in response to the call by some legislators for a special session to create laws to prevent businesses from determining how they want to handle employees who refuse to vaccinate, COVID Governor Kristi Noem is responding to the issue by giving a big thumbs down to more government regulation:

In response to a comment request from The Federalist, Gov. Noem insisted “Conservatives should always be opposed to big government.” Her spokesman, Ian Fury, added: “Our system does not allow [the governor] to dictate that private businesses require or not require vaccinations of their employees – nor does she have the authority to shut them down.”

“Businesses that choose to require vaccinations should do so with full knowledge that their employees – and future workers – may have other choices elsewhere,” Fury said. “And for their part, workers at all levels should understand that during their careers they may face hard choices about whether the requirements of an employer are consistent with their own beliefs.”

Rep. Scott Odenbach, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, dismissed the argument that the vaccine passport ban amounted to government overreach. “My answer to the people arguing this is big government is, ‘you folks would think the Bill of Rights is big government then’,” he said. “There are thousands and thousands of freedom-loving people watching what’s unfolding with quiet desperation and wondering if anyone’s going to stand up for them, and we need to start doing that.”

Read the entire story here.

And there you have it.

The Argus Leader has a story on their website today regarding the South Dakota Democrat Party being zapped by the Federal Elections Commission for having screwed up finances under Ann Tornburg:

“Our leadership has entirely changed over. We’ve hired a new compliance lawyer and we have a whole new compliance process, so really everything has changed with how we do things at the South Dakota Democratic Party,” said Ehrmantraut, who was hired to lead the party earlier this summer. “We’re in a lot better spot when this infraction occurred several years ago.”

and…

“Neither (Tornburg) or her staff were held to account for the mess, but the scandal still brought down at least three members of the state Democratic Party leadership who followed,” he said. “Hopefully, the scofflaws who were in charge of the Democratic Party at that time will not ask South Dakotans to trust them in elected office ever again.”

Read the entire story here.

Super excited to find this ribbon, and managed to acquire it by trading a couple of other ribbons I was not attached to.  And today this new item for my collection arrived, a Watertown for State Capital Ribbon. I believe this is from the first – the 1889 Temporary Capital fight – where Watertown placed third after Pierre and Huron. Watertown was in the 1890 Capital fight, but only briefly.

And here it is with my other “non-Pierre” contenders:

If anyone ever comes across a South Dakota Capital fight ribbon or similar item, drop me a note, as this is on my permanent want list.

Uh Oh..  It looks like My Pillow’s Mike Lindell has a cyber expert looking to collect his $5 Million after supposedly proving that the data they were trying to examine in Sioux Falls last week was all bunk:

“P-CAPs adhere to an international standard,” Alderson said, and include information like the date a file was created and an IP address. But Lindell’s data, shared as text files, had none of that. In fact, it was saved in hexadecimal format — despite the fact that packet captures use binary code.

and..

At the conference, Lindell had all of the invited cybersecurity experts sign a legal document explaining the rules and stipulations under which he would give out the $5 million reward — all of which Alderson says he met.

He even sent a 10-page letter to Lindell’s attorney Wednesday outlining each part of the agreement and how he was able to meet the requirements.

Read the entire story here.

What? The conference reneging on their promise of $5 million after making wild claims?

Who would have thought?

Americans for Prosperity Taps Long-Time South Dakota Grassroots and Policy Leader as Regional Director

SIOUX FALLS, SD – Americans for Prosperity today announced its promotion of long-time South Dakota legislative leader, Don Haggar. Previously leading the charge as state director of Americans for Prosperity-South Dakota (AFP-SD), Haggar brings extensive knowledge and a rolodex of legislative accomplishments to his new position where he will oversee the operations of several states across the country for AFP. Prior to serving as state director for AFP-SD, Haggar spent 5 years in the South Dakota House of Representatives and ultimately served in a leadership role as President Pro Temp.

New AFP Regional Director Don Haggar released the following statement accompanying the announcement:

“After such a successful legislative session in South Dakota, I’m excited for what the future holds for our Americans for Prosperity across the state. We have taken such great strides for South Dakotans, and will continue with the same fervor under our next state director. AFP-SD is strongly positioned to continue this great work, and I cannot wait to see how we continue advocating for South Dakotans for years to come.”

