Governor Noem Launches “Defend Title IX Now” Coalition

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Noem announced the “Defend Title IX Now” Coalition to defend fairness in women’s sports.

“Today, we’re announcing a coalition of athletes, leaders, and anyone who cares about defending fairness in women’s sports,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “Once we have enough states on board – a coalition large enough where the NCAA could not possibly punish us all – then we will be able to guarantee fairness at the collegiate level.”

Governor Noem was joined by former NFL players Herschel Walker and Jack Brewer, by rodeo cowboys, and by several women athletes to announce the launch of the Coalition.

Those interested in joining the Coalition are encouraged to sign a pledge stating:

1. Only girls should play girls’ sports. Title IX was passed to protect fairness for women;
2. The federal government should enforce Title IX in a way that protects fairness for women’s sports, rather than misusing it in a way that undermines fairness;
3. The NCAA and other athletic sanctioning bodies should not take any adverse action against any state or school that acts to protect fairness for women.

To sign the pledge and to find more information on the Coalition, visit DefendTitleIXnow.com.

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Still pretty excited, and will not be happy until I get it in the mail (supposedly next week). Late Saturday night, I won the bid on a “Pierre for Capitol” item I did not have for my collection.

Pierre for Permanent Capitol 1904 on one side, with an image of Teddy Roosevelt on the other.

I was extremely pleased, as I ended up much cheaper than my last Teddy Roosevelt/Pierre for Capitol medal. (TR collectors must have been asleep at the switch Saturday night). Given Teddy’s popularity at the time, they adopted his likeness – and one of his slogans “Stand Pat” as part of the campaign for Capitol.

The new medallion is interesting, in that it looks as if a manufacturer just pieced 2 sides together from 2 other medallions:

A little different from the other 3 Pierre for Capitol medallions I have like this, as none have a relief of the Capitol on one side with a relief of TR on the back. It has the “Stand Pat for Permanent Capitol” of the medal from the center (adding 1904), and the Theo. Roosevelt of the medal on the right.

BTW, if you ever run across “South Dakota Capitol fight” items, they’re a permanent want item for me. Those and South Dakota campaign textiles, such as ribbons, always get my attention.

(You can always drop me a note here if you want to make me a hot deal.)

At her Press Conference this morning, Governor Kristi Noem announced a coalition of states, athletes, and others to form a coalition to defend women’s sports under title IX, titled Defend Title IX Now, which you can find at defendtitleixnow.com.

As noted by Governor Noem, the purpose of this coalition is to create an advocacy group that’s large enough that the NCAA cannot take punitive measures for their efforts, nor ignore them, also noting that the law as written in the South Dakota Legislature would have caused a lawsuit that the state would have likely lost.

Governor Noem featured professional athletes Herschel Walker, Jack Brewer, and Nancy Lopez joining her in support of her efforts, as well as a number of collegiate sports participants.

Noem indicates her strategy is to participate in the debate over title 9, and supporting women’s sports in a smart, strategic way. She’s going to address high school sports at the legislative level, and take this tactic for collegiate sports.  Noem also discussed the many problems with House Bill 1217, and the style and form changes that she sent back, and why.

Stay tuned for more on Governor Noem’s efforts to protect women’s sports.

From Politics 1:

On the same Lisa Boothe podcast, Pres Trump said if he doesn’t run in 2024, those he specifically named as “very good” GOP candidates were Ron DeSantis, Kristi Noem, Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

— Politics1.com (@Politics1com) March 22, 2021

Libertarians held their convention this weekend, and at least according to the video, it appears that Greg Baldwin is the new Libertarian Party Chair.

Of course, if you watch the video, I’m guessing they won’t be doing a lot of recruiting in Native American communities, after Baldwin’s comment at the podium about running late, referring to it as “Indian Time.”

Racially charged commentary aside, it looks like Libertarian leadership for the next election is as follows:

Chair – Greg Baldwin
VC – Collin Duprel
Treasurer – Daryl Root
Sec – Ashley Strand

The Communications Director is Devin Saxon, who lost for PUC last year after doing nothing. (Which might be why I had to skim their video to pull this list together.)

Because most communications directors would have fired a press release out to the state’s media after the election.

Governor Noem to Hold Media Availability on Fairness in Women’s Sports

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem will hold a media availability on Monday, March 22, 2021, at 10:30 am CT in the Hegg/Lloyd Room of the Hilton Garden Inn in Sioux Falls to announce a new initiative to defend fairness in women’s sports.

The announcement will include participation from 4-time LPGA Player of the Year Nancy Lopez, former NFL football player Jack Brewer, and other athletes.

WHAT: Governor Noem to Hold Media Availability

WHEN: Monday, March 22, 2021, 10:30 am CT

LIVESTREAM: SD.net / Facebook.com/govnoem

Governor Noem Returns HB 1217 to Legislature, Suggests Style and Form Changes

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Noem returned HB 1217 to the South Dakota Legislature with Style and Form suggestions.  Specifically, the Governor suggests four Style and Form changes to address the potential unintended consequences of HB 1217 as originally enrolled.

Governor Noem’s Full Letter:

Dear Legislators,

I respectfully return to you House Bill 1217 with the following recommendations as to STYLE and FORM.

I believe that boys should play boys’ sports, and girls should play girls’ sports.  As the legislative findings in the original version of the bill set out, “[w]ith respect to biological sex, one is either male or female[,]” and “[p]hysiological differences between males and females include ‘those most important for success in sport: categorically different strength, speed, and endurance.’”

That is why House Bill 1217 properly provides that females should have opportunities to play youth sports on teams comprised of females and against teams of females. Unfortunately, as I have studied this legislation and conferred with legal experts over the past several days, I have become concerned that this bill’s vague and overly broad language could have significant unintended consequences.

For example, Section 2 of House Bill 1217 requires a student athlete to verify, each year, that the student “is not taking and has not taken, during the preceding twelve months, any performance enhancing drugs, including anabolic steroids.”

Presumably, this requirement was included to address a student taking these drugs as a part of a gender transition, but House Bill 1217 is not limited in this way. Rather, if a male student athlete failed to make the football team, and later learned that another student on the team was taking steroids without disclosing it, the student who didn’t make the team would be entitled to sue both the school and the steroid-using student for damages.

In addition, Section 2 creates an unworkable administrative burden on schools, who under its terms must collect verification forms from every student athlete, every year, as to age, biological sex, and use of performance-enhancing drugs; and furthermore must monitor these disclosures throughout the year so that if “reasonable cause” is found of a false or misleading form, the school can take action to avoid civil liability.

I am also concerned that the approach House Bill 1217 takes is unrealistic in the context of collegiate athletics. In South Dakota, we are proud of our universities’ athletic programs, and in particular the great strides we have taken to gain national exposure and increase opportunities for our next generation over the past two decades.

South Dakota has shown that our student athletes can compete with anyone in the country, but competing on the national stage means compliance with the national governing bodies that oversee collegiate athletics. While I certainly do not always agree with the actions these sanctioning bodies take, I understand that collegiate athletics requires such a system – a fifty-state patchwork is not workable.

To achieve the legislative intent of protecting girls’ sports, while simultaneously avoiding potential unintended consequences, I recommend the following Style and Form changes to the Enrolled version of House Bill 1217:

1. Revise Section 1 to read:

13-67-1 Athletic teams and sports-–Designation by sex–Participation.

Any athletic team or sport that is sponsored or sanctioned by an accredited elementary or secondary school public school, a school district, or an association meeting the requirements of § 13-36-4, or an institution of higher education under the control of the Board of Regents or the South Dakota Board of Technical Education must be expressly designated as being:

(1) A male team or sport;

(2) A female team or sport; or

(3) A coeducational team or sport.

A team or sport designated as being female is available only to participants who are female, based on their biological sex, as reflected on the birth certificate or affidavit provided upon initial enrollment in accordance with  verified in accordance with § 13-27-3.1 13-67-2.

2. Strike Section 2;
3. Revise former Section 3 to read:

13-67-2 3 Complaint—Investigation—Adverse Action.

A governmental entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association or organization may not entertain a complaint, open an investigation, or take any adverse action against an accredited elementary or secondary school, or a school district, or an association meeting the requirements of § 13-36-4 or an institution of higher education,or against any person employed by, or a governing board member of, such an elementary or secondary school, or school district, or institution, or an association meeting the requirements of § 13-36-4, for maintaining athletic teams or sports in accordance with § 13-67-1.

4. Strike Section 4.

The proposed revisions limit House Bill 1217 to elementary and secondary school athletics, which are primarily conducted among South Dakota schools and at the high school level are governed by the South Dakota High School Activities Association, a creature of South Dakota law.  The proposed revisions will also remedy the vague language regarding civil liability and the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Overall, these style and form clarifications protect women sports while also showing empathy for youths struggling with what they understand to be their gender identity. But showing empathy does not mean a biologically-female-at birth woman should face an unbalanced playing field that effectively undermines the advances made by women and for women since the implementation of Title IX in 1972. The Supreme Court of the United States has recognized that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment allows for the law to treat women and men differently, and in this instance that equal protection afforded women absolutely should apply on our state’s elementary and high school playing fields.

I support this legislation and hope that House Bill 1217, with the changes I am proposing, becomes law. I respectfully request that you concur with my recommendations as to STYLE and FORM.

Respectfully submitted,

Governor Kristi Noem

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Thune Secures Several Key Agriculture Subcommittee Assignments

“With the next farm bill right around the corner, I am ready to get to work.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, was recently chosen to serve on several key agriculture subcommittees: the Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management; the Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources; and the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, Local Food Systems, and Food Safety and Security.

“As long as I’ve served in Congress, I’ve fought for South Dakota’s hardworking farmers and ranchers,” said Thune. “With these key subcommittee assignments, I can continue building off the work I’ve done in previous farm bills to ensure farmers and ranchers have a strong safety net through programs like the Agriculture Risk Coverage Program and the Livestock Indemnity Program as they continue to feed the world.  I’ll also keep working to improve conservation programs like the Conservation Reserve Program, among many other important provisions. With the next farm bill right around the corner, I am ready to get to work.”

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ATTORNEY GENERAL RELEASES EXPLANATION FOR AMENDMENT TO THE SOUTH DAKOTA CONSTITUTION PROVIDING FOR A TOP-TWO PRIMARY ELECTION

PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg has released the following Attorney General’s ballot explanation for the November 2022 general election.

(a.k.a., another dumb amendment that was already rejected at the ballot box – editor PP)

The amendment is entitled An Amendment to the South Dakota Constitution Establishing Top-Two Primary Elections.

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3.19.2021 AG Statement. Initiated Const. Amend. Top Two Primary Elections by Pat Powers on Scribd