Kristi for Governor Responds to SDPB’s Debate Gimmick

PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA – Today, the Kristi for Governor campaign responded to South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s (SDPB) plan to “provide an empty chair in the space Kristi Noem would normally occupy.”

“With this gimmick, SDPB has validated all our concerns about their bias. They are more interested in embarrassing the Governor than in a serious debate,” said Ian Fury, Communications Director for Kristi for Governor. “I would remind SDPB that they are a taxpayer funded organization, and 49% of registered South Dakota voters are Republicans. Perhaps they should address concerns about their bias and learn their audience better. In the meantime, Governor Noem will continue to educate the people of South Dakota about their increasing leftward slant.”

Last week, SDPB’s national affiliate, National Public Radio (NPR), announced a new “disinformation reporting team,” which quickly drew criticism from many for NPR’s immediate dismissal of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal in the midst of the 2020 election. “We don’t want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories, and we don’t want to waste the listeners’ and readers’ time on stories that are just pure distractions,” NPR’s Managing Editor for News, Terence Samuels, said at the time. The original New York Post story has since been proven accurate.

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South Dakota Ends Fiscal Year with $115 Million Surplus

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that South Dakota closed the 2022 budget year on June 30 with a surplus of $115.5 million.  Total general fund revenue for fiscal year 2022 finished $72.3 million higher than adopted estimates, and the state general fund budget ended with expenses $43.2 million less than budgeted.

“South Dakota has the strongest economy in America and a strong financial position to match,” said Governor Noem. “We live within our means and operate government conservatively. Low regulation, low tax burden and business friendly policies are still the recipe for economic success.”

Actual general fund revenue for fiscal year 2022 was unexpectedly higher than recent adopted forecast estimates. In total, revenue finished above the adopted forecast by $72.3 million, or 3.3 percent. Sales and use tax, which is the state’s largest revenue source, finished $36.6 million above estimates and grew 12% over the prior fiscal year.  A combination of all other sources of general fund revenue finished the fiscal year $35.7 million above legislative estimates.

South Dakota’s personal income growth led the nation again in the first quarter of 2022. South Dakota has been a leader in this metric since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. People continue to move to South Dakota as our net inbound migration wasranked second in the nation, while South Dakota’s 2.3% unemployment rate is among the lowest in the nation and lower than before the pandemic.

“We must remain cautious and conservative due to 40-year highs in inflation caused by the Biden Administration’s heavy spending and regulation,” said Governor Noem. “However, we are prepared to weather any economic storm thanks to our structurally balanced budget, fully funded pension, and strong reserves.”

By law, the fiscal 2022 surplus of $115.5 million was transferred to the state’s budget reserves. The state’s reserves now total $422.6 million or 20.5% of the fiscal year 2023 general fund budget.

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Americans for Prosperity-South Dakota Partnering with Local Gas Station to Lower Gas Costs, Highlighting the “True Cost of Washington” in Sioux Falls 

AFP Campaign Partnering with Local Gas Station to Offer Price of Biden’s First Day in office at $2.38/Gallon

Sioux Falls, South Dakota—Americans for Prosperity-South Dakota (AFP-SD) will hold an event on Tuesday, July 19^th in Sioux Falls to highlight the policies contributing to skyrocketing prices that are squeezing working class families across South Dakota and nationwide.

WHO:   Keith Moore, Americans for Prosperity South Dakota State Director

WHAT:   AFP-SD gas station takeover will lower the price of gas to $2.38 a gallon—the average price of unleaded gasoline when Biden first took office in January 2021. Gasoline discounts are given on a first come, first served basis.

WHEN & WHERE:  Tuesday, July 19^th at 1:30pm-3pm: Friendly’s Fuel Stop, 3700 N Potsdam Ave., Sioux Falls, SD 57104

More background on “The True Cost of Washington:”

AFP’s The True Cost of Washington campaign will educate Americans in nine states, including South Dakota, about the truth behind rising costs while offering real solutions to make everyday life more affordable. Thanks to skyrocketing inflation, Americans across the country can expect to spend an extra $5,200 to maintain the same standard of living as last year, and an extra $1,433 for gasoline.

A poll recently conducted by Public Opinion Strategies for AFP found that 75 percent of Americans reported that the increase in costs has impacted their consumer behavior over the past year. Most individuals surveyed agreed that government policies and regulations have caused price increases. 61 percent of those surveyed blamed President Biden for this increase.

AFP’s solutions to combat these rising prices garnered support, with 88 percent of respondents agreeing the government should make it easier to produce energy domestically, and 82 percent agreeing with getting government spending under control by tackling the federal debt and reducing federal budget deficits.

Flags at Half-Staff at State Capitol in Honor of Former State Senator Henry Carlson, Jr.

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem ordered that flags be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol from sunrise until sunset on Tuesday, July 19, in honor of former State Senator Henry Carlson, Jr. of Sioux Falls. He served in the State Senate from 1977-1978 and from 1983-1984.

Funeral services for Henry will be 11 a.m., Tuesday, July 19, at Calvary Episcopal Church in Sioux Falls.

