Hot off my e-mail box….

The White House has apparently announced a couple of their patronage jobs in the federal government for South Dakota, and it looks like Dem’s Vice-Chair and chief attack dog Nikki Gronli has landed the spot for USDA State Director for Rural Development as a reward for her faithful service to the Democrat Party.

So what are her qualifications for state director of rural development? According to the Democrat party:

Nikki grew up in Aurora, SD. She received her B.S. in Design Communications from the University of Minnesota and began her career in advertising in Minneapolis. She returned to South Dakota in 2001 and continued to work on some of the best-known brands in the region.

Currently as Marketing Specialist at SDN Communications she oversees the brand, traditional marketing, and educational events.

Apparently rural development is all about branding now.

If you check out her twitter account where she spends most of time hating on Republicans, she does claim to have hunted..

While “Three-shell” Gronli and other Democrats get their plum positions, what’s more interesting is that the Biden administration has yet to fill two of the most significant federal positions; the judgeship being vacated by retiring Judge Viken, and the US Attorney spot, with those spots being supposedly vetted by SDDP Chair Randy Seiler. As I remarked back in January:

No replacement for Judge Viken has been made public yet. The US Attorney is still vacant after the resignation of Ron Parsons, with an “acting” in front of US Attorney Dennis Holmes title.  The United States Marshal is still Donald J. Trump appointee Daniel C. Mosteller.… and so on.

Read it here.

With Democrats vetting candidates for these positions, it looks like the only thing the SDDP crew has managed to do so far is to help ..themselves.

Duvall Announces District 24 Re-Election Bid

State Senator Mary Duvall of Pierre has announced her re-election bid as a Republican for District 24, which includes Haakon, Hughes, Hyde, Stanley, and Sully counties.  Senator Duvall is finishing her first term in the Senate, after serving the citizens in central South Dakota for four terms in the House.

“It has been an honor to represent central South Dakota,” said Sen. Duvall.  “For the past ten years, I have been an advocate for state employees, agriculture, transportation, and education. I am asking voters for the opportunity to continue working for them.”

She added, “I am proud of the fact that the 2022 Legislature approved a six percent wage increase for state employees, teachers, and health care providers.  We made significant investments in infrastructure for water, housing, and higher education.  We have worked hard to make South Dakota a great place to live, to raise a family, and to run a business.”

Sen. Duvall chairs the Senate Transportation Committee.  She also serves on the State Affairs, Ag & Natural Resources, and Retirement Laws committees.  This past summer Duvall chaired the Senate Legislative Redistricting Committee which added Haakon county to District 24.  In addition, she serves on the Water Development Oversight Committee which will be monitoring the $600 million investment in water, wastewater, storm water, and nonpoint source pollution propjets in South Dakota.

Duvall noted, “I believe an effective legislator needs to work hard to understand the issues, listen to those who know how a bill will affect our State, and find ways to develop consensus with others.”

Sen. Duvall is a South Dakota native and a graduate of South Dakota State University.  She worked for 30 years on agricultural policy and communication issues with the state Department of Agriculture, the South Dakota Farm Bureau, and other agricultural organizations.  Her husband, Ron, works for the SD Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.  They have two married daughters, and are active in their church.

Johnson to USDA: Provide Certainty to Producers

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) along with his colleagues urged U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack to mirror the Cattle Contract Library Pilot Program included in the fiscal year 2022 Omnibus off of Johnson’s House-passed bill—the Cattle Contract Library Act. This bill overwhelmingly passed the U.S. House in December 2021.

“As you implement the recently passed appropriations bill, we write to urge you to prioritize the implementation of the cattle contract library pilot program based off the provisions included in our legislation, the Cattle Contract Library Act of 2021,” said the members. “By quickly implementing the provisions in our legislation, you can help provide certainty to producers across the country who put food on American’s tables.”

H.R. 5609 creates a library for cattle contracts within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agriculture Marketing Service Department. Currently, beef packers are not required to report the details of contract terms to USDA, which leaves cattlemen in the dark, inhibiting a transparent, fair, and competitive market.

Read the full letter here or below:

The Honorable Tom Vilsack
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

Our nation’s cattle ranchers are a vital part of the agriculture industry, helping supply Americans and consumers around the world with safe, healthy beef. They have done so all while facing Mother Nature, a pandemic, supply chain issues, and volatile markets. To make sure our farmers and ranchers have the tools they need to operate their businesses, they need a transparent and competitive market. One area of improvement is greater price discovery and reporting of alternative marketing arrangements. Right now, beef packers are not required to report the details of these arrangements to USDA, leaving cattlemen in the dark as to the contract terms being offered by packers through these extensively used agreements.

