South Dakota State Senator Helene Duhamel (today in a column sent to the Rapid City Journal and also posted by the Senator to facebook) echoed what a number of people, including myself, observed about the 2025 South Dakota Legislative session, that a message was sent by too many people in the Republican Majority that South Dakota is Closed for Business:
2025 was a challenging legislative session, as you have heard in the news. In spite of too many opponents of legislation that benefits the Black Hills (including by some Black Hills legislators), we prevailed on some of the most important.
WATER
We were successful in getting legislative approval for a future use water permit for the West Dakota Regional Water System. This is a necessary first step to get Missouri River water to Western South Dakota and the Black Hills. The Big Mo is virtually an endless supply for our future. If we don’t appropriate it – others elsewhere will. As straightforward and critical as it sounds, a number of West River and Rapid City area legislators opposed this Senate Joint Resolution! Many had even supported a similar future use water permit for Lewis and Clark in Eastern South Dakota the previous session. There is no reason to politicize our future water needs and lose the opportunity for our own children and grandchildren to benefit from the Missouri River.
ELLSWORTH
With some twisting and turning, we had some success supporting Ellsworth Air Force Base as it prepares to welcome B-21 families. Instead of a grant, we were successful in providing an interest-free, 20-year, $15 million loan to Douglas School District to build an elementary school. It’s a critical first step in a quality of life issue that impacts Ellsworth. Again, we were challenged to get our Rapid City area legislators to all support Ellsworth!
Many of us will keep looking for more support for the Ellsworth Development Authority to address the many needs of this growing base. With almost $2 billion in base construction, South Dakota will benefit to the tune of $84 million in sales and excise taxes. That all goes to the state. None of that helps deal with the growing pains of accommodating all the growth.
RESTORED FUNDING
We heard from citizens loud and clear and restored funding to South Dakota Public Broadcasting, state library, veteran’s headstones and county veteran service officers. The COVID-19 money from the federal government is going away, our state budget has to right size. We are returning to our familiar small government, small services state.
ELECTION TRANSPARENCY, VEHICLE TITLES, UNCLAIMED PROPERTY
We can be proud of many election transparency bills and a better way to know who is pouring money into our elections. The adoption of electronic vehicle titles makes for a faster, safer, more efficient and affordable process for everyone. An unclaimed property trust fund was established and a trust fund will be on the next ballot.
CLOSED FOR BUSINESS!
My concern is about a stronger economy and better job opportunities now, and into the future, for our children and grandchildren. We said NO to data centers, pipelines, value-added agriculture, investments in our state airports, and the list goes on. In a year when we hear the cry for property tax relief, we thumbed our nose at development that would generated new tax revenues so we locals don’t have to keep carrying the whole burden. These projects would have offset these costs, put money in your pocket and allowed our visitors to help with the tax burden.
South Dakota airports have an economic impact in the range of $1 billion per year. The federal government rewards states that invest in this critical infrastructure with in excess of $3 in matching funds for every $1 in local investment. Until we invest in our airports in Rapid City and Sioux Falls, we will have limited and expensive flying options, with a detrimental impact on tourism. 75% of the costs WOULD be paid by people outside of South Dakota, and yet not all of our Rapid City area legislators would support this benefit for Rapid City and the Black Hills!
Ellsworth Air Force Base’s economic impact approaches $1 billion per year to South Dakota, and yet we have struggled to get our legislators and executive to value this golden goose. These are smart investments with benefits to our state budget.
Keep in mind hosting and expanding military missions is a competitive business. Ellsworth’s main competition for base expansion and new missions is Dyess Air Force Base. Texas annually provides some $50 million to addressing the needs of the Air Force. We need to step up our game to compete for future squadron of B-21s being located here.
With some $40 million left in one-time funding in the 2025 session, instead of making these smart investments, we chose to lock up the money and spend on maintenance and repair of our state buildings. We need you – the taxpaying voters in South Dakota – to help us make the case for smart investments in South Dakota’s future.
