Governor Requests Flags At Half-Staff On Thursday To Honor Fallen Firefighter

Governor Requests Flags At Half-Staff On Thursday To Honor Fallen Firefighter

PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Dennis Daugaard asks that all flags in the state be flown at half-staff on Thursday, Oct. 19, from 8 a.m. until sunset, in honor of Presho Fire Chief Donald F. “Donny” Manger.

Manger died Saturday, Oct. 14, while responding to a structure fire in rural Lyman County.

“Linda and I offer our condolences to the Manger family. Donny’s service to the Presho community will not be forgotten,” Gov. Daugaard said.

Manger’s funeral service will be held Thursday at the Lyman Gardens in Presho. Visitation is scheduled for Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Presho United Methodist Church.

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Release: Jackley Challenges Noem to Sign Clean Campaign Pledge

Jackley Challenges Noem to Sign Clean Campaign Pledge

Attorney General Marty Jackley called on Congresswoman Kristi Noem Tuesday to agree to a Clean Campaign Pledge for South Dakota.

The Clean Campaign Pledge commits both candidates to conducting their campaigns for governor in a positive and factual manner that focuses on records, accomplishments, opportunities and the significant issues important to South Dakotans, rather than attacking each other.

“As I travel across our state and listen to voters, South Dakotans tell me they want a clean campaign that focuses on issues and creating opportunities to make the lives of South Dakotans even better,” Jackley said. “The congresswoman and I both love South Dakota, and I believe this campaign for governor should be about our experience and vision to move our state forward instead of mudslinging and name-calling.”

South Dakotans have endured long and negative primary campaigns in the past. The South Dakota Clean Campaign Pledge is an attempt to give voters the positive, future-focused campaign they deserve.

“I urge South Dakotans to join me and request that Congresswoman Noem sign this pledge so we can have an honest campaign for South Dakota that focuses on ideas, policy and substance,” Jackley said.

Jackley’s campaign issued the South Dakota Clean Campaign Pledge to the Noem campaign digitally and via U.S. mail on Tuesday morning.

A copy of the pledge is attached.

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Erickson: Lyft Takes First Step to Operate in Sioux Falls

Lyft Takes First Step to Operate in Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls, South Dakota: The ride-hailing company Lyft is taking the necessary steps to operate in Sioux Falls! The company recently was issued a state sales tax license and is working with the City’s licensing office on a transportation network company license.

Lyft is a transportation networking company (TNC) that operates in more than 300 cities nationwide, completing more than 28 million rides per month. Riders must download the Lyft mobile app to their smartphone to connect with Lyft drivers.

“I am absolutely thrilled that Lyft has taken the first necessary steps to operate in our city,” says City Council Vice Chair Christine Erickson. “Having a nationally recognized ride-sharing company such as Lyft will not only benefit our citizens, but also enhance our economic development efforts.”

A team of City and State officials, as well as resident Greg LaFollette, have been working for months to attract Lyft to the city. Lyft is expected to launch operations in Sioux Falls as soon as they can recruit enough drivers. It’s possible that could be as early as spring 2018.

“This benefits Sioux Falls in so many ways. Whether it be a ride home after a concert, a trip to the doctor’s office, or a business meeting that you need to get to after flying into Sioux Falls, travel just got easier, cheaper, and safer with this quality-of-life and economic development win,” says Mayor Mike Huether.

In 2015, the Sioux Falls City Council passed an ordinance that changed licensing requirements to allow transportation network companies to operate in Sioux Falls. In 2016, the South Dakota State Legislature approved a measure that changed insurance laws to allow companies like Lyft to operate in the state.

For more information about Lyft, go to www.lyft.com.

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Consumer Finance Protection Bureau released rules regarding short term loans. There’s a lot of people who don’t like them.

Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released their latest attempt to stifle lending in the United States via rules governing short-term loans. And it has prompted widespread opposition.

One of the voices has been former GOP Presidential candidate, and Editor in Chief of Forbes Media, Steve Forbes. He noted:

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been the source and driver of the most aggressive, unchecked assault on American commerce in modern times. Since its inception, the CFPB has issued a mountain of rules that have done nothing but restricted consumers’ access to credit and other basic financial services, while imposing billions of dollars in unnecessary costs and creating millions of hours of compliance paperwork for small businesses.

It is no wonder that a federal appeals court last year ruled that the CFPB’s unaccountable governing structure was unconstitutional. In an ironic twist, the CFPB just released a survey which found that nearly half of U.S. adults struggle with their finances. This is all the more reason why we need to eliminate the CFPB, once and for all, so that the American people will be freed from the agency’s regulatory chokehold and be allowed to take control of their financial futures again.”

Read that here.

Were people clamoring for more government regulation on how they access credit in the United States? Not really.

What are your thoughts?

