Governor Noem Urges Secretary Buttigieg to Reconsider Essential Air Service Decision

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Governor Noem Urges Secretary Buttigieg to Reconsider Essential Air Service Decision

PIERRE, SD – Today, Governor Kristi Noem urged U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg to reconsider his agency’s decision regarding Essential Air Service (EAS) at the Pierre and Watertown airports. DOT awarded the two-year EAS contract to Denver Air Connection for both airports, contrary to the united recommendation of Governor Noem, the full Congressional delegation, and both cities that SkyWest’s EAS contract be renewed.“

Because of SkyWest’s quality service, traffic at Pierre and Watertown Regional Airports skyrocketed prior to the pandemic,” said Governor Noem. “After the Biden Administration announced an infrastructure package worth over $2.5 trillion, it seems inconsistent to reject SkyWest’s superior service. I strongly encourage you to rethink this decision and instruct your team to issue a re-bid.”

Governor Noem emphasized that the change in service would have a detrimental impact on tourism to these cities and the surrounding areas. Additionally, the loss of high-quality service would put jobs, small businesses, and economic growth at risk in both cities, which are vital economic centers for South Dakota.

You can read Governor Noem’s letter to Secretary Buttigieg here.

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Governors Call on President Biden to End Border Crisis

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Governors Call on President Biden to End Border Crisis

PIERRE, SD – Today, Governor Kristi Noem, along with 19 governors, called on President Biden and Vice President Harris to take immediate action on the crisis at the southern border. You can read the governors’ letter here.

“The crisis is too big to ignore and is now spilling over the border states into all of our states,” wrote Governor Noem and the other governors. “The cause of the border crisis is entirely due to reckless federal policy reversals executed within your first 100 days in office.  The rhetoric of the Biden Administration and the rollback of critical agreements with our allies have led to the inhumane treatment of tens of thousands of children and undermined a fragile immigration system.”

The governors pointed to a “staggering surge in recent crossings.” Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) reported that March border encounters were 172,000, the highest number in nearly 20 years. And CBP encountered 18,890 unaccompanied children in March, the largest monthly number in history.

The border crisis has also exacerbated the opioid epidemic, a problem that Governor Noem has prioritized fixing. CBP reports a 233% increase in the seizure of fentanyl compared to January last year. “Law enforcement officials are recovering drugs, illegal narcotics, and weapons being smuggled across the border by cartels—the same cartels that are also trafficking men, women, and children and jeopardizing their lives,” wrote the governors.

Governor Noem recently announced that South Dakota “won’t be taking any illegal immigrants that the Biden administration wants to relocate.” The governors echoed this sentiment, writing “We have neither the resources nor the obligation to solve the federal government’s problem and foot the bill for the consequences of this Administration’s misguided actions.”

“We urge you to take action to end the humanitarian crisis and secure our southern border immediately,” concluded the governors.

Along with Governor Noem, the letter was signed by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Idaho Governor Brad Little, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves,  Missouri Governor Greg Parsons, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.

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My Pillow event has more than 1000 attendees. This was about his website, which doesn’t work yet..

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It sounds as if the event in Mitchell yesterday picked up a bit after I checked in at 4:30, with just over 1000 attendees noted by Joe Sneve at the Argus:

That was just one takeaway from MyPillow founder Mike Lindell’s keynote address Monday evening from inside the Mitchell Corn Palace, where more than 1,000 attended the four-hour long event filled with liberal bashing and notions that Trump was cheated out of a second term in the White House.

and..

Monday night’s lineup also included entertainment from former Saturday Night Live comedian Joe Piscopo, a real-time speech via video feed from former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and remarks by author and Veggie Tales contributor Eric Mataxas.

Read that all here.

And it sounds as if they had the proud boys there as well.

Nice.

The entertainment for the event at the Corn Palace was a comedian who was at his high point nearly 40 years ago?  (That sounds like a lot of the Corn Palace’s entertainment line up in recent years.)

Sorry if I’m not sufficiently excited about the event. The Frankspeech.com social media platform really isn’t anything more than a blog for Mr. Lindell at this point. So it was really a product launch for something that doesn’t work yet.

I’m sure it was a nice momentary diversion for people who didn’t have anything else to do.

State Departments Partner to Recruit Tourism Workers 

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State Departments Partner to Recruit Tourism Workers

PIERRE, SD – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced the details of a new partnership between the South Dakota Departments of Tourism and Labor & Regulation (DLR) to recruit qualified candidates to fill employment vacancies within the state’s tourism industry.

“The success of our tourism industry is a major factor in South Dakota’s economic health,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “South Dakota’s economic success has led to the lowest unemployment rate in America. While that is excellent news, we have more job openings than workers to fill them – especially in travel and tourism. This campaign will recruit more workers to our state to support tourism, our second largest industry.”

Tourism industry businesses are encouraged to post their job openings on SDWORKS, the state’s largest jobs database, which is run by DLR. SDWORKS utilizes the latest technology to match job seekers to employment opportunities. The more information provided by employers, the smarter the match. The database consistently has more than 23,000 job openings. Job openings in the tourism and hospitality industry can be found here.

Governor Noem initially announced the tourism workforce recruitment campaign at a press conference at Mount Rushmore on May 3 to kick off National Travel & Tourism Week.

In 2020, a total of 49,500 jobs were supported by the tourism industry, representing one out of 12 jobs in South Dakota. Those jobs include full-time, part-time, and seasonal jobs. Tourism generated $1.6 billion in income for tourism workers in 2020.

