Giving the Open Waters Compromise Time to Work
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

The issue of nonmeandered waters has been a contentious one in recent decades.  Problems arose in the 1990s, when water bodies in eastern South Dakota expanded greatly, after receiving far more moisture than normal. Several legislative efforts tried to address this challenge, but the many competing opinions and interests made compromise elusive.

The situation came to a head last March, when the South Dakota Supreme Court determined that it is “up to the Legislature to decide how these waters are to be beneficially used in the public interest.” Our legislators heard that message and went to work.

An interim legislative committee held four public meetings and engaged many stakeholders. The group toured areas that have been affected.  They went to Day County, Brown County, and the communities of Bristol, Webster, and Waubay.  They saw firsthand the inundated areas and discussed how nonmeandered waters are impacting local residents.

They met with affected agricultural producers, sportsmen and business owners.  Individual committee members held still more public meetings to collect additional input.  During the hearings, the committee heard testimony from more than 70 individuals, considered ten different bill drafts and adopted a number of amendments.

Through that process, the committee drafted a bill called the Open Waters Compromise to balance the interests of landowners with the ability of sportsmen to use public waters for recreation. Then during a special session of the Legislature last June, the Legislature passed and I signed the Open Waters Compromise.

The new law has since opened tens of thousands of acres of nonmeandered waters to public recreation. In fact, more than 99 percent of all nonmeandered water with managed fisheries are open.

This is not only a win for South Dakotans who enjoy fishing and boating. The law also protects the property rights of landowners.  Since the law passed, we have seen that landowners are supportive of keeping nearly all of these waters open. Plus, this compromise has created a new positive dialogue between sportsmen and landowners.

The Open Waters Compromise included a provision to sunset the law in June so that the Legislature could consider whether it was properly addressing the issue. I am introducing a bill to extend the sunset date by three years to June 2021. This will give the new system more time to work before we consider opportunities for improvement.

After many years without a solution, we have found a promising compromise. The ambiguity between public recreational use and landowner rights has been largely eliminated under the new law, and we have a system with a relatively good balance. I hope we will give it more time to work.

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Seth Tupper has an article at the Rapid City Journal today which seems to draw some lines of demarcation between the candidates in the GOP Primary.

State Senator Neal Tapio has drawn a hard line against the practice of Islam.

Former Governor’s Chief of Staff Dusty Johnson has drawn a line in favor of the Constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion.

…and Secretary of State Shantel Krebs is doing her best to straddle the fence, and avoid direct statements:

Thune Statement on Funding the Government

“Democrats continue with their obstruct-at-all-costs approach by threatening a government shutdown over illegal immigration.” 

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, issued the following statement today regarding the Senate’s vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years:

“Democrats continue with their obstruct-at-all-costs approach by threatening a government shutdown over illegal immigration. The continuing resolution includes provisions that should be supported by members of both sides of the aisle — including funding for our troops and a six-year extension of the bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program. By forcing a government shutdown, Democrats are preventing our troops from receiving the resources they need to help keep our nation safe, and they are jeopardizing the future of an important program that provides health coverage to children in need. Democrats should end these partisan, political games and join us in funding the government.”

Thune: March for Life Fills Me With Hope
“The fight may be long. But I know that at the end of the day, it is life that will win.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today applauded the participants of the March for Life, the annual event that brings tens of thousands of Americans to Washington, D.C., to stand up for the right to life. Thune also called on the Senate to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, legislation that would protect unborn children who have reached the age of 20 weeks – five months of pregnancy – from being killed by an abortion.

Rounds Statement on Government Shutdown

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) made the following statement on the government shutdown:

“For the 19th time in the 44 years since the modern budget process has been in place, the federal government has once again shut down because Congress could not get its work done on time. South Dakotans sent me to Washington to make informed policy decisions and be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars. Continuing resolutions, which are just extensions of last year’s budget levels, fail to provide long-term certainty and stability, while government shutdowns waste taxpayer dollars. Reform of the budget process is absolutely necessary, however our immediate responsibility is to deal with the current government funding crisis. I will work with my colleagues to end this unnecessary shutdown as soon as possible.

I have encouraged the bipartisan immigration reform efforts because the H2B visa program is important to many South Dakota businesses, and our economy in general. I support strengthening our border security as a priority. Progress is being made on this effort and we believe an agreement can be reached within a February timeframe. Unfortunately, while our Democrat colleagues have filibustered the continuing resolution, which includes Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding, and bear responsibility for the current government shutdown, I believe there are a number of them who are very serious about finding a solution. This is important to South Dakotans because there are over 16,000 kids eligible for the Children’s Health Insurance Program in our state. This program is currently in jeopardy.

I’ve been a vocal critic of the continuing resolution process, particularly regarding its effect on our military, but I agreed to vote for it this time because I have received assurances that a vote on defense appropriations will occur in the Senate. I’ll continue to push for improvements to our budget process – but this is not a balanced way to govern.”

 

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Led by State Senator Jeff Partridge, District 34 Republicans have a full slate of candidates ready to go for the election season in Rapid City.

State Rep Michael Diedrich who was appointed by Governor Daugaard to Craig Tieszen’s seat has his petitions out, and is preparing to run hard. Mike is no stranger to politics, and represented the GOP in the legislature a number of years ago.

Businesswoman Jess Olson joins him in the contest, and already has a website out announcing that she’s in. Olson is running for the open seat created by outgoing Representative David Lust, who took over for Dan Dryden after his passing and decided to serve a single term.

We’ll keep bringing you the candidates as they emerge – stay tuned!

Republican political scion Joel Koskan, son of former Representative/Senator John Koskan, filed paperwork on Thursday to challenge Democrat Troy Heinert for the office of State Senate in District 26.

Republicans are going to be fielding a strong slate of candidates in 2018 – and we’re just getting started!

Stay tuned!

At the same time the Republican house members of District 19 picked up a primary election, apparently State Senator Stace Nelson picked up a Democrat challenger:

The challenger, Ardon Wek, who ran for the House before, made his announcement here.

More to come!

Dusty Johnson, Republican candidate for Congress, is out with a new video detailing his position on NAFTA and President Trump. From Facebook:

From the Argus Leader:

Nationally, Democrats are feeling good about their chances this year. They’re in a fighting mood. As I write, they’re gleefully preparing to shut down the federal government. Many observers say the stars are aligning for a “wave election” in which they take control of the House and Senate.

and…

There are now fewer than 160,000 registered Democrats in the state – a deficit of roughly 85,000 voters to the Republican Party. To put that into historical perspective, in 2008, Democrats were 37,000 voters behind. In 10 years, the gulf between the two parties more than doubled. And the decline hasn’t abated since Trump won. They’ve lost roughly 10,000 voters since then.

In fact, there hasn’t been this few registered Democrats since 1972. Then, when the state had a population of about 200,000 fewer people, Democrats made up 40.5 percent of all registered voters. Today, they make up just 30 percent.

Read it here.

Dems can run (candidates) but their voters keep hiding.