Senator Mike Rounds’ WEEKLY ROUND[S] UP: March 2-March 8, 2026

Welcome back to the Weekly Round[s] Up. It was another busy week in DC. Lately, I am averaging about 18 events each day, between briefings, hearings and meetings with so many South Dakotans! I appreciate hearing from people across the state on a wide variety of topics affecting South Dakotans. Along with meetings with South Dakota groups, I also stayed busy with hearings, briefings and votes.

One important briefing from this past week to note was the classified briefing for all senators on Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave a satisfactory briefing on the events going on in Iran. While I can’t get into details, know that it is incredible what our military is able to accomplish. We continue to keep our men and women in uniform in our prayers, and our hearts go out to the families of the servicemembers who lost their lives defending our country in this conflict. More on this and the rest of my week in the Weekly Round[s] Up:

 South Dakota groups I visited with: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe; South Dakotans representing National Parent Teacher Association; South Dakotans with the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation; Agricultural Retailers Association; South Dakota YMCA leaders; South Dakota surgeons with American College of Surgeons; American Legion Department of South Dakota; South Dakotans with Ducks Unlimited; South Dakota Broadcasters Association; Department of South Dakota VFW; Christina Oey, Executive Director of South Dakota Humanities Council; Rosebud Sioux Tribe Council; Mickelson & Company LLC out of Sioux Falls; Katie Shmid with the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors; Feeding South Dakota; Dakota Credit Union Association; South Dakotans with Community Transportation Association of America; and South Dakotans with the National Bleeding Disorders Association.

Met with South Dakotans from: Aberdeen, Black Hills, Blackhawk, Brookings, Ellsworth, Garretson, Gayville, Kimball, Onida, Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Spearfish, Warner, Watertown and Willow Lake.

Other meetings: LTG Hartman, Acting Commander at U.S. Cyber Command; Nathan McAuley, CEO of Anchorage; and Pierre Yared, Acting Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

I also gave remarks at an Internet Works Middle Tech Mixer where I was recognized as an Inaugural Trailblazer in Innovation.

Hearings: This week I attended two Senate Armed Services Committee hearings; you can watch the first here..

and the second one here. 

 Briefings: I attended three classified briefings: one with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence the second with the Cybersecurity subcommittee; and a Senators-only briefing about current events in the Middle East.

 Votes taken: 4 – This past week I voted in support of funding the Department of Homeland Security once again. I also voted to advance the 21^st Century Road to Housing Act, legislation that we worked on in the Senate Banking Committee. I am pleased to see floor action on this bill as my office helped write over 20% of this major legislation. Final passage vote will occur within the next few days. Lastly, I voted nay on a War Powers resolution directing the removal of United States Armed Forces from Iran.

 Bible Study and Prayer Breakfast: This week I attended Senate Bible Study hosted by Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.). The study we went over was titled Insights on Successfully Persevering in Office. I also went to Senate Prayer Breakfast hosted by Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan).

 My Staff in South Dakota visited: Aberdeen and Onida.

Steps taken: 63,514 steps or 29.26 miles.

Video of the Week: Early Tuesday morning I went on Fox and Friends First to talk about Iran, click here to watch!

I had someone ask me for the full list of people who took the big vote against tourism in South Dakota, and said no to creating a loan fund for the Sioux Falls and Rapid City airports to expand.

SB 76: An Act to authorize loans from the South Dakota housing infrastructure fund for airport infrastructure.

Yeas:

Andera, Arlint, Bahmuller, DeGroot, Derby, Duffy, Emery, Fitzgerald, Fosness, Goodwin, Greenfield, Halverson, Healy, Heermann, Heinemann, Hughes, Jamison, Kassin, Kolbeck (Jack), Kull, Ladner, Massie, Moore, Mortenson, Muckey, Mulder, Novstrup, Odenbach, Peterson (Drew), Pourier, Rehfeldt, Reimer, Reisch, Roby, Roe, Schwans, Shorma, Stevens, Uhre‑Balk, Van Diepen, Walburg, Weems, and Wittman

Nays:

