From Facebook, you can listen in with the District 24 legislators as they talk about the budget and what’s coming up in this next session for the district containing the State Capital Building:
Here’s a story that just came out of left field, as the SDSU police chief has apparently been charged with 5 counts of animal cruelty:
The Chief of Police at South Dakota State University has been arrested and charged with five felony counts of animal cruelty after Brookings Police found dogs living in a home he owned in horrendous conditions.
Read that here in the Brookings Beacon.
Update: there’s more from the Brookings Police Department:
The Brookings Police Department arrests subject for felony cruelty to animals
On Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, the Brookings Police Department arrested Timothy A. Heaton, age 59, of Brookings for five felony counts of cruelty to animals. The arrest followed an investigation that resulted in five German Shepherds being seized from a residence located in the 1000 block of Third Street. Heaton was remanded to the custody of the Brookings County Detention Facility, awaiting court proceedings.
Additional Update: South Dakota State University has issued a statement on the arrest of UPD Chief:
South Dakota State University has been made aware of the arrest of University Police Department Chief Tim Heaton earlier today. The university is cooperating with the appropriate authorities.
SDSU is working through the process to name an interim University Police Department chief.
Given this is an active legal and personnel matter, the university will not comment further at this time.
SDSU’s priority remains committed to ensuring safety, integrity, accountability and the continued operation of our university community.
From the kings of wishful thinking, the Independent Brian Bengs campaign commissioned a poll where they believe they can get 31% against incumbent Republican US Senator Mike Rounds.
But only if the Democrat running drops out of the race.
PPP poll | 11/13-11/14 RV
South Dakota Senate
🟥Mike Rounds 44% (incumbent)
⬜️Brian Bengs 31%
Undecided 25%
—
🟥Mike Rounds 52% (incumbent)
🟦Julian Beaudoin 30%
Undecided 18%(Poll sponsored by Bengs) pic.twitter.com/126Qg5QXco
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) December 4, 2025
Insert eyeroll here.
With the end of the year approaching, it means that the time is upon us. No, not Christmas. I’m talking about the opposite of peace on earth and goodwill towards men. The 2026 legislative session is coming up, and along with it the biggest campaign in a generation.
Advertising slots are filling at the SDWC but we still have a few key advertising opportunities for reaching South Dakota’s opinion leaders based on a first-come, first-serve basis.
South Dakota War College is getting ready to turn 21 years old. We’ve spent an entire adult worth of keeping an eye on political leaders, and offering commentary from a conservative Republican point of view. With politics continuing to be controversial and directly affecting people’s day to day lives – people are reading more than ever!
Advertisers – I have a few advertising spots open, and questions on ad prices, ad positions, and ad commitments may be directed to the webmaster by clicking here. Open space available at the includes the #1 and #2 spots on the right, and spots available lower on either side of the page. Ads run in their position through the site, meaning they are not rotated. Advertising is available on a first-come first-served basis.
And I love my long-term advertisers! Discounts are provided for extended commitments starting at 6 months.
As always, please take a moment to visit our advertisers such as Monae Johnson for Secretary of State, US Senator John Thune, United States Senator Mike Rounds, Dusty Johnson for Governor, Heath Shields for SD Treasurer, Emmett Reistroffer for District 35 House and others – including our friends at Dakota Town Hall, and my own Dakota Campaign Store,down on the right, you’ll find me getting ready for the elections with yard signs, postcards, and all the things a professional campaign needs to make an impression.
Thank you to our advertisers for your support, and please reach out if you’d like to join them!
Supporting Student Success
By: Gov. Larry Rhoden
December 5, 2025
Ultimately, education is about our future. We want our kids and our grandkids to have the very best opportunity to learn and grow so that they can become well-informed and productive members of our society and get into the career of their dreams. Education is about having the freedom to learn so that our students can chase down opportunity.
I unveiled my budget recently, and it strengthens freedom to learn by supporting continued growth at our tech colleges. I’m proud of South Dakota’s tech colleges – they are some of the very best in America. They’re creating all kinds of opportunities for our kids to get into the careers of their dreams.
Truth be told, I never graduated from college. I did take a year of ranch management at Western Dakota Tech. I thought I’d spend my whole life running the ranch, but God had other plans. Maybe some of our students will follow a similar path – maybe they’ll follow a different path entirely. That’s the beauty of a strong education system: it gives our kids those options and opportunities.
