Senator Mike Rounds’ WEEKLY ROUND[S] UP:
January 5-11, 2026

Welcome back to the first Weekly Round[s] Up of 2026. After a well-spent holiday with friends and family, it was straight back to work in Washington, D.C. My week quickly filled with meetings, briefings and votes, setting the tone for a busy start to the new year. Outside of D.C., I also had the opportunity to travel and attend two events. One at the U.S.–Mexico border in Texas to learn more about the work being done there and another in Rapid City for a welcome home ceremony honoring the South Dakota Army National Guard. More on both of these events and the rest of my week in the Weekly Round[s] Up:

South Dakota groups I visited with: Rosebud Sioux Tribe Council and SD rancher Eric Jennings.

Met with South Dakotans from: Rosebud and Spearfish.

Other meetings: Rwandan Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana; Amanda Eversole, CEO of Financial Services Forum; and USPS Inspector General Hull (more on that later!).

On Friday I visited the southern border in Texas with a few Senate colleagues. We met with Border Patrol Agents and discussed new improvements under the Trump administration. Under the previous administration, there were 10.5 million illegal border crossings, marking a record-high level of illegal immigration. Compare this to today, for the seventh consecutive month, U.S. Border Patrol has released zero illegal aliens into the United States.

Additionally, over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend a welcome home ceremony for The South Dakota Army National Guard’s 109th Engineer Battalion. This group started in San Diego, CA and transitioned to Eagle Pass, TX during their 13 month deployment. They operated in one of the most active and challenging regions along the southern border and assisted in the apprehension of more than 21,000 individuals attempting to cross the border illegally. The return of the 109th Engineer Battalion highlights the resilience and dedication of South Dakota National Guard Soldiers. 

Briefings: I attended two Senate Select Committee on Intelligence briefings, a Cyber Operations Quarterly Briefing and a classified briefing on Venezuela. Click [facebook.com/reel/871315982060672/?s=single_unit]here to watch my video on social media recapping what we learned (that we’re able to share!)

Senate Bible Study and Prayer Breakfast: On Tuesday I attended Senate Bible Study where we started a new study titled “Buoying Your New Year’s Resolution to Study the Bible.” I also attended our Senate Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday morning.

Votes taken:  6 – This past week I voted on multiple nominees including Keith Bass to be an Assistance Secretary of Defense, Joshua Simmons to be General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency, Sara Bailey to be Director of National Drug Control Policy, and Alexander Van Hook to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana (All Yeas).

Additionally, I voted Nay on both the Whitehouse Air Plan Approval South Dakota CRA and on the motion to discharge the Kaine War Powers Resolution (Venezuela).

Steps taken: 57,095 steps or 27.05 miles.

Videos of the Week:

I filmed videos after my meeting with Inspector General Hull on Thursday. Click the links to watch part one and part two.

Congressman and Gubernatorial candidate Dusty Johnson had a lot to say about Governor Rhoden’s State of the State address today in what might be some of his most critical commentary of the Rhoden Administration to date in the gubernatorial primary.

According to Hub City Radio in Aberdeen who interviewed Dusty Johnson on his take on the state of the state address, Congressman Johnson offered the following commentary:

I did pay attention to the State of the State Address. There really weren’t any big ideas there. I think there were some good meat and potatoes, but it really dovetails into what has been my big concern over the course of the last year for state government and that is that there’s just no big vision.  There’s just no strategy. There’s no plan. And the next 20 years in this state can be the best 20 years we’ve ever had. But it’s not going to happen by accident.

And in more taped comments, Dusty was also critical of the Governor’s property tax proposal, noting that it’s not property tax relief, but a transfer of wealth from rural counties to South Dakota’s larger cities:

Well, I think my biggest problem with the proposal is just a huge transfer of wealth outside of our rural economies and into Sioux Falls and Rapid. And that is not what our state needs right now. Now, you’re going to ask me, well, why is that? Well, let’s just take a look at Hot Springs and Rapid City, for example. Hot Springs people spend a lot of their money in Rapid City. Well, Rapid City people don’t spend any of their money in Hot Springs. And so what you see is that the taxable value in, the taxable sales in Pennington County are three times what they are in Fall River County, where Hot Springs is. Well, listen, we have a big property tax problem in Fall River County as well. But the governor’s plan would mean that a huge chunk of the money that people from Hot Springs are spending on that new sales tax he wants to impose would go to not reduce their own property taxes, but the property taxes of the big city people.

Go listen to the entire interview here, as the temperature of the Governor’s race gets turned up between the contest’s front runners.

