PUC Chair and Candidate Chris Nelson was interviewed by Dakota News Now this past weekend, and Chris has posted the interview to his facebook page for your watching:

SDGOP Chair Dan Lederman is part of the program with former President Donald Trump this Thursday in Sioux City, according to the official line-up for Donald Trump’s “Save America” Rally:

The official lineup for Donald Trump’s Save America Rally on Nov. 3 in Sioux City was announced Monday afternoon and includes the number of former party leaders and new hopefuls on the ballot.

While Trump is expected to address the crowd at 7 p.m., seven others are expected to speak to the crowd that day with speeches starting at 4 p.m.

and..

Two former Trump Administration officials will also speak. Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who served as the ambassador to China for the Trump administration, is expected to speak at the event as is former acting Attorney General Matt Whittaker.

The remaining two speakers will be Iowa Republican party chairman Jeff Kaufmann and South Dakota Republican party chairman Dan Lederman.

Read the entire story here.

If you’re interested in getting tickets (and if they’re still available) you can get them here.

UPDATED LOCATION: Gov. Noem to Host Rally with Gov. Youngkin

SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA – On Wednesday, November 2, Governor Kristi Noem will host a campaign rally in Sioux Falls with special guest Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. Due to popular demand, the event will now take place at the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance. The time is still 3pm CT.

Governor Glenn Youngkin was elected in a blue state last year despite long odds and a well-funded well-known opponent. He remained focused on the concerns of Virginia parents, including opposition to Critical Race Theory.

The event sold out of tickets in 24 hours at the original location. You can sign up for the event here.

WHAT: Kristi for Governor rally

WHO: Governor Kristi Noem and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin

WHEN: Doors open at 2:30 pm CT; rally begins at 3pm CT

WHERE: South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance, 1600 West Russell St. Sioux Falls, SD 57104

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Over the last two years our economic, energy, and national security have been moving in the wrong direction. High inflation has strained family budgets month after month. A radical environmental agenda threatens our energy security. And a failure to address the surge in illegal immigration has led to a humanitarian crisis at our southern border. These crises are the result of President Biden and Democrats putting their big-government priorities over the needs of the American people.

Most Americans just wanted to get back to normal after a year of the pandemic, but Democrats swept into office determined to enact a far-left agenda. They started off with their $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, flooding the economy with unnecessary spending despite economists warning that their proposal could trigger inflation. Even as it became clear that the American Rescue Plan was indeed driving up inflation, Democrats kept pushing ahead with another, even larger reckless tax-and-spending spree. While they were eventually forced to shelve this $5 trillion plan last December, by the following August Democrats had agreed on yet another partisan tax-and-spending bill. And just days after signing this bill into law, President Biden announced a massive student loan giveaway, which alone could cost more than $1 trillion and will, to quote one independent analysis, “meaningfully boost inflation.”

Democrats’ reckless spending has helped drive up prices across the board, including energy prices. But the price of energy is especially high because of Democrats’ attacks on conventional energy production. From canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, to imposing burdensome regulations on investment in the oil and gas sector, to increasing taxes on oil and gas producers, the president and Democrats have pursued an agenda hostile to conventional U.S. energy production. The result has been higher prices for utilities, gas, and diesel, not to mention the energy jobs that will be lost because of the administration’s misguided policies.

After taking office the president also made quick work of dismantling our nation’s border security, sending a clear message to migrants that the border was open. In fiscal year 2022, the Biden administration broke its own record for the highest number of illegal immigrant encounters at the southern border. There were 2.3 million encounters in fiscal year 2022, a 37 percent increase over fiscal year 2021. And that doesn’t include known “gotaways,” immigrants who evaded apprehension after crossing the border – more than 1.1 million combined in the previous two fiscal years alone. Yet Democrats refuse to acknowledge that there is a crisis at the border or that their policies have contributed to the ongoing surge in illegal crossings.

