I’m hoping the weather cooperates with us today, as we’re going to re-attempt going whale watching off of the coast of San Diego on our last full day here.

…..and that was a bust. They’ve already canceled due to weather. Ugh. I’m going to the zoo.

A Week in the Life
By Sen. John Thune

Aside from being a dad, grandpa, and husband, serving the people of South Dakota as one of their U.S. senators has afforded me with some of the most rewarding experiences in my life. I’m constantly humbled by the opportunity and trust South Dakotans have placed in me, which is why I’ve never taken this job for granted – not for a single second.

My top priority when I show up to work each day, whether that’s in cities and towns throughout the state or in the Capitol in Washington, D.C., is listening to and fighting for what matters to South Dakotans. Hopping between South Dakota and Washington, I’ve been asked about my typical work week. While every week is a little different, some things never change.

It’s no secret that I try to spend as much time as possible wherever there’s a 605 area code. On most weekends, you can likely find me with family and friends. In the winter, I’m out shoveling snow, and in the summer, I’m out mowing the lawn. In the fall, I’m chasing pheasants in the prairie, and it doesn’t matter what month it is, you can always catch me at local sports or community events throughout the state.

Once the Senate is set to reconvene, I head back to Washington with the feedback I’ve received from friends, neighbors, and fellow South Dakotans, and my work in the Senate picks up right where it left off.

The next best thing to spending time with South Dakotans back home is when our paths cross in Washington. Whether people are in town for vacations or conferences, or even if they’re just passing through, I always appreciate when they stop by my office to say hello.

In between meeting with South Dakotans, my weeks are filled with the day-to-day action on the Senate floor and in the various committees on which I serve. January and February have largely been consumed by voting to confirm members of the president’s Cabinet. While this process is taking far longer than it should – due to unnecessary, politically driven hurdles created in the Senate – we’re making progress. The quicker we can get the president’s team in place, the quicker we can turn our attention to other important issues like repealing and replacing Obamacare, reforming our tax code, and confirming the next justice to the Supreme Court.

Once the Senate wraps up its legislative work for the week, I usually head back to South Dakota to recharge and get a fresh round of feedback – sometimes while I’m sitting in the bleachers during a Saturday night basketball game. From there, the cycle starts all over again. Every week is different, yes, but the one thing they all have in common is that they revolve around what’s most important to South Dakota, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Smart Banking Regulations Benefit South Dakota Families
By Senator Mike Rounds

The 115th Congress hasn’t taken an extended break since swearing-in day on January 3, and while much of our time these first six weeks have been focused on confirming President Trump’s Cabinet nominees, we have also been busy introducing legislation to provide regulatory relief for South Dakota families and businesses. Most recently I introduced two pieces of legislation that seek to ease the regulatory burden on banks and other financial institutions, so they can more easily provide loans and other services to South Dakotans.

Many of the regulations hindering our financial institutions today are a result of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. Dodd-Frank was an ill-advised attempt to correct the mistakes of the 2008 recession and collapse of the housing market. Unfortunately, the end result was more than 2,300 pages of new rules and regulations on our local banks and credit unions, despite having nothing to do with the housing collapse.

I recently reintroduced the Taking Account of Institutions with Low Operation Risk (TAILOR) Act to correct Dodd-Franks “one-size-fits-all” approach to regulating. The TAILOR Act would ease the regulatory burden on smaller financial institutions by requiring regulatory agencies to take into consideration the risk profile and business models of individual financial institutions and tailor those regulations accordingly. Additionally, it requires the regulatory agencies to provide an annual report to Congress outlining the steps they have taken to tailor their regulations. This will allow the local banks and credit unions to focus their resources on taking care of their customers, rather than spending time and money on compliance, the costs of which are ultimately passed onto the consumer in South Dakota.

I also recently introduced legislation that would dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB, a product of Dodd-Frank, is yet another regulatory agency with the power to promulgate sweeping new rules on financial institutions, the cost of which has been handed down to families looking to do business with their local banks and credit unions. Even more alarming, the CFPB is an unchecked, unaccountable regulatory agency with no oversight from Congress. My bill would bar the transfer of funds from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to the CFPB. The bill also requires the CFPB to turn over all penalty funding and other money it has received to the Treasury.

As a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, one of my top priorities has been to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions so that South Dakota families can have better access to loans and capital – capital that can be used to purchase a home, buy a new car or invest in a new business that will bring economic activity to our state. I will continue to seek policies that allow our financial institutions to better serve their customers and strengthen our communities.

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Grain Bin Safety
By Rep. Kristi Noem

My dad was one of those people who just got things done. He worked hard and he worked fast. It’s a skill set many farmers share, but that day, I wish he would have slowed down a bit. He had gone into a grain bin and things went wrong. By the time I got there, neighbors were digging through piles of corn from the bin that was torn apart trying to find him. When they did, CPR started immediately. Despite the doctors working to save him for hours, we lost him that day and in that instant, my whole world changed.

In 2014, more than three dozen farmers were trapped in grain bins, resulting in at least 17 deaths. In most cases, it took only seconds for the producer to become engulfed – and getting out without assistance at this point is nearly impossible. Still, there are things that can be done to help prevent accidents like this and improve the chance of a successful recovery if something does go wrong.

Every year, the last week of February is reserved as Grain Bin Safety Week. It’s a good opportunity to take a look at some of your operation’s practices to see if there’s something more you could do to improve the safety of your farm.

A few years back, the South Dakota Corn Growers Association offered a few tips that I wanted to share today. First, farmers often work alone. They recommend that when cleaning out your grain bins, use a buddy system.

Additionally, especially after a wet harvest, don’t forget to wear a mask. This is going to help make sure you don’t breathe in harmful molds.

Be aware that the grain in the bin might not be as it appears. Crusting can deceive you and lead to dangerous falls, even entrapment.

As an added measure of precaution, I encourage you to touch base with your local first responders. They can seek out training on rescue techniques and specialized equipment.

Finally, I’d add, take the time to educate your kids about safe practices on the farm. Raising our kids on the ranch has been one of the best parenting decisions we’ve made. I’m proud of the work ethic they’ve earned – the commonsense problem solving skills they’ve developed – the understanding they’ve gotten about how our food is grown. But I’m also very much aware of how dangerous it can be.

Farming is risky enough. Please take time this week to evaluate your current grain bin safety procedures. It’s worth the attention.

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Steps Forward In Mental Health
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

A significant number of Americans struggle with mental illness. For many the struggle is silent. Some experience short-term mental health problems; it’s not uncommon for individuals temporarily to face mild forms of mental illness at some point during their lives. For others though, it’s a lifelong battle that requires consistent treatment. No community is untouched by mental illness. It affects schools, work places and families.

Last year the Helmsley Charitable Trust’s Rural Healthcare Program released a study on mental health in South Dakota. The study found that our state has a high prevalence of undiagnosed and untreated depression as well as a very high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. While 87 percent of survey respondents reported receiving all needed medical care, only 64 percent reported receiving all needed mental health care, and just 54 percent received all needed substance use care.

Without proper treatment, individuals with mental health problems can land in the emergency room or in jail. When a person showing signs of mental illness behaves in a way that causes arrest, a court may order an evaluation of the person’s fitness to stand trial. In recent years, the increased number of these court-ordered evaluations has caused delays for the mentally ill. In some instances, mentally ill individuals had to wait in jail several months for competency evaluations to be completed.

Recognizing this problem, South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson convened a task force to address delays in court-ordered mental health evaluations and shortfalls in treatment for the mentally ill within the justice system.

Funded by a grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the task force released its report in November. Among its findings, it recognized that our system lacks procedures to identify mental illness quickly after an arrest, and in many cases jails are not equipped to deal with mental health needs. In some cases, diversion options that are already authorized by statute are not available in all areas of the state.