Representative Jeff Bathke Announces Reelection Campaign for District 20 House

Mitchell, SD– State Representative Jeff Bathke announces his re-election campaign, representing District 20 and the great State of South Dakota. District 20 includes the communities and citizens of Jerauld, Sanborn, Miner and Davison Counties.
Representative Bathke has spent the last six months deployed to the Middle East, conducting operations in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt. “I don’t like missing the 2026 Session, but maintaining stability in the Middle East has a direct effect on the residents of South Dakota. I am proud of our accomplishments here, and God willing, will return to South Dakota in the Spring.

Bathke currently serves as the Command Sergeant Major of the 650th Regional Support Group in Sloan, NV. He has completed two previous deployments, serving in several countries to include Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. “Considering the current activity in the Middle East, this has been a very interesting mission. We have troops in harm’s way across several countries and hope for the best, so we all come home safe.”

Bathke’s reliable presence in the legislature utilizes his experience in local and state government, as well as his military career. “In the last session, there were many bills related to state and local government, as well as prison construction and reform. Spending the first half of my career working in the SD Prison System, and the second half in Planning & Zoning and Emergency Management for Davison County, I found myself highly involved in legislative discussions. My goal is to leave this place a little better than I found it, for my five grandchildren.”

Bathke serves on the House Taxation and Local Government Committees. He uses a common-sense approach to maintain local control and eliminate un-needed government regulation. His previous accomplishments revolve around funding for 911, agricultural drainage, Veteran’s headstones, and the Veteran’s Cemetery. “I try to maintain regular contact with the local government leaders, small businesses, and school administrators, the true experts in the community”. Bathke sees the most important issues in 2026 as property tax relief, data centers, funding for the Big Three (Education, State Employees, and Healthcare Providers), and prison reform.

Representative Bathke can be reached at jeff.bathke@sdlegislature.gov

I did notice that a few of you have been grousing because you didn’t care for me pointing out the unforced error from yesterday’s state of the state address.   Good people can agree to disagree.

But if you’re looking for what an attack on the administration actually looks like, look no farther than the self-important South Dakota Free-dumb caucus’ latest press release from Republican party pariah Rep. Phil Jensen, Senator California Carley and others who attacked the Governor’s proposal, declaring “outrage” and calling it “Crony Capitalism” and “Centralized Economic Planning”:

Contact: Representative Phil Jensen
Telephone: (605) 209-7404
E-mail: chair@sdfreedomcaucus.com

CAUCUS RETURNS TO BUSINESS AS USUAL: STATE PLANS FOR MORE CRONY CAPITALISM

PIERRE, S.D. — This week the South Dakota Freedom Caucus returned to the Capitol for 40 legislative days of fighting for freedom over favoritism. Immediately back, the citizens were presented Tuesday with Governor Larry Rhoden’s State of the State address, which was a mixed bag of encouraging South Dakota values, along with plans for future crony capitalism.

The South Dakota Freedom Caucus issued an expansive warning of the theme of Governor Larry Rhoden’s State of the State address, warning that the administration’s “Opportunity Agenda” is a blueprint for centralized economic planning that betrays free-market principles and mirrors systemic corruption seen in neighboring states.

The caucus argues that Governor Rhoden’s vision relies on state agencies acting as “economic allocators,” using the Future Fund to pick winners and losers by handing out taxpayer dollars to politically favored corporations. This interventionist model, the caucus warns, gives unfair preference to select businesses while forcing the rest of South Dakota’s entrepreneurs to compete against their own tax dollars.

“True conservatism is about a level playing field, not a government-steered marketplace where bureaucrats decide which projects are ‘bold’ enough for public subsidy,” said Senator John Carley (R-Piedmont), Vice Chair of the South Dakota Freedom Caucus. “What we heard today was not a celebration of the free market; it was an endorsement of a managed economy. Using the Future Fund to distribute taxpayer-funded aid to select corporations while our own small businesses struggle to keep the lights on is not economic growth—it is the definition of crony capitalism.”

Caucus leaders expressed particular outrage at the Governor’s decision to explicitly celebrate the CJ Schwan’s development from the podium. The project is currently embroiled in a mounting ethics scandal involving a “revolving door” between the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and private beneficiaries. Reports have highlighted that former GOED Commissioner Steve Westra, who oversaw the initial aid to the company, is now a Vice President for the firm. Additionally, the current Chair of the state Board of Economic Development, Jeff Erickson, maintains deep ties to the very company receiving millions in state grants and tax rebates.