Instead of addressing the crises they helped create, Democrats are focused on passing the rest of their original reckless tax-and-spending bill, which would drive up inflation even further. And if they increase their majority in November, they may again try to gut Senate rules to force through legislation empowering a federal takeover of elections and allowing abortion up until the moment of birth.

Republicans, on the other hand, want to promote growth in our economy by making lower tax rates permanent. We want to unleash American energy production with an all-of-the-above energy agenda. And we want to secure the border, deter illegal immigration, and stop deadly drugs like fentanyl from pouring into our communities.

South Dakotans can’t afford another two years like the last two. And for the sake of our country, I hope we don’t have to see what two more years of Democrat power would bring.

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It’s Halloween weekend—we see jack-o-lanterns, bats, skeletons, and zombies in many front yards of our streets. It gets us in the spooky spirit of Halloween, but there’s one thing that spooks me year-round—American energy insecurity.

Our president’s actions continue to make America reliant on other countries, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and OPEC for energy—putting our energy supply in their control. We saw the risks of this when OPEC recently decided to significantly cut oil production to keep prices high. While OPEC benefits from higher profits, Americans are feeling the strain on their wallet from these record high prices. On average, monthly energy costs are up $159 per household in South Dakota, and most Americans are experiencing the same high prices.

This week, the Congressional Western Caucus released their priorities for an economy that’s strong. Through American energy dominance, an all-of-the-above energy portfolio, permitting reform, and responsible American mining, we can have cleaner energy, a stronger and more secure energy supply, and a stronger economy.

As our energy demand increases, we should be producing more to meet the needs of Americans. States like California and parts of the Midwest have been preparing for rolling blackouts and President Biden still refuses to increase American oil production. Two steps to increase our energy security are maximizing production of reliable, American-made energy, and cutting the permitting process time in half to reduce our reliance on foreign countries.

I sent a letter to President Biden with over 120 of my Republican colleagues urging him to address the energy crisis he is worsening by his policy decisions. We strongly requested that he issues a five-year offshore leasing plan to unleash American energy. We need to tap into America’s vast energy resources. It’ll be for the better for our energy security, the climate, and the world.

There’s not much that’s spookier than an America that goes dark.

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I recently met with several childcare providers in Sioux Falls to discuss challenges their industry faces. One of the biggest challenges to filling the available jobs across our state is the lack of available childcare, and I knew that our childcare providers would be best at finding solutions to increase access and affordability. We had a fantastic discussion about streamlining regulations that are currently placed on our childcare industry and how to start fixing the broken business model. I was so moved by these folks’ insight and passion. And I loved their emphasis on helping South Dakota families.

That’s at the heart of everything I do as Governor: helping families. Building stronger families leads to stronger communities. In turn, stronger communities build a stronger South Dakota. With every action I take, and every policy I pursue, I focus on making South Dakota safer and stronger for our kids and grandkids. That’s what family is all about – setting our next generation up for success.

In the past few years, we have promoted families in South Dakota by extending paid family leave opportunities to state employees. In my budget for next year, I will include resources to help expand these opportunities to private employers across the state.

I will continue to work on increasing access to childcare. We have awarded numerous grants to childcare providers across the state to help them cover costs and continue to help families, but we have more work to do. One of their biggest challenges is that they can’t provide benefits to their employees, so I will be working on a solution that will make employment in childcare more attractive for potential employees. We will also overhaul our child care rules and regulations, in partnership with the industry leaders.

And we will continue our work to recruit more foster families in our state. All kids deserve to grow up in a family where they are loved and protected, and foster families help provide that opportunity to many of our precious South Dakota children. We met our goal this past year of recruiting 300 new families to help kids who are in crisis, and we will continue working to meet our new goal of recruiting 900 families over the next three years.

So many of the folks moving to South Dakota are doing it for family reasons. Their kids didn’t have the opportunity to learn in the classroom. They couldn’t take their families to church. When governments closed these families’  small businesses, it became harder to put food on the table. Some of them were prevented from saying “goodbye” to a loved one in their final days. For all of these reasons and more, they were moved by South Dakota’s Freedom, and they chose to make our state their home.

