PIERRE — On Wednesday, lawmakers had to decide if they were closing an election loophole or subverting the will of voters. The Senate State Affairs Committee opted for closing a loophole as it passed SB74.
In offering the bill before the committee, Sen. Jim Bolin, R- Canton, offered a history lesson from District 27 which includes Bennett, Haakon, Jackson, Oglala Lakota counties and a portion of Pennington County.
In 2008, a Democratic senator from District 27, Theresa Two Bulls, was challenged in a primary by another Democrat, Jim Bradford. Bradford lost the primary by 28 votes. Then something odd happened.
According to Bolin, Republicans in that district persuaded their candidate to withdraw from the general election and offered his spot on the ballot to Bradford. Running as a Republican, Bradford narrowly defeated Two Bulls.
Bolin said SB74 makes it clear that a candidate for the Legislature who loses in a primary can’t follow Bradford’s path and run in the general election representing another party.
“It should not occur again,” Bolin said.
Sen. Craig Kennedy, D- Yankton, said the goal of the Legislature should be protecting the right of the people to elect the legislators that they want.
“That was the choice of those voters in that district,” Kennedy said, expressing his intention to vote against the bill.
Passing the bill into law would limit the kind of gamesmanship that occurred in District 27, said Sen. Brock Greenfield, R-Clark.
“I think there’s just something to be said about election integrity,” Greenfield said.
The bill passed through the committee on a vote of 7-2 and now goes on to the full Senate.
One year later, mystery still unsolved despite extensive search and investigation
by Bart Pfankuch, South Dakota News Watch
Despite a search by more than 1,200 people covering 4,500 miles of woodlands, and an investigation tracking down more than 220 leads and involving 465 interviews, Serenity Dennard remains missing and her fate remains a mystery.
Serenity was 9 on Feb. 3, 2019, when she ran away on a cold Sunday morning from the Black Hills Children’s Home, a residential youth treatment facility located near Rockerville in Pennington County.
Though witnesses saw her run off, and a search began almost immediately, Serenity has never been seen again and no evidence of her death has been discovered.
Over the past year, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office has led an aggressive, two-pronged attempt to find Serenity — an investigative track that has sought to rule out foul play and search nationwide for Serenity; and the search track that has engaged 1,200 trained personnel from more than 65 agencies using scent and cadaver dogs, aircraft and thermal devices to look for Serenity’s body or any evidence.
Pennington County authorities have not ruled nothing out, but their working theory is that Serenity ran into the woods, got lost and froze to death or died of hypothermia.
Yet until Serenity or any evidence is found, her disappearance will remain a mystery.
Serenity was known to run away frequently from her family home in Sturgis, and runaway prevention was part of the reason for her placement and part of her treatment plan at Black Hills Children’s Home. Serenity tried to run away one week before her final escape and was placed on a protocol of “arm’s length only” monitoring. But for reasons unexplained, the strict runaway-prevention effort was ended a day or two before her Feb. 3 escape, according to Serenity’s adoptive father and his wife, who are her primary caretakers.
The children’s home, run by the non-profit Children’s Home Society, was cited by state and federal regulators after Serenity’s disappearance for waiting 80 minutes to call 911, for having radios that were on different channels and for lacking planning and training in runaway prevention.
Two people with direct physical oversight of Serenity at the time of her disappearance were fired after she ran away, according to Children’s Home Society Executive Director Michelle Lavallee. But the on-call supervisor who advised employees on the scene to search longer on their own before calling 911 remains employed, as does the director of the home.
Sheriff’s officials say Serenity had only a 3-minute to 5-minute head start on the first searchers. Two eyewitnesses who saw Serenity run away reported it and then searched for her. The eyewitnesses lost sight of Serenity for only 3 to 5 minutes before trying to follow Serenity’s path.
Deputy Jamin Hartland, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office lead detective on the case, said the investigation so far has shown no evidence of an abduction or other form of foul play.
“We just have no solid evidence thus far to suggest that this was an abduction or anything other than a girl who ran away from a facility and has yet to be found,” he said.
Hartland and Sheriff Kevin Thom say it is highly unlikely that Serenity was taken by a stranger or someone driving by.
“I can’t even begin to calculate the odds that someone who would be willing to violently abduct a child happened by on a rural western South Dakota road within the few minutes they had to do that and successfully abducted her,” Hartland said.
Cadaver dogs searching for her have picked up scents, but it is unknown if the odors emanated from Serenity.
