The Argus was in attendance at former legislator Dan Ahlers’ US Senate announcement yesterday. And there were immediate signs that this is not going to be a terribly authentic campaign:

That Ahlers logo looks familiar… pic.twitter.com/sReIDbJbcw

— South Dakota War College (@SoDakCampaigns) September 30, 2019

The point about Ahlers cribbing Jason Ravnsborg’s logo was before the event had even started. According to the article, it didn’t sound as if it got much better.

In reaction to Ahlers’ announcement on Monday, South Dakota Republican Chair Dan Lederman said Ahlers checks the Democrats’ boxes of “being ambiguous” on abortion and Second Amendment stances and will bring the state further to the left by promoting a “socialist agenda.”

“I’m not sure if Ahlers needs another doomed political campaign as much as he needs some career counseling,” Lederman said.

and…

Ahlers said the Affordable Care Act isn’t perfect, but politicians aren’t interested in finding a solution that will improve the health care system.

and…

Lederman, the state Republican chair, pointed out that Democrats now have three congressional candidates who lost in their state legislative races last year: Ahlers, and U.S. House candidates Brian Wirth of Dell Rapids and Whitney Raver of Custer.

“Collectively, Democrats are bringing a lot of experience to the race on what not to do, but they never learn, and keep repeating their liberal talking points,” Lederman said in a statement.

Read the entire story here.

While the GOP Chairman was all over the Ahlers’ announcement, raining on his parade, because that’s what functional political parties do, what were Democrats saying about the man who will be at the top of their state ticket?

Nothing.

Seriously. Nothing from Democrats via Twitter. Their facebook feed has a post from several days ago about the announcement taking place in the coming week, but silence from Ahlers’ party about the actual announcement.

And just forget about the Dem’s regular website, it hasn’t been updated since September 10th.  It’s as if ….  well, it’s as if Democrats fired the Communications Director, and closed their offices!

Even the Socialist Democrats who make up the liberal section of the SD Blogosphere gave the announcement a hard pass. (Probably because they know that this dog isn’t going to hunt.)

I suspect that Dan Ahlers is going to find that it’s going to be a long and miserable campaign. Especially when his own party takes a pass on recognizing that he’s launching his run for US Senate.

Just got off the phone, and while it had been rumored for some time, it sounds like State Representative Larry Zikmund is IN as a candidate for the State Senate seat in his District (D14) being vacated by State Senator Deb Soholt.

Soholt is precluded from running for the State Senate as a result of term limits, leaving the GOP in need of a candidate.

The only down side of Zikmund jumping chambers is that it represents that the GOP will need to recruit 2 candidates for the House, with Democrat State Representative Erin Healy occupying the other seat. Word is that it won’t be for a lack of interest, with people starting to bring up that they have an interest.

Only 3 months (and one day) until political candidate petitions can start circulating. Get ready for a wild ride!

From the SDGOP, comes a statement regarding Democrat Dan Ahlers’ announcement for US Senate this morning:

“After losing his last election for the state legislature, earlier this year he had to shut down his business, one of the last video stores in South Dakota. Just a few weeks ago, Ahlers started a political campaign/petition drive for a ballot measure that will likely fail to get on the ballot. Now, he seems to be abandoning that effort to shift his focus to a US Senate campaign that is not going to go well.”

“I’m not sure if Ahlers needs another doomed political campaign as much as he needs some career counseling.”

Read it all here.

Ouch!

From the Rapid City Journal comes a story of a 100,000 payoff to a city employee with lots of taxpayer funds, but very few details:

The city of Box Elder is paying its city attorney $100,000 to resign.

and…

After the executive session, the council reconvened in open session, and all five of the council members present voted to pay Vetri $50,000 from the city and another $50,000 from the South Dakota Public Assurance Alliance (a liability carrier).

The meeting’s minutes say the payments are conditioned upon a release of all claims, as well as Vetri’s immediate resignation and the inclusion of non-disparagement and non-disclosure requirements in a signed agreement.

Go read all the details (or lack thereof) here.

While some of this is coming out of funds from the South Dakota Public Assurance Alliance pool, $50,000 of it is coming out of local taxpayer funds. And there’s no indication of what thing took place to cause the need for the city to pay off a public employee in the amount of $100,000 over her salary.  Especially when “non-disparagement and non-disclosure requirements” are part of the agreement.

Because when a public entity is involved, and taxpayer funds are involved, there would seem to be a compelling reason to prohibit the suppression of speech and disclosure.

A study on our state capital’s flaming fountain monument is giving the impression that the ancient water and gas piping is going to be a little expensive to remedy:

A fix for the Flaming Fountain near the South Dakota Capitol in Pierre could be more urgent, complicated and expensive than anticipated, and it could require an alternative water source for Capitol Lake, according to an expert report.

and…

The report also said the well’s steel casing might be corroded, and water could be leaking through the casing into soft and crumbly underground formations, where the water could be forming cavities that might settle or collapse.

