Democrat Party State Chair Randy Seiler had a bad night last evening, as he was defeated for a Ft. Pierre City Council seat.

Seiler, who had served on the Council before was challenging Rick Cronin for the Ward III seat vacated by Mike Weisgram who is now in the State Legislature.   According to reports, Seiler was defeated 70-67.

So.. the Democrat’s State Party Chairman, and was last a statewide candidate for Attorney General couldn’t win a City Council race among 150 people in his neighborhood?

(Maybe he should have attended a Republican campaign school?)

Thune: Biden Court-Packing Commission Lays the Foundation for Democrat Power-Grab
“Democrats want power. They want to be able to impose the policies they want, when they want them.”

Click here or on the picture above to watch the video.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed his disappointment in President Biden for establishing a court-packing commission to examine the far-left’s proposal to pack the Supreme Court with Democratic judges. Thune expressed that court-packing would undermine a fundamental part of our system of government and discussed that it is solely a power-grab attempt by Democrats.

Governor Noem Asks President Biden to Uphold Mount Rushmore Fireworks Agreement

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, on President Thomas Jefferson’s birthday,Governor Kristi Noem sent this letter to President Joseph R. Biden advocating for South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration.

“This year, as we mark our independence from [COVID-19], Mount Rushmore would be the perfect place for a national celebration and fireworks show,” wrote Governor Noem, referring to President Biden’s message that held up Independence Day as a target for Americans to begin returning to normal.

“We are committed to hosting a Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration that is safe and responsible and working closely with the National Parks Service (NPS) to do so. I respectfully ask that you continue the hopeful message you shared earlier this year and uphold our Agreement to host the event this year,” continuedGovernor Noem.

In the letter, Governor Noem asked President Biden to uphold the Memorandum of Agreement between NPS and the State of South Dakota regarding the Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration. Governor Noem responded to NPS’s reasons for cancelling the fireworks celebration. She also outlined the due diligence that the State of South Dakota and other entities undertook to ensure that last year’s celebration could be conducted safely and responsibly.

You can read Governor Noem’s letter to President Biden here.

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Since the last edition of the “Tale of the tape” we’ve picked up a few candidates for office in 2022. At least one of them is significant. And a couple spend too much time reading facebook memes.

Here’s the newest version of my “Tale of the Tape infographic – Spring 2021” edition:

Got a hot tip about politics? Drop us a note here.

And stay tuned for all of the hot gossip and bumps along the campaign trail as we lead into 2022.

From SD Woki-Leaks on Facebook, the incoming USD Center for Teaching and Learning Director is on video, spending a lot of time talking about the Legislature being “a big problem.”

A Sioux Falls man has been filing a number of documents with the Federal Elections Commission in recent days, including Statement of Candidacy filed electronically yesterday.

Johnathan Edward Merkwan has filed paperwork to run for President as affiliated with the Communist Party in the 2026 election.   When I looked him up on the Secretary of State’s website, I did notice that one thing he has to do first is to change his party registration:

According to the Secretary of State, this Communist Party presidential wannabe is actually registered as a Democrat.

Because, of course.

(Okay, c’mon. When someone tees up the obvious joke, am I supposed to ignore it?)

Mandatory 10-digit dialing set to begin in South Dakota

PIERRE, S.D. – Beginning on April 24, South Dakotans are encouraged to start using 10-digit dialing (605 area code + phone number) to make all local phone calls. This transition is a necessary first step in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) move to establish 988 as a new three-digit dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and will be required beginning as early as October 24, 2021, and no later than July 15, 2022, depending on your telephone provider.

In addition to changing your dialing patterns, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission recommends you take steps to update all contact lists ahead of the upcoming deadlines.

“An unfortunate byproduct of the FCC’s efforts to establish an easy-to-use suicide prevention hotline number is the upcoming requirement for all of us to use the full 10 digits including area code when dialing a phone number.  Whenever possible, preprogram frequently used numbers into your phone to make this conversion easier,” recommended PUC Chairman Chris Nelson.