Bryon and I love our family. The honor of our lifetimes has been raising three children who love their family and have an even deeper love for the Lord. And as a new grandma, I’m once again being reminded of the joy that children bring into the world. I want to continue to promote strong families for the sake of my grandchildren – and for kids and grandkids across the state of South Dakota.

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Support investments in South Dakota’s ethanol industry
By: Walt Wendland

Each year, Ringneck Energy purchases 27.5 million bushels of corn to produce 80 million gallons of ethanol. In addition to supporting a number of jobs in the Onida community, our facility is an important part of the overall agricultural economy that remains so critical to the region. Our company, along with dozens of ethanol plants across South Dakota, are eager to continue contributing to the success of agriculture and economic development.

Earlier this month, our facility hosted a stakeholder education forum to explain the ‘why’ behind Summit Carbon Solutions’ carbon capture and sequestration project and how it will benefit the ethanol industry, farmers, and local communities. As I walked with groups through the plant, grain trucks rolled in one after another, and the employees worked tirelessly to assist them and keep the plant operating smoothly. I believe most people in the area and across the state understand the need to keep ethanol viable in the coming decades.

The last few years have had their ups and downs, but the ethanol industry is ultimately responsible for purchasing about half of the state’s corn crop. Nobody wants to imagine what would happen if ethanol plants could no longer sustain that buying power and how that would adversely impact commodity prices and land values.

To avoid that scenario, Ringneck Energy has partnered with Summit Carbon Solutions to strengthen the ethanol industry in the coming years and continue serving as a strong purchaser of corn. With the growth of electric vehicles and events abroad over which we have no control, it has become apparent that ethanol must adapt or be left behind. Our collaboration with Summit will enable our plant to capture, transport, and permanently store CO2, resulting in a low-carbon biofuel that we can sell for a premium while also keeping a robust corn market available for our farmers.

Ethanol plants, just like Ringneck, are working day in and day out to find their place in this low-carbon world. Carbon capture and storage technology will help us at Ringneck find the highest-value marketplace for our ethanol and keep our plant open when others may close. In fact, if this project is successful, ethanol could become a net-zero fuel within a decade.

The staff at Ringneck Energy, along with myself, hope South Dakotans will come to understand the need for this project. The truth of the matter is that low-carbon standards offer two realities for ethanol and agriculture. We can either view this as an opportunity to grow our profits and protect corn markets or allow these standards to mark the decline of our core industries.

Regardless of our choice, low-carbon markets will continue to expand until they are status-quo. Please join Ringneck Energy in supporting Summit and our initiative to preserve the ethanol industry.

Gov. Noem to Participate in Hobo Day at SDSU

Wraps Up First Week of RV Tour

BROOKINGS, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, Governor Kristi Noem will participate in Hobo Day at South Dakota State University (SDSU) in Brookings. She and dozens of campaign volunteers will march in the Hobo Day parade at 9:30 am. She will then attend SDSU’s game vs. Indiana State at 2pm. SDSU is Governor Noem’s alma mater.

The day in Brookings will wrap up the week for Governor Noem’s RV tour across the state. She kicked off the tour on Wednesday, leaving Pierre for town halls in Spearfish and Deadwood.

On Thursday, Governor Noem held multiple townhalls in Rapid City and visited local businesses like the Millstone, Prairies Edge, and Black Hills Bagels. She ended the night at a high school football game in Wall.

On Friday, Governor Noem held a townhall in Chamberlain before visiting Bad River Jerky and a local art gallery. She then held another townhall in Mitchell, visited Main Street Mercantile, and spent some time on a combine with Senator Josh Klumb. She closed the day in Sioux Falls with a visit to Fair Market and a “thank you” visit to volunteers in the Sioux Falls campaign office.

 The RV tour will continue strong next week! Stay tuned for Governor Noem to visit a community near you.

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