My budget invests $6 million one-time in a new James Abdnor Center for Advanced Manufacturing at Southeast Technical College in Sioux Falls. This facility will increase student capacity by 130 in several programs. The proposed project will include more than 53,000 sq. ft. of new and renovated space that includes state-of-the-art labs, classrooms, and collaborative spaces. This will benefit students in the Advanced Manufacturing Maintenance Tech, Advanced Manufacturing Automation Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology, and Welding programs to meet the demand in these growing industries. As a welder myself – I approve! The state will support one quarter of the project, and the rest will come from a mix of federal, local, and private funds.
My budget also supports $4.3 million one-time for equipment upgrades at all four of our tech colleges. This will provide two-thirds of the investment as we have done in recent years. Our tech schools will be able to make sure their students meet industry expectations, provide higher safety standards for students and instructors, and grow overall student capacity. My budget also increases ongoing aid to our tech colleges by $1.7 million because of rising enrollment – which is great news! It means more kids are using our tech colleges to pursue opportunity and chase down their dreams.
There’s been a lot of chatter about the fact that we have to keep K-12 education flat this year, and I want to talk about that a bit. I wish we could give an across-the-board increase to the Big Three: K-12 education, Medicaid providers, and state employees. Unfortunately, with nearly all of our ongoing revenue spoken for by mandatory increases, that just isn’t possible right now. But it was important to me to protect K-12 education to the greatest extent possible.
Some legislators have tried to push for 5% across the board cuts in the budget, which would result in a big chunk being taken out of K-12 education. I don’t support that. I don’t think it’s right for South Dakota kids, teachers, or schools – so my budget did not make any such recommendation. So though I wish we could give an increase to K-12, I’m glad that we protected our schools from a budget cut.
I am committed to keeping South Dakota education strong, safe, and free. Thanks to our strong K-12 schools, growing educational freedom options, and state-of-the-art tech colleges, South Dakota kids have tremendous opportunities for their futures.
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From the Dakota Scout, please keep the Barranco family in your prayers.
A Sioux Falls public official and leading contender to become South Dakota’s next state auditor is recovering after a medical emergency earlier this week that nearly cost him his life.
The Dakota Scout has confirmed that City Councilor David Barranco is hospitalized at Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls following emergency abdominal surgery Tuesday, an unexpected scare that kept the Southeast District representative from attending municipal proceedings later that day.
All is well, and he came through like a champ. I also had a note from his wife Catherine on how he’s doing:
Hey…. David is in the hospital right now— he had emergency surgery on Tuesday. He’s doing MUCH better, but it’ll be a couple days before he’s discharged. The silver lining is that by happening right now, he’ll have time to fully recover before the Lincoln Days start back up again!
That sounds like a family committed to the campaign trail! Best wishes for a speedy recovery to David.
Opportunity and Affordability
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
December 5, 2025
BIG Update
Unnecessary federal regulations drive up costs for consumers. I’ve been working to undo burdensome red tape and make life more affordable for American families. It’s estimated that American households pay an average of $16,016 per year in hidden regulatory costs. Those federal rules affect many aspects of day-to-day life including auto emissions, energy efficiency standards on appliances, building code, health and food requirements, and more.
The Biden Administration piled on more than $2 trillion of new regulations from 2021-2024. I’ve voted to repeal nearly two dozen Biden regulations, and there is more work to be done. This week, I voted to empower the Small Business Administration to evaluate other unnecessary federal rules that are burdening small businesses and making products more expensive for consumers.
BIG Idea
Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) does a great job preparing South Dakota’s high school students to enter the workforce. This program helps students explore meaningful opportunities beyond graduation and builds the confidence and skills they need to pursue their goals.
I enjoyed talking with JAG participants this week to hear how the program has shaped their goals and improved their readiness for life after high school. By opening doors and expanding horizons, JAG helps young people step confidently into the next chapter of their lives and strengthens the future of our state in the process.
Johnson with JAG students
BIG News
The Chinese Communist Party has sought to influence nearly every aspect of American life – including the American education system. There are at least 164 documented Confucius Classrooms at K-12 schools in the United States, which have been receiving money from the Chinese government. This is very concerning to me – our students shouldn’t be influenced by the authoritarian agenda of China while they go to school on American soil.
This week, I voted to prevent Chinese Communist Party money from going to our K-12 schools to keep our kids safe from the malign interests of our biggest adversary. China should not be influencing our education system.
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My spies are sharing that legislators are being busy bees as they gin up sensationalized legislation. The latest is Taffy Howard wanting to demand that truck drivers have to be proficient in the english language. And if you aren’t, you could go to jail for up to a year.
