It’s hard to believe, but it’s now been more than three years since the 2018 farm bill became law. As the old saying goes, though, there’s no rest for the weary, something South Dakota agriculture producers know better than anyone. We’re still more than a year away from needing to pass the next farm bill, but it’s time to start thinking about it now.

During my time in Congress, as a member of both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, I’ve worked on four farm bills, and I’m particularly proud of the nearly 20 measures I was able to get included in the 2018 farm bill. Among other things, I authored provisions to improve the Agriculture Risk Coverage program, improve the accuracy of the U.S. Drought Monitor, and include soil health as a research priority at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I also secured approval for a new, short-term alternative to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) – the Soil Health and Income Protection Program – to provide an option for farmers who don’t want to take their land out of production for the 10 to 15 years required under CRP.

I would never have been able to get all this done without the input of South Dakota farmers and ranchers. These provisions were a direct result of extensive conversations with South Dakota producers, who provided insight into the challenges they were facing and what improvements could make things easier in this demanding way of life.

As I look to the 2023 bill, I will once again be relying on South Dakota farmers and ranchers to lend their firsthand knowledge to this effort. I recently held the first of a series of roundtables I’m planning to hold in South Dakota to hear directly from producers. The roundtable focused on the commodity and crop insurance titles of the next farm bill, and I was grateful to be able to hear from representatives of South Dakota Farm Bureau and South Dakota corn, soybean, and wheat producers, as well as crop insurance industry representatives.

I will be holding additional roundtables to cover other farm bill priorities, including livestock, conservation, and forestry issues. And, of course, I will also continue to rely on the many informal conversations I have with South Dakota producers as I travel around the state. There’s nothing worse than having “experts” in Washington come in and dictate to the real experts – the farmers and ranchers who spend every day producing the food that feeds our nation.

The life of a farmer or rancher is a challenging one. The work often starts long before the sun rises, and concludes long after the sun has set. And the labor can be backbreaking. Not to mention the deep uncertainty that goes along with this existence. The food we eat every day depends upon their work, and our country would not long survive without them. I am very proud to have the honor of representing South Dakota farmers and ranchers in the Senate. And I will continue to work every day to ensure that their needs are addressed.

I look forward to ensuring that the 2023 farm bill reflects the priorities of South Dakota farmers and ranchers, and farmers and ranchers around our great country.

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This week, President Biden announced a two-part plan to increase America’s oil supply. While the plan may appear good on paper, he is not fooling anyone.

Part one of the plan is to increase domestic oil production by imposing fees on companies that have unused approved permits. President Biden expressed frustration with companies not drilling, but obtaining a permit doesn’t mean they can drill immediately. Some leases are going through a complex regulatory process or are held up in litigation—Western Energy Alliance says they are currently defending 2,200 leases in court. And just because the permit has been approved doesn’t guarantee the well will produce oil and gas.

Part two of the plan is to release one million barrels of oil each day from our oil reserves for the next six months. The goal is to reduce gas prices in the medium-term while the administration attempts to re-bolster domestic energy production to the levels we saw under the Trump Administration. The Department of Energy plans to use the revenue from the oil released from reserves to restock the reserve in the future.

This dilemma becomes more complicated when you consider that our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is at its lowest level since 2002. Republicans even pushed to replenish the SPR in March 2020, when oil was at a much lower price, and Democrats opposed it.

Despite the Biden Administration’s calls for renewable energy plans in the past, the new plan seems focused on two options—oil and electric. I have been vocal about the need to utilize alternative energy sources such nuclear, biofuels, solar, wind, natural gas, and other traditional fuels to bolster our energy supply. Homegrown energy sources like biofuels have reduced our dependence on foreign oil – and they’re a lot cleaner, too. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has decreased our imports of gasoline by more than 80% and have helped cut our imports of crude oil by nearly 50%.

This week, I led a letter with 28 of my colleagues to President Biden, urging him to reinstate year-round availability of E-15 and uphold the RFS. A recent poll indicated 72% of Americans support increased availability of E-15, and 83% support increased renewable fuel production.

