FONKERT ON THE BALLOT FOR JUNE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

HARTFORD, SD – Jesse Fonkert, Republican candidate for the South Dakota House of Representatives, is officially on the ballot for the June 7th primary. Fonkert, a Hartford resident, is running to serve District 9 which represents Sioux Falls, Hartford, Wall Lake, and several rural subdivisions and townships. Jesse is the first candidate in the 2022 election to have publicly declared for District 9 House and the first candidate to have their petitions submitted and approved by the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office.

Fonkert first declared his candidacy early in December of 2021. Raised in Mobridge, Fonkert has spent most of his life in South Dakota. He attended college in Sioux Falls and graduated from Augustana University in 2014. Jesse and his wife Kelsey have lived in Hartford since 2016 where he served as the Chamber and Economic Development Director for four years before becoming the President & CEO of the Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

“I’m excited to be on the ballot and looking forward to the primary on June 7,” said Jesse Fonkert, candidate for District 9 House of Representatives. “My experience in economic development in both Hartford and around the Sioux Falls metro has helped prepare me to serve. Leading up to the primary, I look forward to earning the votes of District 9 Republican voters. Ahead of the general, I plan to reach out to my future constituents in District 9, regardless of political affiliation, to learn how I can best represent them in Pierre.”

District 9 receives two seats in the South Dakota House of Representatives. Absentee voting begins on April 22 and voting registration for the June primary ends on May 23rd. The general election will occur on November 8.

If you’ve ever wondered how bad things have gotten for Republicans in Rapid City for anyone not to the right of Taffy Howard and Phil Jensen, the evidence seems to be coming from the Pennington County GOP.

For quite a while now, the County Party has been advertising their upcoming Lincoln Day Dinner via Facebook and e-mail:

and..

Well, what about their website? There, you can find a day.. and ticket prices.. and that’s about it:

 

Okay.. that really doesn’t tell anyone much, other than they’re having an event. So who did they manage to get as speaker?   It took me a little hunting, but despite their best efforts at burying it..

(my emphasis in the graphic, BTW).

Buried in the middle of the eventbrite page advertising their 2022 Lincoln Day Dinner do they begrudgingly mention that the guest speaker for the Pennington County Lincoln Day Dinner is Governor Kristi Noem.

Wait, what?  They actually buried the fact that they have the most popular Republican in the state (among Republicans) and a star attraction nationally as their speaker for the event, but they completely obviate this fact on their facebook page, on their website, and buried as a footnote on the event page where you can buy a ticket?

Can someone tell me whether the Pennington County GOP actually supports South Dakota Republicans?  I have to ask, because I don’t know if they’re even trying to support local Republicans much less those who have been elected on a statewide basis.

You have to wonder, as this is the same County Party that has turned over their social media to a kid from South Carolina to reach out to younger voters by posting memes.

And posting memes they do, because they certainly seem to have abandoned saying anything about their elected officials.

There was one mention of Governor Noem signing the transgender sports bill on Feb 4, and a couple of mentions in January.. but nothing since to give anyone the impression that they want to promote Republicans who have been actually elected to office in the state.

Literally, since the first of the year, they have spoken more about alleged injustices perpetuated by twitter against Marjorie Taylor Greene of the Jewish Space Lasers than they have mentioned Helene Duhamel, Jessica Castleberry, or Becky Drury. Or any other legislator.

I’ve heard talk that internally, the awful web presence maintained by the kid from North Carolina is just the tip of the iceberg.  In addition to not acknowledging their elected officials, the sandbagging of Kristi Noem is somewhat indicative of the bent by the hard right who seems to be trying to do their best to ignore elected officials.

What an embarrassing mess.  At some point, maybe they’ll realize what the function of a political party is – to actually get Republicans elected – and they’ll get back to business.

Release: Governor Noem signs House Bill 1325 into law on March 18, 2022.