KaSandra and Chad Dennard hold a photo of Serenity and her favorite stuffed unicorn while sitting on her bed in their Sturgis home. The Dennards had primary custody of Serenity and say her disappearance has been devastating to them and their family. In the video, Chad Dennard discusses his theory on Serenity's disappearance and shares how much he misses her. Photo/video: Bart Pfankuch, South Dakota News Watch
Dennard, his wife, KaSandra Dennard, and Serenity’s adoptive mother, Darcie Gentry, all expressed shock that such an intense, sustained and expansive search has not found Serenity. The anguish of not knowing what happened or where she is has led them all to hope that someday, somehow, Serenity might return to them.
“We’d take any news at this point,” Gentry said in an interview at her home east of Rapid City. “Her bedroom is all set up for her, waiting for her to come home. Sometimes I just go in there and I cry.”
After being given up by her birth parents who were unstable, and moving through more than a dozen foster homes, Serenity was diagnosed with reactive detachment disorder, a condition in which children do not feel secure with familial relationships and can act out as a result.
Chad and KaSandra Dennard said Serenity was referred to the children’s home after a period of worsening behaviors that included running away and the potential for self-harm. She began residing at the home in July 2018.
According to Deputy Hartland, Serenity was playing in the gymnasium at the children’s home just before 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, with two staff members and six children present.
Serenity and another girl made an impromptu plan that the girl would distract staff members so Serenity could run away, Hartland said. Serenity used the distraction to open the outside door and run away. No one from the children’s home gave immediate chase.
Serenity, dressed in jeans, a long-sleeve shirt and snow boots, ran north across a campus path and into the main parking lot of the complex.
Authorities know this because after Serenity left the gym, a woman and her granddaughter saw her, Hartland said. The pair had dropped off a child at the northernmost building on the campus and saw Serenity run through the parking lot and stumble on the cattle guard just short of the exit onto Rockerville Road.
While watching, the grandmother reversed the vehicle back to the main building, got out and rang a doorbell to alert a cook inside that a child was running away. The cook was equipped with a radio to alert other employees, but the radio was on a different channel, which slowed the initial staff response, Lavallee said.
The granddaughter remained in the car and watched as Serenity, now walking, headed north on Rockerville Road.
After walking about 50 yards north of the complex entrance, Serenity went out of sight of the granddaughter. When the grandmother returned, the pair drove out of the children’s home complex and followed Serenity’s path north on Rockerville Road.
They never saw Serenity again, and they never saw anyone or any vehicles, Hartland said.
The witnesses said about three to five minutes elapsed from when they lost sight of Serenity to when they drove onto Rockerville Road to begin searching.
Lavallee said that the on-call supervisor was contacted at home and advised staff to continue searching for 15 minutes more before calling 911.
When that supervisor arrived on scene about 80 minutes later, 911 still had not been called, so the supervisor then called authorities to report the runaway, Lavallee said.
The first night, Hartland and other deputies went door-to-door to all the homes in the area, about 40 in all, trying to see if anyone had seen Serenity, but also getting a feel for any unusual responses, Hartland said.
Detectives interviewed children’s home employees and residents, both sets of Serenity’s adoptive parents and her birth parents, and none are considered suspects, Hartland said.
Another key component of the investigation, he said, was determining whether Serenity could have contacted anyone outside the home before her escape, either by phone or computer. Investigators found nothing to indicate she had done either, Hartland said.
The weather turned bad the day Serenity ran away, with temperatures below freezing and snow that fell and stayed for several weeks, hampering the search and reducing the chances Serenity could survive outside for more than a few hours, Thom said.
“Experienced searchers will tell you that it’s not uncommon to walk past people multiple times in an area once they get hidden and you can be a few feet from someone and walk right past them,” Thom said.
Thom said cadaver dogs have alerted to scent, but it is unknown if the scent originated with Serenity, and so far nothing has been found.
Thom noted that his department has an ongoing case in which experienced elk hunter Larry Genzlinger, 66, of Howard, was hunting near Deerfield Lake in the Black Hills on Oct. 1 and has not been found despite an aggressive search.
Gail Schmidt, chief of the Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department, has helped lead numerous searches for Serenity and is believed to have spent more time in the woods looking than anyone else. As of early January 2020, she had personally logged 63 days of searching and had covered an estimated 375 miles on foot.
Schmidt said searching is difficult in the region around the children’s home owing to the sheer variety of terrain and topography. The region is also home to numerous downed, blackened trees from the Battle Creek Fire in 2002.
“My explanation for how we could have covered so many miles and haven’t found her is that we just haven’t gotten to her yet,” she said.
Lavallee became executive director of the Children’s Home Society in late September, replacing longtime director Bill Colson, who retired in 2019 after a decade leading the agency.
