Nelson to run for re-election to Public Utilities Commission

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 23, 2022

Chris Nelson announced today that he will be a candidate for re-election to the Public Utilities Commission in 2022.  Chris made the announcement to a crowd gathered for the Hughes County Lincoln Day Dinner in Pierre.

Nelson said, “The complexities of the utility business demand commissioners who are dedicated to advocating for consumers, are able to dig into the details of cases before the commission, and have the integrity to make just and fair decisions based on law.  My record as commissioner over the past eleven years highlights my commitment in each of these areas.”

While on the commission Nelson has focused on three priorities.  First and foremost is listening to and advocating for utility consumers to keep rates as low as possible and service reliable.  PUC regulated electricity rate changes over the last five years have been held down to half the rate of inflation.

Second has been working to expand broadband availability in rural South Dakota.  With his roots in agriculture Nelson understands the importance of high speed broadband connections to the business needs of farmers and ranchers as well as education and healthcare advancements.  Federal Communication Commission data show that in the last five years 25 mbps broadband has increased from availability in 58% of South Dakota’s census blocks to 94% of census blocks.

Third is a commitment to making decisions on issues before the PUC based on law and facts, not political whims or personal agendas.  Chris has a reputation for digging into the details of each case to make sure consumers are protected throughout the process.

Chris will be seeking nomination for Public Utilities Commissioner at the state Republican convention held June 23-25.  The nomination will place his name on the ballot in the November general election.

Nelson was appointed to a vacancy on the PUC in January 2011 by Governor Dennis Daugaard, won election in 2012 to serve the remainder of the six year term, and won reelection in 2016.  He previously served two terms as Secretary of State.

Additional information is available at www.nelsonforsd.com.

 

A couple of new candidates came in from under the radar today that no one had heard much about until now.

First is Republican Mary Beth Weinheimer, who filed the campaign finance forms for House campaign committee in District 24.

Her entrance into the race would trigger a new primary in District 24 House (there’s already a Senate primary in D24) against incumbents Will Mortenson and Mike Weisgram, who successfully came out of the House primary in 2020.  And both were pretty good campaigners, so I don’t anticipate they’re going to go without a fight.

Next new candidate is Republican Kerry Loudenslager running in D12, who filed paperwork to join that already crowded primary with Cole Heisey, Greg Jamison, Gary Schuster, and Amber Arlint.

And that’s Loudenslager.  While phonetically it might sound alike, no relation to the more infamous Lautenschlager’s of SD Gun Owners’  and Taffy Howard’s campaign from out on the other end of the state.

Still more than a month left until petitions are due, so we should start seeing a lot more filings in the weeks to come.

Stay tuned.

State Reps Steve Haugaard and Taffy Howard are certainly setting themselves apart today as they vote no on the Bio-medical research facility in Sioux Falls. And then reject upkeep for the world class music museum facility in Vermillion.

Music museum funding bill narrowly passed. Initially, it only had 46 yes votes – which would be short of passage – but House Speaker @SpencerGosch changed vote to yes pic.twitter.com/Nt7AL6tyz9

— Joe Sneve (@Argus_Joe) February 23, 2022

and..

Discovery District passes with 53 votes. It will next be considered in the Senate. pic.twitter.com/6tpcDRV6tb

— Joe Sneve (@Argus_Joe) February 23, 2022

Looks like science wins again, as the the South Dakota State Senate rejects State Representative Phil Jensen’s bill to allow off label use of the horse dewormer invermectin in the treatment of COVID:

Ivermectin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved prescription medication used to treat certain infections caused by internal and external parasites. There’s also veterinary formulations of ivermectin, sometimes available over the counter, to be used as a de-wormer for dogs, cats, horses, cows and pigs.

Rep. Phil Jensen (R-Rapid City) was the bill’s prime sponsor. He said the bill was not a mandate and turned testimony over to a number of doctors testifying remotely as well as a few South Dakotans touting the use of ivermectin to combat COVID-19.

and..

The South Dakota State Medical Association spoke against it and lobbyist Justin Bell said people with authority to prescribe drugs can already prescribe ivermectin. He said under the bill, a veterinarian could give a prescription to humans.

Read the entire story here.

From Twitter, Governor Noem is announcing her authorship of a book that will be coming out this summer.

Governor Noem announced on Fox and Friends this morning she’s writing a book, which will be coming out this Summer. https://t.co/o0NuhrdXl1

— Austin Goss (@AustinGossSD) February 23, 2022

Sharing an announcement that was sent over to me today. District 23 State Representative Charlie Hoffman is deciding to take a pass on another term of office at this time, leaving an open seat.

I have decided to end my political career on a WIN and will not be running again for the legislature. 

I have all the time in the world during the winter to be spending time with my six grandchildren in South Dakota and sitting in Pierre doesn’t allow that.  I hate putting a suit on every day too. LOL

Thank you everyone for eight great years in the SD House and know that I’m not going away just changing gears. Also anyone wishing to run please contact me as I will help you in your campaign.
Respectfully,
Charlie Hoffman

And it’s too bad because Charlie is such a good guy. Representative Hoffman – thank you for your service to the people of South Dakota and best wishes for the future.

Hot out of my e-mail box, the Marty Jackley for Attorney General Campaign is pushing forward to ask past supporters to register as convention delegates as he notes Jason Ravnsborg is working on the same:

Hello (NAME),

Marty’s campaign for Attorney General continues to go extremely well. He continues to call and meet with delegates every day. Last week Governor Noem endorsed Marty and he now has endorsements from 64 Sheriffs and 60 State’s Attorneys.

BUT WE CANNOT BECOME COMPLACENT… Marty needs your help. He can’t win if his supporters do not sign up to be a precinct committeeman or woman so they can be voting delegates at the Republican State Convention in Watertown on June 25th.

While he hasn’t officially announced his campaign for re-election, the current Attorney General is campaigning very hard for re-election. As the press has reported, he continues to call and recruit people to run for precinct committee positions so they can vote at the State Convention.

There are nearly 900 precincts in South Dakota and Republicans can elect one committeeman and one committeewoman for each precinct. If only one person files the required form to be a committeeman or woman, they win by default. If more than one person files to be a committeeman or woman, there will be an election and the winner will become a voting delegate. As a result, it is imperative that Marty’s supporters actually file the required form to be a committeeman or woman by the March 29th filing deadline.

Click here to find out what precinct you are registered to vote in.

Click here to see who, if anyone, has filed to be a candidate for precinct committeeman or woman in your precinct. The list includes all candidates for office so you will need to scroll to the end of the list to see candidates for precinct committeeman or woman.

Click here to print a precinct committee person form. You can mail or hand deliver the form to your county auditor.

If someone has already filed in your precinct and you don’t know if they are a Jackley supporter, call me at 605-280-7767 or email me at jason@martyjackley.com and I will let you know.

Do not delay- file today!

Sincerely,

So a foot soldier sent me these photos from Sioux Falls Day at the State Legislature last week.

But for one City Councilor, it looks like it was less “Sioux Falls Day at the Legislature” and more “Janet Brekke gets her election petitions filled out at the Legislature”

I guess she didn’t have anything better to do in Pierre that day.

Thune Statement on Russia’s Aggression

“The only thing Putin responds to is strength, so the United States must send a strong and unified message that this aggression will not be tolerated.”

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today released the following statement regarding Russia’s aggression in Ukraine:

“The United States, NATO, and Ukraine must not back down to Vladimir Putin’s demands to undermine regional security or yield to his visions of remaking a malign Soviet sphere of influence,” said Thune. “In recognizing the independence of, and overtly sending troops to, regions in eastern Ukraine, Putin has rejected diplomatic efforts, violated Ukraine’s sovereignty, and further stoked tensions toward the brink of devastating conflict.

“Throughout his revisionist justification for his latest aggressions, Putin made clear that Russia will always claim it is the victim, despite an obvious track record to the contrary. The United States and its partners must stand united against Russian hostilities, including by implementing biting sanctions that target the Russian energy sector that seeks to prey on Western energy security.

“In addition to demonstrating resolute leadership against Russia’s object defiance of the rule of law, the United States must also reinvigorate our domestic energy resources to insulate consumers and allies from collateral sanctions damage, as well as renew our defense commitments and ensure our armed forces are fully equipped to deter and defend against mounting threats.

“For weeks, President Biden has been talking the talk on a U.S. response to a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now it’s time for him to start walking the walk. We had the opportunity to send Putin a clear message before this unnecessary invasion, including by preemptively cutting off the Putin Pipeline, but President Biden and his Democrat allies in Congress sat on their hands.

“The only thing Putin responds to is strength, so the United States must send a strong and unified message that this aggression will not be tolerated. In addition to making it clear that there are more sanctions on the table, including those in the NYET Act, we must provide the necessary support to our NATO allies and assist Ukraine with what it needs to fight this battle.”

Last week, Thune and a majority of his Senate Republican colleagues introduced the Never Yielding Europe’s Territory (NYET) Act to provide the critical support Ukraine needs to defend itself and deter Russian aggression while imposing real costs on the Kremlin for its ongoing and potential future aggression against Ukraine.

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Always good to have the opportunity to hear a Washington Update from Senator Thune, who spoke with the Brookings County GOP in a special lunch meeting today down at Cubby’s. Lots of stuff to unpack, especially information on how the Biden administration refuses to meet with the Senator and his colleagues on renewable fuels such as ethanol, because they are focusing exclusively on electric cars.

Which if it’s a cold, crappy day like today, I’m going to stick with my reliable internal combustion engine, thank you very much.

Also heard about efforts to address big tech and censorship, as well as other issues, including the military, our nation’s foreign policy, as well as a number of other topics.

I asked the senator a question regarding what’s going on in the US Senate regarding big tech, and whether they could face efforts to break up the monopolies held by Google and Facebook, who keep buying up competitors. He noted that Anti-trust/tech breakup would be challenging, but there is bipartisan support for that approach, well as less direct approaches.

He did speak at length regarding proposals to allow people to opt in or out of algorithms determining what they do and do not see, and addressing laws which once gave big tech a carve-out because they were platforms, but now that they’re deciding content, that carve-out needs to be revisited.

Great turnout for the event with 50 or more people, including about a dozen College Republicans. Well worth venturing out, and thanks to Senator Thune for zipping up the Interstate on this blustery winter day!