As many of you know Senator Castleberry and I have worked tirelessly this past year on HB 1039, a grassland tax relief bill for the ranchers throughout South Dakota. The bill passed through the House AG Committee and was approved on the House floor. It continued its journey to Senate Taxation where it was defeated. HB 1039 brought attention to the horrific taxes the ranchers were facing because of incorrect soil classifications that were in place. We definitely got the conversation started and Representative Chaffee brought it home for the ranchers with House Bill 1325. I am pleased to report that HB 1325 passed through the House and the Senate and was signed into law by Governor Noem on Friday, March 18, 2022.

I’d like to congratulate Representative Chaffee for his hard work with various department heads on this bill that will help make revisions to class IV soils possible. Those revisions will result in an enormous correction to the way our soils are categorized as either cropland or non-cropland and the taxes levied on our ranchers. I would also like to thank Governor Noem for signing HB 1325.

Thank you for your support!
Representative Trish Ladner
District 30

Gov. Noem Appoints Jim Terwilliger as Commissioner of the Bureau of Finance and Management

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that Jim Terwilliger will be serving as the new Commissioner of the Bureau of Finance and Management, effective April 1.

“Jim knows our state’s finances inside and out and will help us guarantee that South Dakota remains fiscally responsible for years to come,” said Governor Noem. “Through his years of service at both the Department of Revenue and the Bureau of Finance and Management, he has proven his commitment to low taxes, stable sources of revenue, and fiscal predictability & responsibility.”

Terwilliger has served as the Secretary of the Department of Revenue since January 2019.Previously, he spent twelve years with the Bureau of Finance and Management serving as deputy commissioner and state economist.

“In South Dakota, we always use common sense when it comes to our budgeting and financial practices that focus on sustainability,”  said Jim Terwilliger. “I’m honored to serve Governor Noem and South Dakota in this capacity and look forward to assuring our state finances remain on rock solid footing well into the future.”

Terwilliger obtained both a bachelor’s in mathematics and a master’s in business administration from the University of South Dakota. He serves as president of the Capital City Baseball Association in Pierre and is a member of the Saint Joseph School council.

Jim and his wife Alexis live in Pierre with their three children. You can find a photo of Jim Terwilliger here.

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Businessman, Dean Aurand, files petitions for District 33 House of Representatives

(Rapid City, SD) – Dean Aurand has filed his petitions with the South Dakota Secretary of State and is proudly running as a Republican for District 33 House of Representatives. Aurand moved to Rapid City in 1985 to start his business and has been serving the community ever since. Dean and his wife, Susan, have been married for 35 years and have 3 children and 2 grandchildren.

Aurand brings with him a conservative approach to fiscal management honed by years of successful business development, an understanding of the water and environmental issues of the Black Hills, and a dedication to service to the community and State he loves.

Aurand has a technical degree in diesel mechanics and a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. His education gave him the tools needed to start Mid Continent Testing Labs in Rapid City. This long-standing business started out testing used diesel engine oil and soon expanded into a regional resource for environmental water testing and drinking water testing. Dean, along with his business partner, has successfully grown the business over the past 37 years. He understands what it takes to attract and maintain staff, serve clients, manage a budget, and expand business in a highly regulated field.

When asked why he is running, Aurand commented, “South Dakota is seeing some economic successes and a windfall of money. We need political leaders who are capable of making wise decisions with this money, so we don’t have regrets about the consequences caused by reckless spending.”

As modeled by his parents throughout his life, Aurand has an ingrained dedication to community service. An active volunteer, Aurand has coached youth soccer and basketball, teaches Sunday school at his church, and has led junior leadership programs. Aurand has taken leadership positions and served on numerous Board of Directors such as homeowners association, water district, Leadership Rapid City, Chamber Governmental Affairs Committee, Public Policy Committee, and the Black Hills Works Foundation.

Aurand is known for his thoughtful and educated approach to finding solutions that benefit constituents. He is guided firmly by family values, a desire for limited and local government, and creating sound policy for future generations.

You can learn more about Dean Aurand and his campaign at www.deanaurand.com and on Facebook @DeanAurand33.