Lavallee said improving safety for children at the Children’s Home Society residential facilities became a top priority after Serenity’s disappearance and a scathing review of policies by the state Department of Social Services and the federal Center for Medicaid Services in April.
The society has complied with all the directives put forward by the state and federal regulators, Lavallee said.
Now, 911 will be called anytime a staff member loses “line of sight” on a child and radios are programmed to the same channel.
A new phone system has a button to alert employees inside and outside the home that an emergency exists, and a designated supervisor must be on campus at all times and would serve as the search coordinator in an emergency.
Runaway drills are conducted monthly in Rockerville and more frequently than before in Sioux Falls. New employees undergo runaway training at the time of hiring, Lavallee said.
The society plans to install cameras outside the Rockerville facility in early February, and at that time new doors will be installed that can be opened only from the inside with a key card or else an alarm will sound and a 15-second delay will engage to prevent unauthorized departures.
“You won’t see this happen again today,” Lavallee said.
Lavallee said the state DSS recommended the termination of the two children’s home employees; she would not discuss other personnel decisions or anything related to Serenity’s treatment, including if or why the “arm’s length” monitoring ended.
Lavallee said she and other society employees are deeply saddened over Serenity’s disappearance and that, “Serenity remains in our hearts every day.”
On days I’m home in South Dakota, I sit down for my morning bowl of Wheaties and flip through our local papers. This week, as I ate my bowl of cereal, I came across a well-researched and well-written article. The title was: “Effort begins to reduce risk of death of South Dakota mothers during childbirth.” It was written by local reporter Nick Lowrey from South Dakota News Watch and placed in many papers throughout the state.
It struck me for two reasons – one, it’s shocking because even as one of the most developed nations in the world, our mothers are dying during childbirth at the highest rate, and two, because the very next day I would be attending a congressional committee hearing on the same topic.
It’s important I go prepared to these hearings and the Education and Labor Committee does a fantastic job sending memos to ensure everyone is up to speed. The information is always helpful, but it’s not typically South Dakota specific. That’s where Nick’s article came in – because of his reporting I walked into that hearing knowing 60% of maternal deaths are preventable, that maternal “pregnancy-associated” deaths in South Dakota averaged 7.2 per year between 2010 and 2018, and nine South Dakota mothers died within a year of giving birth in 2018 alone.
To be frank, these are terrible statistics and hard to read. When I attended the Education and Labor hearing on maternal health, I was able to include Nick’s article in the Congressional Record for the rest of the committee and our entire nation to reference. There are several reasons the U.S. has seen an increase in maternal deaths – higher rates of obesity and diabetes, as well as giving birth at older ages have all played a role. According to Nick’s research, South Dakota does not keep data on severe pregnancy complications. During this week’s hearing, the witnesses expressed continuous concerns over the lack of information on maternal complications.
We can’t solve a problem if we can’t understand it.
There are new protocols being put into place, though, and hospitals like Sanford are working on their own set of practices to improve the safety of mothers. There is much work to be done across the U.S. and it may take years, but I’m glad organizations throughout the country and Congress are working to tackle this issue.
Investigative reporting plays a crucial role in exposing flaws in our many systems – and in this case, articles like Nick’s may help save lives. We’re living in a time where click-bait articles are taking over our news feeds – but I’m grateful South Dakota’s journalists are focused on news that matters.
South Dakota Senate Majority Leader Kris Langer with Garretson Gazette Editor and owner Garrick Moritz. Photo by Beau Ravellette of Ravellete Publications and the Pioneer-Review.
Hello readers. It’s rare that I’ll publish an editorial or a column myself. Usually I let others talk. I feel that’s my job. This time, I figured I should chime in with my two cents.
First, I want to thank the members of the Commercial Club for electing me as Vice President again. I had several comments from members who said that they like me in the job, and that it’s a task I’m well suited for. I’m not sure about that, but I am happy to serve the interests of the people who live and work in the Garretson area in any way I can.
What you may not know is that recently I was also elected to serve on the board of the South Dakota Newspaper Association. Last year, the SDNA General Manager Dave Bordewyk gave me a call. He asked if I would consider serving on the board. SDNA is 122 newspapers strong, from communities throughout the state. My dad, my grandpa and my great grandpa have all been presidents of the association in their time and all are in the SD Newspaper Hall of Fame.
Does that inflate my ego at all? Truthfully, it intimidates me. On my wall are three portraits of better men than me, and I try to live up to the standards and practices they taught me. I told Dave that, yes, I would serve, though I wanted to clear it with my wife and full business partner here first. (Let me tell you a rule about the Gazette and our work here- if Carrie doesn’t like it, it doesn’t happen, and the paper would be up for sale tomorrow without her.)