Julie Auch (R-Yankton)
Aaron Aylward (R-Sioux Falls)
Heather Baxter (R-Rapid City)
Josephine Garcia (R-Watertown)
Spencer Gosch (R-Mobridge)
Jana Hunt (R-Dupree)
Travis Ismay (R-Newell)
Phil Jensen (R-Rapid City)
Dylan Jordan (R- Grammy’s House)
Terri Jorgenson (R-Rapid City)
Tony Kayser (R-Sioux Falls)
Karla Lems (R-Canton )
Logan Manhart (R-Aberdeen)
Liz May (R-Kyle)
Tina Mulally (R-Rapid City)
Katie Nolz (R-Mitchell)
Marty Overweg (R-New Holland)
Tony Randolph (R-Rapid City)
Kathy Rice (R-Black Hawk )
Brandei Schaefbauer (R-Aberdeen)
John Shubeck (R-Beresford)
John Sjaarda (R-Valley Springs)
Mike Weisgram (R-Ft. Pierre)
Speaker Jon Hansen (R- Not going to be Governor)

*Update*

OPE!  I should not forget the members of the Senate who voted against tourism as well:

Yeas: Crabtree, Davis, Deibert, Duhamel, Hohn, Hulse, Jensen (Kevin), Kolbeck (Steve), Larson, Mehlhaff, Miskimins, Otten, Perry, Peterson (Sue), Reed, Rohl, Sauder, Schoenfish, Smith, Vilhauer, Wipf, and Zikmund

Nays:

Greg Blanc (R-Rapid City)
John Carley (R-California)
Tamera Grove (R-Lower Brule)
Taffy Howard (R-Rapid City)
Chris Karr (R-Sioux Falls)
Mark Lapka (R-Leola)
Sam Marty (R-Prairie City)
Lauren Nelson (R-Yankton)
Tom Pischke (R-Dell Rapids)
Curt Voight (R-Rapid City)
Mykala Voita (R-Bonesteel)

You can read the entire list of how legislators voted in committee and on the floor here.

Dusty Johnson Joins 71 Lawmakers Urging Treasury, USTR on Curbing Import of Dangerous Chinese Vapes

 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) joined 71 House lawmakers in a letter to U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer urging them to combat the flow of illicit Chinese e-cigarettes and vapes from flooding into American markets without approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The lawmakers asked the Trump Administration to consider the national security and public health threats these vapes pose in any future trade negotiations with the Chinese government.

“These [Chinese vapes] are a threat to national security. The Department of Justice has reported that unauthorized vapes are frequently smuggled from China and sold near schools and military bases, putting minors and service members at risk. The Drug Enforcement Administration has investigated vape shops in proximity to military installations and found that many are owned or operated by foreign nationals suspected of deliberately targeting military personnel,” the lawmakers wrote.

Full text of the letter can be found here or below:

Dear Secretary Bessent and Ambassador Greer:

As trade discussions with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) advance, it is critical that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Department of the Treasury confront the ongoing exploitation of our trade system. Any new trade agreement with China should require the Chinese government, through its oversight of e-cigarette exports, to take decisive action to curb the influx of illegal, youth-oriented e-cigarettes that openly flout U.S. and Chinese law.

The Administration has made clear that stopping the flow of dangerous and plainly illegal Chinese e-cigarettes is a national priority. We commend the important work of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, who continue to intercept illicit, often misdeclared, shipments. Despite these efforts, Chinese e-cigarette exports to the United States continued to rise during the final quarter of 2025, surpassing $10 billion in that year.

These devices are a threat to national security. The Department of Justice has reported that unauthorized vapes are frequently smuggled from China and sold near schools and military bases, putting minors and service members at risk. The Drug Enforcement Administration has investigated vape shops in proximity to military installations and found that many are owned or operated by foreign nationals suspected of deliberately targeting military personnel. One joint operation led to 20 arrests, including three Chinese nationals.

The emergence of Chinese “smart vapes”—which connect to smartphones—poses an additional cybersecurity threat. These devices may enable unauthorized access to personal data, cameras, microphones, geolocations, and networks. If used by military personnel, sensitive information could flow directly to the Chinese Communist Party under China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, which requires companies to cooperate with state intelligence services.

Given the threat these devices pose, the U.S. government should aggressively counter the source of these products. It is far more efficient to prevent these products from entering the United States from China than it is to intercept such products once they have entered the U.S. domestic supply chain. Chinese law bans manufacturers from shipping e-cigarettes to a country where those products are illegal. Although the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) exerts extensive control over the e-cigarette- industry in China, including the export of such products, the STMA has allowed massive quantities of illegal e-cigarettes shipments to the United States. This is not an administrative lapse; it appears to be a deliberate strategy on the part of the STMA that capitalizes on gaps in U.S. enforcement. Any forthcoming agreement with the PRC must ensure that the STMA enforces its existing rules on these illegal exports.