The PUC also suggests you take the time to update or reprogram all services, automatic dialing equipment or other types of equipment that may be programmed to complete calls using only seven-digit phone numbers.

“If you take a look at the technology you use on a daily basis or have in your home or office, you may find many devices or services with programmed call settings that will need to be updated. These can include smart home devices, home security systems, medical monitoring devices, calling networks within companies and call forwarding or voicemail services, just to name a few,” Vice Chairperson Kristie Fiegen explained. “Taking the time to update these systems now will help ensure they continue working properly long past the required implementation deadlines,” she continued.

The North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) established the set implementation schedule in August of 2020; one month after the FCC adopted an order designating 988 as a new abbreviated dialing code and determined that all area codes where 988 is a working prefix would be required to convert from 7-digit local dialing to 10-digit dialing prior to the 988 abbreviated code being put into use.

Commissioner Gary Hanson cautioned, “Be certain to add the area code to all your phone numbers. South Dakota is not the only state required to make the change. Nationwide, over 80 area codes in 36 states will be affected to ensure easy connection to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.”

Starting July 16, 2022, dialing 988 will route your call to the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline. Until then, customers wishing to reach the Lifeline must continue to dial 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

For additional information on 10-digit dialing, contact your local telephone service provider or visit the PUC website athttps://puc.sd.gov/Publications/10DigitDialingFAQ.aspx.

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Tomorrow is election day here in Brookings, and while a few things have been humming along over the last couple of weeks, a couple examples of glaring campaign postcard don’ts appeared in my mailbox today.

First, was from Keli Books, candidate running for the school board.

 

I get the impression that whoever did this card doesn’t do a lot of campaign advertising.  In a campaign, you shouldn’t be designing a piece which mirrors an ad agency trying to establish good feelings about a well known brand. You’re trying to get a name stuck in the head of people that don’t know you when the person goes to the ballot box to vote.  For a big 6″x9″ postcard, the absolutely most important thing on the front of the card is approximately 1 1/2 by 2 inches of all the space on the front, superimposed in a corner on top of what I would term a “vanity shot,” something that the candidate or someone speaking in their ear thought would look nice… but really, it doesn’t communicate much.

Yes, it’s a nice picture on the front.  But the primary purpose of any campaign advertising is to communicate Name and Office.  The logo could have easily been – and should have been –  at least 5 1/2 inches across the bottom.   Chop off some empty space in the photo in the form of tree branches and empty sidewalk, move the photo up, and make the logo larger, and it goes from wasted opportunity to doing what a campaign postcard is intended to do.

I’ll be the first to say that the other side of the card was very nice. But this front is a lot of wasted opportunity.

Next up, we have a candidate for mayor going for a “prince of darkness” vibe.

GAAAH!  Satan is emerging from the depth of the shadows to run for mayor!   I’ve noticed this same logo image in Ope Niemeyer’s campaign via facebook, and I can only wonder who on earth thought this was a good idea?  I mean, did someone go to the designer, and say make the candidate appear darker and emerging from shadow in his advertising?

The only thing that it reminds me of is Max Von Sydow playing chess with death in The Seventh Seal.

It’s a very arty look for Max Von Sydow in the movie, but it’s an awful concept for a candidate.  And even worse, that’s the only picture of him on the whole piece.  On the back, the candidate talks a word soup about some issues, which doesn’t make up for the fact that from one look at that photo showing the candidate in the shadows, that he might possibly coming to steal our souls.

As I get to the end of my rant, it dawns on me why this photo is so wrong. The photo – monochrome & showing the candidate in shadow – used by the candidate actually appears to be in a style that an opponent would use if they put out a negative ad against him.  So why on earth would the candidate use that for himself?

Candidates should use a nice clear photo, with open eyes, as their primary campaign photo if they’re trying to make a good connection with the people they send it to.  Campaigns are about communication and marketing yourself. Positively.

Unless, the candidate actually has designs on where our spirits spend the afterlife.

I guess we’ll find out after the vote tomorrow.

As President Biden and other Democrats in Washington initiate an effort to “study” the US Supreme Court, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem issued the following statement via facebook this afternoon: