The Argus has a story this AM on the strong support behind the Sarah Cole for Sioux Falls City Council campaign that I was reporting on last week, via a fundraiser being held tomorrow night:

Many of the listed hosts are well-known Sioux Falls names and regular donors to city council campaigns, including Chris and Kristen Thorkelson, Emily and Chris Daugaard and Dana Dykhouse. But also among the hosts of the event are four of Brekke’s colleagues: Councilors Christine Erickson, Greg Neitzert, Alex Jensen and Marshall Selberg, nearly enough to form a quorum of the City Council.

and..

Brekke said she wasn’t interested in speculating as to the reasons for her colleagues’ support of a challenger, saying only that she had not asked any council members for funding or support, nor invited them to any events.

Read the entire story here.

The new SDGOP membership card mailing has hit mailboxes today featuring South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem on the printed card as part of the membership package.

(Noem was on the previous card as well.)

Right wing radio host Mark Levin was on his radio show recently grousing over the failure of a Convention of States resolution in South Dakota, and used his pulpit to attack South Dakota State Senators Lee Schoenbeck and Dave Johnson, going so far as to challenge Senator Schoenbeck to a debate:

Somehow, I think Lee has better things to do with his time. Obviously, the COS group is kind of pissy because they lost.

The various groups have been pushing a resolution in the legislature to call a convention of states for years, and it has gone back and forth. Some think we need a convention of states to amend the constitution on term limits, some think we need a convention of states for a constitutional amendment on a balanced budget, and some fear that a convention of states to amend the constitution might bring an amendment to limit the second amendment.

It’s about a 50/50 split in the legislature regarding whether it’s a worthwhile exercise. The House passed it 39/30 (about 56%), and the Senate killed it 19/16, about 54%.

And there you have it.

Governor Noem Accepting Applications for Summer Interns

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem is now accepting applications for the Governor’s Office Summer 2022 internship programs.

Student interns will work with staff on various projects depending on interests and strengths. Additional duties include aiding the governor’s general counsel, constituent services, and communications team; conducting policy research; preparing policy briefings; and staffing events. Internships provide students with first-hand knowledge of the state government and the functions of a governor’s office.

College students who would like to be considered for an internship should submit a resume, cover letter, and letter of recommendation to megan.goltz@state.sd.us. Applications should be submitted by Friday, April 1, 2022.

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Sounds like nothingburgers are on the menu today in Sioux Falls as Mayor Paul TenHaken sends a text update about a concert to his campaign followers, and his opponents who don’t have campaign followers are freaking out:

Subscribers to TenHaken’s campaign texts got that update — the first and only text sent from the service — shortly after the concert was announced in a tweet by the Premier Center’s Twitter account on Monday morning.

In an interview Monday afternoon, TenHaken said he’s “always looking for different ways to communicate with people,” and said he liked the “pure, 1-on-1 communication” someone could get via a texting service.

and..

“The Premier Center is owned by Sioux Falls taxpayers,” Islam said in a statement. “Requiring residents to sign up for the mayor’s campaign account to get ‘insider updates’ about what’s going on at a public facility is completely inappropriate. The mayor should shut down his text account now, if he’s going to seek political gain from public information.”

My emphasis on those.. Read this ridiculousness here.

So, here’s the timeline. Concert announced on twitter. Mayor TenHaken sent out a campaign text to his followers about big concert shortly after the concert was announced. And his opponents who can gain no interest or attraction in their candidacy against him are freaking out that the mayor publicized already public information.

But.. but.. but.. he called it an insider update! It’s insider information!  Really? They’re gnashing their teeth over a marketing gimmick?

Can someone remind me of the city ordinance or state law is in place which prevents the mayor from taking information already publicized on twitter and sending it out via text message?  Well, here’s an insider tip, in case people aren’t getting it, that’s a lot of the thing with Social Media, people take public information, comment on it, and repackage it in hopes of getting someone to read it.

And that’s also the thing about public information. It’s public.

This literally might be the stupidest non-news story I’ve read in a while as TenHaken’s opponents try to gain a toehold on to anything resembling a campaign.

The fact that a story about the opponent criticizing the mayor publicizing public information might also be an indication how desperate the local media is to gin up a story to show a pulse in the Sioux Falls mayoral race from the challengers who to have date have gone nowhere.