I’ve been serving on the SDNA Board since our convention last April. One of the things we do every year is Newspaper Day with the South Dakota Legislature. I’ve gone several times in the past, from when I was a little kid until now. But since I’m a board member now, I really felt that it was important I be there. So, after the paper was printed, mailed and out on store shelves, I headed off to Pierre.
(On the way, I made it to Madison to see our GHS students perform at the Regional One-Acts, and was happy to see that my daughter Morgan, as well as her friend Amber Hulscher and Amber’s sister Molly Hulscher, got acting awards on the very same stage where I got an acting award as a sophomore at Faulkton High School. Hats off to Mrs. Brown and all one-act cast and crew. We have some very dynamic and talented students here in Garretson, and it’s a badge of pride for the community.)
After doing board business we first had press conferences with the legislative leadership, both majority and minority, then a lunch with the legislators and a conference with the Governor.
I was pleased to see representative Tom Pischke at the luncheon. He and I have a mutual friend that he went to high school and I went to Augie with. We only chatted briefly, since our press conferences with the legislative leaders went long, but I was pleased to see him there.
I did not see Jon Hansen at all, sadly, and I don’t believe he attended. In our board and First Amendment Committee briefings, one of the bills that Hansen proposed had come up in discussion. This bill would basically ban commercial surrogacies in South Dakota.
This bill is like many bills that have come up this year that SDNA board members talked about at length. Bills of “conscience” that are likely to be challenged on constitutional grounds. I understand and agree that we don’t wish to traffic people as a commodity (slavery has been outlawed for quite some time now), but at the same time, when you do a blanket ban like this it has the potential to hurt people more than it helps.
As an example, I know a couple who had extreme difficulty having children. The dad is an Iraq war vet and the mom is a banker. Good law- abiding, taxpaying people with strong morality, patriotism and values. People whom you want to see bring children into the world. Having children was extremely difficult for them. I know surrogacy was an option they discussed. In the end, their treatments worked and they didn’t need surrogacy. But these people deserve, like anyone who wants to have kids, a shot at being a parent. So, the question I have for Mr. Hansen is this- could this bill do more harm than good to South Dakota families? Is that a question you asked yourself before you proposed it? Regulate certainly, but ban, why?...
The same thing with this transgender bill everyone keeps talking about. Following a pattern of behavior from some house legislators, this bill seems to be a solution in search of a problem. The argument that it’s a “bill of conscience” is pure sophistry. To me, having a conscience means having beliefs, but not trying to enforce or coerce those beliefs on others if it has the potential to do them harm. It’s careful consideration of facts, and trying to do the most good with the least amount of harm. Just saying.
Let’s not even get into the issue of deliberately passing legislation of questionable constitutionality, like the riot shield bill that was thrown out and has come back again. The practice of late seems to be, let’s spend money we don’t have on bills we don’t need just to make a point. The daylight savings time bill... I can’t believe that has gotten any traction at all. Yeah, I hate springing forward as much as the next guy, but really.
As for the transgender bill, a legal firm has offered to take the State’s case pro-bono if this law passes and is challenged. So what?! First, why should we the people allow a private firm to take up a case meant for our elected State’s Attorney? It’s quite literally his solemn task and responsibility to represent our state on legal questions. The State’s Attorney takes an oath of office and is beholden to the government and the people. A private firm is a private firm, out for their own interest, not the people’s business. Second, how many times has the legislature passed legislation like this only to have it struck down in the courts? The answer is, sadly, far too many times. Just because we have one of the most open systems of legislative proposal doesn’t mean retrograde ideas have merit. Some legislators must enjoy wasting time and taxpayer money, I think. Thankfully the SD Senate seems much more sensible than the House, and it is my hope that they may kill many of these more erroneous matters out of hand.
I did have a nice conversation with SD Senate Majority Leader Kris Langer, who is our local Senator. She’s been a regular advertiser and is very proud that independent journalism in Minnehaha County seems to be growing rather than shrinking. With two new papers springing up in our neighboring communities (and specifically her home of Dell Rapids) in the last two years, things are looking bright.
I also met up with Skylar Borglum, PhD, a Republican SD Senator from Rapid City, at the luncheon. Ms. Borglum will be challenging US Senator and former Governor Mike Rounds in the upcoming primary. Overall, I can say I really liked her. She was smart, funny and has a good heart and a good head on her shoulders.
