The political winds keep shifting and swirling, with comings and goings. So, based on the happenings of the past couple of weeks, here’s an update of who we’re seeing in the running for the Republicans nominations for statewide races:
Congresswoman Kristi Noem is in Pierre to speak with the SDTARs Mock Legislative group this AM. Here she’s explaining what she does on the Ways and Means committee.
And Congresswoman Noem took a few minutes before she had to continue down the road to take a picture with this group of future leaders.
While I hadn’t planned it, I’m in Pierre today for the South Dakota Teenage Republican mock legislature.
After dealing with a vehicle I own that broke down on the interstate, I got to show up at the state capital bright and early this morning in time to see South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley address the group this Saturday morning.
This year, they are well over 100 strong as a gathered yesterday and slept on the floor in sleeping bags at the brand-new Fort Pierre elementary school gym.
I will have a few more pictures here and there, but as always, this is a great event for high school kids of any political persuasion.
Gov. Daugaard Announces Appointees To New Board Of Technical Education
PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Dennis Daugaard announced today the initial appointees to the Board of Technical Education.
The nine-member board will provide state-level oversight to the state’s four technical institutes, taking on the functions currently served by the state Board of Education. The Board was created by Senate Bill 65, which the Legislature passed and the Governor signed this year.
Under Senate Bill 65, the Governor appoints the nine-member board, with members representing diverse geographic areas and industry sectors, and no more than six being members of the same political party. Each technical institute submits a list of nominees, and the Governor must select one from each of the four lists. The remaining five members are selected at large.
The Governor’s appointees:
· Rod Bowar, of Kennebec, is the majority owner and manager of Kennebec Telephone Company, Inc. (KTCI). He has been with KTCI since 1976 and purchased the business in 1998. In addition to the telephone business, KTCI business divisions include PowerCom Electric, Charley’s Welding and Auto, Kennebec Telephone Construction, and Chamberlain NAPA. Bowar serves on the Mitchell Technical Institute Foundation Board, the Kennebec Town Board, SDN, the South Dakota Telephone Association, and numerous boards and organizations in Kennebec. He was selected from among the four nominees submitted by Mitchell Technical Institute.
· Dana Dykhouse, of Sioux Falls, is the chief executive officer of First PREMIER Bank, a position he has held since 1995. He has served on many civic and community boards. He is the chair of the Build Dakota Scholarship board and is a past chair of the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and Forward Sioux Falls. He also serves on the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority, the South Dakota State University Foundation board, and the Sioux Falls Sports Authority
· Doug Ekeren, of Yankton, is the regional president and CEO of Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton. Ekeren has been with Sacred Heart since 1993. He serves on the board of directors of the Regional Technical Education Center (RTEC) in Yankton, and is a past president of the Yankton School Board and the Yankton Chamber of Commerce.
· Bob Faehn, of Watertown, is a 40-year resident of Watertown. He is a businessman who currently owns and operates KXLG Radio. Faehn served from 2005-11 in the State House of Representatives, including as house majority leader from 2009-11. He is a member of the South Dakota Lottery Commission and the Lake Area Technical Institute strategic advisory council, and a past president of the South Dakota Skilled Workforce Advisory Council, the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce, and the South Dakota Broadcasters Association.
· Scott Knuppe, of Rapid City, is the facilities manager for Caterpillar Black Hills Engineering Design Center. He is a graduate of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and worked with Caterpillar in Illinois, Indiana, and China prior to returning to lead the Rapid City facility. He serves on the Build Dakota Scholarship board.
· Ed Mallett, of Watertown, is the vice president for the Midwest Region for Country Operations at CHS, Inc. Mallett earned his ag business degree from Lake Area Technical Institute (LATI). With CHS since 1978, Mallett has management oversight for agri-service centers across South Dakota, southwest North Dakota, southwest Minnesota and northeast Nebraska. He serves on the advisory boards at LATI for Ag Business and Production curriculum, Strategic Advisory Council and LATI Foundation board of directors. He was selected from among the four nominees submitted by LATI.
· Scott Peterson, of Belle Fourche, is the owner of Scott Peterson Motors in Belle Fourche and Sturgis and has been in the car business since 1988. Peterson also serves on the Governor’s Workforce Development Council, the South Dakota Automobile Dealers Board and the Belle Fourche Development Corporation. He was selected from among the four nominees submitted by Western Dakota Technical Institute.
· Terry Sabers, of Mitchell, is co-president of Muth Electric. He is a 1975 graduate of Mitchell Technical Institute and is a member of the MTI Foundation Board and the Build Dakota Scholarship board. Sabers served for eight years as a member of the state Board of Education, which had state oversight responsibility for the technical institutes prior to the passage of Senate Bill 65.
· Diana VanderWoude, of Sioux Falls, is the senior executive director of Academic Affairs for Sanford Health. Prior to joining Sanford Health, VanderWoude served for 11 years as the executive director of the South Dakota Board of Nursing. VanderWoude is chair of the Southeast Technical Institute Foundation board and a member of the Build Dakota Scholarship board. VanderWoude was selected from among the four nominees submitted by STI.
The law creating the Board of Technical Education takes effect on July 1, and the Governor’s appointments will be effective on that date. He is announcing the nominees now to give the new board time to organize and schedule its meetings prior to July.
-30-
In a statement issued today, Lt. Governor Matt Michels, who had been contemplating a run for Governor over the past several months, announced today that he has chosen not to run in the 2018 Republican Primary for Governor:
I am extremely humbled by the constant and overwhelming encouragement I have been given to run for Governor. I very much enjoy serving South Dakota and the Governor.
The Governor and I became very good friends while both serving in the legislature and years ago when he asked if I would join him in public service he asked if I would be “his partner”. Not only is he a man of his word but I am honored by the tremendous responsibilities he has given me and believe with his leadership and assistance of our great team and the legislature we have been successful in many areas. But as they say: my work is far from done.
My current responsibilities regarding The Department of Veterans Affairs, The Department of Military, The Department of Tribal Relations, working with the financial rating agencies, bond financing, South Dakota Retirement System and many other special projects like the USS South Dakota consume a great deal of my time on a day to day basis.
As many know I have an intense passion for the delivery of Behavioral Health Services, providing adequate healthcare services to our native populations and focusing on homelessness remedies.
As president of the South Dakota Senate my legislative duties are enjoyable, complex, challenging and also require a tremendous amount of focus.
All of this is to say that in order to do my best for the Governor and the State of South Dakota a campaign would impair my ability to do this job in an effective and comprehensive way that would make me satisfied.
This has not been an easy decision, however Karen and I have over 1 ½ years left to focus on serving the best I can during that time and let others campaign. By the end of our term I would have served South Dakotans for 16 years and it will be time for us to move onto our next “Adventure”.
The Governor, Linda and their family have been incredibly great friends to Karen, Collin, Jill and I and we cannot be more blessed to be on this journey with them.
My immense gratitude to all who have volunteered their support of me and my family!”
Michels would have been the third major candidate in the Governor’s race where Congresswoman Kristi Noem and State Attorney General Marty Jackley have already announced their intentions to seek the office.
The Lieutenant Governor not running for governor is a loss to the race. But we can’t help but understand that after 16 years of continuous service, he’d like a break. Thank you Lt. Governor Michels for your past and present service!
This morning, I was on facebook where I’m already seeing that as one component of her campaign, Lora Hubbel is apparently documenting articles written about her as “campaign fodder” including those articles written by yours truly.
It’s a tactic she adopted in the last Gubernatorial primary, so it’s nothing new.
Why is she waging a never-ending war against political blogs in her campaign for Governor? It’s a time worn tactic. Attack the news when they point out that you’re unfit for office, such as Lora’s views and statements that people recognize as nutty as well as her tendency to make things up.
With that in mind, I thought it would be a fun blast from the past to re-run a column I wrote for KSOO Radio upon her announcement that she was running for Governor the last time back in October of 2013….. which also pointed out some of the views she held 4 years ago which were equally off the wall.
Without further ado…
Lora Hubbel: Butterball Turkeys,
Ron Paul & the Bombing of Auschwitz
October 23, 2013 10:19 AM
I was reading the Rapid City Journal this morning, as it discussed former State Representative Lora Hubbel’s announcement for Governor via her campaign swing out to Rapid City.
If you haven’t heard, former State Representative Hubbel is challenging sitting Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard because of her belief he isn’t conservative enough. (Despite his opposition to Obamacare, abortion, and reduction in state government upon winning office).
As part of the article, the newspaper had a sidebar as to where she stood on various issues, including Climate Change, State Spending, Gun Laws, Evolution, the Tea Party movement, and of course Health Care Reform.
Unfortunately, as is often the case in South Dakota’s Mainstream Media, they just don’t have the time to go in-depth as some of us whose platform is exclusively on-line. So, I thought I’d bring you up to speed on where Lora stands on other issues important to South Dakotans.