Implementing an all-of-the-above energy approach is crucial to cultivating a sustainable and reliable energy infrastructure. President Biden’s oil vs. electric proposals are setting our independence and economy back. He can say his plans are going to solve the problems, but they aren’t fooling me.

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April marks Month of the Military Child, an annual celebration where communities across the country lift up the sons and daughters of our military heroes. During this time, we remember that the men and women in uniform are not the only ones who sacrifice for our country – their families sacrifice time together. Sometimes they even sacrifice the life of their loved ones.  

Throughout the month, there will be several events and special recognition days where you can participate in bringing joy to our military families. If you’re not sure where to begin, here are a couple of places to get you started: 

·         Friday, April 8^th: Purple Up! For Military Kids Day in South Dakota. Service Members, families, youth, schools, and community members are encouraged to join the SDNG Child & Youth Program, Ellsworth Air Force Base, and communities everywhere in wearing PURPLE as a visible way to show support and thanks to our military kids. 

·         For a full list of events and special discounts for military families this month, go to https://ellsworthfss.com/special-events/month-of-the-military-child. 

This month comes at an important time as veterans and military families in South Dakota face an uncertain future with veterans’ health services. In mid-March, the Biden Administration announced it was looking to close or cut several key veterans’ health care facilities around the state.   

South Dakota is the number one state for veterans to live and work. We’re also ranked in the Top 5 states for veterans to retire. Why is that? Because we honor our veterans for their service and sacrifice. We honor them not just with our words; we back it up with action.  

My administration started the Fallen Heroes Bridge Dedication program to honor South Dakotans who lost their lives in the line of duty. And we built the first-ever State Veterans Cemetery to give a final resting place to those who served our nation in uniform. We respect the occupational license of active-duty military and their spouses so they can go right to work when they move to South Dakota. We’ve improved readiness facilities and capabilities for our nationally top-ranked National Guard units. We help veterans to receive free technical education classes, and active-duty soldiers and their families get in-state tuition at all our campuses. 

South Dakota also ranks Top 5 for health care for veterans, but that ranking will be tough to hold onto if the Biden Administration follows through on its proposal to downsize and close veterans’ health facilities across our state. In South Dakota, we will continue to back up our support for veterans with action. I will do everything in my power to fight the Biden Administration on this proposal.  

On March 29^th, our nation honored National Vietnam Veterans Day to pay tribute to the brave soldiers who came home from that difficult conflict. More than 27,000 South Dakotans served during the War in Vietnam. Some of them didn’t receive a friendly welcome home. In fact, National Vietnam Veterans Day wasn’t recognized until 2017 under then-President Donald J. Trump. 

That is a powerful reminder that we can always do more to honor those who served on our behalf. We can give them more time; we can give them more thanks; we can give them more energy. Many of our veterans come home scarred in body and mind. Let’s show them that their sacrifice was worth it through our actions. After all, actions speak louder than words.  

I hope you will each take the time to thank our active-duty service members, their families, and our veterans. Find ways to give back or volunteer with organizations that support veterans and military families.

This month let’s all take some extra time to assess how we can give back. Let’s celebrate Month of the Military Child, but then let’s take it a step further and find ways to give back to our veterans. By volunteering to support those who sacrifice everything for our freedom, we can build an even stronger America. 

 

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Well, I couldn’t be happier today. Among the crazy environment going on, I sealed the deal for an item that I’ve wanted for months and have never seen outside the State Cultural Heritage Center’s archives.

I managed to find a near mint version of this broadside/map from the 1889 State Capital fight.

Except, as noted, the one I just sold my soul for is in near mint condition, no chunks of paper missing, and with paper that remains in remarkably good shape for being 125 years old.

The state museum’s copy above, and the one I purchased have the same front, but different reverse sides. This museum’s has newspaper editorials about Pierre as Capital closer to the election, and the one I purchased is more generally promotional, leading me to believe mine might have been an earlier version.

Interesting anecdote I found out today is that there are two known examples of this broadside advertisement that are known to exist in German.

Great piece of South Dakota History that I am very excited to get coming in my direction.

Democrats are in the media today, explaining how they’re “targeting” as they abandon running people for 2/3 of the seats in the state legislature:

“The GOP’s dedication to building in-roads in communities across South Dakota has allowed the party to make historic moves ahead of the midterm elections,” he said in a statement.

Rick Rylance announces candidacy for District 3 State House

Rick Rylance of Aberdeen has announced his campaign for the State of South Dakota House of Representatives in District Three. “As a person who has always believed in serving the communities and the state in which I live,” Rylance said when announcing his candidacy, “I would like the chance to continue by representing the people of District Three in the statehouse in Pierre.

Rylance is a graduate of Aberdeen Central and Northern.  He was born and raised in Aberdeen.  He started with Farmers and Merchants’ Bank in Aberdeen right after graduation from Northern State in 1978.  He continued working for the same banking corporation (now Dacotah Bank) for over 40 years and recently retired.  That collaboration took him and his family to several small and large communities all over South Dakota (some twice).  He held several positions, and he states he was always glad to take on new challenges with each move. The family called Lemmon, Sisseton, Webster, and Rapid City home before he and his wife returned to Aberdeen in 2017.   In those places he volunteered or was appointed to positions such as:

• Member of Lemmon City Council
• Board member and president of Sisseton Economic Development
• Board member of NESDEC of Sisseton, SD
• Board member and president of Webster Economic Development
• Served on the South Dakota Economic Development Finance Authority
• Board member and president of Webster Hospital
• Board member of Sioux Valley (now Sanford) Hospital Regional Health Services
• Board member NSU Foundation
• Board member and president of Junior Achievement Rapid City
• Board Member and president of the Rapid City Economic Development
• Board member and president of the Youth and Family Services Rapid City
• Member of South Dakota Task Force on Elder Abuse
• Board member of Black Hills Works
• Board member of Rapid City United Way
• Board member and Chairman of the South Dakota Bankers Association.

In Aberdeen, Rylance is a member of the Moccasin Creek Country Club Board of Directors and head of the Grounds Committee.  He and his wife Rhonda have two grown children and two grandchildren.

Rylance adds that he believes we need to continue to create a strong economic environment for business and the citizens of South Dakota to grow. We can accomplish this through strong emphasis on:

1. Strengthened support of our educational system, both in K-12 and the regental system (colleges, universities, and technical colleges);
2. Strong economic development to grow communities and the region;
3. Fiscally responsible use of our resources; and
4. A proactive approach to the improvement of Aberdeen, the region, and South Dakota.

“I’d like to take another opportunity to serve South Dakota,” Rylance concluded.

Someone isn’t having a good day. Especially after this morning, when Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken announced who he was endorsing in the races for City Council:

I say someone wasn’t having a good day, as former Brookings Democrat and more recently Sioux Falls resident Pam (Merchant) Cole, who happens to be a candidate not selected for endorsement by the Mayor, had a bit of a public freak-out about the whole thing:

So, not only does she crab about not being an endorsee, she goes hard negative on Rich Merkouris.

I get the impression that this campaign is going to continue to not go well for Pam.

So far there has been one person removed from the ballot so far as a result of a petition challenge, Democrat Alexandra Frederick of Winner South Dakota was bumped from running as a candidate for District 26A State House.

But she wasn’t bumped by Republicans. She was bumped by Sioux Falls Democrat party activist, Cully Williams:

Interesting.

Apparently, the LRC has labored on despite being pestered, and the Majority and Minority Reports of the House Select Committee on Investigation are now available. And instead of having to slog through them int he LRC website, I have them below for your review:

Majority Report:

Majority Report Select Committee by Pat Powers on Scribd

Minority Report:

Minority Report Impeachment by Pat Powers on Scribd

From the Argus Leader, the Director of the Legislative Research Council seems to think there’s a “pestering” exception to the open records laws:

“When we stop being pestered by legislators and the public,” Legislative Research Council Director Reed Holwegner responded to an inquiry by the Argus Leader regarding when more than 70 materials that have been reviewed by the House Select Committee on Investigation prior to issuing a report recommending Ravnsborg not be impeached Monday.

Read that here.

If this is the kind of reverence for open government the head of the LRC has, I’m kind of wondering why they haven’t fired him yet.