Oooo.. The Republican legislative press conference this AM got a bit spicy as State Senator Jim Mehlhaff called out Gubernatorial wannabe Jon Hansen for his actions in continually putting up artificial barriers to development, and his constant fear mongering on any large scale project to bring jobs and economic development to South Dakota:
Jim Mehlhaff: and I would just, uh, comment on that. I think you also, uh. You don’t wanna fear monger on stuff. And I think we’ve seen a, an awful lot of that about just about every, uh, economic development idea that’s come along in the last few years. And I think that is creating a very chilling atmosphere in South Dakota, uh, for developers and people who wanna make investments and improve the economic situation in South Dakota. Are probably, um, maybe looking elsewhere as a result of that. And with respect to a moratorium, I would not, uh, I, I would not support that. I think we can do our work without, uh, putting up another artificial barrier to development.
Jon Hansen: Well, you know, I would say in response to that, you know, characterizing the citizens’ concerns is
Jim Mehlhaff: you, [00:26:00] Mr. Speaker, I hope we don’t have to have a debate on every issue. I’ve kind You’ve had your say on a lot of stuff now. I’ve made one. So,
Jon Hansen: yeah,
Jim Mehlhaff: just I guess if these press conferences are gonna be debates between us and the Senate and that’s what they’ll be, but I don’t think that’s necessary.
Jon Hansen: I I, I’m simply stating that, you know, we’ve seen how these things have played out over the years. You know, you go back, the question was asked about the pipeline. And on the pipeline we just talked about Jared Bosley, and, you know, his house being, you know, entered into by these surveyors, hundreds,
Jim Mehlhaff: Mr. Speaker, was there ever a, an arrest for that home invasion? I’ve heard that. Over and over again. I was wondering if there was ever an arrest for a alleged home invasion.
Jon Hansen: Yeah, no, thank you for allowing me to speak. I appreciate it. So in that case, you know, these people went into [00:27:00] Jared’s house, into his shop, onto his property. In that case, you had hundreds of South Dakota landowners who were sued. And then now in this case, we’re hearing, you know, concerns about rate increases of upwards to 200 plus percent for people’s electric bills as a result of these data centers.
Watch the entire exchange at South Dakota Public Broadcasting and their youtube page.
There was more, including a shot by Senator Mehlhaff about how in the Senate bills are assigned to their proper committees to get a fair hearing… somewhat intimating that this is not a thing that happens in the House. Hansen claimed that that’s what happens in the house as well.. but we all know.
This might be one of the first leadership press conferences that’s worth watching this year! Go check it out at Public Broadcasting.
Thank-you Senator Melhaff.
Mehlhaff is based.
Hansen is wrong about data centers causing rates to increase 200%. That is absolutely fear mongering and conspiracy.
The fact of the matter is that we don’t have enough generation now to be sustainable and that’s causing inflated electricity bills.
Data centers can offset the cost of building new generation keeping rates stable.
Oh and they have NO chance of getting meaningful property tax relief without development or a new offsetting tax.
Thank You Senator Mehlhaff!
Following Hansen and his minister of propaganda Radke will lead to a lower standard of living in SD.
😂😂 you win the comment section! lol
Proof Hansen is not ready for the Governorship!
Ypu should post a link of the clip and let people decide for themselves.
nvrmnd. see it now ty
Fear mongering is absolutely the best word to use for what Hansen is doing. Legislators like him and activists like Amanda Radke have ginned up emotions with performative politics. They may be able to fool a few people, but it’s obvious that the populist wing of the Republican Party has used fear mongering as a tactic. I hope a majority of Republicans head to the polls on June 2 and get rid of people like Hansen, Kevin Jensen, Karla Lems, and the rest of the rabble-rousers.
I don’t like Hansen but I’d argue he is representing constituents better than the others right now. Seems most people are not in favor of tax breaks for data centers.
If I heard correctly, the proponent yesterday said they reached out to Noem’s office about this break and they said “not interested” – why isn’t she being characterized as anti development of data centers?
If we’re the freest state, does that apply to the free market as well? If SD has something that companies want without special treatment by the government, they’ll move here.
Hypothetically, let’s say a company was looking to move to SD or IA. All of the demographic criteria (workforce availability, infrastructure, etc) they’re looking for between the two sites matches, however, Iowa offers a TIF/Tax exemption that we don’t.
Guess what, Iowa wins, we lose. Something you numbskulls that hate economic development apparently don’t get.
No I get that, and I tend to agree. I’m just playing devils advocate and challenging the “party of small government”, “we don’t pick winners and losers”, “free market” ideology often touted. And specifically the fact that data centers are apparently not well received by the public at the moment and representatives are supposed to represent us.
Glad Carl Perry got to be there to hear himself speak, with no actual valuable input, again this week.
How many times is he going to explain the legislative process? Or does he go over it repeatedly, so he doesn’t forget…
I do love the Odenbach whisper to Mehlhaff with accompanying death stare … what did he say? was it “STFU” … or maybe just “stop, please stop”. I laughed out loud. Thanks for the giggle.
There have been no prosecutions, yet. But Hansen could’ve just said that. Not that there shouldn’t be. But just explain it fully.
I loved watching lawyers and career politicians squirm. It’s the best. Hansen often uses the term “croney capitalism”, “corporate welfare”, “picking winners and losers”, and valuing entrepreneurial and organic growth. I started looking at the companies he was speaking about and who he has touted that fall into this category. The first company he has spoken about had the benefit of being built in a TIF district and benefited from 2-3 SD REDI loans. I always looked at it as a company that started from the ground up but this company had A LOT of taxpayer funded help. Did this company that he supports benefit from corporate welfare……….Absolutely. I absolutely love this company and their products so I won’t mention them. But examples like these are why Hansen is such a hypocrite. You will be hard pressed to find any new company that did not benefit from some sort of incentive or break.
It would be interesting to go back and compare apples to apples on the return of investment on businesses that taxpayer funded programs brought to the people of South Dakota and that are widely used in our state.
MicroLOAN South Dakota
SD REDI Fund
TIF Districts
South Dakota Works
Value Added Agribusiness Relending Program
GROW South Dakota:
SBA 504 Loans:
SD Workforce Development Program
Proof of Concept Program: Funds (up to $25,000) to help prove the viability of a new, innovative product.
Community Development Block Grants (CDBG): Provided for local infrastructure improvements, sometimes linked to business development.
It was the look of a paper tiger getting his tail lit on fire
You would think Bosley and his entire family was murdered in their home and their shop was burned down. If there is video of this “invasion” let’s see it.
It seems our economic development in SD must come to an end, all on account of Bosley. Such is the true cost—the true Bosley bill.
Thank you, Sen. Melhoff. I’m so sick and tired of the blatant lies and fear-mongering of the populist right. It’s disgusting how stupid they think the people of South Dakota are, as they continue to double down on fear and despair to push their agenda.
I play a drinking game when Hansen speaks, I take a shot every time Hansen says “corporate welfare” or “crony capitalism”………My liver is in trouble. Let me preface this by saying I love all of the businesses and the value that they bring to the state. I support them all many times throughout the year. With that being said, I would love to ask Jon Hansen what his thoughts on 3M in Brookings receiving a 14 million dollar grant from the State while he was in the Legislature along with state-level tax incentives, including refunds on sales and use taxes for equipment and construction materials. I would like to know his thoughts on Silencer Central receiving low interest state-funded loans and the benefits of building in a TIF district? I wonder what his thoughts are on Raven Industries public/private partnership with the State of South Dakota? I wonder what his thoughts are on Midwestern Meat Locker in Newell receiving a 5 million dollar tax payer funded grant. I wonder what his thoughts are on Wilson Trailer out of Lennox using state and local economic development tools. I wonder what his thoughts are on Demkota Beef using state and local economic development tools.
I can empathize with both sides, and it’s pretty obvious this legislative session came out of the gate a little… caffeinated. That said, I’m a big believer in cluster-based economic development, straight out of the Michael Porter playbook: real, durable growth comes from doubling down on ecosystems of companies, workers, suppliers, and institutions that are already here. And honestly, the results are so overwhelming at this point it’s hard to argue with them.
Too often, though, we fall back on big-game hunting—chasing splashy, one-off wins that look great in a press release. They generate headlines, sure, but they rarely build the kind of self-sustaining competitive advantage that actually compounds over time.
So maybe the real question policymakers should be asking is: what would Wild Bill Janklow do? My bet is he’d be laser-focused on landing data centers and deliberately connecting them to Dakota State University’s cybersecurity powerhouse—turning an existing strength into a flywheel instead of a one-off trophy.