Below you can read a copy of the anonymous complaint that gave rise to the Governor’s actions yesterday when she put two top officials from the Department of Corrections on administrative leave after an investigation and initial report brought forth allegations of possible favoritism and sexual harassment at the State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls:
DOC Morale and Retention Complaint by Pat Powers on Scribd
Gov. Noem Makes Announcement Regarding South Dakota State Penitentiary
PIERRE, S.D. – At approximately 7:00 pm Central time tonight, Governor Noem was briefed on a summary of an internal review conducted by the South Dakota Bureau of Human Resources that was prepared as part of an investigation following an anonymous complaint. A copy of the anonymous complaint can be found here.
In light of that internal review, a few moments ago, Governor Noem placed Secretary of Corrections Mike Leidholt and State Penitentiary Warden Darin Young on administrative leave.
“My top priority as governor is keeping South Dakotans safe, and that includes the men and women who work at the State Penitentiary and those who are confined there,” said Governor Noem.
The Governor announced that she will appoint Tim Reisch to serve as interim Secretary of Corrections. Reisch retired in 2019 after eight years as Adjutant General of the South Dakota National Guard. From 2003 to 2011, Reisch served as Secretary of Corrections. Prior to that time, he also served as Deputy Secretary of Corrections and as Miner County sheriff. His appointment is effective immediately.
Governor Noem also announced that Doug Clark, the Deputy Secretary of Corrections, is stepping in as acting warden of the State Penitentiary until a longer-term interim can be named. The Governor has also assigned two members of her cabinet to work from the Penitentiary and assist Acting Warden Clark in addressing this internal review: Darin Seeley, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Human Resources (BHR); and Laurie Gill, the Secretary of Social Services and a former BHR Commissioner and Mayor of Pierre.
Governor Noem has instructed General Reisch, Acting Warden Clark, Secretary Gill, and Commissioner Seeley to take immediate action to address this internal review and to commission an independent third party to investigate the penitentiary and offer additional recommendations.
No further comment will be made at this time.
Thune: The Right to Life Will Not Be Ignored
“I am saddened and disheartened that a major political party in this country has made depriving unborn human beings of their rights a defining cause, but the right to life will not be ignored.”
Click here or on the picture above to watch the video.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who has a 100 percent pro-life voting record in Congress, today discussed Speaker Pelosi’s and the White House’s refusal to answer if they believed that a 15-week-old unborn baby is a human being. Thune also discussed the president’s budget and the pro-abortion measures that would direct taxpayer dollars to fund abortion providers in the United States and overseas.
Rounds, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Reauthorize Native Housing Funding
Bill would expand housing resources for Native veterans, students
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) recently introduced legislation with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i) and 6 other members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, to reform and reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA).
Enacted in 1996, NAHASDA combined nine programs at the Department of Housing & Urban Development to establish the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program, which was specifically aimed at improving tribal housing. Today, the single block grant program is the foremost housing delivery vehicle to Indian Country, awarding funds to tribes and tribal organizations through a noncompetitive block grant.
The senators’ bill would reauthorize NAHASDA and reform components of the bill to reduce barriers for tribal housing development, allow IHBGs to be used to support Native students’ housing needs, create greater access to home loans for Native veterans and empower tribes to develop housing rental laws. NAHASDA was last reauthorized in 2008.
“The Indian Housing Block Grant program established by NAHASDA has played a critical role in improving tribal housing infrastructure in South Dakota and generating economic opportunity in our state through construction projects,” Rounds said. “Our bipartisan legislation will reauthorize NAHASDA and reform it so that these housing resources are more accessible to Native families and Native students attending college or other educational institutions.”
“Since it was first signed into law in 1996, NAHASDA has provided billions in federal dollars to Tribes and Native communities in Hawai‘i and across the country,” said Chairman Schatz. “Our bill continues this bipartisan tradition and extends NAHASDA for another decade, giving Native communities the resources they need to help more Native families find safe, affordable housing.”
This legislation is supported by the United Native Housing Association, whose membership includes all nine tribes in South Dakota.
The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.).
The full bill text is available here.
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Oh good lord. State Senator Julie-Frye Craz… er, Mueller is apparently on a crusade to get parents not to sign or to click “accept” to school handbooks. Why? Because she thinks you’re inadvertently giving permission to vaccinate or give transgender surgery to your children. But don’t take my word for it…
You know, many years ago, my mom was a school nurse back in Pierre. I heard she had to use an epi-pen for an allergic reaction on rare occasion. But I don’t recall her coming home remarking that she had to do sex-reassignment surgery that day.
Seriously. This is actually someone elected to represent a portion of our state’s population in the South Dakota State Legislature.
May God have mercy on our souls.
Dakota Free Press author Cory Heidelberger is being awfully quiet about it, but it sounds like he’s going back to being an out-of-state commentator, as his wife’s new employer makes an announcement:
Congratulations appear to be in order to his wife who was called to a ministry in Nebraska, where I’m sure Cory will join his comment section in ranting from several states away.
It has seen better days, but I’ve been looking to restore this pin to my collection for over 20 years.
This ribbon badge featuring President Teddy Roosevelt for the delegates to the Minnehaha Republican State Convention in 1904 has been on my want list for a long, long time.
A number of years ago when I was living in Pierre as an entry-level employee at the Division of Insurance, and starting to have a bunch of kids, I had acquired this ribbon to go along with it’s mate, a near identical ribbon badge for the Democrat convention that year. And then life happened, as I found myself needing to pay some bills (replacing my minivan’s transmission if I recall) instead of occasionally admiring some pins stored in a cabinet. So I made a hot deal, selling it and my inaugural pin collection at the time. At the end of the day, it’s just stuff.
In the intervening years, the inaugural pins were easy to replace when I got back into collecting, but this one has been extremely elusive. It was made in very limited numbers for a specific event, so the rarity comes as no surprise.
Now, it’s not as nice as the one I used to own, with some light fraying of the material, and some foxing on the picture (light rust stains) but it’s still an outstanding and rare political piece, especially for South Dakota.
(I’ll continue to see if I can find a better one, but this takes the pressure off)
So I guess if the South Dakota Bikers for Trump are to be believed, Mike Lindell, the pillow guy, is coming to Sioux Falls and nooooo one else will be able to have a hotel room in Sioux Falls unless they’re invited, because everything will be reserved for federal officials, press etc.
I’m not sure that I believe them when they say “all” the hotel rooms will be taken. And after the event that was recently held in Mitchell, I’d be a little surprised if any elected federal officials are in attendance. But we’ll see.
In all reality, it does sound as if there will be an event taking place, and Lindell himself claims he’s reserved up to 1000 hotel rooms. But that’s about all the detail we have. Lindell had previously claimed that this symposium would reinstate President Trump after his loss in the November election, and recent reports do place the event in Sioux Falls, and taking place on those dates.
We’re not entirely sure on the location, as It’s not clear what venue this symposium is taking place at. But we’ll let you know when there’s more data on it.
Combatting Crime Rates
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
July 9, 2021
Crime is on the rise across America.
Since the beginning of 2021, cities have faced surging levels of violence. The most staggering statistics have emerged in Portland, where homicides and shootings have jumped by a disturbing 533% and 126% respectively, compared to 2020.
Rates are not likely to slow either, as summer is known to be the most volent time of year.
We all know 2020 was an unprecedented year given the COVID-19 pandemic and the protests that swept the nation last summer, but there are several factors contributing to rising crime rates in our nation.
It’s notable that one commonality among the many cities that are seeing an uptick – including LA, NYC, Portland, Chicago, and Philadelphia – is a reduction in police department budgets in the last year.
Data is clear – the strength of law enforcement impacts crime rates. It’s not surprising, but defunding law enforcement agencies diminishes their ability to carry out their duties effectively. Our nation’s law enforcement has also faced a disheartening increase in police-targeted crime which has caused a significant decline in police recruitment and hiring across the country.
Rising crime rates are a threat to all of us, so it’s important we channel our energy towards forming solutions rather than pointing the finger at one person or one party. Our men and women in blue need the resources to do their job and keep our communities safe.
That’s why I’m supporting the Justice Act, which provides $500 million for state and local law enforcement agencies to equip officers with equipment like body cameras to promote transparency and ensure our officers aren’t wrongfully accused. The Justice Act also requires the development of a curriculum for de-escalation and mental illness training. Just this week, I signed the Police Pledge – I will never support defunding law enforcement while I’m in Congress.
I am also a strong advocate of mental health resources to those that need them the most. I believe many of the problems in our society stem from a lack of investment in mental health – that’s why I worked to extend behavioral telehealth services during the pandemic and have supported mental health resources for Medicare beneficiaries and veterans.
From investing in economic development and behavioral health resources to sufficiently funding our law enforcement agencies, we can combat crime in America. Let’s work together to stop the surge.
Where’s the Beef?
By: Governor Kristi Noem
July 9, 2021
America’s meat supply is a matter of national security. If we don’t control our own food supply, then we don’t control our own destiny. South Dakota feeds the world, and we do it better than anybody else. We have more head of cattle per-person than any other state. But anticompetitive practices in the meatpacking industry are threatening that way of life. We need more competition, more transparency, and more options for our cattle producers to market their livestock.
Over time, the beef processing industry has consolidated into 4 mega-packers who control 85% of America’s beef supply. That’s bad for competition, and it leads to higher prices at the grocery store for the American people. Two of these companies are based out of Brazil. And these companies have such a tight control over the marketplace that beef producers are lucky if they make $100 per head of cattle.
Recently, one of these Brazilian companies, JBS, was hacked, and 20% of America’s beef supply went offline overnight. That shouldn’t happen in this country. We need more options to ensure that America’s food can’t be held hostage by bad actors targeting foreign-based companies.
Last year, the US Department of Justice sent civil investigative demands to the 4 mega-packers, but we haven’t heard any updates on this investigation since then. I recently wrote a letter to the DOJ that was co-signed by 5 other governors, and we urged them to continue this investigation so that we can root out anticompetitive practices in our beef supply chain.
In the meantime, South Dakota is taking action to help our cattle producers. My administration recently awarded $5 million in grants to 99 small meat processors across the state of South Dakota. These grants will allow them to expand their operations or start new ones, which will give producers more options when it comes time to sell their livestock.
South Dakota also recently announced that we’ve signed a Competitive Interstate Shipping agreement with the US Department of Agriculture. This agreement will allow our producers to sell state-inspected beef across state lines, opening up even more avenues for increased competition.
I recently discussed next steps with our producers at the Governor’s Ag Summit. The solutions are simple but will be tough to achieve: more competition and more price transparency. Frankly, it will take the support of the entire ag industry to get this done. These solutions will give producers more options to sell their livestock and negotiate better prices. They also will keep costs lower for consumers because the 4 mega-packers won’t be able to completely control the price of beef at the grocery store.
Our food supply is a national security issue. Foreign adversaries shouldn’t be able to take down entire supply chains by hacking a few overly large meatpackers. I pledge to keep working to increase competition in this industry so that we can protect the way of life for our farmers and ranchers while also keeping prices lower for the American people.
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