Two cents worth – I would be more then excited to support airport funding, but the cost to park and leave your vehicle at the Sioux Falls Airport is outrageous. Its just shocking. I now fly out of Pierre or Rapid City, since I live in the middle of the state. Pierre is by far my first choice and is an outstanding airport to fly out of. Even the TSA folks are great, helpful, and enjoyable. So until Sioux Falls get their parking charges under control, I won’t be driving to SF to fly out of there.
I like how in one breath she’s plugging an unclaimed property trust fund and in the next she’s saying that unclaimed property money should be used for airports or something like that.
Helene is a smart lady! I hope she continues to win races
GOP leaders have done very poor job of bringing in new industry thus jobs to the state for 50 plus years. Cimpls in Yankton closing is prime example of being asleep at the wheel. That is a $35 million dollar hole in economy. Since money circulates 7 times it equals $200 million!
I dont understand how Cimpls is their fault. AFG built a 2 billion dollar facility in Missouri due to the larger employee base. It consolidated operations for them and lowered overhead. What did the legislators do that you attribute this to?
Work force or jobs? Which one has to come first?
Well said, Senator Duhamel!!
Thanks Sen. D, you’re a keeper.
How / where did we say no to data centers?
What bill was this?
Must be the corporate welfare bill they keep trying to pass.
https://dakotafreepress.com/2022/02/17/sb-157-spending-969k-to-create-one-data-center-job-narrowly-passes-senate/
That‘s billions of dollars of projects, being built and surrounding states that will continue to pay taxes and employ people till we’re all long gone. But yeah, call it what you want now because they ain’t coming. Enjoy your freedum
South Dakota does appear to being operated by a majority of legislators today who follow the mob rule of sensationalism in social media and false advertising. Corporate economics of investing in any new product technology in South Dakota seems to be dying sadly.
Led by Karla Lems, Tom Pischke, Jon Hansen, Phil Jensen, and a democrat in republican clothing impersonating as the leader of the SDGOP.
And being followed by a bunch of neutered legislator wanna-be’s.
Thanks you apathetic, lazy, SFB primary voters.
I like most of the people named above.
I’ll gove Duhamel some serious credit. At least she is who she says she is.
Amber Hulse on the other hand came out of session looking like a pretzel.
She will be anything to anyone if she thinks it will get her somewhere politically.
So in that way I appreciate Duhamel.
AFM
If you like that list of fools you are part of the problem. Karla and Phil are just stupid. Pischke is in the legislature only to pass bills to get himself and other deadbeat dads out of paying child support, and Hansen is there only because he craves attention and will say anything to get it.
Lems is a force to be reckoned with.
The funding for SDPB is nothing to brag about. It was created for civil defense purposes in underserved media markets where the population wasn’t sufficient to support commercial broadcasting.
Now we have other forms of telecommunications: text messages on our phones with Amber Alerts waking us up at 3 AM, tornado warnings at all hours. NOBODY is tuning in SDPB to learn if they need to evacuate or shelter in place. It’s archaic. There is no reason to keep funding it.
Things could be worse, though: at least the tribal members aren’t demanding the services of the two full-time blacksmiths they were promised in the Ft Laramie treaty.
Well said. I very much appreciate Sen. Duhamel’s efforts and candor. We don’t always agree but 85% of the time we do. Yet, its time to name names. Randolph, Mulally, Jensen and a score of other west river legislators just don’t get it. They are more interested in their own pet projects and personal vendettas than what is good for both west river and the state as a whole. Unfortunately, voters in these districts don’t seem to pay much attention until they get a nasty, lies full postcard a few weeks prior to the election. Time to “defund” these three and the other legislators who think its best to make our kids move out of state after we educate them while we lock up librarians and force our schools to adhere to a religious edict brought forth from the “most pious” of the Pierre acolytes. Its too bad we have no state GOP or county apparatus with the intestinal fortitude and/or kahoonas to reign these idiots in while developing and supporting common sense conservatives that actually care about their constituents and our state.
She’s not well respected here in the Northeast. She was one of two people(Senator Randy Deibert being the other) who voted against the Richmond Lake Dam project(HB1025) that was badly needed here.
I would love to know why she was opposed to a project that was one of the priorities needed here in the state.
Well knowing both of them, you could probably send them an email and find out.