From Twitter, Russia has officially banned Senator Mike Rounds from entering the country.
Apparently, we struck a nerve. I will continue to speak out on the threat the current Russian regime poses to the free world. Further, I’ll redouble efforts to pass my legislation which would ban Russia, China, North Korea and Iran from buying American farmland and ag businesses. https://t.co/XTa1QxvQi9
With summer drawing to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on what makes me thankful to be a South Dakotan: its people. It doesn’t matter what town you’re traveling through, it becomes clear that the people of this state are what give it its backbone. They are hardworking, passionate, God-fearing Americans who are willing to go the extra mile for a friend, neighbor, or family member.
August was a busy month. I spent most of it crisscrossing South Dakota, meeting with South Dakotans and taking in the sights and sounds of everything that our great state has to offer in the summertime. For me, there’s nothing more valuable than hearing directly from families and small business owners – to hear what challenges they’re facing and what I can do in Washington to help out.
One way I intend to help is by crafting a pro-South Dakota farm bill. I hosted multiple roundtable events across the state where I was able to receive invaluable feedback from farmers and ranchers ahead of the 2023 farm bill. I visited small towns in every corner of the state and hosted events where I was able to hear what’s on folks’ minds. South Dakotans’ concerns are my concerns, so you can be sure I’ll take everything I heard with me back to Washington.
As I traveled the state, I shared some of the bipartisan wins I have helped deliver for South Dakotans this year. From getting my Ocean Shipping Reform Act signed into law to restoring the summertime sale of E15 fuel to securing critical funding for Ellsworth Air Force Base, these successes were no easy feat in a Democrat-controlled Washington. While much was accomplished, there is much more work yet to do this Congress.
Whether I was in a bigger city or a smaller town, I heard about everything from record-high inflation to border security to gas prices. I heard about economic issues, particularly the workforce shortages that are plaguing businesses throughout the state. Farmers and ranchers told me about the agriculture industry’s seemingly annual struggle with tough weather and market conditions. Part of my job is to try to prevent bad policies from going into place that will make these crises worse, and you can be sure I’ll fight hard to do just that.
The other thing I love about August in South Dakota is that it’s fair season. The Sioux Empire Fair, the Turner County Fair, Dakotafest, the Brown County Fair, and Yankton Riverboat Days – to name a few – are quintessential stops that ensure you’re having a true South Dakota summer. I often joke that in August I’m basically eating my way across the state. From milkshakes at Dakotafest to Tubby burgers at the Brown County Fair, I look forward to these fair-food staples every year.
South Dakota is the best place in the country to live, work, and raise a family. It’s my home. It’s my kids’ and grandkids’ home. And it’s a beacon of freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility that continues to draw people from across the United States to come explore during all seasons of the year.
Summer is ending, but fall is right around the corner. That means South Dakota high school and college sports, pheasant hunting, and so much more. As always, spending quality time with South Dakotans has been very informative, especially as I prepare to head back to Washington where a little commonsense and South Dakota straight-talk go a long way.
The Decision to Eliminate Debts By Rep. Dusty Johnson September 2, 2022
Many have heard about the Biden Administration’s plan to cancel $10,000 of student debt per borrower for individuals who make up to $125,000 annually or households making $250,000 or less annually. I understand the public concern about higher education affordability and the desire to help struggling Americans. Unfortunately, President Biden‘s loan forgiveness plan doesn’t meaningfully address either of those issues. In fact, it will likely make them worse.
Higher education inflation over the past two decades shows us that loan forgiveness will likely make college even less affordable in the future. Colleges understand they can raise tuition even higher and still find plenty of individuals and families willing to borrow more money to finance the education. Student loan forgiveness will only make that problem worse.
Additionally, this plan does not only target the most needy Americans—just look at the Administration’s plan—a family making $250,000 a year still qualifies for this giveaway. More than 70% of the benefit goes to the richest 60% of Americans.
Jerry, a South Dakotan, told me recently that his daughter Emily worked hard throughout college to pay off her student loans. She worked nights and weekends during school and picked up extra hours after graduation and even picked up a second part-time job. She and her family shortened or skipped family vacations, limited or postponed purchasing decisions for their home and family, and passed on fun entertainment or sporting events. The Biden Administration’s plan to cancel $10,000 of debt for people who have not acted similarly to pay off their debts is a slap in the face to folks like Emily. She took full responsibility for her loans and paid them off quickly – through hard work.
Most Americans do not have a college degree. Forcing those who passed on college to foot the bill for a payout to individuals who statistically have a higher earning potential with their degree is irresponsible and an unfair use of taxpayer dollars.
I am co-leading two bills that would prohibit massive student loan forgiveness by the federal government:
The Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act would end the suspension of repayments on qualifying federal student loans, following two years of non-payment and seven executive actions extending the payment pause. My bill would prohibit the president from canceling outstanding federal student loan obligations due to a national emergency.
