.” That’s a pretty broad mandate which gives a lot of latitude.

I also get the sense that he doesn’t have a clue that schools and counties have separate tax levies that aren’t contingent on one another. School districts can raise or lower property taxes on their own, and so can counties.

So, preparing children less for their adult lives isn’t going to have anything to do with a township getting a road grader.

Maybe Sam is the one who needs to spend a little more time in School. Because he needs a lot more education about how government works.