“It is a slap in the face to South Dakota taxpayers for the Governor to take a victory lap on a project currently clouded by documented ethics concerns,” said Representative Phil Jensen (R-Rapid City), Chairman of the South Dakota Freedom Caucus. “We’ve seen what happens when government agencies operate without accountability—look at Minnesota, where the ‘Feeding Our Future’ scandal resulted in the defrauding of over $9 billion or more of taxpayer dollars. South Dakota is heading down that same dangerous path when we allow a revolving door to spin between regulators and the corporations they subsidize. Highlighting CJ Schwan’s as a success story while these questions remain unanswered proves that this administration is more interested in protecting the powerful, not the people.”

The Freedom Caucus also challenged the Governor’s celebration of massive federal funding inflows, specifically the $189.4 million award mentioned in his address. Aaron Aylward (R-), former Chair of the Freedom Caucus, argued that “’federal dollars’ do not come from some magic pot of money from elsewhere – these are our income taxes, as well as the printed money that causes inflation and are a large part of the reason that everyone demands ‘cost of living’ increases.” Also, the caucus pointed out that federal dollars are not free dollars and that leaning into Washington’s purse strings inevitably compromises South Dakota’s sovereignty.

“Federal dependency is a drug that masks the underlying rot of a growing state bureaucracy,” said Representative Tina Mulally (R-Rapid City), Treasurer of the South Dakota Freedom Caucus. “Governor Rhoden celebrates nearly $200 million in federal handouts as a ‘win,’ but every dollar from Washington comes with strings attached that ultimately tighten around the necks of South Dakota taxpayers. If we want South Dakota to remain free, independent, and self-governing, we must stop building our budget on the shifting sands of federal debt.”

While the caucus commends the Governor for his recognition that property tax is a vitally important topic that requires action, many worry that the Governor’s property tax proposal is a “shell game” designed to distract from the need for genuine spending restraint. Rhoden’s plan to allow counties to replace property taxes with a half-cent sales tax was framed by the caucus as a step in the right direction, but not near far enough, with the detrimental side effect of no requirements for government to curb spending.

“Replacing one tax with another is not tax reform; it is a tax shift that keeps the government’s footprint exactly the same size while shifting the bill to the another taxpayer,” Mulally added. “By moving the burden from property owners to everyday transactions, the Governor is merely rearranging the furniture in a burning house. Real relief starts with right-sizing government and cutting spending—not creative bookkeeping.”

In contrast to the Governor’s proposal, Senator Carley has introduced SB 58, which would take the bold step of reducing property tax mill levies to zero, forcing the state to address its spending habits rather than just finding new ways to bill its citizens.

“The people of South Dakota didn’t send us to Pierre to swap one tax for another; best case, that can buy some time for real relief” Carley concluded. “They sent us here to eliminate the burden. SB 58 is one of the few serious proposals on the table that offer a path to permanent relief by dismantling the property tax machine entirely.”

Governor Rhoden also discussed his GRIT tax force, in which he seems sincerely to be looking for solutions to state-wide infrastructure failures and security as a state. However, more government involvement is not the solution, and the caucus warned that historical examples of government takeovers of infrastructure have not ended well, and result in rationing and government control of who is allocated power, water, and gas. While utilities do not fall under real “free market” principles this is not a direction that South Dakota should go. Infrastructure and the security thereof is a massive need, and the caucus encourages the companies involved in that to shore up their defenses without government takeovers.

The South Dakota Freedom Caucus is calling on the Legislature to reject this move toward centralized planning and return to the principles of limited government, transparency, and the free market.

Isn’t Tina on the executive board for the SDGOP as their treasurer complaining about State Government’s creative bookkeeping?  I seem to recall her name on all those reports that show zero donations..  Anyway, we’ll have to see how California Carley’s and the rest of the crew’s legislation fares.

And session moves on.

Thune: Republicans Plow Ahead on Confirming the President’s Nominees

“Republicans remain committed to ensuring that he has his team in place so that he can do the work the American people elected him to do.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:

Click here to watch the video.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:

Thune on Democrats’ War Powers Hypocrisy

“Democrats are taking up this bill because their anti-Trump hysteria knows no bounds.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:

Attorney General Jackley Announces Former SDSU Equestrian Coach Indicted for Using State Resources for Personal Use

 PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that the former equestrian coach at South Dakota State University has been indicted on one felony count of Grand Theft for using SDSU and taxpayer resources for her personal use.

Kamerra Brown, 38, of Brookings was indicted Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026 by a Brookings County Grand Jury. The sentence carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted.

Brown is alleged to have used SDSU resources to pay for her vet bills for her horses and to board her personal horses for about a year. Total value is estimated at between $5,000 and $100,000.