FACT CHECK: TRUE ✅🇺🇸 @KristiNoem pic.twitter.com/pyIxDGplba

— NRA (@NRA) March 20, 2022

I always look forward to the month of March because the weather slowly starts to improve, and, of course, we have the start of March Madness basketball. While I’m all for the madness of the basketball variety, this March marked the first anniversary of a different kind of madness that was happening in Congress. Unfortunately, if many Democrats had it their way, it would never end.

One year ago, just weeks after Congress responded to the COVID pandemic by again providing some much-needed, targeted assistance, Democrats were busy passing their multi-trillion-dollar American Rescue Plan. In my view, the only thing it rescued was Democrats who were eager to spend more taxpayer money. Unfortunately, though, it helped create the inflation crisis that many South Dakotans are dealing with today. While it’s true that supply chain issues and the reopening of economies after COVID shutdowns created certain inflationary pressures, a major cause of our current inflation crisis was Democrats’ decision to pass the American Rescue Plan last March.

The definition of inflation is too many dollars chasing too few goods and services, and that’s exactly the situation Democrats helped create. At the time, our economy was well on its way to a healthy recovery, and the majority of states had the money they needed to deal with the pandemic. It was abundantly clear that the economy was not in immediate need of trillions of dollars more in government spending. But that didn’t stop Democrats and the far-left political base to which they were trying to appeal.

Now that they were in charge, they were eager to take advantage of the COVID crisis to begin implementing their big-government vision. So, in the name of “COVID relief,” they pushed through a massive, partisan $1.9 trillion piece of legislation filled with unnecessary spending and handouts to Democrat interest groups. Less than 9 percent of that $1.9 trillion was directed to actually combating COVID. And despite being billed as essential and urgent COVID relief, a substantial portion of the money appropriated isn’t required to be spent until after this year.

The end result of the Democrats’ partisan crusade was entirely predictable. They flooded the economy with unnecessary government money, and the economy overheated as a result. Inflation started to rise almost as soon as the ink was dry on the American Rescue Plan, and it just keeps rising. Going to the grocery store is taking up a huge chunk of South Dakotans’ paychecks, not to mention what rampant gas prices are doing to family budgets.

The bottom line is that the American Rescue Plan was a bad deal for Americans. It was a bloated and unnecessary bill, and it was irresponsible legislating. I hope that Democrats do not have the chance to double down on this legislation and make our current inflation crisis even worse. My message to Democrats in Washington: Let’s keep the madness on the basketball court.

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Supply chain problems are still plaguing producers, manufacturers, transporters, and consumers across America. These high prices and delayed shipments have been aggravated by steady increased demand. Consumer spending on e-commerce is expected to hit a record $1 trillion this year due to the shift of online shopping driven by the pandemic. This is a 13% increase from 2021.

Increased demand is placing more stress on our port system and this stress is complicated by unfair practices by foreign ocean carriers. These carriers are leaving American exports at our ports and going back to Asia with empty containers—leaving American products heading overseas, stuck. This new practice increased the largest ocean carrier profits by more than triple over the last year.

This dilemma is what led U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) and I to introduce the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA), which passed the House overwhelmingly (364-60) in December 2021. As OSRA is still pending Senate consideration, members of the House are still speaking up to ensure its quick passage.

On Thursday, I held a roundtable discussion with some of my Problem Solvers Caucus colleagues—U.S. Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA), and David Valadao (R-CA)—and supply chain experts to discuss these problems and how OSRAwould help alleviate some of the supply chain delays felt across the country.

Last month, loaded exports from the Port of Los Angeles decreased 24.7%, while the number of imports increased. With the current state of the supply chain, manufacturers are expecting delays to continue into the first half of 2023. This is alarming.

Experts in American manufacturing and agriculture made it clear at this week’s roundtable: America’s economy and businesses need OSRA signed into law. There are solutions to some of the problems we’re seeing with our supply chain and foreign flagged ocean shippers – OSRA establishes rules of the road and puts America on an equal playing field.