Read it here.

One issue is that changing it from a naturally heated water source back to a natural unheated flow, the lake would freeze over in the winter.

But, that might not be a bad thing.

(Pierre weekly free press, Thursday, Jan 01, 1914, Pierre, SD)

A frozen lake could have the potential for restoring ice skating on the body of water, which took place early in the 1900’s. But, if that were ever to happen, I am sure that would be many years off.

And I’ll bet you never knew the lake actually had a name besides “Capitol Lake.”

The Dusty Johnson for Congress Campaign just issued a pin for the 2020 campaign season.

(Most probably don’t care, but I collect them, as they’re a snapshot in time for our shared political history.)

If you need to snatch one for your collection, make a point to go to a Dusty Johnson campaign sponsored event near you soon!

Realizing the Joy of Being a Dad
By Sen. John Thune

Every once in a while, you experience one of those occasions where you stop to appreciate how blessed you are. Our family had one of those times recently when our oldest daughter, Brittany, was inducted into her collegiate hall of fame.

When our daughters were growing up, we encouraged them to try different activities at school. Of course, I wanted the girls to play basketball. They both tried it to appease me, but neither of them liked it, nor were they very good at it (as I think both girls would freely admit today).

Soccer seemed to be a better fit for Larissa, our youngest daughter, where she excelled, but that wasn’t where Brittany would find her niche either. However, as I observed Brittany on the soccer field, I saw that she had a nice, long stride, and I encouraged her to join track and field. It was running that turned out to be her gift.

Brittany came onto the running scene during a very historic period in South Dakota. She got to run with, and against, some of the most competitive and accomplished track and cross country athletes the state has ever seen. Brittany was blessed with some talent, but she had a powerful work ethic, a quality that serves people well in running sports. We watched her battle through injuries to experience a high level of success as a high school athlete.

Of course, we hoped she would compete in South Dakota as a college athlete, but she got a full-ride offer to run at Belmont University, a small Division I school in Nashville, Tennessee – and run she did.  She won back-to-back conference cross country championships and was twice named to the NCAA Division I “All South Regional Team.” She won numerous other awards, all of which contributed to her hall of fame induction. It was a well-deserved acknowledgement that all the hard work she put in through the years had paid off.

But as we watched her on the stage that night, sharing her remarks at the induction ceremony, I saw something else. I saw that little red-haired, pony-tailed girl all grown up. I heard her talk about the gift God had given her and how she had wanted to use it for His glory. I saw the character and courage that He had formed in her as she fought through an eating disorder and other challenges that came with succeeding as a college athlete. And I saw a confident wife, mother, and professional who continues to live life with the same sense of purpose that enabled her to log the thousands of miles that landed her on the hall of fame stage that night.

For a brief moment, everything else I do in life paled in comparison to the joy that comes with being a dad – and on that night, the dad of a hall of famer. Congratulations, Brittany!

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Constitution Day a Reminder of Founding Fathers’ Vision for America
By U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)

Each September, Americans celebrate Constitution Day. On Sept. 17, 1787, our Founding Fathers signed the U.S. Constitution, the most sacred document in our nation’s history. The Constitution established the three branches of our government and still to this day protects the rights of each American citizen. In the Senate, I work to uphold the intent of the Constitution every day. As President Abraham Lincoln once said, “Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.”

As a member of the legislative branch, our Constitutional role is to write laws—we do not have the power or authority to enforce laws or interpret the laws. Those powers were given to the executive branch and the judicial branch, respectively, when the founders wrote the Constitution. Their goal was to create a separation of powers, so no one branch of government could accumulate more power than the other two.

A system of checks and balances was created to prevent tyranny. Keep in mind, colonists first came to America to escape tyrannical rule. So, when our Founding Fathers sought to establish a new government, they worked to make sure power could not be concentrated by an individual or even a few people. As an example of our system of checks and balances, the president has the authority to nominate federal judges and other executive branch officials, but he cannot simply “hire” them. They go through a thorough vetting process in the Senate to establish their qualifications for the job to which they have been nominated, including a full committee hearing, before senators take a vote on their confirmation.

I often think about the deliberations and challenges our Founding Fathers experienced when they were drafting the Constitution. They had differing beliefs and opinions about what the future United States should look like. But at the end of the day, they worked together, indulged the views of their colleagues and wrote the framework for our system of government that has lasted more than 200 years.

We can learn a lot from our Founding Fathers. In our current divided government, Republicans and Democrats disagree with each other daily. That doesn’t mean we can’t work to find bipartisan solutions to the problems we face as a nation. In fact, we do work together on many issues, most of the time! If we have a common goal, we can work together, and the one commonality we all share is that we’re Americans first and foremost.