“Our partnership with DLR is a great first step in addressing shortage in the hospitality workforce,” said James Hagen, Secretary of the Department of Tourism. “We’re supporting South Dakota’s tourism businesses by matching them with quality individuals so they can focus on what they do best: taking care of visitors to our state.”

“With the leadership of Governor Noem and her passion for finding solutions to real issues in South Dakota, we’ll continue to address workforce opportunities across our state,” said Marcia Hultman, Secretary of the Department of Labor & Regulation. “We’re focused on solutions that will set the state’s jobs market up for success, not just in 2021, but also for 5 to 10 years down the road.”

South Dakota expects an increased amount of visitation to the state in 2021 due to a pent-up demand for travel, the state remaining Open for Business, the return of the great American road trip, and the state’s ability to deliver a unique product that travelers are looking for in a vacation.

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Argus Leader asking for news tips. They could always go out and hire some reporters.

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After announcing that the Gannett system of newspapers (parent company to the state’s largest daily, the Argus Leader) has gobbled up two more of the state’s daily newspapers – the Watertown Public Opinion and the Aberdeen American News – the Argus recently put out a plea for the public to feed them information.

No other news organization in South Dakota has our level of reach, or the ability to let government officials know we’re paying attention, and we’re not afraid to raise the difficult questions taxpayers are asking.

That’s why we’re launching a new reader-driven initiative: 100 Eyes on South Dakota, based in our namesake and the philosophy of the 100-eyed Greek giant, the Argus – keeping watch from all directions.

Humble enough to own any mistake, we can’t look into every problem. But we can be direct about our efforts to hold public officials accountable and speak truth to power, with your help.

Read that here.

(You know a news organization is humble when they have a reporter put it in writing.)

So, the Argus Leader has gotten bigger and parent company Gannett owns over 25% of the daily newspapers in the state.  Of the 11 daily newspapers in South Dakota, they control 3, including the one with the largest circulation by far.

This comes after one of reporter purges in the last few years where yet again a few more reporters were sent away via downsizing, buyouts, and early retirement, and now this news organization – boasting about the new and increased level of reach and the amount of influence they have to drive public policy – is begging to be fed news stories? (Which they aren’t paying anyone for.)

If the Argus is that concerned about the extent of their reach, and letting government officials know they’re paying attention, I might offer a suggestion.

Instead of putting out editorials begging for news stories for free, they could always go out and hire some reporters.

Just a thought.

US Senator John Thune’s Weekly Column: A Season of Celebration and Hope for the Future

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A Season of Celebration and Hope for the Future
By Sen. John Thune

Spring in South Dakota may be one of my favorite seasons. While South Dakotans understand the unpredictability of our spring weather, the month of May always brings back great memories. It makes me think back to watching my daughters Brittany and Larissa compete at the Howard Wood Relays and state track meets – events that continue to be on my “can’t miss list” each year – celebrating my wife, Kimberley, and daughters every Mother’s Day, and attending high school and college graduations, a symbol of change and growth.

There’s no doubt this past year has been tough, especially for students, teachers, and administrators who faced unique challenges. My parents were both educators. My mother was our school librarian, and my father was a teacher, coach, athletic director, and drove the school bus. Growing up, I saw firsthand the long hours and dedication they gave to their students. Because of this, I have an immense appreciation for our educators. I am extra appreciative in a year where, despite the adversities faced, South Dakota’s teachers and educators rose to the occasion and did everything they could to ensure students continued to get the quality education they deserve. It certainly wasn’t easy, but our schools not only managed these challenges, they exceeded expectations. I couldn’t be more proud.

I know our students have also felt the challenges of the past year and a half. It could not have been easy to see traditions slip by uncelebrated while schools took necessary health precautions. I’m glad to see that the most cherished tradition of all – graduation – is happening this year across our state.

Whenever I speak to young South Dakotans, whether at graduations, sporting events, or in the U.S. Capitol, I often encourage them to live a life of purpose and be difference-makers. Growing up in the small town of Murdo, I could have never expected that I would one day represent South Dakota in the U.S. Senate. But I was blessed to have doors open in my life and am grateful to have had parents and mentors who encouraged me to push them open to see what was on the other side. I’ll give the same advice to the class of 2021: If an opportunity comes along, don’t be afraid to go for it. You never know where it might lead you.

The second thing I always tell young South Dakotans is to pursue excellence. I don’t mean to tell them that they have be the best player on their basketball team, get straight As in their classes, or get into their dream college. Of course, it’s wonderful to achieve excellence, but what I encourage is that they pursue excellence – pursue excellence by trying that sport or talent that is difficult, pursue excellence by taking that course that might challenge them, pursue excellence by being kind to all the people in their lives – in person and online. Do your best every day. Don’t do a job half way. Don’t just go through the motions. Commit to whatever you are doing.

When thinking back to this time last year, graduations in many towns looked different. Virtual learning had temporarily replaced in-classroom learning, and adjustments were made to the typical graduation formats. What a difference a year can make. With the rollout of the vaccine and increased knowledge of COVID-19, ceremonies throughout the state will look much closer to normal. Graduates have proven their ability to overcome the adversity of the last year and will be able to celebrate their accomplishments with family and friends safely. I’m hopeful for the future of the graduates of 2021. I know they will do great things.

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