Following Johnson Push, OMB Walks Back Plan to Change City Status of Rapid City

Washington, D.C. – Following a legislative push from U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will abandon efforts to reclassify Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) like Rapid City and 140 other cities. Following the January OMB notice to increase the MSA qualification from 50,000 to 100,000 people, Johnson introduced the bipartisan, bicameral, Metropolitan Statistical Area Preservation Act, a bill to preserve more than 140 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) from losing their classification as an MSA.

“I’m glad OMB realized they made a mistake on reclassification efforts,” said Johnson. “More than 140 cities, most importantly Rapid City, would be severely impacted by losing their city status. If you’ve ever been to Rapid, you know it’s a robust, growing city – and it deserves the federally-backed programs that come with that classification.”

“This is a great day for Rapid City and other small cities across the nation. Rapid City faces the same issues that large metro areas face—economic development, infrastructure, workforce training and recruitment, amenities, housing—so keeping the MSA designation is just good policy. Rapid City’s population may say 80,000 on the sign, but its trade is really 175,000 to 200,000 or greater, given that it’s the central shopping and health care area for a five-state region,” said President of Elevate Rapid City Tom Johnson.“Representative Dusty Johnson gets this and understands that Rapid City has the potential to grow by tens of thousands of people in the next decade. He was a tireless champion for Rapid City and South Dakota on this issue, and the same is true for Senator Thune and Senator Rounds. It’s great to see all three of them once again bring some South Dakota common sense to D.C. and the federal bureaucracy that is the Office of Management and Budget.”

The Metropolitan Statistical Area Preservation Act is cosponsored by Reps. Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01), Mike D. Rogers (AL-03), Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03), Frank D. Lucas (OK-03), Rodney Davis (IL-13), Ashley Hinson (IA-01), David Trone (MD-06), Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Larry Bucshon (IN-08), Julia Letlow (LA-05), Dan Kildee (MI-05), Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Glenn Grothman (WI-06), Buddy Carter (GA-01), Peter Meijer (MI-03), Randy Feenstra (IA-04), Barry Moore (AL-02); Kelly Armstrong (ND-AL), Dan Meuser (PA-09), Susan Wild (PA-07), and Steven M. Palazzo (MS-4).

Senator Thune led the Senate-companion of the Metropolitan Statistical Area Preservation Act. Additionally, in March, the South Dakota delegation urged OMB to reject this recommendation.

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Thune: USDA’s Haying and Grazing Announcement Good News for South Dakota, More Work Needed to Be Done to Support Producers

“I’m grateful for the Department of Agriculture’s decision on haying and grazing on prevented planting acres, and I will keep working to ensure CRP and all USDA programs have the flexibility necessary to meet the needs of producers while also making sure we balance the wildlife and conservation needs of our state.”

Click here or on the picture above to watch the video.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the Democrat state legislators who have abandoned their jobs in Texas and the irony of Washington Democrats applauding their effort as they openly discuss trampling on minority rights in the U.S. Senate. Thune also discussed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) announcement that it will lift the prohibition on haying and grazing of cover crops on prevented plant acres in South Dakota and other parts of the country. In April, Thune reintroduced his bill to lift the prohibition on haying and grazing of cover crops prior to the November 1 deadline to provide relief to farmers in northern states like South Dakota who were left at a significant disadvantage.

Thune-Wyden Bill to Improve Child Support Enforcement for Native American Tribes Unanimously Passes Senate

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, applauded the Senate forpassing their bill to improve child support enforcement for Native American tribes by allowing the 60 tribes that currently operate their own child support agencies to access the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program to collect past-due child support from non-custodial parents. The legislation would also create parity between tribes and states by allowing tribal child support agencies to obtain other identifiable information of non-custodial parents that can be used to enforce child support. The bill now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.

“I’m grateful the Senate unanimously passed my bill to improve child support enforcement for Native American tribes,” said Thune. “Tribes in South Dakota that operate their own child support agencies should have access to the same programs and resources that state child support agencies have. Our legislation would help ensure that families in Indian Country can collect child support payments that are past due and help put tribal and state child support enforcement programs on equal footing.”

“It only makes sense that Tribes in Oregon and across the nation should have the same tools as state child support agencies, and with the passage of our Tribal Child Support Enforcement Act they are one important step closer,” said Wyden. “Once this bill passes the House and is signed into law, tribal child support agencies everywhere can ensure that kids get the support they deserve.”

States have several enforcement methods at their disposal to enforce child support payments, including the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program. With this program, if a non-custodial parent is set to receive a tax refund and owes past-due child support, the U.S. Department of the Treasury can withhold the refund and send it to the state child support agency for disbursement to the family.

Had this image pop up on my facebook this morning advertising the Pennington County Lincoln Day dinner on September 11, accompanied by the following text:

“Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks… Come join us for the 9/11 – 20th anniversary at Pennington County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner.”

I’m not quite sure what to say about that.

Back during the 2002 campaign for Governor in South Dakota, when I was working on the Rounds campaign, I know we shut down all campaigning on 9/11. And reached out to advertising venues to make sure nothing ran on that day to the best of our ability.

As recently as the presidential campaigns in 2016 and again in 2020, I don’t believe the campaigns were active that day, and all the candidates, including President Donald Trump as well as his Democrat opponents suspended campaign activities to mark the anniversary of the event as a solemn occasion.