Butterball Turkeys. “Butterball turkey’s are Sharian (Islamic) blessed…from Conservative Action Alerts: Most grocery stores carry Butterball© turkeys. It is one of the very largest suppliers of turkeys in America. Did you know that every single Butterball turkey is halal?” (Lora Hubbel Facebook 11/23/2011)
Conspiracy Theory. “Have you ever noticed that people use the words “Conspiracy Theory” as if they are one word? Probably just because they rhyme. But those who understand terminology know that a conspiracy is quite common and happens all over the world and in every business. A conspiracy is 2 or more people trying to succeed over or take advantage another person. Oh…but to the self-acclaimed geniuses in this world, that definition doesn’t have a landing place of understanding in their brains.” (Hubbel Facebook, Oct 7, 2013)
Fallout Shelters. “I would have a plan developed that would join with Homeland Security to build fallout shelters in new or remodeled buildings such as, churches, schools, large event buildings, hotels, etc. Homeland security has the plans and funds to help communities with this.” (lorahubbel.com “Fall Out Shelters” 9/19/13. It was up on the website until she announced for Governor. Then it went away)
South Dakota Motto. “We have submitted to government rather than to God. It was never intended for this to happen to our people. America is undeniably a Christian Nation if one reviews the historical record with any honesty…. Why is stealing a crime in America? Because our religion tells us not to steal. That is not the case with all religions…. Currently we are vulnerable for a Governmental or dictatorial takeover… because many of us have forgotten what made America great.” (taken from South Dakota Motto at Lorahubbel.com on 9/19/13)
About Drugs: “All drugs are partial poisons and Big Pharma bought off the FDA years ago and neither want prices to go down. Your doctor used to get his license taken away if he didn’t prescribe drugs but instead recommended diet and vitamin therapy… I don’t know if that is still true. Pharmacy comes from the word “sorcery” for good reason.” (Lora Hubbel Facebook 12/31/2012)
Government ID’s: “The government is actively stealing your identity. REAL ID and Obamacare dovetail nicely… both want to control, label, subjugate you. We are not acting like a free nation… we are emulating China, North Korea, and Iran.” (Lora Hubbel for Senate Facebook 5/12/2012).
America Runs on Christianity: “America was created to run on Christianity and/or Judaism…it sputters and dies on humanism, agnosticism, atheism, islamism or anything else…just as a Cadillac does when there are impurities in its fuel line….” (Lora Hubbel for Senate Facebook 10/11/2011, and Lora Hubbel Facebook October 15, 2011).
Obama’s 33 Social Security Numbers: “Orly Tatz has been saying this a long time… she had a 2 hour meeting in Sioux Falls, SD where she showed proof that Obama’s grandmother volunteered in the probate office of their county… getting all the deceased people’s SS#… Obama’s mother had 2 SS#’s and Obama has 33 SS#’s!!! One of Obama’s SS#r has been given campaign money from FOX news and another from O”Reilly… so don’t expect to see this info on either program!” (Lora Hubbel Facebook 10/27/2011)
Ron Paul & Bombing Auschwitz: “Being that America did NOT support Israel when they asked for bombers to help them destroy Auschwitz and hence we suffered for ignoring them (the Bible says that as a nation does to Israel, so God will do to them, and we suffered in Vietnam that same amount of years as months that we ignored Israel – maybe a coinsidence but may be not)… and similarly Ron Paul would not actively support Israel, I can’t support him. And Ron Paul does not acknowledge that Pharmachia and sorcery are the same in the biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek and are WRONG (and i believe are a gateway to hell) I cannot support him… though he would be good as the Sec of Treasury!” (Lora Hubbel Facebook 3/3/2012)
And there you go. In case you were wondering.
There might be one good thing about Lora running…We should all probably give thanks that there are candidates to give voice to all the crazy Uncles that forward fake news on facebook.
As well as those who are still mad about America not helping Israel bomb Auschwitz in WWII.
This just popped up on my facebook feed for the Noem for Governor campaign:
After our report last week of the Brookings City Commission candidate Isiah Croatt’s run in with the long arm of the law for having a fake ID, he actually went on record about it with the local paper….. and seemed like a squirming politicians who failed to take responsibility for his actions.
And he still had a fake ID:
A candidate running for Brookings City Council says his being sentenced for having an invalid license was just a technicality.
and..
“I used to be from Minnesota, but I live in South Dakota now, and the only (identification) I had on me when I was checked was my Minnesota ID, which is invalid,” Croatt said. “Because I’m living here, it’s no longer a valid license.
and…
The police report also alleges that the Minnesota ID Croatt presented to the gas station clerk with his name and photo on it included an incorrect date of birth claiming he was 21 years old.
The same police report says that Croatt told the arresting officer he “knew a lot of other people who were doing it” and that he just “fell into it” and “messed up.”
So, let me see if I understand this explanation…. because he’s living here, it’s all a misunderstanding because his Minnesota license isn’t valid anymore? Ok, but he’s conveniently overlooking (ignoring?) the fact that the Minnesota Driver’s license he presented to the convenience store clerk as he bought his fancy apple drinks WAS A FALSE MINNESOTA LICENSE.
Because he used a false Minnesota license, versus a South Dakota license, doesn’t make it a misunderstanding as he claims. It makes him guilty of a crime, and obviously, he is having trouble owning up to the fact that he was busted for using a fake id to try to buy alcohol.
He might fit in well with other politicians. Just not any good ones.
Thune Introduces SDSM&T President Dr. Heather Wilson at Confirmation Hearing
“She understands the Air Force’s tremendous responsibility and role in our national security, and will be guided by the core values of the force: integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all the Air Force does.”
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today introduced South Dakota School of Mines and Technology President (SDSM&T) Dr. Heather Wilson at her confirmation hearing to become the next secretary of the Air Force. Wilson, who was nominated for the position by President Trump in January, testified before the Senate Committee on Armed Services.
With the March financial quarter about at an end for Federal Candidates, Dusty Johnson is in e-mail boxes today with a quick appeal for donations:
You can find his web site here.