The Senate will hold a markup on OSRA on March 22. Getting this bill across the finish line and signed by the President is crucial to begin easing the costly problems created by foreign carriers’ unfair shipping practices. My colleagues and I in the House will keep working alongside industry experts to ensure Senate passage of the House version of OSRA to strengthen our supply chain security.

RACHEL DIX ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR SOUTH DAKOTA DISTRICT 3 SENATE

ABERDEEN, SD – MARCH 2022: Rachel Dix will be on this year’s Republican primary ballot for SD District 3 Senate. Rachel has been involved in state and federal government for the past several years with her role in the building and housing industries. She is eager to continue to serve the Aberdeen community through advocacy, building collaborative partnerships, and volunteerism. Rachel believes South Dakota has laid a solid foundation of freedoms and access to education and she will strive to continue that path for Aberdeen.

“I look forward to the opportunity to serve as your district 3 Senator. I will be a strong voice advocating for the needs of Aberdeen by being conservative, yet open-minded, towards our community’s future. Together, we’ll invest in Aberdeen through increasing the skilled trades workforce, promoting education, and expanding homeownership in our community.” – R. Dix

In February 2022, Rachel earned her Master of Business Administration degree from Western Governor’s University and is a local graduate of Presentation College. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Management and minor in Finance. As the Executive Officer for the Aberdeen Home Builders Association, an affiliate organization of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), she enjoys meeting and collaborating with individuals and businesses across the state and supports the growth of northeastern South Dakota. Rachel has attended and hosted multiple meetings with city, state, and national delegations in this position. The NAHB Executive Officer Council awarded Rachel the Small Office Honor Honoree of 2019. In February 2022, Rachel was installed as a regional director of the NAHB Executive Officer Council.

Additionally, Rachel is the Homeownership Coordinator for Homes Are Possible, Inc. She teaches sessions that promote homeownership for all in our communities. Rachel is a Homeownership Education Resource Organization (HERO) partner with the South Dakota Housing Development Authority (SDHDA.) She is also a certified SD Real Estate Education Instructor. Rachel’s energetic nature and love of learning are shared during her interactive sessions. In this position, Rachel collaborates with the South Dakota Native American Homeownership Coalition promoting housing education and sustainability across the state.

Rachel is an active community volunteer. As a member of the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce, she works closely with the Community Affairs and Workforce & Education Committees. Through the Aberdeen Chamber, Rachel received the Emerging Leader Award of 2020. She sits as the second vice-chair on the Dakotaland Federal Credit Union Board of Directors and is a member of the Aberdeen Area Realtors Association promoting homeownership. She was honored to be selected to attend BushCon November 2018, an annual convention of the Bush Foundation, with the Aberdeen Diversity Collation learning to communicate more efficiently and effectively with all community members. The Diversity Collation involvement led to Rachel accepting the position as the national Executive Officer Liaison for the NAHB Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Taskforce.

Rachel is homegrown and understands and enjoys the amazing freedoms offered to our community. In her spare time, Rachel and her husband, Nathan, will be found in the great outdoors of South Dakota! Rachel is an avid huntress, with her favorite seasons being east river rifle and archery deer. She and Nathan can be found kayaking, fishing, and hiking across the state during the summer. Rachel and Nathan reside in Aberdeen, SD, with their dogs, Lacy and Randy, and their cats, Betty and Mocha.

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Rachel Dix for South Dakota
Website: racheldix.com

Today was not the day for supporters of State Rep. Sue Peterson to check their mailbox. Because there was a letter that went out that hit her hard as an opening salvo in the District 13 Primary.

Former State Representative Speaker of the House Mark Mickelson, who once represented the area alongside Peterson, sent a letter advocating for State Rep. Richard Thomason, and just blasted Peterson for being “not a supporter of public education,” for being against the Sioux Falls Chamber, and for missing votes.

Whoof.

It looks like it is game on in D13.