SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEM ENDORSES LANCE RUSSELL FOR AG

CLARK, S.D. (Jun 12, 2018) – Today, Senate President Pro Tempore Senator Brock Greenfield announced his endorsement for Senator Lance Russell for the South Dakota Attorney General position today in a press release.

Senator Greenfield said in his endorsement, “Senator Lance Russell is the only candidate for Attorney General who possess the extensive experience both as a prosecutor and as a leader of state government.”

The endorsement from Senator Greenfield comes a week ahead of the State Republican Convention, where the South Dakota Republican party will nominate one of three seeking the position to move on to the General Election where they will face a Democrat challenger.

Senator Greenfieldsaid “Lance is as formidable on the campaign trail as he is in the courtroom. Lance has a record of defeating Democrats.”

The endorsement comes in light of concerns that have been raised within the Republican party over Democrat challenger U.S. Attorney Randy Sieler who recently announced his bid for the position, and is expected to be the Democrat choice for the position in the general election this fall.

The Republican State Convention will nominate their choice for Attorney General next Saturday, on June 23rd.

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A final e-mail from the Marty Jackley for Governor campaign:

Thank You, South Dakota

I want to thank you for all of your kindness and support during our campaign for governor.

We have a great team of supporters and I will be forever grateful for all of your help, advice, and prayers for my family. My travels during this campaign reinforced why I so love South Dakota and gave me an even better appreciation for the tremendous opportunities we have right here at home.

Perhaps the greatest part of the campaign has been the everlasting friendships I have made, and although our campaign has come to an end, it remains my hope our friendships will only continue to grow. Thank you for being a part of our team and may God bless you and our great state.

Sincerely,

Marty, Angela, Michael, and Isabella Jackley

***MEDIA ADVISORY***
Sioux Falls to Host Rally Against EPA War on Biofuels

Join South Dakota farm, biofuel, and community leaders for a rally in Sioux Falls, where participants will voice their concerns about attacks on homegrown biofuels led by the chief of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who is passing through the state this week. The event will feature farm voices from across South Dakota, including a number of corn growers who will arrive via tractor.

As recently as last week, EPA Administrator Pruitt sought to advance regulatory changes targeting the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that would harm South Dakota communities during the worst farm downturn in a generation. South Dakota leaders will call on the Administrator Pruitt to uphold the president’s commitment to the RFS, tear down regulatory barriers to higher ethanol blends, and end corporate handouts that allow petroleum refiners to squeeze biofuels out of the market

WHAT:  Rally Against the EPA War on Biofuels
WHEN:  Wednesday, June 13, 2018  10:30 am Central to 11:00 am Central
WHERE:Falls Park Farmers Market (map) 309 East Falls Park Drive  Sioux Falls
WHO: 

• Troy Knecht, Farmer & President of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association
• Rep. Kent Peterson, Farmer & Assistant Majority Leader of the South Dakota House of Representatives
• Doug Berven, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for POET
• Additional South Dakota champions for rural economic development
• Moderated by Jim Woster, Agricultural market expert and South Dakota broadca

Political satire facebook group Dakota Posts added a postscript to their cartoons today. If you recall their cartoon from right before the election…

They added a postscript this morning.

First-time Republican candidate Scyller Borglum was able to celebrate victory on the night of the Primary (eventually), and on her personal blog where she’s written about working on her doctorate and careers in engineering, provided some insight into her experiences on the campaign trail:

Now, I won’t tell you my campaign strategy except to say a couple of things. First, several people gave me great advice. Knocking on doors was the best way to meet my constituents, hear their concerns, and introduce myself.

Second, I attended every meet-and-greet, every forum, and every opportunity to introduce myself. Three candidates put their name in for two slots. One as an incumbent and one who ran before and had 23 years in our District. As a relative newcomer, I had a great deal of ground to make up in a very short amount of time.

While on the Campaign Trail, one unexpected theme became clear. Despite what we hear in popular media and on the news, I did not run into acrimonious sputtering or vitriolic diatribes. In fact, people were pleasant.

Every evening I laced up my “Trail Shoes” and my Sweetie did the double check: do you have your Camelbak? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Beretta bag with handouts? Check, Check!!

A note on my Beretta bag — a friend at work gave this to me so I had a handy bag for my shotgun shells while shooting trap/skeet. Serendipitously, it was also the perfect size to hold my door to door handouts! One evening, a fellow answered the door — and uncertain of my Republicany-ness — wanted to know where I stood on guns and the 2nd Amendment. I pointed to the logo on my Beretta bag and saucily replied, “This should tell you.” He paused, caught off guard. Then he recovered, “well it’s not a Kimber, but I suppose you’ll do.” And I secured his vote.

Read it here.

Scyller provided one of the best bits of advice possible –  “Knocking on doors was the best way to meet my constituents, hear their concerns, and introduce myself.” Pay attention candidates. You need to need to go out and knock on doors. There is no substitute.

It’s been a week since the GOP primary, and we have little more than a week remaining until the GOP Convention is set to begin.

The question on the minds of many Republicans is who will Kristi Noem choose as her “Matt Michels,” the person who will preside over the State Senate, the person who would serve in her staid if she is unable, the person to round out the top of the GOP ticket as her running mate, etc.

Who will Kristi Noem pick as her Lt?

Unlike Democrat Billie Sutton, who is rumored to be trying to grab a Republican, the GOP doesn’t have to poach good candidates; we have them in droves. The big question for us political prognosticators is “which one?”

I suspect there’s a very short list, and we can only guess who will be on it.

If I were to guess, I think the natural choice for many is State Representative Larry Rhoden, who has been a long-time supporter of Kristi. While he’s not exactly from a population center (Union Center, Pop. 86),  Larry did place second in the 2014 Republican Primary for US Senate. And Larry is a tremendously likable guy.

If Kristi was looking more towards Sioux Falls, another choice might be former House Assistant Majority Leader Steve Westra. Again, no stranger to the stump, and tightly woven into the business community in Sioux Falls.

We might also consider former Senate Majority Leader Tim Rave, a long-time confidant of Kristi’s, former Speaker of the SD House, and former chairman of the GOP. Tim, who works for Sanford’s government affairs department, would ease right into leading the Senate.

Any of them would do well for our next Governor. And I’m sure I’m leaving many, many people out who are being discussed.

But that’s what the comment section is for, Who do you anticipate is going to be Noem’s Lt. Governor pick, and why?  The floor is yours!

 

Many people in South Dakota agriculture are watching President Trump’s trade negotiations with China and Canada closely. While those trade negotiations are getting lots of attention, there is another area, maybe bit less attention grabbing in South Dakota, where President Trump just won a trade battle.

For years, the major airlines have been fighting the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in the Middle East, over cheating on the Open Skies Treaty. That treaty protects US airline industry jobs and adds trillions of dollars to the US economy. What had been taking place is that some nations had been heavily subsidizing their airlines acting in a manner that made it problematic for United States airlines to compete on a level playing field.

But based on pressure from the Trump administration, both the United Arab Emirates & Qatar have agreed to greater financial transparency, and an end to illegal subsidy practices.

What that was endangering for South Dakota, Western Iowa and throughout Nebraska, was this cheating endangered jobs at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport and at Eppley International Airfield in Omaha, and the millions of dollars of economic benefit that international access brings for tourism, and yes, for ag trade. And now, at least in these two counties, the problem has been solved. No other administration stood up to this cheating until President Trump had taken action.

In fact, one of the major carriers that serves this area, Delta Air Lines, is set to start flights nonstop from the U.S. to India for the first time in a decade, a decision the airline said was due to recent agreements over three of its Middle Eastern rivals’ practices.

While we watch Trump overseas and a bit more nervously on tariffs that could affect ag, his actions in the air fare wars are coming as part of his promises to renegotiate US trade deals in a way that is fair to America and her interests.  We can only hope that nations are taking note of the President’s trade victories, wherever they may occur, and it gives them pause if they try to take advantage.

*You can read about it at FairSkies.org where over 100,000 people have already signed a petition to thank President Trump for standing up to these nation’s unfair policies towards America.

From the Rapid City Journal, today’s editorial has some particularly strong words for the Secretary of State with regards to Election Day voting problems and how results were reported last Tuesday:

While voting officials in the seven other counties were able to overcome the issues with the e-poll books, it was a different story here. Election workers were unprepared for the technology problems and unable to respond to puzzled voters who in some cases were told to call the county auditor’s office for help. Media outlets quickly learned, however, that those calls would shed little light on the developing situation.

A call to the Secretary of State’s Office about whether the voters should be issued provisional ballots added another layer of confusion, something that may have been averted if Secretary of State Shantel Krebs wasn’t busy with her own election, a failed bid to win the Republican nomination for the U.S. House.

and…

The problems that happened on Election Day can all be attributed to human error if preparation is considered. It’s clear no Plan B was in place in the event the e-poll books malfunctioned and that no plan was prepared to notify the public of problems. The failure of the Secretary of State’s to be more helpful and its confusion on the use of provisional ballots contributed to an inexcusable disenfranchisement of voters.

Read it here.