So Taffy’s bill wants to make it a class 2 misdemeanor, or up to a class 1 misdemeanor if a driver lacks “sufficient English language proficiency to operate a commercial vehicle in this state.” The obvious throwaway joke is asking “whether this is going to prevent Travis Ismay from possessing a CDL?”
It does say “The department may not evaluate an applicant on the accuracy of answers during the oral interview but only on the applicant’s proficiency in understanding and responding to questions in English.” So he may have an out.
The bill also outsources this to vendors as it notes “The department may contract with a third party to conduct the interview required by this section.” (another unfunded mandate?)
I’m sure we’ll hear more about this once it hits the hopper.
I missed this part entirely in the freedumb caucus press release, but an observant soul noted to me – they’re complaining about accounting practices which arose from their own bill. From the Freedumb Caucus screed sent out yesterday:
..parts of the Governor’s address the caucus called “deeply misleading” and “fiscally irresponsible” in regard to its characterization of the state’s financial position.
Governor Rhoden acknowledged in his own remarks that last year’s $63 million surplus was “largely driven by one-time unclaimed property revenues” and admitted that “without those unclaimed property dollars, we’d have actually been a bit short on our revenue at the end of the fiscal year.” Yet the address framed this precarious position, and potential shortfall, as fiscal strength.
South Dakota Freedom Caucus said that narrative is repeated in 2026 with another $61 million in unclaimed-property funds and again in 2027 with $58 million. Without these temporary cash grabs, all of those years would have posted negative balances.
“Let’s be clear about what unclaimed property actually is,” said Representative Tina Mulally, Treasurer of the South Dakota Freedom Caucus. “This is money that belongs to South Dakota citizens and across our nation — not the government. When Pierre balances its books by taking property that was never returned to its rightful owners, that’s not fiscal conservatism. That’s the government helping itself to the people’s money.”
The problem with this? The Governor’s Budget is accounting for unclaimed property the way the law requires, based on Senate Bill 155, a bill that Taffy Howard brought and passed in the 2025 session. https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25909. Who were the sponsors of the measure? Senators Howard (prime), John “California” Carley, Crabtree, Otten, Perry, Peterson (Sue), and Voita and Representatives Kassin (prime), Baxter, Gosch, Jensen (Phil), Jorgenson, May, Moore, Muckey, and Sjaarda
SB155 was the bill that created the Unclaimed Property trust fund. It spells out how much unclaimed property is supposed to be included in the ongoing budget. It passed unanimously.
So, public Freedumb caucus leaders Phil Jensen and California Carley, along with Heather Baxter were sponsors of the bill that demanded the change in accounting that the group just sent out a press release complaining about? And every single one of them – including Tina Mulally – VOTED for it?
No wonder the legislature is so dysfunctional. These guys are tripping over themselves to send out a press release to complain about a bill that many of them sponsored. And all of them certainly voted for.
In checking my junk e-mail folder, the State’s Freedumb Caucus sent out a press release yesterday attacking Governor Larry Rhoden over the budget he presented because .. well, apparently because they feel impotent in the face of a proposal, despite it being a long-standing practice in South Dakota for the Governor to propose a budget as a starting point:
.. parts of the Governor’s address the caucus called “deeply misleading” and “fiscally irresponsible” in regard to its characterization of the state’s financial position.
and..
The Freedom Caucus also raised what it describes as ongoing concerns about executive spending occurring without direct legislative approval. The Caucus points to more than $35 million in March 2025 GOED-approved loans, grants, and bonds, as well as Governor Rhoden’s recent request for unrestricted access to the remaining $65 million previously designated for housing loans.
and..
“South Dakotans deserve to know where their tax dollars are going — and who’s making those decisions,” said Representative Phil Jensen, Chair of the South Dakota Freedom Caucus. “When the executive branch can move tens of millions of dollars without a vote of the people’s representatives, that’s not limited government. That’s a slush fund.”
and..
Senator John Carley, Vice Chair of the South Dakota Freedom Caucus, signaled that reforms are This session, we will be pushing for rules changes that restore the legislature’s constitutional authority over appropriations. The power of the purse belongs to the people’s elected representatives — not to executive boards operating in the shadows.
I’m not sure why they sent this press release out at all, other than to throw rocks and be malcontents.
Of course the freedumb caucus doesn’t have any proposals of their own. They just want to whine about the Governor having one. On a collective basis, I’m not sure we have a more useless group of legislators in Pierre.
Moving on.