I think it’s fair to say that in South Dakota, the unofficial start of summer begins when the temperature hits – and stays – over 65 degrees … give or take. It’s been another long winter and spring, and I think we are all looking forward to some warmer, sunnier days. Few things can top summers in South Dakota, and some of my fondest childhood memories are from our summer road trips to the Black Hills. We’re blessed to call South Dakota home, and South Dakotans quickly win the hearts of all who travel to the state. We are home to the Corn Palace, the Missouri River, the Badlands, Wall Drug, the Black Hills, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Mount Rushmore, and more. As they say, there is something for everyone.

With the school year officially wrapped up, families are not only starting to fine-tune their summer schedules, but they’re having to revisit their budgets, too. Everything from sports camps, summer school, carpool duty, road trips, and nearly everything else in between – whatever keeps the kids busy – may cost more this summer due to rising gas prices and soaring inflation. For lots of folks, a summer road trip is a no-brainer, but the price hikes hitting Americans threaten to shorten plans or keep travelers home altogether. As I travel throughout the state, I continue to hear from South Dakotans who tell me about the tremendous toll these high fuel costs have on their household budgets.

The national average for a gallon of gas leapt over $4 in May and seems to climb higher each day. In fact, the national average for a gallon of gas is double what it was the day President Biden took his oath of office in January 2021. Heading into peak travel season, this means families are reprioritizing their spending and having to make tough decisions on whether or not they can afford to spend the day driving through the Badlands or having enough groceries to get through the week.

I am frequently asked what can be done to lower these egregious fuel costs. The short answer: an all-of-the-above energy strategy. Since taking office, President Biden has pursued a radical agenda that is hostile to conventional energy. The president cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office and he almost immediately froze new oil and gas leases on federal lands – sending a clear signal to oil and gas producers that his administration would be reluctant to work with them to increase American energy production. As we are seeing now, the only effect of curbing conventional energy production is to either force Americans to pay more for their energy or rely more on foreign sources for oil, like the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The more we rely on energy from abroad, the more vulnerable Americans are to energy price spikes and global shortages.

The ongoing energy crisis hasn’t spurred the Biden administration to take action beyond raiding our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which only minimally stunted rising prices. However, I am pleased that the administration recently permitted the summertime sale of E15 fuel, which went into effect on June 1. I have long advocated for the year-round sale of E15 as a way to offer American drivers a more affordable and cleaner option at the gas pump. Earlier this year, I led a bipartisan letter to the president calling for this very policy. It’s a step in the right direction, but President Biden needs to get serious about leveraging all American energy solutions. Failure to take meaningful action to reverse rising energy prices will cast a long shadow over the summer and our economy.

As families all across the country have to dig deeper into their pocketbooks in order to fill up their tanks and make ends meet, I will continue to press the administration to abandon its failed energy policies and put our country back on track to restore our energy security.

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On Monday, I was honored to provide some remarks at the Sioux Falls Memorial Day commemoration. Memorial Day rightfully honors those who have died in service to their country, acknowledging their tremendous sacrifice.

But as I thought about those who have died, I reflected upon those they left behind. Each of them had families, friends, and neighbors. Death imposed a terrible price on the patriots who died, but not just on them.

“For Whom the Bell Tolls,” the 1940 novel by Ernest Hemingway, popularized the phrase “Ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” That line is often interpreted to mean that sooner or later death comes for us all. That’s true, but it isn’t what Hemingway meant. Instead, Hemingway was reminding us that because we are interconnected to one another, the death of any of us harms all of us.

The death of each of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines leaves a hole that lasts for decades. There are Little League players they’ll never get to coach, church choirs they’ll never sing with, the girl or boy next door they’ll never marry, and the new hire at the office or factory they’ll never take under their wing. There are thousands of contributions, large and small, that their death denies to them, and to us.

The fallen men and women in uniform weren’t just war fighters or leaders-in-theater. They were also to be the leaders of so many neighborhoods here at home.

On Monday, when “Taps” played at the ceremony, I let it call to mind those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. But I also let it call to mind the countless families, worksites, churches, and communities diminished by those deaths. Our nation was made stronger by the service of those who died, but their absence leaves gaps that are hard to fill.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for all of us.

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What happened to America? That’s the question that’s been on my mind.

Before the pandemic struck, America was experiencing a resurgence in global economic and political strength that hadn’t been seen since World War II. We had the lowest unemployment rate in more than 50 years – including record-high employment rates for Black and Hispanic Americans. We became the global leader in energy production. We were the third-largest exporter of cars and the second-largest producer of auto parts. It’s simple – we were putting America first.
Today, gas prices are surging, energy production has plummeted, and car dealerships are buying back two-year-old cars to keep their inventory stocked. The president is begging foreign companies to sell us oil and gas. Shutting down the world economy splintered the supply chain, too. And the Biden Administration’s spending policies have caused historic inflation, crushing the modern family.

Not only are we depending on other countries for oil production, but we’re also depending on them for our food supply. European countries are providing life-sustaining baby formula for America’s infants. Two of the four mega-beef packers are Brazilian-owned companies. China is buying up land and our chemical companies, and they’re producing our fertilizer.

What happened? Where did it all go so horribly wrong?

For starters, governments in other states jumped at the chance to seize power and crippled state and local economies. Then there was a change in leadership in Washington, D.C. On President Biden’s first day in office, thousands of South Dakotans and others working on the Keystone XL pipeline had their jobs taken away by the stroke of Biden’s pen. The damage didn’t stop there, either.

The curtailing of domestic drilling further hindered our energy dominance. Biden’s restrictions on timber are directly affecting West River jobs and sawmills and causing a cascading effect on the rising cost of home construction – another pain point driving historic inflation.

Despite all this, South Dakota is continuing to push back and provide solutions to stop these conditions from eroding or erasing our state’s economic gains.

Over the past two years, South Dakotans’ personal income has grown more than in any other state. During the pandemic, I fought to keep businesses open. That kept our economy rolling. We kept our citizens working, avoiding the catastrophic workforce issues other states are facing.

In the process, we made South Dakota one of the top tourist destinations in the country. Unlike other states, we did such a great job promoting South Dakota – and our dedication to freedom – that we’re seeing hundreds of businesses move here. That created even more demand for skilled workers, which is raising wages.

Last month, I joined other governors to call for fewer restrictions on ethanol production to slow the increase in gas prices. I have also joined nearly two dozen governors in pushing back against the Biden Administration’s anti-American approach to energy. South Dakota gave out grant funding to small- and medium-sized meat processors to provide more competitive market options for our Stockgrowers. Last week, I announced that we are investing in apprenticeship startups to get more companies training their next generation of employees straight out of high school and college.

In the last three years, we have increased funding to help our working moms and young families get a better start in life. This includes expanding the Bright Start program from a small pilot program to a statewide initiative to help new moms get training and assistance to raise a strong family. And we’ve put more funding towards mental health, including regional mental health centers so that South Dakotans in crisis can get the care they need close to home.

America used to pride itself on being a global leader. Other nations looked to us to solve problems. Through our efforts, we lifted entire generations out of poverty across the world by laying the foundation for industry in developing nations.

Maybe it’s time we put some of those practices back to work here at home. It’s working for South Dakota. I know by working together, we can restore the American spirit of innovation across the country. We can put America first, again, which will benefit South Dakota families.

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There was a post today on the Primary Dusty Johnson Facebook group which found its way to me, where Taffy Howard’s sister notes something that may be a problem:

 

So, who cares that Taffy’s sister wants to get signs posted around a polling station? Well, nobody, but there was a tidbit in that passage that might indicate a problem..

“I’m working a polling station as a deputy, so I’m unable to plant them.”

Interesting.

Did you know that South Dakota State Law says you can’t serve on an election board when you’re related to a candidate on the ballot for that precinct?

12-15-14.3. Certain relatives of candidates prohibited from serving on election and counting boards. No person may serve on an election or counting board who is a candidate or related by blood or marriage within the second degree to a candidate who is on the ballot in that precinct.

Read that here.

Someone probably needs to send a note to the Lincoln County Auditor that one of their workers for Precinct Sioux Falls 2-13 may have some qualification issues.

That could be an issue with election integrity.

 

On Tuesday, voters will have the opportunity to put the same requirements on ballot measures that would raise our taxes as tax measures face in the South Dakota State Legislature. Amendment C would place a higher vote threshold on passage of such measures, and is supported by the South Dakota Republican Party.  Check it out:

And make sure you vote YES on Amendment C this coming Tuesday.

Here we go again.

A group called “Make Liberty Win” should retitle themselves “Make Liberty stop and ask for directions,” as the same slate of District 2 candidates, Jeff Shawd and John Sjaarda, adding Spencer Wrightsman have a postcard going out for District 2 in Minnehaha County showing up in Bryant, South Dakota, where the old District 2 used to be before redistricting.

As you know, two of the conservative House Candidates members had a postcard advocating for their election show up 200 miles north of the intended District 2 yesterday.

And once again, they’ve missed the mark.

These are racking up to be pretty expensive mistakes.

Just had some great photos shared with me from Governor Noem and Congressman Johnson hitting door to door together in Sioux Falls today

This attack card is kind of funny. And it’s even funnier when you realize what happened with it.

Chip Campbell fronted “Republican Direction PAC” sent out an attack mailer this week to District 2, making a number of wild-assed claims about House candidate Jake Schoenbeck, that somehow he’s anti Christian, and will be an evil clone of his father, Senate President pro tempore Lee Schoenbeck. This card actually is basing the attack on the candidate on liking a tweet …because he’s somehow not engaging in some blind form of groupthink? A few things are humorous about this.

This looks to be yet another attack card out of Rapid City “media consultant” Jordan Mason’s shop. Which you can identify because they all look the same, with the same small caps font, and identifiable mistakes in grammar, year, after year, after year.

The other thing.. Can someone point out on the card, where in this pile of doo doo does it say what Jake Schoenbeck, Jeff Shawd or John Sjaarda are actually running for?  It’s not like they lacked the space for that little nugget of information.

But the most glaring error doesn’t come in terms of the clearly bad content on the surface.. it comes under the hood.  Because, aside from the fact that it doesn’t mention anywhere what these people are running for, or where they are running, let me fill you in.

Jake Schoenbeck, Jeff Shawd and John Sjaarda are all running in newly created House District 2, as a result of redistricting. And that’s an important distinction, “newly created” and all. Because this was part of a group of postcards that went to District 2.. but it was the District 2 in existence BEFORE the 2022 redistricting reworked the boundary lines, and went into the likes of Castlewood, and other parts of Hamlin county.

Yep. It was actually mailed to the OLD district 2, up north, and not into the NEW District 2 which is wraps around the eastern portion of Sioux Falls, into Brandon across Minnehaha County. I’m told a number of people in the old District 2 received it, and while they knew the Schoenbeck name from the family being in Watertown, they had no idea who those other folks were, and why they were getting it.

So if you’re living in Hamlin, and wondering why you received an attack ad from 200 miles away.. that’s the rest of the story.

And for you Brandon residents, make sure you go out and vote for Jake next Tuesday.

When the out-of-state political action committees start mishmashing between the two candidate names, it’s time for them to be done making commercials.