The Can’t Cancel Your Own Debt Act would prevent Congress from implementing bills thatlet U.S. Senators and Representatives off the hook for personal debts.
If our government sets a precedent to forgive the debts of private citizens that they chose to incur, individuals will be incentivized to take on more debt. College may become more expensive, or the government may continue bailing individuals out—creating a bigger burden on American taxpayers, including the 60 percent who do not have a bachelor’s degree. The government needs to stop printing money. Increased spending in the current high-inflationary economy has real, negative impacts on American taxpayers that are struggling to make ends meet.
When you borrow money, the expectation is—and should be—that you pay it back. Even if it requires hard work.
Celebrating Hard Work By: Governor Kristi Noem September 2, 2022
The beginning of September brings us to Labor Day weekend and the start of Workforce Development Month across the country.
While America celebrates a national holiday, South Dakota has even more to celebrate. Our state has shown the rest of the country what hard work can do for an economy. In South Dakota, we have less than 700 people on unemployment, because we stayed open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and didn’t shut down a single business. When the President offered elevated unemployment benefits, we were the only state that said, “No, thank you.” There are often unknowns when making decisions as Governor, but I knew that South Dakotans wanted to work – so it comes as no surprise to me that we are one of the hardest working states in America.
There are over 467,400 employed South Dakotans that contribute to our economic and social growth every single day when they go to work. We also have a much higher rate of people who hold multiple jobs than most of the rest of the country. We don’t tax our people’s incomes, which can be a discouragement to work. We have the strongest work ethic of any state, and this strengthens our already strong economy by filling important jobs and increasing our average household income.
All of these aspects of our labor force attract businesses, diversify our economy, and continue to make South Dakota the best state in the nation to do business. We were already one of the best states to start a small business because of our low taxes and lack of a state income tax or business income tax. The affordability of living in South Dakota also makes it easier to raise a family and for bold thinkers to kickstart their ideas.
As I traveled the state this week and visited about a dozen businesses, I heard tremendous feedback from our top industry leaders. They are growing and are able to expand here, and businesses continue to choose South Dakota as a location for their new facilities. I know this is in part because of our low tax structure, but also because of our hardworking citizens.
Not laying down mandates, letting businesses choose to stay open, and refusing to accept unneeded federal aid were different ways to approach the pandemic at the time, but it’s truly the way our founders envisioned this country would look. Our approach to challenges and our way of life are bringing hope to the rest of the country. We’ve got people moving to South Dakota in record numbers. We are expected to outpace the nation through 2030. This inbound migration will continue to grow our workforce and attract more businesses to join us.
This Labor Day weekend, I want to celebrate all that South Dakota’s workforce has done for our economy. I also want to welcome all of the new and incoming members to our workforce. You are part of the growth of our already thriving economy, and you are moving here because you value the same thing we do: Freedom.
Outgoing Secretary of State Steve Barnett appears to be landing on his feet, and is reported to be a finalist for City Manager in Benson, Minnesota:
Current South Dakota Secretary of State Steve Barnett is one of three finalists for the job of Benson City Manager. According to The Swift County Monitor News, Barnett is in the running for the job, along with outgoing Olivia City Administrator Dan Coughlin and Clarkfield City Administrator Christopher Webb.
This week Glacial Lakes Energy and Summit Carbon Solutions held a media day to answer questions and give reporters and elected officials a chance to learn more about ethanol production facilities, and the challenges that renewable energy producers face in reducing their carbon footprint for an industry that provides a active market for agriculture production while exporting hundreds of millions of gallons of ethanol annually from South Dakota.
State Legislators from Districts 1, 3 and 25 were in attendance with county officials from the region for the event at the Glacial Lakes Energy facility just outside of Mina, South Dakota, where organizational representatives provided an overview of the Mina facility, one of four operating (Aberdeen, Mina, Watertown & Huron) under the Glacial Lakes Energy group. The Mina facility currently takes in 35 million bushels of corn annually to produce 100 million gallons per year, with Aberdeen producing approximately 49 Million gallons of ethanol, Huron 33 Million, and Watertown producing 100 Million Gallons of Ethanol annually.
Staff from Glacial Lakes Energy provided a tour of the facility, which provided a sense of the immense scale of the project. Below, you can see images as participants viewed the dry distiller’s processing building where dried distillers grains (DDGs) have emerged as a key ethanol co-product. As part of the presentation, staff noted that they have had to expand to keep pace with production, as during one inclement winter, weather prevented regular loads from being hauled away as scheduled, and they had to shut down production due to filling the building to capacity.
The tour also took participants into the area where grains are off loaded, with a constant stream of trucks feeding production.