The case is being investigated and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office’s Public Integrity Unit.

The defendant is presumed innocent under the U.S. Constitution.

-30-

Didn’t Carl Perry learn last time that this is a solution in search of a problem? Because nobody is out there begging that they want more of their paychecks to go to paying insurance.  If you like your homeowners insurance going up, prepare for higher car insurance rates.

House Bill 1059 has been introduced to increase the amounts required in a motor vehicle liability policy.  Increased policy limits means more expensive insurance for everyone, because car insurance is mandatory in South Dakota. It’s like death and taxes.  And Sjaarda, Perry and Representative Scott Moore want you to pay more.  They want to DOUBLE the amount of insurance that people are required to carry in South Dakota, despite there not being a hue and cry for it.

These legislators in their heavy handed-ness want to take our minimum limits from 25/50/25 to 50/100/50 – fifty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to the limit for one person, fifty one hundred thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and twenty‑five fifty thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.

As I skewered this dumb effort back in 2023 with facts, so shall I do so again.  And I direct you to very informative information from the Insurance Institute of America, which shows that – much like our teacher salaries – South Dakota has among the lowest amount of uninsured people in America (42nd in the nation):

We are actually more insured comparatively than we were in 2023. We were at #41 of the lowest uninsured before. Now 3 years later we’re at #42. And Government didn’t have anything to do with it.

Only 9.4% of South Dakotans are uninsured. Yet, despite South Dakotans doing it voluntarily, here these guys are with more government demanding we be MORE insured.  How would that put us in comparison to the rest of the country?

The proposal is to tie us at #2 highest limits in the country with Maine and Alaska.  And higher limits mean higher insurance rates for us all.

I pointed out in 2023 that only things that this measure would do would be to raise rates for all consumers, make it tougher to get insurance, and actually raise the number of uninsured motorists in the state. Just because a person waits a couple years to bring around an idea again does not make it any better.

Noting again as an old insurance agent once told me, if we could legislate responsibility, then we would have no drunk drivers, unintended pregnancies, or need for a Division of Child Support.

But legislators seem to think they can do it with auto insurance, so here we are.

I had never heard the name of Leslie Gerrish until yesterday, when she filed paperwork to form a committee to run for the South Dakota House of Representatives in District 17.

And, then it kind of took off from there. Just doing my usual “who is this person” asking around that I do when someone I’ve never heard of jumps in a race, I find out that she’s supposedly the chair of the Clay County Democrats.  Not a shocker. People are coming out of the woodwork this year.   But then I was told that she’s supposedly Jamie Smith’s campaign manager.

What? As in Jamie Smith, Candidate for Sioux Falls Mayor?  Isn’t she in Vermillion?  But, I was sent a receipt on that one:

So, Sioux Falls Mayoral candidate Jamie Smith had to reach out of town to Vermillion for someone to manage his campaign?

Oh, and it gets better..  Because not only does Gerrish claim to be Smith’s campaign manager, the D17 candidate is proudly Democrat, as seems to check off all the hard-left boxes such for gun-control and in favor of an income tax!

 

“Imagine taxing a luxury vehicle, or (gasp!) even discussing a tiny – and I mean tiny – income tax for the wealthiest. It seems not doable until you crunch the numbers (we have in my household!) and it is not impossible.”

New taxes on whatever she considers luxury vehicles and income tax.. as “doable.” Somehow, I don’t know if she’s polled anyone owning a modern pickup or working for a living if they want new and higher taxes.

But clearly it’s on her mind. Which brings into question what exactly is Jamie Smith’s agenda. Because that’s supposedly who he’s brought on to steer his campaign ship.

And as she prepares to run for office herself.

 

It’s January 13th – do Democrats know where their candidate for Governor is?

I mean, yes, They do have Robert Arnold, a 19 – 20ish year old student running for the office. Who like any other Democrat, will need to turn in 1,232 valid signatures. But Robert isn’t exactly coming in with a network of donors, or activists behind him. He’s kind of on his lonesome.  Which brings into question whether he’s going to have all the names he needs.

There were early rumors that the Democrat Party’s Executive Director Dan Ahlers was supposedly going to jump in, take one for the team, and be the Democrats more seasoned candidate. But I haven’t heard that for ages now. And here were are nearly 2 weeks past the start of petition circulation. Not a peep that anyone is out there running petitions around the state for the other side of the aisle.

I can’t help but wonder if Democrats might possibly be going to give Republicans a bye in this contest?

Have you heard anything I haven’t?