Big Wins for the American People
By Sen. John Thune

I can’t think of another period of time while I’ve served in Congress when we’ve been able to put so many points on the scoreboard for the American people. Over the last year and a half alone, despite the historic levels of obstruction we’ve faced from my Democrat colleagues in the Senate, Republicans have achieved numerous legislative accomplishments that will have a positive and lasting effect on the country for generations to come. From tax reform to regulatory reform to reshaping the judiciary, the Republican-led Congress has made the American people’s priorities its priorities.

On tax reform – promise made, promise delivered. In just the handful of months since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act became law, more than 1 million jobs have been created. It’s an important milestone that fulfills a promise Republicans made to the American people when we debated the bill in Congress, and it’s welcome news for American workers.

More than 500 companies, including several here in South Dakota, have already passed tax savings on to their customers and employees in the form of pay raises, bonuses, and utility rate reductions. Today, the unemployment rate matches a near five-decade low, and for the first time ever, there are more job openings than there are job seekers in the United States. We’re still in the early stages of this new law, though, and while there’s plenty of good news to share, there’s more yet to come.

The Republican-led Congress devoted a significant amount of time to rolling back burdensome Obama-era regulations that were hamstringing growth and opportunity. We used a congressional oversight process that, up until last year, had only been successfully used one time in history. That process, the Congressional Review Act, gives Congress the ability to undo regulations that were implemented by the executive branch. We didn’t use it just once, twice, or even 10 times. We used it a record-setting 16 times. As a result, we provided much-needed relief to businesses and consumers across the country.

While Senate Democrats have done everything they can to delay and obstruct the president’s nominees to the executive and judicial branches, we’ve continued to plow ahead, threatening to keep the Senate in session around the clock or over the weekend, if that’s what it takes. Despite the obstruction, in 2017, the Senate set a record for confirming circuit court judges. Today, one-in-eight of all circuit court judges in the United States have been nominated by President Trump and confirmed by this Senate.

We also confirmed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, passed multiple bills to help our veterans, strengthened our military with the greatest investment in 15 years (plus the largest troop pay increase in nearly a decade), combatted opioid abuse, enacted the longest State Children’s Health Insurance Program extension in history, fought sex traffickers, and repealed Obamacare’s individual mandate – the cornerstone of the failed health care law – just to name a few.

We’ve accomplished a lot of big things over the last 18 months, but there’s more work to do, including getting a pro-farmer, pro-agriculture farm bill to the president as soon as possible. I look forward to delivering more positive results like these for South Dakotans and the American people in 2018 and beyond.

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Father’s Day Lessons from Dads
By U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)

Father’s Day gives us a chance to celebrate dads and thank them for everything they do for their families. As any dad can attest, raising our four kids was both the hardest and most rewarding job I’ve ever had.  Jean and I are incredibly proud of our kids, and we’ve enjoyed watching them grow and start families of their own. We look forward to spending time with them this Father’s Day, however this year it will look a little different. This is the first Father’s Day without my dad, Grandpa Don, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 90.

Grandpa Don was a shining example of what it meant to be a dad. He always put God and his family first and dedicated his life to serving others. He was a hard worker, a good provider, and he always saw the good in everyone.  While we miss him every day, we are grateful for the lifelong lessons he taught not just his family, but everyone who knew him.

One lesson in particular that stands out is advice he used to share in the 1960s, when he often gave commencement speeches at high school graduations. As the oldest child, my dad would sometimes let me come along for these speeches, and his message to the students sticks with me today.

Those old enough to live through the 1960s can remember that it was a time when it wasn’t “cool” to be “square.”  According to the cool kids back then, being a “square” meant being conventional, boring, inhibited and nerdy – definitely not part of the cool crowd. So, my dad would tell the graduates about the real meaning of “square.  ” To him and his generation, being “square” was a good thing. You were honest so you could look people “square” in the eye. When you worked your way out of debt, you became “square” with the world. If someone was hungry, you gave him a “square” meal. You stood “foursquare” for what you believed in.

He told graduates that they should be “square” because “square” really meant being honest, fair, genuine, upright, straightforward and ethical, as in always giving other people a “square deal.” The phrase “square deal” was coined by President Teddy Roosevelt. It was his philosophy that we should not grant special favors to any group of Americans, but to be fair to all. At the end of his commencement speeches, dad would invite the graduates to be “squares” for the rest of their lives.

In today’s society, dad’s graduation message resonates stronger than ever. I am grateful to be able to pass along his advice, especially with young people, as I did recently at Boys and Girls State and while delivering the commencement address at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. These young people – and so many like them across the state – are smart, talented and driven to make the world a better place. While we recognize their accomplishments, we are also grateful for the fathers behind the scenes, offering unconditional love, support and sacrifice. May we all take a moment this Father’s Day to celebrate the dads in our lives whose guidance helps us be stronger, better and more “square” in our daily lives.

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