 

Rounds Statement on EPA Decision to End “Sue & Settle” Practices

Rounds Statement on EPA Decision to End “Sue & Settle” Practices

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management and Regulatory Oversight, today made the following statement on the decision of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt to end the controversial “sue and settle” practices at the EPA.

“During the previous administration, ‘sue and settle’ practices resulted in new environmental regulations drafted by special interest groups behind closed doors,” said Rounds. “I’m pleased with EPA Administrator Pruitt’s decision to end this practice and shed more transparency on the processes that federal agencies use to draft new regulations.”

Last Congress, Rounds held a subcommittee hearing on EPA’s “sue and settle” practices. In that hearing, he found that the “sue and settle” process utilized by special interest groups leads to a rushed and reckless rulemaking process that does not follow the proper regulatory process or allow for adequate public participation. He has also introduced an amendment to end “sue and settle” practices.

Both the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act contain clauses that allow citizens to file citizen suits against a regulatory agency to prompt the agency’s compliance with federal statutes. Often, these citizen suits are used to perpetuate the “sue and settle” process, which overwhelms regulatory agencies and results in rushed settlement agreements and consent decrees requiring agencies to promulgate major regulations behind closed doors within an arbitrarily imposed timeline.

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South Dakota Dems place “imported labor organizer” on their Executive Board

From Sioux Falls Drinking Liberally (10/13):

In South Dakota: The South Dakota Democratic Party (SDDP) is so screwed up that the Minnehaha County Democratic Party (the largest county in the state with over 20% of the Democratic vote) just choose an imported labor organizer from Texas with less than one year of experience here and little knowledge or connections in Sioux Falls to represent it on the SDDP’s state Executive Board. The vote was close but a small and determined group of Democrats, concerned about the hurricane destruction in Houston, Texas, forced their will on the group.

Read that here.

And yes, I notice a few people are crabbing about the recent controversy with the SDGOP chair in comparison.. but a person who has been around a few months, versus someone who has well over a decade & 1/2 of residency, as well as elected experience at several levels, is not even remotely the same thing.

Tim Bjorkman 3rd Quarter FEC Report: $74.2k raised, 26.7K spent, A $50,000 loan, and $95K Cash on hand

The big thing in this report is the last page.

Bjorkman q 32017 by Pat Powers on Scribd

Bjorkman raised a respectable $74K in his first quarter, (spending $26.7K, claiming $95.7K cash on hand) but loaning your campaign $50,000 in in the first quarter of your efforts to reach those cash on hand numbers is a heck of a gamble against your retirement.

Dusty Johnson 2017 3rd Quarter FEC Report: $118k Raised, $55k Spent, and $351K Cash on hand.

GOP Congressional Candidate Dusty Johnson’s report it in, and he’s showing a total of 117,689.07 raised. 55.360.75 spent, leaving the candidate 350,684.50 Cash on hand.

Dusty Johnson 2017 q 3 by Pat Powers on Scribd

What’s notable from Dusty’s report? In this round, Representative David Lust, Mike Stevens & Nancy Rassmussen were in, and so were former State Representatives Alex Jensen, Jacqueline Sly & Nick Moser. Senator Jeff Partridge sent Dusty a check, as did former State Senators Dave Knudson and Al Kurtenbach who were also contributing to the Dusty Johnson election fund.

We also had State Chief Financial officer Liza Clark, DPS head Trevor Jones, former SDGOP ED Herb Jones, Secretary of Correction Denny Kaemingk, Chief of Staff Tony Venhuizen and Lt. Governor Matt Michels. Former first Lady Pat Miller and Sioux Falls Mayoral Candidate Paul Ten Haken were also on the donor list.

What did he spend 55K on? There were a couple of larger disbursements for various consultants, but no more that $2-5000 at the most. The lions share by far went to campaign employees and towards campaigning activities. Most were small dollar, but they do add up. And I think it’s evident from the Johnson campaign’s constant presence at events and parades.

Will the up-front efforts help down the line, and pay off in the end? We shall see!

Shantel Krebs 2017 3rd Quarter FEC Report: $133k raised, $48.5k Spent, $311K cash on hand.

Shantel Krebs has just filed her 3rd quarter report with the FEC, and here’s what the numbers show:

132,933.21 raised. 48,532.64 spent, 310,870.61 Cash on hand.

Shantel Krebs2017Q3 by Pat Powers on Scribd

The final page of the report indicated that Krebs had paid off a debt to Red Print Strategies for video work, as well as spending a bit over 10K to her general consultant Red Print Strategies.

Who showed Krebs the money? Legislators donating included Dr. Les Heinemann, Deb Soholt, John Mills, former State Senators Tom Dempster & Eldon Nygaard, former State Rep Deb Fischer-Clemens & Don Van Etten, former Governor Frank Farrar, former US Senate Candidate Ron Schmidt, and new Family Heritage Alliance honcho Ed Randazzo. She also took in a PAC donation of $2000 from the NATIONAL CHICKEN COUNCIL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE.