Rounds Announces Promotion of Tyler Tordsen to Southeast Regional Director  

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today announced the promotion of Tyler Tordsen to Southeast Regional Director. Tordsen has spent the last two years working in Rounds’ Pierre office as a special assistant, focusing on outreach, tribal relations, constituent services and local governments.

“Tyler has been a tremendous asset to our team since the day he started,” said Rounds. “A lifelong South Dakotan, his strategic vision and passion for helping others have played a vital role in our constituent outreach and legislative efforts. I have no doubt he will continue to build on these strengths as Southeast Regional Director.”

Tordsen was born in Sioux Falls, raised in Rapid City and is a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe. He earned his B.S. in economics and political science from the University of South Dakota, where he served as Student Body President and President of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity.

Tordsen will now be based in Rounds’ Sioux Falls office, located at 320 N. Main Street, Suite A in Sioux Falls, SD. 

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Rounds joins Thune in Introducing Dr. Heather Wilson at SASC Confirmation Hearing

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) today joined U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) in introducing Dr. Heather Wilson at her confirmation hearing to be Secretary of the Air Force. Dr. Wilson has been president of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T) since 2013.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this morning that Gordon Howie is not just pushing Annette Bosworth but both Boz and Lee “Pornahan” on his website this morning.

No. No one has any interest in letting the crazy train back into town. So, stop that nonsense right now!

It’s that time again!  It’s time for not-so-youngish anymore Mr. Powers to go to Washington!

I’m tagging along with my wife who will be in Washington DC next week for an education conference, and I’ll be in our nation’s capitol with all the time on the world on my hands.  The downside is that I’ll be getting there Thursday afternoon… probably about the time things wrap up for Easter recess.   But there’s still tons of things to do.

I plan on making a trip to Arlington National Cemetery, which is a place I have yet to visit.  I’m also planning a return visit to the Newseum, which has an exhibit running on Music and politics.

Saturday is probably going to be largely dedicated to the National Cherry Blossom Parade, which is part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival taking place that week. Also on the list is the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival in conjunction with the Cherry Blossom events.

Still trying to figure out Sunday, which will probably involve me walking some of the monuments. And I was told I was able to snag a couple of White House Tour tickets (I have never been before) for Monday. And while I enjoy my Twins games when I can make it, I grabbed some nice seats for the Washington Nationals v. St. Louis Cardinals game Monday night.

That’s probably enough for any vacation.  But it’s always a treat to get back to the nation’s capital, and I anticipate this trip will be no different!

in case you wanted to show your support for ending someone’s life:

Looks like the Gordon Howie Campaign machine has gone from this….

to this….

Over at his web site, the Gordon Howie Truth Train is for sale at a bargain price. Never to park in a WalMart along the campaign trail again.

I note over at the Liberal Democrat website this morning that apparently Shantel Krebs for Congress sent out a fundraising e-mail claiming a superior position in the race for Congress against Dusty Johnson. It’s the same line as a facebook sponsored ad that has been pushed in the last week or so.

It’s all based on a newspaper web poll….. with 90 respondents?

Little wonder I wasn’t on the list to receive that e-mail. Because it is silly. For that kind of poll, you can just erase your web browser cookies and vote multiple times. Even for those that limit it to IP address, you can vote from your phone, your home, and work, and in many cases, reboot, and do it again.

It’s not like we haven’t pointed out this kind of silliness before. Others have jumped on the “OMIGOD we’re ahead an a newspaper web poll” bandwagon in the past:

Read that here.

If the 2018 Congressional election is going to be all about who is more popular in newspaper web polls, it’s going to be a long, long campaign.

Attorney General Ballot Explanations Released for Two Initiated Measures on Legalizing Marijuana

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that Attorney General Explanations for two proposed initiated measures have been filed with the Secretary of State. These statements will appear on petitions that will be circulated by the sponsor of the measures. For each petition, if the sponsor obtains a sufficient number of signatures (13,871) by November 2017, as certified by the Secretary of State, the measure will be placed on the ballot for the November 2018 general election.

The measures are titled:

1. “An initiated measure to legalize marijuana for medical ”
2. “An initiated measure to legalize certain amounts of marijuana, drugs made from marijuana, and drug paraphernalia, and to regulate and tax marijuana establishments.”

Under South Dakota law, the Attorney General is responsible for preparing explanations for proposed initiated measures, referred laws, and South Dakota Constitutional Amendments. Specifically, the explanation includes a title, an objective, clear and simple summary of the purpose and effect of the proposed measure and a description of the legal consequences. The Attorney General Explanation is not a statement either for or against the proposed measure.

To view the Attorney General Explanations for the measures, as well as the final form of the measures submitted to this office, please click on the links.

http://atg.sd.gov/docs/IMLegalizeMJformedical.pdf
http://atg.sd.gov/docs/IMlegalizeMJgen.pdf

SD District 8 Conservatives Monthly Luncheon

The monthly District 8 Conservatives Luncheon will be held Thursday, April 13th, 2017, 11:45AM, at the Second Street Diner, 610 Washington Ave. S., in Madison. Our three District 8 Legislators will give a presentation on “2017 South Dakota Legislative Summary” highlighting their accomplishments in Pierre this year. This will be a very special meeting!

South Dakota Legislative District 8 consists of Sanborn, Miner, Lake, and Moody Counties in the East Central part of the state.

Conservatives from District 8 are invited, as well as from the surrounding area. Order off menu, daily special available. For information call 605-270-2991.