This Congress, the House overwhelmingly passed legislation to address this challenge by directing USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service to establish a contract library for cattle contracts that would be reported and published along with other ongoing livestock reporting. We also successfully worked to secure funding for this purpose in the FY2022 omnibus appropriations package. As you implement the recently passed appropriations bill, we write to urge you to prioritize the implementation of the cattle contract library pilot program based off the provisions included in our legislation, the Cattle Contract Library Act of 2021.

Our legislation would establish a publicly available, user-friendly cattle contract library that would publish information pertaining to the type of contract; the duration of the contract; provisions in the contract that may affect the base price of the cattle; schedules of premiums or discounts; and transportation arrangements. Further, it would publish information regarding the total number of cattle solely committed to the packer each week within the 6-month and 12-month periods following the date of the contract, or an indication that that the contract is an open commitment. These provisions would equip cattle producers with the market data they need to make more informed business decisions and exert greater leverage in negotiations with major meatpackers.

We look forward to working with you to support cattle ranchers. By quickly implementing the provisions in our legislation, you can help provide certainty to producers across the country who put food on American’s tables. Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

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Gov. Noem Signs “Zuck Bucks” Ban and Good Government Bills into Law

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem signed SB 122, which prohibits private funding of election costs.

“In 2020, we saw Mark Zuckerberg pour ‘Zuck Bucks’ into local election operations across the country. Elections should be funded by government, and we will not risk creating avenues for big-tech billionaires to unfairly influence our free and open elections,” said Governor Noem. “We take election integrity very seriously in South Dakota. We already have some of the strongest election laws on the books, and this legislation will make them even stronger.”

The Governor also signed 13 additional Good Government bills into law:

• SB 56 revises certain provisions relating to the South Dakota Retirement System.
• SB 57 adds gaming enforcement agents to Class B membership of the South Dakota Retirement System.
• SB 90 revises certain provisions regarding local building codes.
• SB 108 repeals certain reporting requirements to the Executive Board of the Legislative Research Council.
• SB 131 requires the Board of Regents to provide an annual presentation to the special committee.
• SB 156 revises certain provisions regarding census estimates for the purposes of off-sale and on-sale liquor licenses.
• SB 187 requires state agencies to provide certain information for initiated measure or constitutional amendment fiscal notes.
• SB 203 revises certain provisions regarding utility facilities and revenue bonds.
• HB 1041 facilitates legislative oversight of settlement agreements involving a state entity or official.
• HB 1084 provides for the regulation of motorized foot scooters.
• HB 1127 modifies provisions related to county redistricting.
• HB 1214 prohibit forms of caller identification manipulation and imposes a penalty therefor.
• HB 1268 revises provisions related to name changes when obtaining a marriage license.

You can find photos of the “Zuck Bucks” ban bill signing here and a video of the signing here.

Governor Noem has signed 161 bills into law and vetoed one this legislative session.

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So, there’s a guy who has a website who is so extreme that he apparently thinks Madison Cawthorne and Marjorie Taylor Greene are liberal sellouts.  He also claims “great leaders take action” and in South Dakota it wasn’t Kristi Noem who kept the state open, but ….the State Legislature?

…”It turns out that for Kristi Noem, her policy on Covid wasn’t about preserving freedom. It’s just that she doesn’t like doing things. That, and her state legislature. South Dakota’s state legislature is overwhelmingly Republican, and they were the ones who blocked her from doing more restrictions than she did, and after it worked out Noem sucked up all the praise on TV.”

Um.. WTF? Do you recall the weekly briefings from the legislature during COVID? Pretty sure it was all hands on deck from the Executive Branch, and it was Governor Noem and the Secretary of Health up there.

But in the bizarro world of the Internet, of course this person is Taffy Howard’s latest interview. You can catch this bag of crazy interview here (via rumble, of course) while anti-vaxxer “statistics” scroll across the screen claiming miscarriages and disabilities from covid vaccinations:

Johnson, Spartz Introduce Congressional Gold Medal Bill Recognizing the Defenders of Ukraine

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Victoria Spartz (R-IN), along with 16 bipartisan colleagues introduced the ‘Defenders of Ukraine Congressional Gold Medal Act’. The bill will collectively award the distinguished Congressional Gold Medal (CGM) to the defenders or people of Ukraine, in recognition of their crucial role in the defense of democratic values and against Putin’s aggression.

