From my mailbox:

From Facebook, the Paul TenHaken for Sioux Falls Mayor campaign has a new TV Commercial out:

Of all the media in Sioux Falls, KELO-TV seems to be taking the one-sided view of a story that the Jolene Loetscher campaign is pushing to try to smear her opponent Paul TenHaken in the final days of the Sioux Falls Mayoral run off:

Today, the candidates also discussed a voicemail.

“Paul, you had left me a voicemail where you told me that you had tools in your toolbox that you could choose to use against my campaign,”  Loetscher said.

“When I talk about tools in the toolbox, what I mean is negative campaign tools,” TenHaken said.

Loetscher says she saw this “as a threat.” Asked if he left a threatening voice mail with Loetscher, TenHaken replied, “absolutely not.” He said she had brought a negative message against his campaign.

“I called her and said, ‘I wish we wouldn’t do this, I’m going to continue to keeping it positive, I’m not going to use negative campaign tools,’ and that was it,” TenHaken said.

and…

KELOLAND News has asked to hear the voicemail, but the Loetscher campaign says they are not going to release it “because of the investigation.” We asked if the voicemail is part of the hacking investigation, and they say it is.

Also tonight, we asked each of the four other candidates who ran against Loetscher and TenHaken on April 10 if they received a call from TenHaken talking about his tools he could choose to use against their campaign for mayor. We have heard back from both Jim Entenman and Greg Jamison, who both said they had not.

Read that here.

So, KELO is doing a story about a voicemail pushed by their former reporter Jolene Loetscher.. and trying to “investigate” whether her opponent in the Mayor’s race allegedly made calls to all the candidates in the race to discuss “tools he could choose to use against their campaign for mayor.”

Are they actually reporting this as part of their news program? Because it seems to be more of a commercial for their former reporter than objective news with evidence. As opposed to being fair and balanced, it appears they’ve definitely taken a side in the race, and are beating up on TenHaken.

The Sioux Falls Mayor’s runoff election takes place a week from today.

Walworth County States Attorney Endorses Ravnsborg for Attorney General

SELBY, SD: Walworth County States Attorney Jamie Hare endorses Attorney General Candidate Jason Ravnsborg.

“Jason is the kind of leader South Dakota needs, a person of integrity, one who works hard and has the people skills for the job.” Hare said. “Jason and I have discussed a number of his ideas to fight the drug problems we have in Walworth County and ways to keep the people of South Dakota safe

Hare resides in Mobridge, South Dakota. He has been the full time States Attorney since 2012. Hare, like Ravnsborg , has served his country in the military having retired as a Master Sargent in the South Dakota National Guard.

“Jason also understands the jurisdictional issues in working with the nearby reservations and his willingness’ to listen and engage those issues is encouraging,’.’

Hare said. “Jason strong military background, willingness to listen and look at things in a way that is not how we have always done it and his support for law enforcement make him the ideal choice to be our next Attorney General.”

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Jackley Announces Cybersecurity Initiative

MADISON, SD: Today, Attorney General Marty Jackley announced his plan to prioritize the development of South Dakota’s cybersecurity and computer science capabilities.

“The investment decisions we make today will form the economy of tomorrow,” said Jackley, who received his engineering degree from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. “South Dakota needs a governor with the vision to seize the next great idea on the horizon, which is why our team is proud to announce the Marty Jackley Cybersecurity Initiative—a plan that looks not just four or eight years down the road, but generations ahead.”

Jackley’s Cybersecurity Initiative, announced ahead of Thursday’s Cybersecurity Forum at Dakota State University, calls for the following:

• Launch the South Dakota Cybersecurity Consortium by forming a financial and strategic partnership with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), DSU, and our federal partners.
• Expand Dakota State University infrastructure to properly scale our computer science and cybersecurity programs.
• Ensure competitive employment packages for top talent, including 100 DSU Cyclops Lab researchers who bring resources from both private and public partners into our economy.
• Integrate computer science into K-12 systems to better educate future generations of cybersecurity talent.
• Promote summer camps and other recruitment opportunities to expand the pipeline.

“In addition to providing high-paying jobs to our graduates, keeping them in South Dakota, and bringing new workforce into the state, this initiative is about protecting the homeland we love,” Jackley said. “Guided by this plan that calls for new ways of thinking, innovating, and investing, South Dakota can lead the way in cybersecurity development and make our state and nation a safer and more prosperous place for us all.”

Read the full Marty Jackley Cybersecurity Initiative here.

There’s a story about alleged campaign hacking that’s getting ginned up a bit in Sioux Falls:

Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead confirms that a hacking probe is underway, involving a candidates campaign website, e-mail account, wi-fi, and social media. It may have been occuring for the past several months.

Milstead’s prepared statement says that investigators have reached out to other mayoral candidates to determine if those campaigns experienced similar interference.

Loetscher and Paul TenHaken are in a run off May first, for the top job in South Dakota’s largest city.