She made some great points during our conversation. First was how dismal she found Senator Rounds’ extremely low attendance for voting on the Senate floor. Granted, his wife has been very ill, but that’s all the more reason that it’s maybe time for someone new. She felt simply that he wasn’t putting South Dakota’s interests first and wasn’t doing his job very well. She said that she, “...wanted to represent all of South Dakotans. I don’t care if they’re Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, Jewish, Muslim or Jedi Knight. Our state’s people are good and unique and I love them all.”
I thought that was the right attitude. Also, those of you who know me know what a big Star Wars fan I am, so the fact that she made me laugh and smile while talking politics, and actually made me feel good and hopeful, is the way of a true Jedi.
Then we arrived at the press conference with the Governor.
Gov. Kristi Noem made some opening remarks and then opened the floor for questions.
Letitia Lister of the Black Hills Pioneer, who is our current association president, had the first question. In the Governor’s State of the State address she talked about making an on-line portal for governmental documents. A lot of it sounded very similar to work we’ re doing, and have planned to do, in the future with publishing public notices. Already,
every public notice we publish is in an online archive at sdpublicnotices.com that is free for anyone to search. We are also looking at broadening and expanding those tools for the “Google it on your phone” world we find ourselves in nowadays. To us, as an association, if the Governor’s office wants to make it easier for local city councils, county commissions or school boards to post their info online, we’re happy to use the resources we already have in place and that are in development to make that easier. She of course agreed to have our staffs meet in the not too distant future to talk about it.
Then came the tough questions. Jack Marsh, currently of SD News Watch, quoted a campaign mailer that was circulated by Gov. Noem’s campaign. That letter, signed by her, used language that Jack and I frankly found offensive. It was more of the same dirty rhetoric that has come down from on high, and it’s just as ridiculous. It’s been spat at journalists for time out of mind. That they’re untruthful, biased, and such. In the past, we’ve heard terms like Yellow Dog and Muckraker. Today it’s Fake News and Enemy of the People. Just terms to describe people who deliver inconvenient truths that those in power would rather not have you question them about.
I talked with Jack about it afterwards. I have a lot of respect for him. He knows my dad, and knew my grandfather, and he cares deeply about the truth. He cares a lot about South Dakota and making our state a better place in which to live.
Jack believes following that line of rhetoric, that the media is untruthful and that you can’t trust them to tell the truth, is dangerous and destabilizing to society. He’s not wrong. Often in this job you must speak truth to power, and speaking truth to power is not always easy or very nice.
I can say that everyone I have ever known or have associated with as fellow SDNA members are local, good-hearted journalists, who do their best by and for their communities, wherever and whenever and however they can.
SD News Watch is a non-profit that has been working hard at increasing the amount of investigative journalism in this state, a position that has recently gone by the wayside as newsrooms have cut staff. SDNA recently made a deal with SD News Watch to make our General Manager, Dave, their Executive Director and to mutualize some of SDNA’s office resources for SD News Watch. I voted for that decision, and wholly stand by it. It’s a good partnership. Many of the legislators, both at the state and even the national level (see Dusty Johnson’s column in this paper) agree that the work SD News Watch has been doing has been good for our citizens.
I don’t doubt that Gov. Kristi Noem also cares a lot about South Dakota and making our state a better place in which to live. I’m sure she hasn’t liked the local media very much when they run stories about her family and how much they get paid working for her administration. She’s certainly made her governorship into a family business, and since there are a lot of family businesses in South Dakota, I myself having grown up in one, I won’t hold that against her. Fellow SDNA board member LeeAnne Dufek of the Hamlin County newspaper in Castlewood has said to me that she and her community have a lot of love for Gov. Noem, and I respect her word and judgment.
So, my unsolicited advice to the Governor would be this. Stay away from this line of rhetoric. It’s historically been tried and it has failed time and time again. It may net you short term gains, as do a lot of things in this age of clickbait, soundbites and catchphrases; but it doesn’t serve you as a stateswoman or the people you serve in this great state. Be forthright, and the truth will always be your shield. The truth shall set you free is not just good advice, it’s biblical. It’s what I believe at the very core of my soul. It’s what every good journalist should believe, and what every elected official should believe. We may not all agree on the many issues of the day, but these are small things by and large. Take a page from Voltaire, “I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death of your right to say it!”
So that was my time and my thoughts from the legislature this week. But if you have questions and concerns yourself, you should go and talk to your legislators yourselves. They’re doing an open public coffee at the Pizza Ranch in Dell Rapids this Saturday starting bright and early at 9 a.m.
Dennis Gene Hoven, age 82, of Garretson, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Tuesday, January 28, 2020, at the Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls. Mass of Christian Burial was held on Saturday, February 1, 2020, at the St Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Garretson. Interment was in the church cemetery. Memorials may be directed to the Garretson Fire Department or the Garretson American Legion.
Dennis Gene Hoven was born on July 24, 1937, to Elmer and Hilda (Bly) Hoven on a farm south of Garretson, South Dakota. He was baptized at Splitrock Lutheran Church and confirmed at Palisade Lutheran Church. Dennis attended school in Garretson and graduated in 1955. During high school, Dennis worked for Mel Engelbrecht in the Red Owl Store. Following graduation, he was a member of the Luverne National Guard and served for nine years. In later years, he became a member of the Garretson American Legion.
In January 1958, Dennis met the love of his life, Madelyn Fairfield, in the circle 2 step at the Arkota Ballroom in Sioux Falls. They were married on May 27, 1961, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Wakonda. This union blessed them with five children: Marcel, Jan, Brad, Mary, and Ann.
Dennis worked for Brendsel Plumbing and Heating before starting his own business, Hoven Electric, in September 1963. He was a member of the Garretson Commercial Club. He served on the Garretson Volunteer Fire Department for 37 years and served as Fire Chief for two terms. In 2015, Dennis became a member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. Dennis loved his family, community, dancing, country music, hunting, fishing, camping, golfing, old cars, and planting geraniums (his favorite flower).
Dennis is survived by his wife of 58 years, Madelyn; children: Marcel (David) Boscaljon, Jan (Doug) Rinken, Brad (Suzette) Hoven, Mary (Steve) Larson, and Ann (David) Fogel; grandchildren: Chelsea (Tyler) Stills, Alyssa (Forrest) Howe, Nate (Anna) Boscaljon, Cole Boscaljon, Gretchen (Matthew) Bisson, Ben (Jen) Rinken, Jed Rinken, Ian (Sadie) Rinken, Ryan (Chris) Larson, Cody Larson, Addison Fogel, and Eli Fogel; great-grandchildren: Ava, Evelyn, and Beckham Stills; Savannah Howe; Owen and Aiden Bisson; Aubrey, Asher, Remi, and Hayes Rinken; Caleb Westerbur; and Luella and Paisley Larson; sisters: Pauline Ellefson, Shirley Johnson, and Janet Davis; sisters-in-law: Dian Hoven and Rita Fairfield; and a brother-in-law, Perry Ellefson. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers: Robert and Howard; and sisters: LaVonne Howorth, Darlene Grocott, and Helen Ellefson.
PIERRE — The Republican leaders of the Senate wouldn’t say Thursday morning where they stand on HB1057, a bill that outlaws gender altering surgeries and medicines for children under the age of 16.
Their remarks were made during a news conference with more than 30 editors and publishers in Pierre for Newspaper Day, an event sponsored by the South Dakota Newspaper Association.
Senate Majority Leader Kris Langer, Dell Rapids, said the bill hasn’t been discussed in her caucus because it just made it through the House on Wednesday.
Assistant Majority Leader Jim Bolin, Canton, wouldn’t say if he supported the bill, but he did say, “I did not sign on to this bill for a wide variety of reasons.”
Bills like HB1057 show how open the process is in South Dakota, according to Bolin. In other states, a controversial bill might get stymied by the Speaker of the House or other leaders.
“South Dakota has one of the most open processes,” Bolin said. “Every bill gets a hearing.”
Republican leaders said the mood in the Capitol is good, with both parties working together. The frustrations that arise, according to Langer, have to do with money rather than the other party.
Flooding and a dip in the farm economy have made it tougher to find the needed funds in the Legislature.
“It’s not surprising, then, that we take a hit on our budget,” Langer said.
Both parties are trying to find money in the budget for raises for education, Medicaid providers and state employee salaries, according to House Majority Leader Lee Qualm, Platte. In her budget address last December, Gov. Kristi Noem said there would be no money available for increases in those areas.
Lawmakers are hopeful that revenues will come in higher than expected and allow them to offer some increases, Qualm said.
“There is a will to do something,” Qualm said.
Qualm said he couldn’t predict the fate of a bill that would put South Dakota permanently on Daylight Savings Time.
“The idea is everybody is tired of going back and forth,” Qualm said of the twice yearly time change.
PIERRE — Members of the Democratic Party leadership in the Legislature predicted success for two ballot measures that legalize marijuana use in South Dakota.
They made their remarks to more than 30 editors and publishers who were in Pierre Thursday for Newspaper Day at the Legislature, sponsored by the South Dakota Newspaper Association.
“I think those two ballot initiatives probably have a chance,” said Senate Minority Leader Troy Heinert, Mission, of initiatives to legalize the use of recreational marijuana and medical marijuana.