The need for action is urgent. Illicit Chinese e-cigarette makers and their U.S. distributors intentionally design and market products to appeal to young people—using candy flavored cartridges, toy-like designs, and packaging styled after fashion accessories. They rely on influencer marketing on youth-heavy platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. These illegal products often contain carcinogens, toxic additives, and high levels of heavy metals like lead, along with other unknown substances.

Moreover, the illicit e-cigarette- trade has become an attractive revenue stream for Mexican drug cartels. Associated Press reporting indicates that cartels have secured a dominant share of the illegal market in Mexico and are continuing to expand their operations in the United States. E-cigarette sales are illegal in Mexico, but demand for these products still exists which has likely led to the rise of cartel involvement in the sale of these devices. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (a bureau of the Department of the Treasury) has identified these products as a vehicle for trade-based money laundering schemes tied to fentanyl proceeds, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms has similarly traced funds from illicit Chinese e-cigarette sales to foreign adversaries and cartel operations inside the United States.

For these reasons, we strongly urge the USTR to elevate this matter in ongoing trade negotiations with China and to pursue a binding commitment requiring the Chinese government to stop all e-cigarette exports that fail to comply with U.S. and Chinese law. U.S. national security and public health require nothing less.

Sincerely,

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Gov. Rhoden Announces Ticket Lottery for Mount Rushmore Fireworks

 PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden announced the upcoming ticket lottery for the return of Independence Day fireworks to Mount Rushmore National Memorial in honor of America’s 250th birthday.

“Mount Rushmore is a powerful symbol of freedom and American spirit,” said Governor Rhoden. “As the freest state in the nation, South Dakota is proud to welcome visitors from across the country as we celebrate America’s birthday and our values of independence, freedom, and liberty. God bless America!”

The event will be held on July 3, 2026, in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service. Tickets are required and will be distributed through a public lottery.

“In partnership with the State of South Dakota, we are excited to reinstate a spectacular fireworks show as the highlight of Mount Rushmore’s Independence Day commemoration,” said Dr. Jenifer Chatfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.

The ticket lottery will take place from April 8 at 8 a.m. MT through April 12 at 9:59 p.m. MT. There is a $1 non-refundable lottery application fee. Each applicant may apply for up to four tickets and a parking space or shuttle service. Lottery results will be distributed on April 14, with additional instructions provided to selected applicants.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial will reopen for all visitors with regular business hours on July 4, 2026, with its annual Independence Day celebrations and programming.

Event details, ticket information, and visitor guidelines are available on the National Park Service website.

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From the Rapid City Journal this weekend, the Journal put a roster of those who supported creating a loan fund for the expansion of the Rapid City and Sioux Falls Airports.  And they also listed those who didn’t support economic growth through tourism.

You know, tourism.. the economic engine which drives the Black Hills?

It’s hard to expand the economic base of the Black Hills when you can’t get a flight into them. And every no voter needs to be taken to task for their positions:

Rapid City Regional Airport is the only full-service commercial airport serving the Black Hills region and generates more than $500 million in annual economic impact for South Dakota. Including both arriving and departing travelers, the airport served 905,211 total passengers in 2025, a record that exceeded the prior year’s numbers by 5.7%. 

GO READ THE ENTIRE STORY HERE in the Rapid City Journal.

And if your legislator voted no, take them to task for such an awful action.

State Representative Roger DeGroot to run for Re-Election to District 7 State House

With more than 40 years of service in education, including serving as Superintendent for the Brookings School District, Dr. Roger DeGroot of Brookings announced today that he is running for re-election to the office of State Representative in the District 7 House race, representing the communities of Brookings and Aurora.

Representative DeGroot noted, “During my time as your State Representative, I’ve been an active part of the House Education Committee my first two terms and presently sit on House Local Government. I am also a member of the rules review committee overseeing the rules process for state agencies, and served on the legislative Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee.”

When asked about his vision and reasons for running, DeGroot shared, “Education is a top priority because it’s so central to life in Brookings, but my work in Pierre goes further. We need a government that works-one that values our state employees and university faculty while clearing the path for local businesses to succeed. By supporting both our students and our workforce, we create a South Dakota where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

Roger first won election to serve as District 7 State Representative in 2022. Dr. DeGroot retired in 2015 after serving 40 years in education, with the last 8 as the superintendent of the Brookings School District. Roger began his career as a teacher in 1975. He served as the superintendent of schools in Lennox and Brookings. During his career, he served as an educational leader and mentor to many students and teacher and provided avenues for young professionals to earn advanced degrees.

After retiring, Roger continued his commitment to education by serving on the Brookings School Board and mentoring the next generation of teachers at SDSU and DSU. His leadership earned him the 2021 Distinguished Service Award from the South Dakota School Superintendent Association-a high honor bestowed by his fellow educators. In addition, he was honored as the 2025 Friend of Education by the South Dakota Education Association. He is also a lifelong sportsman and was recently recognized by the South Dakota Wildlife Federation as their Legislator of the Year for his work in advocating for the preservation of wildlife in South Dakota.

Roger and his wife Diane have been Brookings residents for almost 20 years, and are the proud parents of 3 adult children, and 9 grandchildren.

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I know I’m on the opposite side of this from a number of people whose judgement I trust and are more often in agreement than disagreement.

But, after last week’s passage of Senate bill 96 as part of the package of relief for property tax, I can’t help but give some attention to that troubling little thought in the back of my mind that asks “Is this the part where we’re supposed to start cheering about creating a new tax?

Of all the testimony I caught in the debate, State Representative Will Mortenson said something that added to that doubt:

Republican Rep. Will Mortenson of Pierre called for SB 96’s defeat on Thursday. “Take from the poor, give to the rich,” Mortenson said, summarizing his perspective of what’s going to happen. He argued that people from rural counties would be subsidizing another county’s property-tax relief when they shop in regional centers. He also said that people with the most-expensive homes would see the most relief.

Read that at KELOland.

Those in regional hubs will benefit greatly from the new County Sales Tax. And don’t let anyone’s creative word-smithing disavow that it’s anything but a new sales tax where we had none before:

Section 5. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 10:

A county may impose a gross receipts tax not to exceed one-half percent on the gross receipts of all sales of tangible personal property, any product transferred electronically, and services, that are taxable pursuant to chapters 10-45 and 10-46 in the county. The tax must conform in all respects to the state sales and use tax, with the exception of the tax rate.

For purposes of this chapter, “gross receipts” have the same meaning as defined and used in chapter 10-45.

Read that here.

5 or 10 years ago, a legislator – most certainly a Republican legislator – would avoid a whisper of a new tax like they’d avoid a plague rat, for fear of being tarred and feathered in mailings over the notion. Doubly so in an election year. But it’s 2026. And many want to be seen doing something about property taxes. So, this is what they came up with.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. According to the interactive chart that was going around, while those in Corson County are only seeing a 9% reduction…

..my residence in a regional hub predicts I could see a 23% reduction in my property tax:

I probably shouldn’t complain that my property taxes are going to be subsidized on the backs of the thousands the SDSU students spending money in the community. But I can’t help but think we shouldn’t strive for a better way.

What is that better way? One that South Dakota Republicans used to embrace. Growth and new jobs. Taking advantage of new opportunities.

It might almost seem like an alien concept with the wave of NIMBY populists that have taken the lead at the moment. At this point, South Dakota has made sure the country knows that we’re closed for business on energy growth, and many in the legislature are doing their damndest to block the wave of growth in technology and data centers from ever darkening our state’s doorsteps.   There are even those who have made it their legislative mission to stop local development in it’s tracks through putting up hard roadblocks to tax increment financing.

That’s not a way to grow our economy. It just means that ten years from now when everyone complains that their taxes are back where they used to be (and we still have this new sales tax) that they will look inward again to once again shuffle around the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. That’s not a solution. That’s a coping mechanism to claim to voters that you did something.

If you want natural growth and expansion of the tax base, we need to be creative as a state and have a business environment that makes people want to establish businesses in South Dakota and to invest here. We want these guys and the state NEEDS the investment.

Or not.  And we can just wait for the next new sales tax, so we can congratulate ourselves and tell voters that “we solved the problem.”

If you’re following the state legislative races, the battle is already underway.

An early mail piece has started hitting mailboxes in District 25 for House Candidate Carrie Sanderson, featuring an endorsement from former Governor Dennis Daugaard, and former first lady Linda Daugaard:

The field currently consists of Sanderson and Bart Sample (recycling the overused “faith family freedom” slogan), both of Flandreau for the seat being vacated by Jon Hansen, who is not allowed to run for the legislature again due to term limits.  Hansen is currently preparing to lose the race for Governor.

No word on whether State Representative Les Heinemann has petitions out (his political facebook has not seen activity since February 2025), but I would anticipate he’s going to run, which would give us three candidates from Flandreau. I would not be shocked to see another name or two jump in, but that’s what’s happening at the moment.