We want to leave our country in better shape for future generations. We may just have different ideas about how to do it, and that’s alright. Like our Founding Fathers, I will continue to seek to build consensus, uphold the rights of American citizens as outlined in the Constitution and work to pass legislation that preserves the greatness of our nation for years to come.

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Angels in Adoption
By Rep. Dusty Johnson

Nearly seven million Americans in the United States are adopted. In 2015, more than six-hundred seventy thousand children spent time in our foster care system. One out of every twenty-five families with children have an adoptive child. Families adopt for a number of reasons, but whatever the reason, it is a beautiful and selfless decision.

Joining the U.S. House of Representatives has its rewards—one of them being the people I come across that I normally wouldn’t outside of this job. This year, I had the privilege of nominating Kevin and Megan Kinney for the Angels in Adoption Award. Kevin serves as a Highway Patrolman and Megan is an accomplished author and stay at home mother. After they had their oldest daughter Emma, they felt called by God to participate in South Dakota’s foster care program. Soon after joining the foster care system, they brought three sisters—Angel, Alicia, and Kylee—into their home. All of the girls were under the age of three when Kevin and Megan became their foster parents.

The Kinney’s instantly fell in love with their new additions and decided to take the big step and adopt them, making Angel, Alicia, and Kylee permanent members of the Kinney clan. Even though the Kinney’s knew it would be an adventure to adopt all three young children, they understood the importance of not separating the bond of sisterhood.

Every child deserves to be a part of a family that loves and supports them. Stories like these hit close to home for me and my staff. In preparing this week’s column, I asked one of my staffers, who is adopted, for input. He was born to an 18-year-old girl out of wedlock. Unable to afford a child at the time, she decided to put him up for adoption. He was adopted by a great family that lives just down the road from me in Mitchell. He is forever grateful for his parents’ leap of faith and for his birthmother in allowing him to experience the full life he is living today. Adoption creates a ripple effect of love. It’s an antidote to agonizing, painful situations. My staffer described it as the gift of life.

The Kinney’s are more than deserving of the Angels in Adoption Award. Folks ranging from Muhammad Ali to First Lady Laura Bush have been recipients of this award. I’m proud to partner with an organization like Angels in Adoption which celebrates families, individuals, and organizations across the country that have made a remarkable contribution to children in need of families. Please join me in thanking the Kinney’s, and the rest of our adoptive and foster families in South Dakota, for stepping up when children need them the most.

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Grit and Tradition
By Governor Kristi Noem

Many of my favorite childhood memories took place on the back of a horse. Whether I was in the rodeo, chasing cattle, hunting with my siblings, or riding through the hills, there was always something so special about engaging with nature. In many ways, it was through our experiences outside that we learned resiliency, hard work, and a love for the outdoors. We learned grit and perseverance.

This year, South Dakota has needed that grit. Everywhere I go, I hear how families, businesses, and farms have been impacted by the storms. As South Dakotans, we are used to extreme weather. But the persistent wet conditions, starting with the bomb cyclone in March and the heavy rain every few weeks since then, has created a slow-rolling natural disaster of epic proportions. For many, it’s been devastating.

In the middle of it all, though, shines that South Dakota grit. Many farmers face the most difficult growing conditions they’ve ever seen, but every morning, they climb into their combines hoping for a better day. Employers are experiencing workforce shortages and a lull in business because of the difficult ag economy. Yet every day, they turn on the lights and continue demonstrating hospitality and kindness. Neighbors help neighbors. People serve people. And in the face of adversity, we look for the good. We lend a helping hand. We celebrate our traditions – the things that bring us together.

In late September, we celebrated one of those traditions at the annual buffalo roundup in Custer State Park. I joined cowboys and cowgirls on horseback during a cool fall morning as we corralled 1,300 stampeding buffalo through the valley in Custer. The power and force behind the herd paralleled the beauty displayed all around us. The crisp air marked the continued tradition South Dakotans have enjoyed for generations.

See, the roundup is a unique tradition. While it’s a tip of the hat to our historic past when millions of buffalo roamed the Great Plains, it’s also an opportunity to showcase our state’s unique beauty to business leaders and prospects looking to expand their operations to South Dakota. This year, these businesses had a front row seat to our grit. Whether it’s recovering from storm damage or launching a new business venture, South Dakotans are second to none when it comes to helping each other and getting things done. It was truly a special time to put our state on display, celebrate everything we have to offer, and show the potential that lies within our people.

South Dakota is the best place to live. It’s the best place to start a business. It’s the best place to raise a family. We’ve gotten through tough times before, and we’ll get through this year, too. To be a South Dakotan is to celebrate tradition in the face of adversity. To have grit.

I’m proud of our state. I’m proud of our traditions. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

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