“The Ukrainian people are truly resilient,” said Johnson. “Despite looking down the barrel of the Russian military, thousands of Ukrainians answered the call to defend their homeland and volunteered to protect their republic. The United States stands behind Ukraine and is opposed to Putin’s act of war – our House Resolution makes that clear.”

“Those fighting for democracy in Ukraine, and for regional security in Europe, deserve this medal,” said Rep. Spartz. “Putin, his generals, and his cronies must know the United States Congress stands firm behind all those fighting against his illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine.”

The medal would be presented to the democratically elected government of Ukraine on behalf of the Ukrainian people.

The CGM is an award bestowed by Congress and is the highest civilian award in the United States. The decoration is awarded to an individual, or group of individuals, who perform an outstanding deed or act of service for the security, prosperity, and national interest of the United States.

For legislative text, click here.

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Gov. Noem Signs Public Safety Bills into Law

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem signed 19 public safety and criminal justice bills into law, including SB 53, which will facilitate the building of a community work center for female offenders in Rapid City.

“My top priority as Governor is keeping South Dakotans safe, and that is what these bills will help us do,” said Governor Noem. “We’re starting to address the needs of our prison system by purchasing land and moving forward with planning for the new women’s work center in Rapid City.”

Governor Noem also signed the following public safety bills into law:

• SB 22 revises a reference to the Division of Criminal Investigation.
• SB 33 authorizes the Department of Corrections to make healthcare improvements at the South Dakota Women’s Prison and makes an appropriation therefor.
• SB 51 makes an appropriation to support firefighter training equipment and recruitment efforts in the state.
• SB 77 enhances the penalty on registered sex offenders who commit sexual contact without consent from a person capable of consenting.
• SB 81 revises the definition of sexual contact for purposes of sexual contact with a child under eighteen by a person in a position of authority.
• SB 83 modifies when a motion for expungement of an arrest record may be made.
• SB 119 prohibits sexual contact between prison employees and prisoners.
• SB 120 includes intentionally manipulated images or recordings in the crime of invasion of privacy by recording.
• SB 136 revises and clarifies certain processes for emergency detainment related to drug and alcohol abuse.
• SB 144 creates the incarceration construction fund for the capital construction of such facilities.
• SB 195 establishes the burden of proof after a claim of immunity.
• SB 199 revises provisions related to a name change for certain crime victims.
• HB 1068 clarifies the processing of sexual assault kits performed on individuals ages sixteen and seventeen.
• HB 1099 revises provisions related to courtroom modifications for child witnesses.
• HB 1100 revises provisions related to the video recording of certain victim testimony at a preliminary hearing or disposition.
• HB 1162 defines a loaded firearm.
• HB 1174 revises requirements for sales of catalytic converters to scrap metal businesses.
• HB 1328 requires law enforcement to report certain seizures of property.

Governor Noem has signed 147 bills into law and vetoed one this legislative session.

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Had an unexpected envelope in my mailbox yesterday that made my day.

If I would have known I was getting a picture taken with the Governor last week, I might have dressed up. And gotten a haircut. But aside from how awful I look, it was a very nice gesture. Thank you Governor Noem!

Rapid City Businessman Steve Duffy announces bid for District 32 South Dakota House

Steve Duffy, longtime Rapid City businessman, announces today his candidacy for a seat in the South Dakota House of Representatives for District 32.

With Rep. Chris Johnson recently announcing he would not seek reelection, several current and former Republican leaders from around the state encouraged Duffy to run for the open seat. After talking with family, the fourth generation South Dakotan is excited to announce his candidacy. “I’ve watched the legislature up close for the last three years and believe I can make a difference,” says Duffy.

Smart growth in Rapid City and South Dakota will be his main priority. “I have worked with so many small businesses over a 40-year career in Rapid City and am a small business owner myself,” explains Duffy. “There are many challenges and risks for these self-reliant job creators. As a small business owner, I always found it easier to do business with free-market policies in place that promote sensible economic growth.”

Duffy worked 23 years as a television advertising executive and sales manager. He also managed South Dakota Cable and now owns several rental properties.

“If elected, it would be an honor to serve my city and state, promoting economic growth, balancing business interests with quality-of-life issues, always striving to keep the tax burden low.” Duffy continues, “This includes good-paying jobs, work-force housing, reliable transportation, quality education and much more.”

Steve Duffy is married to Helene Duhamel. With their three children they have lived in District 32 for nearly 40 years.

Hot out of my instant messaging, Joe Kippley in Minnehaha County is having a fundraiser on March 30 in support of his candidacy for Minnehaha County Commission. Check it out: