Rounds 3q 2019 FEC by Pat Powers on Scribd

Filing shortly after his Republican competition for US Senate today, incumbent Senator Mike Rounds added a healthy amount to his total in the third fundraising quarter of this year.

Noem Administration Receives Nearly $2 Million in Grants for School Security 

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem today announced that South Dakota received three grants totaling almost $2 million to help South Dakota school districts prevent and address threats of violence.

The South Dakota Department of Public Safety (DPS) received the grants from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s STOP School Violence Program. The program is part of the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Our number one priority is the safety of the next generation,” said Noem. “These grants will be incredibly beneficial in our schools and better equip us to provide resources and training in the areas of violence prevention and threat recognition. While we hope our schools never experience violence, it is important we equip them with the resources they need to enhance safety and prepare teachers and students to recognize potential threats.”

There are three different grants:

1. $998,000 – This grant will allow the state to establish a School Safety Resource Center. The center can help distribute best practices for school safety, requests for training for threat recognition, training in establishment of threat adjudication teams, and requests for physical security assessments for K-12 school building.
2. $500,000 – This grant will focus on establishing prevention and mental health training programs in conjunction with mental health professionals.
3. $500,000 – This grant will focus on technology and threat assessment solutions for safe schools programs.

DPS Cabinet Secretary Craig Price said the programs will be administered by the state Office of Homeland Security and new staff members will be hired to oversee the programs. He said implementation of the grants will start soon.

“Our goal is to provide the tools for K-12 schools to implement preventive measures in their districts,” said Price. “These grants will help schools not only in the areas of threat recognition, but also working with schools to implement a wholesale approach to school safety.”

The grant money cannot be used to purchase weapons, equipment, or fund salaries for School Resource Officers.

South Dakota agencies that supported DPS with submitting the state’s grant proposal included the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, SD Attorney General’s Office’s Division of Criminal Investigation; SD Department of Social Services’ Division of Behavioral Health, SD Department of Education, Associated School Boards of South Dakota, School Administrators of South Dakota, SD Parent Teacher’s Association, SD Association of School Resource Officers, SD Sheriff’s Association, SD Police Chiefs Association and Vermillion Police Department.

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Thune 2019 Oct 3q FEC by Pat Powers on Scribd

In the last quarter, US Senator John Thune raised $273,360.27, spent $122,991.95, and is reporting $12,525,824.68 in the bank for his next election.

I might also mention he’s in among the top ten most popular US Senators in the nation.

His next election in 2022 is a ways off, but if any democrats would consider challenging him, at this point you might consider them foolish.

And that’s about all that needs to be said.

Scyller Borglum, Republican candidate for US Senate has filed her first FEC report.

Scyller Borglum October FEC by Pat Powers on Scribd

The Report notes $10,155.48 raised, $12,300.97 spent, a $12,000 loan to the campaign, with $9754.51 cash on hand.

Compared to her potential opponent US Senator Mike Rounds, who has been raising $600k+/quarter with 1.4 Million cash on hand, that’s a divide she has to bridge, and the air war hasn’t even had a glimmer of starting yet.

The cash has largely come from out of state in addition to her personal loan. By far her biggest expense has been her campaign staffer, Ashley Granby, who received around $8800 of the $12k spent, for facebook marketing, website creation, and her management fees.  I’ve received 3 press releases from Ashley in the quarter, so I’m assuming this is for a lot of setting up the campaign.

I don’t think Scyller lacks for willingness or ability to campaign, as she’s been doing plenty of traveling and social media.  However, a campaign is not just ideas. It’s an organization with a lot of moving parts to support the candidate in their role, with petitioning coming right around the corner in January.

From the report, it looks as if both her circle of donors and workers needs to be more robust. Scyller needs to expand her organization, whether paid or volunteer, and be ready to go on January 1.

There’s still lots of time in this race, but the next quarter is traditionally a tough one with the holiday season. We’ll find out how it’s going when the year-end report hits.

More to come!

Well the irony is so thick you can cut it with a knife.

Cory Heidelberger, Democrat Socialist who has advocated for an artificially inflated higher wage found out the hard way that the labor pool isn’t subject to his whim – it’s actually based on supply and demand as Cory’s latest petition effort fell flat on it’s face because of “a labor shortage.”

I have ended the People Power Petition Drive. Weekend before last, I surveyed my circulators to find out how many initiative petition signatures they had in hand. I had just over 6,000 in my file box; the tally from circulators who responded was not quite another thousand.

and…

Circulating was also hampered by the tight labor market. Our petition strategy depended on being able to complement volunteer circulators with a few paid circulators who could be required to produce a predictable quota of signatures. I encountered the same workforce shortage that other South Dakota employers have noted for years: pretty much everyone with employable skills seems to be employed. $15 an hour was not enough to draw out the small corps of reliable, paid, full-time circulators I was looking for, and I didn’t have the budget to raise wages.

Even if paid circulators had been available, managing them requires another level of staff at multiple sites—at least in Sioux Falls and Rapid City—to hold paid circulators accountable daily, count signatures, check residency, and issue payment. Such accountability staff requires much higher salaries, offices, and other overhead.

Read that here.

Sounds like Cory found that as an employer, wages drive a huge part of the equation, and that market forces are the primary driver behind what people are paid, no matter what anyone attempts to legislate.

It probably didn’t help he had a product that was a difficult sell, at best, especially when it was designed to restrict information and rights from South Dakota voters.

A good plug for workforce development as has regularly been promoted by Republican administrations, eh?

From Dusty for Congress, there’s a fundraiser in Brookings tonight at the research park.

Stop on by if you’re in the area!

In one of his first articles for the Pierre Based Capital Journal, reporter Joseph Barkoff starts his tenure off at the newspaper in an article which takes pokes at the Governor’s office and Senator Thune for their press people having “antiseptic” comments about Native American Day, and grumbling that no one was around Pierre yesterday:

Governor Noem’s office responded with quotation marks around excerpts from an already published address by the Governor about the day.

A Tradition Unlike Any Other
By Sen. John Thune

There’s nothing quite like autumn – cooler temperatures, the sound of crisp leaves under your feet (or snow as may be the case), and students settled back in school. After a warm summer, this time of year is usually highly-anticipated in South Dakota, but not just because of the relief from hotter temperatures and football season being back in full swing. Fall and October are synonymous with one thing for South Dakotans: pheasant hunting season.

The third Saturday in October could be considered an unofficial holiday in our state. Friends and family have an excuse to get together, spend the day pursuing roosters, and usually end it celebrating bagging their limits by making some type of pheasant dish and enjoying in community with one another. I’ve been partaking in this tradition since I was 12 years old, and now I get to share this weekend with my daughters and sons-in-laws and hopefully one day with my grandkids, as well.

Although South Dakota is probably the only state that hunts its state bird, it’s not just South Dakotans that like to participate in this tradition. Nearly 100,000 out-of-state hunters flood to our state to pheasant hunt each year, adding over $200 million to the state’s economy by shopping at our stores, eating at our restaurants, and staying in local hotels. Many of South Dakota’s small businesses depend on the pheasant season’s positive economic impacts each year.

Every weekend that I’m able to share with family and friends and enjoy the beautiful outdoor landscapes of South Dakota is considered a win to me, but it’s even more enjoyable when the ringnecks are plentiful. Something that contributes to a successful pheasant hunt and wildlife habitat in general is good conservation practices.

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is widely credited for creating an environment where pheasants can nest and raise their brood. I’ve been a champion of the program during my time in Congress, and I’ve continued to fight to ensure we strengthen CRP by raising the acreage cap in the 2018 farm bill so additional acres can be enrolled. Good conservation practices contribute mightily to pheasant numbers and therefore our state’s economy.

The use of our land not only produces food and fiber for us to eat and feed the world, but it can also preserve the habitat areas that support wildlife. Nothing compares to the memories I’ve made with my family out in the fields, and I will continue to work to ensure these traditions are preserved for generations to come.

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Celebrating Native Americans’ Day in South Dakota
By U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) 

For 29 years, South Dakotans have celebrated Native Americans’ Day instead of Columbus Day. The late Governor George Mickelson, along with the editor of the Native Sun News, Tim Giago, and tribal leaders, worked together to proclaim 1990 the Year of Reconciliation. The decision to change Columbus Day to Native Americans’ Day was made during the Year of Reconciliation by the state legislature as a way to honor the deep history of the tribal people who have long called this land their home.

Throughout the Year of Reconciliation, and every year since, we have worked to preserve the culture and history of Native American people, acknowledge our challenges and work together on the issues we face. Native Americans make up around 10 percent of our state’s population, and South Dakota is home to nine tribal reservations. It is important for all South Dakotans to understand the history and hardships that Native Americans have gone through so we can have a better understanding of one another. During my time working as governor, we wanted to honor the 20th anniversary of the Year of Reconciliation. 2010 was declared the “Year of Unity,” in recognition of the need to continue building upon the legacy and work of those who came before us. It was also an opportunity for us to celebrate our diversity.

Throughout my time working as governor, and now as a senator, forging strong relationships with tribal leaders and members has been a priority. While tribal governments are sovereign, we often work together on different issues. For example, I introduced legislation in the Senate to require an assessment of the Indian Health Service’s (IHS) management, healthcare delivery processes and finances so it can better serve its patients. Before I introduced that bill, I consulted with tribal leaders to make sure we’re on the same page since the problems at the IHS are directly impacting tribal members.

This summer, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General released a report on the Indian Health Service’s management of the closure and reopening of the Rosebud Hospital Emergency Department. The report reaffirmed the need for an assessment of the troubled agency. It showed that IHS hasn’t made significant efforts to improve its facilities or the care it delivers to tribal members. It is unacceptable, and I’ll continue fighting to clean up IHS.

I’ve also prioritized making improvements to tribal veterans’ health care. Earlier this year, I joined Sen. John Thune to re-introduce a bill that would improve tribal veterans’ access to health care. Our goal is to streamline care for eligible Native American veterans who receive care at both the IHS and the VA to make it simpler and more convenient for the veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country.

We’ve re-introduced the RESPECT Act this Congress, which would repeal outdated, offensive laws against Native Americans. Once again, we worked on this legislation in consultation with tribal leaders. It passed out of the Senate last Congress, but wasn’t able to get out of the House. We are optimistic it will move forward this Congress, since it has strong bipartisan, bicameral support, including from Rep. Dusty Johnson who was one of the original sponsors.

This Native Americans’ Day, I honor and celebrate all tribal members, whose culture and traditions are woven into the fabric of our society. I will continue working closely with tribal leaders to find solutions to the problems we face so we can leave behind a brighter future for the next generation.

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