Now with the attack on our country 20 years past this year, 20 years after an attack that was directed at our fellow countrymen as well as our military, have we reached the point where it’s a picnicking occasion?

I’m not sure we ever have reached that with Pearl Harbor day, which resides in our nation’s collective memory as a day of infamy. Should 9/11 be similarly off limits?

What are your thoughts?

Below you can read a copy of the anonymous complaint that gave rise to the Governor’s actions yesterday when she put two top officials from the Department of Corrections on administrative leave after an investigation and initial report brought forth allegations of possible favoritism and sexual harassment at the State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls:

DOC Morale and Retention Complaint by Pat Powers on Scribd

Gov. Noem Makes Announcement Regarding South Dakota State Penitentiary

PIERRE, S.D. – At approximately 7:00 pm Central time tonight, Governor Noem was briefed on a summary of an internal review conducted by the South Dakota Bureau of Human Resources that was prepared as part of an investigation following an anonymous complaint. A copy of the anonymous complaint can be found here.

In light of that internal review, a few moments ago, Governor Noem placed Secretary of Corrections Mike Leidholt and State Penitentiary Warden Darin Young on administrative leave.

“My top priority as governor is keeping South Dakotans safe, and that includes the men and women who work at the State Penitentiary and those who are confined there,” said Governor Noem.

The Governor announced that she will appoint Tim Reisch to serve as interim Secretary of Corrections. Reisch retired in 2019 after eight years as Adjutant General of the South Dakota National Guard. From 2003 to 2011, Reisch served as Secretary of Corrections. Prior to that time, he also served as Deputy Secretary of Corrections and as Miner County sheriff. His appointment is effective immediately.

Governor Noem also announced that Doug Clark, the Deputy Secretary of Corrections, is stepping in as acting warden of the State Penitentiary until a longer-term interim can be named. The Governor has also assigned two members of her cabinet to work from the Penitentiary and assist Acting Warden Clark in addressing this internal review: Darin Seeley, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Human Resources (BHR); and Laurie Gill, the Secretary of Social Services and a former BHR Commissioner and Mayor of Pierre.

Governor Noem has instructed General Reisch, Acting Warden Clark, Secretary Gill, and Commissioner Seeley to take immediate action to address this internal review and to commission an independent third party to investigate the penitentiary and offer additional recommendations.

No further comment will be made at this time.

Thune: The Right to Life Will Not Be Ignored

“I am saddened and disheartened that a major political party in this country has made depriving unborn human beings of their rights a defining cause, but the right to life will not be ignored.”

Click here or on the picture above to watch the video.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who has a 100 percent pro-life voting record in Congress, today discussed Speaker Pelosi’s and the White House’s refusal to answer if they believed that a 15-week-old unborn baby is a human being. Thune also discussed the president’s budget and the pro-abortion measures that would direct taxpayer dollars to fund abortion providers in the United States and overseas.

Rounds, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Reauthorize Native Housing Funding

Bill would expand housing resources for Native veterans, students

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) recently introduced legislation with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i) and 6 other members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, to reform and reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA).

Enacted in 1996, NAHASDA combined nine programs at the Department of Housing & Urban Development to establish the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program, which was specifically aimed at improving tribal housing. Today, the single block grant program is the foremost housing delivery vehicle to Indian Country, awarding funds to tribes and tribal organizations through a noncompetitive block grant.

The senators’ bill would reauthorize NAHASDA and reform components of the bill to reduce barriers for tribal housing development, allow IHBGs to be used to support Native students’ housing needs, create greater access to home loans for Native veterans and empower tribes to develop housing rental laws. NAHASDA was last reauthorized in 2008.

“The Indian Housing Block Grant program established by NAHASDA has played a critical role in improving tribal housing infrastructure in South Dakota and generating economic opportunity in our state through construction projects,” Rounds said. “Our bipartisan legislation will reauthorize NAHASDA and reform it so that these housing resources are more accessible to Native families and Native students attending college or other educational institutions.”

“Since it was first signed into law in 1996, NAHASDA has provided billions in federal dollars to Tribes and Native communities in Hawai‘i and across the country,” said Chairman Schatz. “Our bill continues this bipartisan tradition and extends NAHASDA for another decade, giving Native communities the resources they need to help more Native families find safe, affordable housing.”

This legislation is supported by the United Native Housing Association, whose membership includes all nine tribes in South Dakota.

The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.).

The full bill text is available here.

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Oh good lord. State Senator Julie-Frye Craz… er, Mueller is apparently on a crusade to get parents not to sign or to click “accept” to school handbooks. Why? Because she thinks you’re inadvertently giving permission to vaccinate or give transgender surgery to your children.  But don’t take my word for it…

You know, many years ago, my mom was a school nurse back in Pierre. I heard she had to use an epi-pen for an allergic reaction on rare occasion. But I don’t recall her coming home remarking that she had to do sex-reassignment surgery that day.

Seriously. This is actually someone elected to represent a portion of our state’s population in the South Dakota State Legislature.

May God have mercy on our souls.

Dakota Free Press author Cory Heidelberger is being awfully quiet about it, but it sounds like he’s going back to being an out-of-state commentator, as his wife’s new employer makes an announcement:

Congratulations appear to be in order to his wife who was called to a ministry in Nebraska, where I’m sure Cory will join his comment section in ranting from several states away.