Glacial Lakes CEO Jim Seurer explained further about the operation, and why it their participation in the Summit Carbon pipeline is important for reduction of their carbon score:
Presently, as a by-product of ethanol production, carbon dioxide is scrubbed at their facility, and after processing, released back into the carbon cycle, including into the atmosphere. Seurer noted that one of the challenges South Dakota Ethanol producers face is that as an exporter of energy, partners in some states are seeking sources with a lower CI (Carbon Index) score as part of their production process. While they can change some of their equipment out, and move the needle a few points, the Summit Carbon Pipeline will more than double the impact of removing Co2 in comparison to current scrubbing methods, reducing the environmental impact and keeping access to those markets who are increasing their standards for being carbon neutral.
As noted, participating with the Summit Carbon Solution pipeline allows them to reduce their carbon footprint by locking the Co2 into geologic storage, as explained by the fact sheet from Summit Carbon Solutions:
Benefits on the Summit Carbon Solutions Pipeline Project were explained by Summit Carbon’s Chief Commercial Officer Jim Pirolli:
Biggest takeaways from the presentations for me were the scale of the economic development that ethanol production has provided in the state, and will continue to provide with 11,000 jobs being added for pipeline creation.
As part of the Summit project, they currently have over 160 miles of pipeline easement already done in South Dakota, with over 300 state landowners who have signed on of about 800 landowners total, for a project that benefits the entire midwest, with 32 ethanol plants across 5 states participating in the project.
The word I’m hearing from those involved in the project is that they anticipate that they are on track to have a majority of South Dakota landowners sign on by the end of the year, and possibly even more checking off the box to allow the project to move forward by that time.
Unfortunately, there seems to be the same resistance to any development of our energy resources in the state, such as with coal and wind energy. It’s a troubling trend where any efforts at energy production, where renewable energy projects are being fought as hard as sources such as coal and oil. If we want cheap and reliable energy for our homes and our vehicles, we need to encourage the development of our domestic resources.
As we seek to expand access to those traditional and renewable sources of energy, ignorance is the enemy of progress. That’s why outreach efforts such as this one from Glacial Lakes and Summit Carbon are important. The more the public is educated about what they do there, and why they’re moving forward, the brighter our state’s future can be.
Came across a great paper item I bought on eBay the other day with the 1948 slate of South Dakota Republican Candidates. As someone who designs this kind of material for candidates and groups, I find it interesting to see how political campaigning was presented in our state nearly 75 years ago with names that are familiar, and some who have lapsed from the public’s awareness:
The full GOP ticket as noted in the brochure that year was..
I hadn’t caught it until someone pointed it out today but semi-professional protester Tiffany Campbell was in Sioux Falls this week trying to cause a fuss at a Kristi Noem campaign event, alongside someone who has her own interesting back story:
Leah Bothamley of Spearfish and Tiffany Campbell of Sioux Falls approached the governor as she prepared to enter Golf Addiction, where a “Food Truck Tuesday” event was on offer.
and..
Bothamley said she was tipped off that Noem would be at Golf Addiction, so she decided to drive across the state to talk with her.
It was a chance to get into “good trouble,” Bothamley told The Daily beast, quoting the late Georgia Congressman John Lewis.
and..
Campbell is no political novice, nor is she new to confrontation. She said she has been arrested four times in Washington, D.C.—three times while protesting against the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in 2018, and once during a protest in favor of trans rights.
As noted back then, this kind of nonsense makes a good case for why a riot boosting law was a good idea. But Campbell wasn’t alone in her attention seeking behavior, as she was accompanied by Leah Bothamley of Spearfish. Who seems to be just a treat herself.
So Leah Bothamley was talking about how she wanted to get into “good trouble” in the article? Because she’s got several instances of the opposite:
While the story concedes that Campbell has been arrested multiple times for protesting, it leaves out the parts about protester Bothamley’s arrests where she’s currently defending felony drug and misdemeanor assault charges.
This pair trying to raise a ruckus at a Noem stop seems to be more about a grab for attention than actually accomplishing anything.
And in the case of one of them, I don’t think I’d be seeking any more trouble, good or otherwise. Seems like she’s got plenty of trouble to deal with already.
In his first outing writing for alternative newspaper Dakota Scout, Jon Ellis reports Dusty Johnson’s lament that some of his colleagues aren’t hitting on all their cylinders.
South Dakota Congressman Dusty Johnson said Tuesday that some members of Congress don’t have the mental faculties to physically know where they are when they are casting votes in the U.S. House.
“I serve with dozens of members in the House who are not with it,” he said.
Kristi for Governor Announces “Businesses for Noem”
PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, the Kristi for Governor campaign launched “Businesses for Noem,” a coalition of more than 100 businesses across South Dakota supporting Governor Kristi Noem in her reelection efforts.
“South Dakota is the most ‘Open for Business’ state in the nation,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “With me, people know what you will get – small government and less regulation. I have never closed businesses. I keep taxes low and cut red tape to allow our businesses to succeed.”
If you and your business wish to join “Businesses for Noem,” click here to sign up.
The more than 100 businesses included in the initial launch of “Businesses for Noem” include:
