Governor Noem Appoints Stephanie Rissler and Julie Bartling to Game, Fish & Parks Commission

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that she will appoint Stephanie Rissler and Julie Bartling to serve on the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks (GFP) Commission.

“South Dakota’s breathtaking parks and tremendous hunting and fishing opportunities are a big part of what makes our state so special,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “I look forward to working with Stephanie, Julie, and the rest of the Commission to find even more opportunities to highlight South Dakota’s natural beauty.”

Rissler worked in tv and radio from 1989 until last year, including 23 years at South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Since December 2020, she has served as the Communication Manager for the South Dakota Association of HealthCare Organizations. She graduated from Black Hills State University with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications in 1995.

Bartling currently serves as the Gregory County Auditor. She held that position from 1983 through 2000 and since 2019. She also served in the South Dakota Legislature from 2001 through 2010 and from 2013 through 2018, serving five terms in the House and three terms in the Senate. She and her husband, Bart, have owned Bartling Trucking since 1977, have a farm and ranch in Gregory County, and are the parents of four and grandparents of eight grandchildren.

Information on the GFP Commission can be found here. Photographs of Rissler and Bartling can be found here.

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I notice we haven’t really heard anything about Cory Heidelberger, author of Dakota Free Press, leaving the state again several days after making note that his wife has accepted a new position in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Just in case he remains mum about the whole thing, and you need to remind yourself, I created a helpful tool:

If you click on the image, it will update you on roughly how many days we can expect until the state’s most liberal commentator is probably leaving on a permanent basis.

On the same day that US Senator John Thune is reporting that he has $14.7 Million in the bank to wage a campaign with, Bruce Whalen, former Congressional candidate and one of the two announced primary election candidates seeking to challenge him, is offering a counterpoint to Thune running a competent campaign and raising money by going Full Pillow Guy!

Bruce might be a gol-darned campaign genius, because everyone knows that quoting Mike Lindell’s election claims is the surest pathway to electoral victory.

(That was sarcasm for the people who don’t get it. Which more than likely includes both of his supporters. )

A few days ago I was mentioning that US Senate Mark Mowry’s wife had left a message on my phone seeking help with the campaign.

From the Federal Elections Commission report filed today by sitting US Senator John Thune, they’re going to need a lot more than his wife calling random people as John Thune had a tremendous quarter of fundraising, bringing in nearly $800,000 into his campaign coffers, giving the #2 Republican in the US Senate nearly $14.7 Million cash on hand for the race:

Thune July 2021 Fec by Pat Powers on Scribd

Thune raised $792,122.01 (returning just under $6000) giving him an overall total of $786,302.01 raised against $154,233.35 of operating expenses. With the important number being $14,676,545.64 ready to go for the 2022 election.

That’s a big number. And what happens when you have one of the state’s most popular elected officials when Democrats abandon running candidates against Senator Thune for two cycles (Yes, Jay Williams ran one, but that was practically abandoning the race).

 

Gov. Noem Makes Further Announcement Regarding State Penitentiary

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced additional personnel decisions regarding the South Dakota Department of Corrections. State Penitentiary Warden Darin Young and Deputy Warden Jennifer Dreiske have been terminated following continued investigation by the South Dakota Bureau of Human Resources.

As was announced on Tuesday, July 13, Deputy Secretary Doug Clark has stepped in as acting warden until a longer-term interim can be named. Additionally, Director of Pheasantland Industries Stefany Bawek has been placed on administrative leave.

Interim Secretary of Corrections Tim Reisch, Bureau of Human Resources Commissioner Darin Seeley, and Secretary of Social Services Laurie Gill are continuing their work to support this ongoing investigation.

No further comment will be made at this time.

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Hot out of my e-mail box, Governor Kristi Noem has a new campaign update, headlined by her participation in the 1776 pledge to Save our Schools. Check it out below…

 

1776: The Real Story of America

As I’m sure you have seen, the Governor has taken a leading role in stopping the radical Left’s push for anti-American curriculum such as Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project in our nation’s schools.

“The 1776 Pledge to Save Our Schools” was initiated by 1776 Action, a group inspired by President Trump’s 1776 Commission to help restore honest, patriotic education.

As mentioned, Governor Noem was the first candidate in the nation to sign The 1776 Pledge and has been a leading voice in this important effort (here’s her joint op-ed with Dr. Ben Carson on the subject if you haven’t read it yet).

1776 Action tweeted this past week about Governor Noem’s leadership on this topic, and you can see her retweet below:

We do not have racism in our DNA in this country. We love each other. I was proud to be the first signer of the 1776 Pledge to save our nation’s schools from anti-American curriculum that seeks to divide our nation. https://t.co/O0S8Ng6zNK

— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) July 12, 2021

A Big Speech at CPAC

This past week, the Governor gave an incredible speech at CPAC in Dallas.

Many people said it may have been her best speech ever.  In case you missed it, you can watch the whole thing here:

https://www.c-span.org/video/?513297-107/south-dakota-governor-kristi-noem-speaks-conservative-political-action-conference

Lastly, we hope you’ve had a chance to participate in our weekly insta-polls. The campaign sends out a weekly poll to get an idea how our supporters feel about issues effecting the people of South Dakota and all across America.

Be on the look out for our weekly poll!

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.