How the Legislature handles the possible passage of those initiatives concerns Heinert, who doesn’t want lawmakers to overturn the will of the people the way they did after the passage of Initiated Measure 22 in 2016. IM 22 revised the state’s campaign finance and lobbying laws.
“Where we come in and strike that down,” Heinert said. “That would be a big mistake on our part.”
Assistant House Minority Leader Steven McCleery, Sisseton, said his biggest concern is infrastructure, especially at the county level. With the state’s rivers full and plenty snow on the ground in some areas, he predicts flooding in the spring.
“I don’t think most people have any idea of what that’s going to look like,” McCleery said.
The state needs to find another revenue source that can be funneled to counties so they can deal with fixing roads and bridges, McCleery said. While he wouldn’t disclose the content of the bill, McCleery said that he has a bill coming that would offer another revenue source.
“We’re going to have that discussion,” McCleery said. “We’re going to talk about revenue.”
The Senate will also be talking about outlawing gender altering surgery and medications for minors as HB1057 passed through the House on Wednesday.
“It’s bad public policy to pass laws for the sole purpose of trying to create a lawsuit,” said Assistant Senate Minority Leader Craig Kennedy, Yankton. “We have more important things, in my opinion, that we should be focusing our time and effort on.”
House Minority Leader Jamie Smith of Sioux Falls said all legislators are working to find extra funding for what’s known as the Big Three: education, Medicaid providers and state employee salaries. In her December budget address, Gov. Kristi Noem said there would be no funding available for increases in those areas.
“That zero was not an option on any of our minds,” Smith said.
PIERRE — Gov. Kristi Noem started her remarks before a gathering of newspaper editors and publishers with praise for the work that they do. Soon she was defending remarks she has made about the news media.
Noem talked Thursday to a group of editors and publishers in Pierre for Newspaper Day at the Legislature, sponsored by the South Dakota Newspaper Association.
Noem thanked more than 30 people who work at newspapers for the way they help improve their communities.
“You’re really the heart of every single community,” Noem said. “It really is important work.”
Noem has, at times, found fault with that work. She was asked to respond to a quote from one of her campaign letters that said, “You know as well as I do that we can’t trust the media to tell the truth.” She was asked Thursday if any of the media organizations represented in the room couldn’t be trusted to tell the truth.
“There’s always instances that we could specifically point to where you feel like it wasn’t a fair article or coverage,” Noem said. “I could give you specifics today, but I don’t know if that’s beneficial to the conversation.”
Noem said her family was aware of the scrutiny they would face when she became governor.
“You get to be attacked and looked at and examined,” Noem said.
The governor said her criticism wasn’t leveled at newspapers in the state.
“Everyone in this room knows, their heart of hearts, that this doesn’t apply to all of them,” Noem said, noting unfair coverage at a national level. “There are times where there has been biased and unfair reporting.”
One area where South Dakota and the governor have come in for criticism is the “Meth. We’re on it” advertising campaign.
“It was a provocative campaign and we knew that it would be,” Noem said, adding that she did not anticipate the level of discussion that it would spark.
Noem said the next part of the campaign will be a call to action that provides South Dakotans with the tools they need to help people in their lives who are addicted to methamphetamines.
“Overwhelmingly, that’s what people are looking for,” Noem said.
The state’s initial investment of $5 million in ConnectSD has resulted in $25 million in internet infrastructure, Noem said, connecting 6,500 homes and 150 businesses to the internet.
Through the program, Noem said the state became aware of internet providers who weren’t doing all they could to connect more customers.
“It kind of pointed out to us where providers in this industry weren’t necessarily investing in infrastructure,” Noem said.
SIOUX FALLS – Crystal Johnson was sworn in as Minnehaha County State’s Attorney by Second Judicial Circuit Presiding Judge Robin Houwman to begin the Tuesday, Jan. 28, meeting of the county commission.
Crystal Johnson takes her oath of office as Minnehaha County State’s Attorney, sworn in by Second Judicial Circuit Presiding Judge Robin Houwman. (contributed photo)
Johnson was first named interim state’s attorney by Houwman on Dec. 6, after the resignation of the previously elected Aaron McGowan.
That title was made official by a vote of the Minnehaha County Commission on Jan. 21.
In her remarks after the swearing in, Johnson told commissioners she believed most attorneys eventually want to become judges, but in her case, after becoming a magistrate judge in 2015, she was glad to get back to her “passion” of being a prosecutor.
She had previously served in the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s office since 2005.
“I wasn’t on the bench very long before I realized that was not where my passion was,” Johnson said. “My passion was being a prosecutor, and as a prosecutor, I get to be an advocate for children who have the worst things happen to them.