The hacking allegations came up in Monday’s mayoral debate between Loetscher and TenHaken. TenHaken acknowleged that investigators questioned him on Sunday, before accusing Loetscher of implying that he, TenHaken, was responsible for the hacking. Loetscher responded by saying that TenHaken has said in the past that he has the tools to do it.

Read it here.

So, Democrat Mayoral Candidate Joelene Loetscher may have been intimating that her opponent has something to do with her campaign allegedly being “hacked?”   That seems a bit… desperate, as Loetcher appears to be shifting negative in the final hours of the campaign.

Why does this sound like she’s telling a “big scary computer” story? What’s next? Is she going to accuse her opponent of making her forget her banking password?

A few weeks later her secured Wi-Fi was entered by someone without authorization, and in February the login for her campaign bank account was changed, causing her to be locked out for a time.

Read that here.

Sorry I asked.

Update – here’s the video where Loetscher tries to portray her opponent as a computer hacker.. about 50 minutes in:

From facebook, an observant reader just pointed out a post to a local Aberdeen page that indicates that the race for Sheriff in Brown County might be getting a little more personal than it already is:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- April 23rd, 2018

Bennett County State’s Attorney Sarah E. Harris Endorses John H. Fitzgerald for South Dakota Attorney General.

Martin, South Dakota: Bennett County State’s Attorney Sarah E. Harris announced her support for Lawrence County State’s Attorney John H. Fitzgerald for South Dakota Attorney General.

I support John H. Fitzgerald, as the Republican candidate for South Dakota Attorney General. John has thirty plus years of experience as a county prosecutor and is dedicated to the concept of justice for all. With more than thirty years of experience, he understands the issues faced by local and state government. John has dedicated his life to fighting for victims, trying cases and improving public safety. His extensive experience in the handling of criminal cases as State’s Attorney has given him the resources needed to be the most qualified candidate for South Dakota’s next Attorney General.

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TenHaken Campaign Announces Endorsement From Former Mayor Gary Hanson

SIOUX FALLS, SD — The TenHaken for Mayor campaign announced today an endorsement from Gary Hanson, who served eight years as mayor of the City of Sioux Falls and seven years as Commissioner of the city’s utilities.

The endorsement comes in the weeks leading up to the runoff election on May 1.

“I am thrilled to have a person of Paul’s high standards running for mayor,” said Hanson. “Sioux Falls continues to grow rapidly and we are certain to face future growing pains. We need a person with forward-thinking ideas and multi-layered business experience to properly run the city and give our families the best opportunity for the safest and highest possible quality-of-life. I believe that person is Paul TenHaken.”

Hanson stated he is very impressed with TenHaken; “Paul has a good heart. He truly cares about making Sioux Falls a better place to live for everyone.”

“Gary was a tremendous public servant for Sioux Falls and remains one for our state,” said Paul TenHaken. “He’s served as a strong sounding board for me during this campaign and I know our strong relationship will continue into City Hall.”

Gary Hanson served in the office of mayor from 1994 to 2002 and Sioux Falls’ Commissioner of Utilities from 1988 to 1994; a period of exceptional growth. During his service Gary was instrumental in the establishment of the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System, the city’s violent crime rate decreased by 31.4%, Falls Park was completely transformed, downtown was revitalized, the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science and a new convention center were built, Sioux Falls’ Baseball Stadium was rebuilt, the acreage of parks increased by 32%, and portions of property taxes were actually returned to the citizens. He currently serves as a South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner.

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I had a reader ask me about rumors they were hearing about the status of CJ Abernathey, the Libertarian candidate for Governor, and in reviewing the Secretary of State’s web site, the rumors on Abernathey’s status are just idle silliness, because Abernathey is their guy:

But, there’s still this issue of the “TBD” for the Libertarian ticket’s Lt. Governor choice.   I was chatting with one of the Libertarian candidates and asked them about it, and was informed that they’re getting together again:

“I guess I’d call it a reconvention rather than a second one. The blizzard kinda wreaked havoc on things during the first portion, and left some unfinished business.”

Yeah… Unfinished business as in forgetting a Lt. Governor might be a big deal.   So, the Libertarian “re-convention” is taking place in June, where they’re going to finish out their ticket with the nomination of a Lt. Governor. But there’s also a twist.

As I queried the Secretary of State’s Elections Office..

“It’s my understanding that the Libertarian Party is going to be reconvening their convention in June to nominate a Lt. Governor Candidate. Will they be able to nominate additional legislative candidates at that time – to supplement those they’ve already nominated – at that time as well?”

The answer? Yes.

According to Kea Warne with the Secretary of State’s office “they will be able to nominate additional candidates to supplement the ones they nominated earlier this month.”

This could mean a number of scenarios in addition to picking up candidates who are now interested who weren’t before. Including one where candidates who lose legislative primaries under one party’s banner could switch, and run under the Libertarian banner.

Stay tuned, as this story isn’t finished. It’s just beginning.