Thune Introduces Resolution to Unmask America’s Children

“A toddler mask mandate highlights everything that’s wrong with Washington, which is why I introduced this common-sense resolution that would prohibit the Biden administration from enforcing or implementing this intrusive, one-size-fits-all Washington rule on America’s children.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today led several of his Senate Republican colleagues in introducing a resolution that, if enacted, would allow Congress to nullify a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) interim final rule (IFR) that requires all staff and volunteers in Head Start educational facilities around the country to be fully vaccinated and wear a mask. Most notably, this resolution would nullify the IFR’s mandate for all children two years of age and older to wear a mask, including when they are playing outside. Congress can consider this resolution using expedited procedures under the Congressional Review Act and can pass it by a simple majority vote.

“Not only is this decision to police schoolyard activities yet another affront to parents’ rights by the Biden administration, even worse is nothing about this nationwide policy is based on science or common sense,” said Thune. “A toddler mask mandate highlights everything that’s wrong with Washington, which is why I introduced this common-sense resolution that would prohibit the Biden administration from enforcing or implementing this intrusive, one-size-fits-all Washington rule on America’s children.”

“South Dakota Head Start programs have successfully implemented appropriate COVID-19 mitigation strategies, and the majority have been open and safely functioning since June 2020,” said Katie Sieverding, executive director of South Dakota Head Start Association. “We thank Senator Thune for his work to protect our children and families from blanket masking mandates and keep these important decisions at the local level where they are best made.”

This resolution is co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

In December, Thune introduced separate legislation to nullify this IFR, and in January, he led his colleagues in sending a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra requesting that the administration rescind the IFR. The Head Start program is a federal government program that provides qualifying, low-income children with early education services. Program facilities are located throughout the nation and, up until the issuance of this IFR, individual locations had been able to set and enforce their own COVID-19 protocols.

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Gov. Noem Signs Bills into Law

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem signed nine bills into law:

• SB 9 revises the definition of a designated caregiver.
• HB 1028 updates certain provisions related to the licensure of optometrists.
• HB 1050 repeals obsolete lease requirements for the Black Hills Playhouse.
• HB 1070 clarifies certain provisions of the rural access infrastructure improvements grant program.
• HB 1076 permits certain municipalities to elect aldermen at large.
• HB 1106 provides for the security and privacy of certain personally identifiable information for judicial officers.
• HB 1107 establishes a process for requesting records prepared or maintained by court services officers.
• HB 1108 revises provisions related to driving under the influence.
• HB 1109 revises a provision related to the review of the master jury list.

Governor Noem has signed 40 bills into law and vetoed one this legislative session.

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South Dakota’s US Senator John Thune is joining with Congressman Steve Scalise to call on Joe Biden to remove mandates on masking for toddlers:

As parents ourselves, we are outraged that the federal government is using taxpayer money to make children as young as 2 years old have to wear face masks.

Head Start facilities provide early education services to low-income children through 1,600 facilities across the country, including in South Dakota and Louisiana. The Biden administration is now requiring Head Start grant recipients to mask toddlers at all times – even if they’re outside on the playground.

The decision to mask or not mask a toddler should be made by a parent or guardian, not Joe Biden. Not only is this decision to police schoolyard activities yet another affront to parents’ rights by the Biden administration, even worse is nothing about this nationwide policy is based on science or common sense.

Read the entire column here at FoxNews.com

When the federal government oversteps its bounds, it is up to states to protect individual liberties. In South Dakota, we take action to defend the personal choice to get the COVID-19 vaccine—or not. And with good reason.  

In December 2020, President-elect Joe Biden told Americans that he would not mandate COVID-19 vaccines. “No, I don’t think they should be mandatory. I wouldn’t demand it to be mandatory,” he said. 

Anthony Fauci sang the same tune. He said of vaccine mandates, “I don’t see it on a national level, merely because of all the situations you have encroaching upon a person’s freedom to make their own choice of their own health.”  

Six months ago, White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated the Biden Administration’s opposition to vaccine mandates, saying, “That’s not the role of the federal government.”  

The Biden Administration’s supposed opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates may be one of the biggest lies ever told. Now we know what the president really believed. 

Weeks later, President Biden wildly changed course and announced wide-ranging and unconstitutional federal mandates that would force more than 100 million Americans to get a COVID-19 vaccine.  

Americans fought back against President Biden’s unprecedented power grab. Individuals said “NO,” and some state governments backed them up. I told President Biden, “We will see you in court.” We joined four lawsuits to stop the unconstitutional mandates. The good news is last month the Supreme Court blocked the OSHA mandate. In the face of defeat, the Biden Administration backed down and withdrew its vaccine mandate for large businesses. And we are making progress on the other mandates, as well. 

But we have already seen President Biden betray his promises to the American people on this issue. He could very well do it again and attempt to reinstate another mandate. The threat of more COVID-19 vaccine mandates has not gone away.  

If you give big government bureaucrats an inch, they will take a mile. That won’t happen on my watch. 

Individuals should be able to make a personal choice whether to get the COVID-19 vaccination. More than 70% of eligible South Dakotans have received at least one dose. We know that these vaccines can help keep patients out of the hospital. But it should be a choice. I issued an executive order to protect the right to religious and medical exemptions for state employees. Now I have introduced a bill to protect those exemptions for the rest of the citizens of South Dakota, too, if they face a COVID-19 vaccine mandate from their employer. 

The proposed law includes three exemptions that an employer must honor if they mandate the COVID-19 vaccine: for medical reasons, such as when an employee has a medical condition that would advise against getting this vaccine; for religious reasons, if a person objects to the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds, which includes their moral or ethical beliefs and principles; or if an individual is naturally immune following an infection from COVID-19 and can provide a test result that shows positivity for the COVID-19 antibodies. 

No person should be forced to put their health in jeopardy because of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. No one should be forced to abandon their religious principles. And no one should be forced to get a COVID-19 vaccine if they have natural immunity to the disease. 

South Dakota has set an example for the nation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We protected lives, and we also protected freedom. We didn’t shut down our state; we didn’t destroy our economy. We gave our citizens the information they needed to make decisions to protect themselves and their families. And we are thriving as a result. With this law, we will once again defend our people’s right to decide for themselves how to protect against COVID-19—and we will continue to fight unconstitutional mandates from Washington, DC.  

 
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In 2021, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (USCBP) seized 11,201 pounds of fentanyl—a 234% increase from 2020.  This amount of fentanyl is enough to kill every American seven times. Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in the United States and is 50 times more powerful than heroin. This lethal drug has made its way into our homes and communities, accounting for 64,000 of the over 100,000 drug overdose deaths in 2021—the highest number ever. Drug overdoses from fentanyl skyrocketed last year, and it is now reported as the number one cause of death for Americans ages 18-45. Fentanyl has killed more young adults in America than COVID-19, car accidents, suicide, cancer, heart disease, or homicide. Last September, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued its first public safety alert in six years due to the “alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl.”

In addition to fentanyl, USCBP seized over 41,000 pounds of marijuana, and over 8,500 pounds of cocaine—almost double what was seized in Fiscal Year 2020. America is facing a drug crisis and it has to be addressed at every level.

Earlier this week, I met with Moody County Sherriff Troy Wellman to discuss the opiate and border crises. Sherriff Wellman told me that in December 2021, his deputies assisted in a drug bust of an organization that was bringing in 20 pounds of meth into South Dakota per week. This meth was initially smuggled across our southern border.

The White House needs to start by securing the border. I have taken additional measures to contain our border and keep our nation secure by supporting the REMAIN in Mexico Act. This bill requires immigrants who claim asylum but fail the “credible fear test” to remain in Mexico while a decision is made about their asylum claim. I am also a cosponsor of the Finish the Wall Actwhich directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to resume construction of the border wall.

The drug crisis also has to be combatted at the local level. Like my conversation with Sherriff Wellman shows—drugs coming across our border don’t stay in the border states, they are traveling over 1,000 miles to get to states like South Dakota. We need local law enforcement prepared to handle situations the drug crisis is presenting. That’s why I am a cosponsor of the Invest to Protect Act, a bill that makes critical investments in local police departments, for training, body cameras, mental health resources, recruitment & retention that are needed to be resources for help in our local communities.

Fentanyl and related substances must be permanently classified as Schedule I drugs—drugs that are not accepted for medical use and have a high potential for abuse. This week, Congress extended the Schedule I classification for fentanyl related substances from February 18 to March 11, 2022. It is incredibly dangerous if the DEA and Biden Administration allow this classification to expire. The current situation at the border is unacceptable. I will continue to work with my colleagues to find viable solutions to protect the health and safety of our communities.

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