“I get to be an advocate for women who have been beaten and raped.
“I get to be an advocate for family members who have lost loved ones in violent crimes.
“So, when I came back to the state’s attorney’s office, I felt like I was coming home.
“I enjoy getting to wear the hat of justice when going into court. I enjoy representing my neighbors and community.”
Johnson will fill this position until a new state’s attorney is elected in November. And possibly longer should she run and win that election.
But in the major business of the week, commissioners heard a projection on spring flooding from county Emergency Management Director Jason Gearman.
He was optimistic that while the current soil moisture is as high as it’s ever been at this time of year, the snowpack in the region and to the north, as well, is lower than usual.
Gearman cited above-average daytime temperatures and freezing conditions at night as facilitating a more gradual melting.
If this continues, he said, the outlook is good; however, if there are “colder temperatures and a bunch of snow, we are going to have some concerns.”
He did foresee more flooding along the Big Sioux River in the Dell Rapids area, “even with normal spring precipitation.”
With that in mind, emergency management is planning ahead for sandbags.
Gearman also said his office has a call out to find a warehouse to store those bags until they are needed.
Dave Johnson from the Glory House briefed the board on improvements to their “halfway house” facility.
He had previously reported of the expansion being done there and said that as of now, they just opened the first building of their Glory House apartments with the first tenant moving in on Dec. 23, 2019.
In the past month, another nine tenants have moved in, and 15 more are in the process of making the transition from prison to the new facility.
Johnson added that the Glory House was at the halfway point of raising $1.35 million in its capital campaign.
The facility is operated with 51 employees and an annual budget of $3 million.
The Minnehaha Commission has its regular meetings each Tuesday at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the county administration building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
These meetings are open to all, and public comment is always encouraged.
The Treasure Chest celebrates 7 years this weekend, Feb. 8
By Garrick Moritz, Gazette
The Treasure Chest in Garretson has become a cornerstone on Main Ave. It started with inspiration and a meeting of the minds, and became something that has benefited many.
“At the time, the building was for sale, and it had been for sale for a while,” said Connie Johnson. “Terry came home, and said that he thought that we should buy that building. I didn’t think much of the idea, I didn’t know what we’ d use it for, but I just let it go.”
What happened next, Johnson credits to divine inspiration. She woke in the middle of the night, convinced that God wanted them to buy the building and use it for the benefit of the community. She said she was confused, that she didn’t understand, but that she decided to go give the building a look. In her mind, the word Monopoly for some reason had stuck and wouldn’t go away. And when she had Terry take her inside on a tour, they found an old sign advertising the classic board game in the office section. It struck her like a thunderbolt.
“I didn’t know what was happening,” she said. “I just knew that we had to buy the building because God wanted us to, and because he wanted the building used for his purposes.”
So they bought the building and began painting and redecorating, and a meeting of the minds occurred on Main.
“Kris Frerk had been talking about trying to open up a vendor operation in town. With this building, we could provide that space. It was a meeting of multiple purposes for all. We also were looking for a place to store items that people needed. (With the idea of creating a charitable consignment and thrift store on the model of Goodwill and the Salvation Army.) Clothing donations, toys, furniture, appliances. Donations of every kind. One of my biggest fears was how would we get the people we needed to help, but the volunteers came and have stayed. We have constant volunteers, and they are truly heartwarming people working in fellowship. Lots of people with huge hearts and wanting to help others. No one gets paid, everyone donates their time and it’s truly magnificent. I am constantly amazed. I feel so blessed, and I know my prayers were truly answered.”
“It’s become much more than just a store,” said Kris Frerk. “It’s a gathering place for fellowship in our community. It’s given people a purpose and a place to go. People come for morning coffee and it’s amazing. The outreach of our charitable contributions is widespread. Supporting local families and sending donations all over. I’ve hauled four truckloads of items to Lower Brule this past year, and I know they appreciate it.”
“Our charitable arm has sent items locally and all over the world,” said Johnson. “I can’t count the number of lives we’ ve touched, and we’ re not done. More is coming, I’m sure of it. I recall one man who came into our store. After browsing for a moment, he suddenly began to weep. I asked him what was wrong and he told me he’d looked for this particular picture for more than 20 years and searched everywhere for it. I knew that it had been waiting there just for him, there are no coincidences. I watch all the little things just like that, happening here on a daily basis. It is all about caring for each other, and for people who you may never meet. Our job is just to love everyone who comes through those doors.”
The Treasure Chest will be celebrating their 7th anniversary this weekend, Saturday, Feb. 8, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. with a free hot dogs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