Lowering Health Care Costs
By Sen. John Thune

Whether it’s a trip to the pharmacy or a hospital stay, accessing health care can be complicated and costly. And that is especially true for rural South Dakota, where even getting to a health care provider can be challenging. Republicans are committed to making health care more affordable and accessible, which is why we’ve taken up a number of measures to lower costs and increase access to care, especially in rural communities.

Republicans kicked off this year by taking concrete action to drive down costs at the pharmacy counter, which complements efforts by the Trump administration to lower the cost of prescriptions. We passed a new law removing incentives for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to promote higher-priced medications and to ensure that if a PBM gets a discount or rebate from a drugmaker, those savings are incorporated into the health plans that Americans rely on. These reforms not only benefit patients, they protect South Dakota’s independent and community pharmacies by providing greater transparency, standardizing contract terms, and prohibiting PBMs from charging health plans more for a prescription drug than they reimburse the pharmacy.

We’ve also taken action to support access to health care at home. In the same bill, we extended telehealth waivers that are a critical lifeline for patients living far from health care providers, and we made it easier for patients to get in-home care, including by supporting family members who act as caregivers.

In our Working Families Tax Cuts legislation, Republicans made a generational investment in rural health care. The Rural Health Transformation Program gives states the resources and freedom to find solutions to their individual rural health challenges and to find sustainable ways of ensuring access to health care in rural communities going forward. South Dakota is receiving a significant amount of funding through this program, which will go toward a number of priorities, from strengthening the rural health care workforce to bolstering maternal care and emergency services in rural South Dakota.

The Working Families Tax Cuts also took aim at a Biden-era rule that would have imposed a one-size-fits-all staffing mandate that threatened the viability of nursing homes in rural communities. This rule was unworkable for many nursing homes in our state that simply could not find or afford to hire the number of health care professionals needed to meet the rule’s unfunded mandate. Some nursing homes would have had to shut their doors if Republicans had not blocked this regulation. With this mandate repealed and support from the Rural Health Transformation Program, Republicans have put rural health care on a better footing going forward.

It’s important that South Dakotans not only have access to quality care, but that they be able to afford that care as well. And thanks to Republicans’ efforts, folks in rural areas will have more dependable access to care, and costs will be more manageable.

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Security to Weather the Storm
By: Gov. Larry Rhoden
March 6, 2026

About a week ago, I went to sleep on Friday night as a peacetime Governor, then woke up Saturday morning as Governor at a time of war. While we slept, President Donald J. Trump’s Operation Epic Fury struck a decisive blow against state-sponsored terrorism in Iran. This mission decimated the Iranian government and killed the Ayatollah – his reign of terror and tyranny finally came to an end.

When actions like this happen on the international level, they impact us here at home. South Dakota’s own Ellsworth Air Force Base played a key role in Operation Epic Fury, and we thank the brave men and women who spent long hours flying our military ordnance to deliver a crippling blow to our adversary.

This moment carries a great deal of gravity, and it deserves careful thought and discernment. It is the honor of my life to serve as Commander in Chief of our National Guard. When the nation enters a conflict, therein lies the potential that our Guardsmen will be called up to active duty. So, I received a briefing from the Adjutant General of our South Dakota National Guard on the situation in Iran and how it could potentially impact our Guard.

This situation also brings emerging threats. There’s a heightened risk of cyber attacks or other nefarious activity from malicious actors. Keeping South Dakotans safe is my number one priority, so I am working with my Department of Public Safety and our National Guard to coordinate with our military, law enforcement, and intelligence partners to identify and monitor any emerging threats.

Last year, I established the Governor’s Resilient Infrastructure Task Force (GRIT) to protect against potential threats to our infrastructure, including cybersecurity vulnerabilities. And GRIT got a bill to enhance our state’s cybersecurity support to my desk – I was proud to sign it.

National Security should be something that each of us takes seriously. Earlier this year in my State of the State Address, I declared that National Security would be South Dakota’s “Next Big Industry,” and we’re delivering on that commitment. From the new B-21 Raider that is soon coming to Ellsworth to our emerging cybersecurity program at Dakota State University, we have a lot to hang our hat on in national security. We’re an ag state, meaning we grow the world’s food — and food security is a matter of national security. Our energy industry continues to grow, and continuing to support that growth is a matter of national security.

By coordinating between all of these strengths and advancing them where necessary, we will expand South Dakota’s role in our nation’s security and guarantee that our state – and the 49 others – remain strong, safe, and free.

Every day, I am honored to serve as your Governor. That honor carries extra significance and weight at a time such as this, and I pledge to live up to the responsibility at all times – especially during this conflict. God bless America.

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