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.

I’m sure Taffy Howard is just exploring her options. With signage (as poorly designed as it is) and a staffed booth.

The Pennington County GOP just sent out an e-mail blast announcing a modernization project saying “It’s time to get with the times,” to help them attract “Millennial and Gen Z Conservatives.”

So what will this initiative to attract Millennial and Gen Z Conservatives involve? According to the press release, apparently it involves posting memes to social media.

Contact: Conner Tranquill Pennington County GOP
Phone: 918-766-1422
Email: press@penncogop.org

Pennington County GOP Modernization Project
It’s Time To Get With The Times

Rapid City, SD, August 18th — We all know how much America and its values are under attack. Today The Pennington County GOP is releasing a Modernization Plan for our party and social media channels. The world has changed a lot since 1995 and it’s time that republicans start using available technology to promote their ideas. The party will be going under several changes to attract Millennial and Gen Z Conservatives. This Modernization campaign is designed to solve decade long problems conservatives and the Republican party have been facing. This press release is filled with information regarding what’s changing. I’m proud to announce the key to our modernization program PenncoConservatives. PenncoConservatives is a free to join group of Conservatives in the Pennington County Area, More information on this great program can be seen below along with key elements of this modernization plan.

As stated, PenncoConservatives is a free to join group of Conservatives in the Pennington County Area. The Group will be asked to publish images essential to promoting our beliefs along with getting news article’s. PenncoConservatives was designed to be a modernized version of TAR’s for young students and Adults. The program is similar to PragerU’s PragerFORCE Program. It’s designed to attract Millennial and Gen Z Conservatives by showcasing facts about our nation’s history and how it was founded. Best of all, the program runs completely online and members are not forced to attend events in person, but can if they choose too. Members are awarded for posting monthly social media graphics and videos of themselves showcasing certain topics in American Politics. To Join Visit https://penncogop.org/penncocjoin

Social Media is important to any organization but for political parties it’s a connection with our voters and the people we represent. We will start posting content related to conservative conferences and events outside our jurisdiction such as CPAC and SAS in order to inform our followers of events outside South Dakota they may want to attend. We will be announcing more changes to better represent Republicans in Pennington County. Our team has also created more than one social handle. You can now follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook at PenncoGop. We will also be releasing Groups for our followers to join. The following groups are being added: Penncogop News Center, Pennco GOP Memes and Pennco GOP Polls. The News center will be a place for followers to post news articles to share. The Meme Group will be home to a place where followers can post political internet memes. The Poll Group will be home to people who want to make their own political polls.

If you would like more information about this topic, please call Jeff Holbrook at +1 605 348-8396, or email press@penncogop.org

I can imagine conversations starting like this.  Riinngg….   “Hello Republican Party, I’m a 35 year old small business owner who has an interest in politics, and I’m sick of all this government red tape. How can I get involved in the Republican party?”  “Well, the best way to get you involved is to have you post a meme to facebook, and you can make your own political poll.”  Click   “Hello… hello?”

If they’re trying to attract Millennial and Gen Z’s and limiting to those who self-identify just as conservative only, their Lincoln Day Dinner keynote speaker in a couple of weeks, Rikki Schlott, will be the first to tell them…

In short, the GOP should work on rebranding as the modern, reasonable, solutions-oriented party. If Republicans succeed in crafting this new identity, it will make enormous strides with young voters and secure its future.

Read that here.

Back when I was with the Pennington County GOP thirty or so years ago, the main concern was “How do we win elections, and how do we raise money to help us win elections.”  And a lot of that was doing the hard work.  Yes, absolutely, websites and social media are part of that, but it’s like frosting on a cake – it’s not a substitute for just getting in there and banging it out.

Not to mention that basing a modernization plan on political internet memes – even in part – is idiotic.

While the Pennington County GOP wants to accomplish “modernization,” I’d recommend they get back to basics. Don’t turn over their press function over to a 17-year old (seriously, this is what I’ve heard) living in another state, as they’ve apparently done.  That might be a start.  What about the Pennington County Republican Ambassadors? I haven’t heard anything about their formerly strong connection to business-oriented Republicans (who got things done) in years.  Get back to expanding the base for all the people who call themselves Republicans.

And as I have to remind people from time to time NOT EVERYONE is on social media. Out of a family of six kids, I have two siblings who aren’t on Facebook, and have no interest. One of them teaches classes on-line for Universities nationwide, lest he be accused of being a luddite.

Getting people involved who call themselves Republicans who want to improve their community would go a lot farther than claiming that you’re somehow modernizing by encouraging the “shit-posting” of memes on Facebook.

But don’t listen to me. I only care about winning elections.