Don’s years of service have produced major wins for South Dakotans in removing barriers to opportunity, improving education, health care and criminal justice reforms. His promotion leaves the role of State Director open for applications. Please contact infosd@afphq.org if you are interested in applying for this opportunity.

For further information or an interview, reach Nicole Tardif at ntardif@afphq.org. 

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) exists to recruit, educate, and mobilize citizens in support of the policies and goals of a free society at the local, state, and federal level, helping every American live their dream – especially the least fortunate. AFP has more than 3.2 million activists across the nation, a local infrastructure that includes 36 state chapters, and has received financial support from more than 100,000 Americans in all 50 states. For more information, visitwww.AmericansForProsperity.org

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Just had a note that former State Legislator and current Sioux Falls City Councilor Christine Erickson is taking on a new job as the incoming Executive Director for the South Dakota Auto Dealers and Trucking Association.  She’s taking over the job for Myron Rau, whom is retiring.

This is a huge position – one of those where the executive will likely stay until retirement, as it is viewed as one of the plum jobs in the South Dakota Association world.  I’m told Christine will be starting shortly on Sept 7th, with Myron staying on to mentor her until April 1.

Again, Congratulations to Councilor Erickson on her new job!

Here’s a kink in the law being proposed to provide a legal cause of action for vaccine holdouts who refuse their employer’s mandate for vaccinations. By the time it gets in front of the legislature, in many cases it could run afoul of the Federal Government:

Flags at Half-Staff in Honor of Former Legislator Carveth Thompson

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol from sunrise until sundown on Saturday, August 28 in honor of former State Representative Carveth Thompson. Thompson served as state representative from 1969 to 1972.

A memorial mass for Thompson will be held on Saturday, August 28, at 11:00 am at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Faith, SD.

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(BTW – Bit of trivia for you. Carv Thompson was a GOP Candidate for Governor in 1972 against Kneip. – pp)

State Representative Scott Odenbach is on twitter last night with a measure being proposed by himself & Jon Hansen to elevate a refusal to get a COVID vaccination to the same employment protections as race and religion:

It’s time to pass the COVID-19 Vaccine Freedom of Conscience Act. People’s right to determine when & if to get this vaccine must be protected. Should not have to choose to give up a career or college because of it! pic.twitter.com/68Yxh54oC9

— Scott Odenbach (@ScottOdenbach) August 18, 2021

Scott’s a good guy, but I can’t help but groan at this proposal. Why would we force someone running a nursing facility to accept employees who run the risk of killing their clients because they refuse to get vaccinated for COVID?

There’s also an article in the Argus Leader today on the topic, because some legislators want to go so far as a special session on the topic:

The South Dakota Legislature is not slated to take up new bills again until January. And despite the governor’s reservations to prohibit private organizations from requiring their employees get the shot, lawmakers are working behind the scenes to muster enough support for a special session sooner than later.

“Ask nurses who are pregnant who are about to get fired if they can wait until session,” Rep. Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, told the Argus Leader. “They feel like they’re cornered. They want to have the right to say ‘hold on’ or ‘I don’t want to take this.'”

Thus far, though, the governor and Senate leadership have been apprehensive to call a special session to address other controversial topics, like transgender participation in athletics and marijuana policy. Asked about the potential for a special session to address privately issued vaccine mandates this week, the governor’s office has been non-committal

Read that here.

You know, I’ve got to respectfully disagree on a lot of this. As well intentioned as it is, no one can deny that this is MORE GOVERNMENT on small business.

Scott notes in his tweet that someone should not have to choose to give up a career or college because of a COVID vaccination. But that’s like saying someone should not need to wear glasses to fly an airplane if their vision needs correcting.  Or nevermind worrying about being typhoid free if you’re a food worker.

If the job requires that someone be inoculated – against an infectious disease that’s killing people – to work in a nursing home or hospital setting, I don’t have a problem with it.

What I have more of a problem with is another proposal that expands government. And last I knew, small business owners were citizens of the state too.