If you’re following the story of idiot legislator State Rep. Travis Ismay who decided to do some self-help on the condition of a local road, damaging it, you’d know that the State Representative is facing a felony charge for his actions:
No comment is the response from a South Dakota legislator who has been indicted and arrested on a felony charge of intentional damage to a public road. Released on $500 bail, Travis Ismay, Newell, S.D. is facing a two-year prison term and a $4,000 fine.
Ismay’s indictment doesn’t offer details on the incident, aside from saying that the crime allegedly occurred three days after he won the Republican nomination to seek reelection to his District 28B state House seat.
A Butte County grand jury took testimony from a sheriff’s deputy, a highway department employee and a Butte County resident before issuing the indictment.
You might have expected the buffoon Ismay to defend himself in the matter, since he graded (or tried to grade) the road himself. But after initially not having an attorney, he went out and hired a fairly notable one, at least according to UJS records:
It appears that Rep. Ismay has quickly gone out and hired Tim Rensch out of Rapid City to defend him in this case.
Why should you recognize Rensch’s name? He’s who Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg hired to defend against criminal charges after the traffic/pedestrian accident that lead to his eventual impeachment and removal from office.
Overkill for a case like this? Maybe. You’d think that the legal bill will exceed the road repair bill. But.. there’s also that other thing. A felony conviction might cause the House of Representatives to refuse to seat him for office in 2027. That might be more worth the price tag for Ismay.
Did Ismay actually do something smart for once in hiring a good attorney? That just seems out of character.
I’m honestly surprised ‘I Got Beat by Bialota Votes’ hasn’t jumped on this case pro bono. It seems tailor-made for someone with a self-described ‘professionally trained paralegal’ background. This is exactly the kind of legal-adjacent adventure that falls somewhere between a Facebook investigation and a citizen’s arrest.
The way he talks in committee and on the house floor…I’m sure Krazie Katie and the imbeciles of Butte County actually thought it best to get a real attorney. Maybe this attorney can tell him that his first amendment rights were not violated when he gets thrown out for disruptive behavior in local meetings.
and this is why we can’t have nice things anymore. What happened to innocent until proven guilty, especially when even those crowing about this admit its likely much ado about nothing?
I submit every single farmer is guilty of doing exactly the same thing with good intentions, has had an incident and went back to level it off as well as possible ,many if not most probably every single year, damaging a soft gravel road with vehicle traffic, when the frost goes out or it gets wet and has damaged said road to the point that an vindictive person, especially one they have an ax to grind with, can submit a claim of damage. $5ooo , the “felony” level charge to convince the grand jury of a class 6 felony, is a low bar in the road construction world where millions per mile are the norm.Yes, historically I have leveled said bad spots off and yes a load of gravel later is the only fix…am I also now guilty of a felony?
I still have soft spots in the gravel road past my farm today and its been dry here for weeks. in some soils, especially west river, the only way to avoid road damage is completely closing the road for weeks each spring.
If our state of politics has deteriorated to the point that lawfare is going to be used to try to unseat a legislator who you disagree with, even in the election cycle when there is a legal process to replace legislators, we have reached a sad state of reckoning.
Lawfare?
He is alleged to have committed a felony. If Travis can’t do the time, he should not have done the crime.
The tough on crime “lock em up and throw away key” crew. Until it’s a buddy. Then lawfare. Every single farmer is not guilty of this. We’ve got miles and miles of gravel roads around us and never once has myself or a neighbor tried to take it upon themselves to “fix” a gravel road. If there is an issue, we call the county and let the professionals deal with it. Because if you don’t, you’re only going to make the road worse and break the law. Stop trying to make excuses for someone just because you like them. That’s the problem. It’s not the other way around.
Hey anonymous
I never said I like or agree w this or any legislator, especially rep Ismay… probably the contrary if I look back….Please refrain from auto categorizing me into any of those cliques . I am only guilty of not seeking the limelight and not needing to post my 1 1/2;cents every time.
I also am not his neighbor, perhaps this was the umpteenth violation and their patience is gone… Regardless it wouldn’t be statewide need if he weren’t a legislator
That’s fair. And I appreciate the response. Thank you.
He has had numerous run-ins. Everyone that isn’t trying to use this idiot as their puppet is sick of him. The voters in that district need their heads checked. It certainly isn’t “lawfare” to apply the law to this pompous jerk that wants to see the book thrown at everyone else, including librarians. This is the guy who, seriously, wants to bring back public hangings. Of course, he doesn’t want the law to apply to him. And yes, Larry, it sounds like you are violating the law regarding the roads. Probably don’t want to admit that on a public forum.
This guy wants to put people in prison, tough on criminals and throw those he and the loons deem unfit out of office…Now has the same loons crying foul. Law breakers must be punished and removed from office, right?
I’m a farmer who lives on a county road. My county maintenance crew always gets a cold Mountain Dew from my kids if they see them going by in the road grader. The 2 county employees rarely have to pay for a beer when they are uptown after work. They do a good job. With that being said, our roads are not good in the Spring with the frost coming out and the rains if we are lucky to get them. They suck for about a month but we deal with it because that’s the way it is. I guess things are different on in Butte County.
Mr Ismay graded the road in early May. He did so much damage that left the road nearly impassable. It took the county operator many overtime hours to get the road back to usable. The county commissioners did not want it out until after the election so it was never discussed in open session.
The last legislator Mr. Rensch represented from up in that area is currently doing time in Springfield and last I heard was quite the jailhouse lawyer, Representative Klaudt was represented by Tim Rensch as well. Travis better hope his lawyering got better over the years.