This legislative session, the Legislature is considering House Bill 1183, which would enact the task force’s recommendations.

The legislation will provide law enforcement with tools to better identify and respond to mental health crises, prevent unnecessary jail admissions, and assist communities in building capacity to offer intervention services. The bill will also expand the pool of providers who can provide competency evaluations, and will shift funding from the Human Services Center directly to counties to perform these evaluations. An oversight council will monitor implementation and recommend changes to future legislatures.

I thank the Chief Justice and task force members for undertaking this work and offering their recommendations, and I thank the Helmsley Charitable Trust for the funding they provided.

I support HB 1183 and I hope legislators will send the bill to my desk. These common sense proposals will be steps forward for our state.

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The USS Zumwalt. The first of an entirely new class of destroyer.

The posting is looking lighter and lighter today!

This is the view from my brunch table as I’m overlooking San Diego Harbor across the bay from Coronado island. I think a trip to the Maritime museum might have to happen over the next couple of days!

The wife and I also enjoyed a conversation from the table next to me, with an older gentleman who just happened to originally be from Monroe South Dakota. Apparently, the world is too small!

I do have to say, a person could live in California if it wasn’t for all the darned liberals.

Attorney General Jackley Joins Amicus to Protect Second Amendment Rights

PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Marty Jackley has joined an amicus brief filed in the United States Supreme Court by 26 Attorneys General seeking to protect Second Amendment rights.
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The Second Amendment gives law-abiding citizens the fundamental right to bear arms for the defense of themselves, their families and their homes. As Attorney General, I have a strong interest in protecting and defending our law-abiding citizen’s right to keep and bear arms,” stated Jackley.

The brief was filed in the case of Edward Peruta v. State of California. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that there was no right to concealed carry of a firearm. The brief argues that requirements imposed to carry a gun in San Diego violate the Second Amendment. Those requirements are being interpreted to prevent ordinary citizens from qualifying for a permit. Simply fearing for one’s safety was not sufficient, necessitating the need for a previously documented threat. The states contend that the requirements effectively ban the core right to bear arms for ordinary law-abiding citizens.

The brief also argues that the fundamental constitutional right to keep and bear arms extends beyond the home because self-defense exists outside the home. The States assert that the Second Amendment right does as well.
The Attorneys General argue that “Both the text and history of the Second Amendment demonstrate that the right to keep and bear arms does not stop at the front door of the home”.

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Apparently my daughter went and ‘did lunch’ with Public Utilities Commissioner Kristie Fiegen today, who was very complimentary towards her. And Sydney informed me she sat next to and enjoyed the company of the first lady, Linda Daugaard at the meal all the pages attended at the Governor’s Mansion.

Not having been to Pierre once this year, I’m starting to get a bit of a complex.

Next thing you know, she’s going to demand a column!

Thune Meets With Secretary of the Air Force Nominee Heather Wilson

“I hope that she has a successful confirmation hearing and ultimately we can get her voted on and into the position where she can start doing good things for our state and for our country.”  

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today met with South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T) President Heather Wilson who was recently nominated to serve as the next secretary of the Air Force.

“She really understands the issues when it comes to national security,” said Thune. “She’s got a great local understanding of the issues that are important to South Dakota – works closely with Ellsworth Air Force Base on projects now and understands how important that base is to our national security interests. So, I’m excited to get her through the process. I hope that she has a successful confirmation hearing and ultimately we can get her voted on and into the position where she can start doing good things for our state and for our country.”

Wilson served in the Air Force from 1982-1989 and is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998 and served until 2009. In 2013, Wilson became president of SDSM&T, which is just miles away from Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City, South Dakota. 

Wilson was instrumental in applying cutting-edge technologies that were developed at SDSM&T to solve B1-B Bombers maintenance issues at Ellsworth Air Force Base.