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John Thune FEC Report 2022 July Quarterly by Pat Powers on Scribd

US Senator John Thune rolled through the June Primary with a massive head of steam, and continues his momentum with his post-primary report, noting that between 5/19/22 and 6/30/22, he raised over a million dollars against only 343k of expense, leaving him with cash on hand at the end of this abbreviated reporting period of $16,889,094.52.

Compared to his Democrat opponent, who at the end of the same reporting period noted contributions of $60,523.59 and spending more than he took in with $73,490.89 going out of his account, leaving him $31k in the bank (after a loan of $20,000).

Doesn’t seem like the Democrat is moving in anything resembling the right direction.

Very long-time Eagle Forum lobbyist Kitty Werthmann passed away on June 14th at the age of 96. While you may or may not have agreed with her, none doubted her commitment to the cause of freedom in South Dakota:

Mathilde Kitty (Gautsch) Werthmann was born January 2, 1926 on Salzburg, Austria. She received her elementary education in nearby Ramingstein, then completed her high school years at a convent boarding school in just 4 years. She went on to college and began teaching in the province of Salzburg.

While teaching, Kitty began seeing the effects of Adolf Hitler’s presence in her home country; the handicapped were sent away to die in his euthanasia program. Media became strictly controlled by the State, early enlistment by young men and women was required, free speech was no longer allowed. Seeing her beloved country become of full dictatorship, she chose to emigrate to the United States. She met her German born husband in Minneapolis, MN; they chose to raise a family of 5 children in Pierre, SD where Dr. Hubert Werthmann began his Radiology practice with St. Mary’s and area hospitals.

For nearly 40 years, Kitty has spent a great deal of time lobbying against bills she felt would negatively impact the American family. Both on the state level in South Dakota and the national level, she represented Eagle Forum as state president, a national pro-family political movement. She became a lobbyist and as co-founder, of South Dakota Right To Life, she was able to rescind ERA, as well as fight for pro-family bills.

She became known as a speaker who championed America’s freedom and independence. She spoke nationally to a wide variety of organizations as well as universities throughout the country.

You can read her obituary here.

Inflation is at its highest level since November 1981 – a staggering 9.1 percent. The last time it was this high, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark had recently been released. Everywhere South Dakotans look, they’re facing price increases. On average, inflation is costing the average household $718 per month, or more than $8,600 over the next year. That is an unsustainable financial burden for families and small businesses. And on top of all this, real average hourly earnings are currently declining at the fastest pace in 40 years.

A growing number of Americans are digging into their savings to make ends meet, and others are relying on things like credit cards or visits to food banks. Yet, even as inflation continues to climb and affect families and businesses across the state, Washington Democrats are preparing to double down on the same kind of irresponsible government expansion they’ve already committed to with a partisan, multi-trillion-dollar tax-and-spending bill.

At its most basic level, inflation is created when there are too many dollars chasing too few of goods in the economy. Democrats helped trigger this ongoing inflation problem last year when they decided to pour trillions of unnecessary government dollars into the economy – despite being warned by me and many others that their partisan $1.9 trillion spending bill would stoke inflation. At this point, after months of record-high prices, the logical solution would be to stop all of this wasteful spending. Unfortunately, Democrats still believe that flooding the economy with more government dollars will help fix the inflation crisis. Newsflash: It will only make things worse.

Like a zombie, the Democrats’ Build Back Better tax-and-spending spree just keeps coming back from the dead. Democrats are planning to raise taxes by a trillion dollars. A substantial part of that tax increase would come in the form of new taxes on small businesses – individually and family-owned businesses, or what are often called pass-through businesses. In South Dakota, pass-throughs, such as sole proprietorships, S corporations, and partnerships, employ an estimated 68 percent of the private sector. Nationwide, more than 90 percent of American businesses are pass-throughs, and these businesses employ tens of millions of Americans.

Right now, business owners are struggling with the high cost of everything from inputs to electricity. I recently read a comment from one small business owner in South Dakota, who noted that “it’s hard when you’re working so hard but you’re not making money. […] we are right there right now.” If Democrats have their way, life for small business owners – and their employees – is going to get even harder. Raising taxes on businesses would lead to a combination of lower wages for workers, lower returns for business owners, and higher prices for goods and services. It would also make it more challenging for small business owners to reinvest in and grow their businesses.

The Democrats’ proposed tax hikes and the resulting economic impacts are not going to be limited to small businesses, nor are they going to be limited to families bringing home more than $400,000 – despite the fact that the president has repeatedly pledged not to raise taxes on families making less than that. A recent analysis by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation showed that lower- and middle-income taxpayers will face significant hits from the Democrats’ proposed tax hikes, and more than half of taxpayers earning between $100,000 and $200,000 would see a tax hike next year, as well as a quarter of taxpayers making between $75,000 and $100,000.

Raising taxes on small businesses, including pass-throughs in South Dakota and across the country, is a reckless approach to the economy. I am at a loss to understand any legitimate reason why Democrats would be contemplating increasing the tax burden on small businesses and middle-income Americans during an inflation crisis. American families are already suffering, and they should not have to deal with the economic consequences of yet another ill-advised piece of Democrat legislation.

I will continue to fight on behalf of South Dakota families and small businesses to stop this irresponsible and partisan tax-and-spending spree from becoming law.

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June’s inflation report showed a 9.1% increase from a year ago. At this point, most of us are seeing the higher prices for almost everything we purchase. These prices are making it harder for individuals and families to make ends meet, and have created dilemmas for construction projects, police departments, and school districts.

Record high fuel prices have imposed unexpected costs on police departments who have to fill up the gas tanks of their patrol cars. To combat these expenses, some police chiefs have asked their department to conduct stationary patrols of neighborhoods instead of driving around to conserve gas. Highway patrols, police departments, and Sheriff’s offices have all seen their fuel costs increase by as much as 50% or more since early 2021. They have adjusted how many patrol cars are out, what types of vehicles are on the road, and how far their routes are.

Meanwhile school districts are juggling increased food costs, energy, tech, school supplies, and transportation costs for bus routes. Adjusting bus routes and rates for contractors are a couple ways these increased expenses have been mitigated but finding ways to escape the burden that inflation has proven to be difficult.

I participated in a roundtable on Thursday with my colleagues from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to discuss inflation’s impact on infrastructure and transportation costs. A hot topic of the conversation was President Biden’s infrastructure bill. Because of massive spending on other Administration priorities, this bill will not create the level of impact on our nation’s infrastructure as Biden had hoped due to the rising cost of supplies and the eroding value of the dollar. But the answer is not spending more money.

Inflationary pressure from poor decisions in Washington weighs on almost every aspect of America’s economy.

We need practical solutions that abide by the laws of supply and demand. Solutions like my bill, theOcean Shipping Reform Act, year-round E15, and increasing domestic energy production will ease the burden of inflation over time—for police departments, schools, infrastructure projects, and American citizens.

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In my four years as Governor, I have focused on finding ways that our programs can positively impact the next generation. This goes beyond reading about what state government does—I go out and see these programs for myself so I can understand exactly what we can do to improve them.

This week, I visited the mother-baby unit at the women’s prison in Pierre. This simple trip did my heart good—it showed me that we are making a difference in these women’s lives.

When Kellie Wasko, our new Secretary of Corrections, joined my cabinet earlier this year, South Dakota was one of only nine states to have a mother-baby program for incarcerated women who find themselves carrying a child. But we definitely had room to improve. I charged Kellie, who is a mother like me, with making this program bigger and better, and I saw the results of her great work this week.

Now, incarcerated mothers can bond with their babies for 30 months after birth. Most of the women who participate in this program will have served their sentences by the time those 30 months are up. Because of the changes we’ve made, they will re-enter their communities with a strong relationship with their children and motivation to stay on the right path. Thanks to our Governor’s House program, a separate home on the prison grounds set aside especially for these women and their children, these new mothers have a safe place to stay and form a community with each other, too. We also provide educational, mental, and physical support as they start their parenting journeys.

As state leaders, we must offer these women the support they need to turn their lives around. To be sure, these women made mistakes. But their babies—born during their mothers’ incarceration—did nothing wrong. They deserve the best start to their early childhood. And their mothers deserve a measure of forgiveness as they repay their debt to society. That is part of what it means to be pro-life.

Several of the mothers I visited told me of the impact this program was having on them and of their desire to leave prison with their new child at the end of their sentence and never return. That is the ultimate goal for these women: leave prison and return home to raise a healthy child in their community as a productive member of our society.

I will continue to advocate for the necessary facility and security upgrades to keep our prisons safe and effective. We have made progress on that score in the last year, and we will continue to do so as time goes on. I know, after visiting our mother-child program in Pierre, that under Secretary Wasko’s leadership, we are on the right track.

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Gov. Noem, Legislators, and Pro-Life Advocates Issue Joint Statement on South Dakota Policies for Life

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem, legislators, and pro-life advocates issued a joint statement on South Dakota’s policies to save lives and help mothers:

“In the last few weeks, it has become clear that South Dakota is the most pro-life state in the nation. Our laws are saving lives, and resources like Life.SD.gov are helping mothers. For these reasons, we are of one mind that South Dakota can prepare to advance on our progress in the regular legislative session, and a special session will not be necessary.”

The statement was co-signed by Governor Kristi Noem; Senators Lee Schoenbeck, Jessica Castleberry, and Erin Tobin; Representatives Jon Hansen, Taylor Rehfeldt, and Rebecca Reimer; Dale Bartscher, Executive Director for South Dakota Right to Life; and Lisa Gennaro, Legislative Liaison for Concerned Women for America of South Dakota.

“Governor Noem is a fierce advocate for the unborn and their mothers. Under her leadership South Dakota is now an abortion-free state except to save the life of the mother,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. “We thank Governor Noem and our allies in the legislature for their commitment to life-saving policies that protect unborn children and support women during and after their pregnancies. We look forward to working together next session to find even more ways to help both moms and babies flourish in this new Dobbs era.”

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