I never believed Noem truly wanted this tax cut and was probably secretly giddy it failed. I would be shocked if ANY tax cut is approved this legislative session. Playing the Devil’s advocate, why would those who control the coffers want to eliminate a reliable revenue source?
If I were a legislator the prudent thing to do would have been a step reduction in the food tax (eliminating 1.5% this year and 1 penny the following three years and on the 5th year eliminate the municipal food tax portion).
I personally support the property tax cut. While they contend it will only save taxpayers around $300 a year it is around a $800 savings each year in Sioux Falls (that is the approximate take of the SFSD for a $100K valuation). The food tax cut would only save me about $150 a year. As for helping the poor with a food tax cut that is a false flag (an overall sales tax reduction would have a bigger impact). Since most legitimately poor in our state receive food from food banks, FREE school lunches, WIC, churches and SNAP they pay NO taxes on food so why not give them real savings by reducing the overall sales taxes on anything purchased (especially on cigs and beer their biggest staples đ I also think there should have been legislation to eliminate sales taxes on gas and electricity (something renters and homeowners both pay). As I said from the beginning, I donât think our legislature has the courage to cut taxes. As my stepdad used to say, âGutless Wondersâ.
Resolutions and the state legislature have a long history of nothingness. But recently legislators from multiple districts have signed onto changing the correct pronunciation of two towns; Pierre and Wagner.
Unless you are a total dolt, you know the proper pronunciation of Pierre is pee-air while the proper pronunciation for Wagner is vahg-nuhr. Ironically, while there is a lot of bullcrap on the ground in Pierre I am not sure about all the pee in the air.
Pierre was founded by Pierre Chouteau Jr. a wealthy fur trader and I can almost guarantee no one called him ‘peer’. Wagner is founded by Walter Wagner who found the area so wonderful after a fishing trip he decided to create a town.
There were some opposing resolutions. One was to change the pronunciation of Sioux Falls to sigh-ox falls and another to change the name of Pierre to L.A.G (lactation, abortion and guns).
One legislator opposed to the resolution, who will remain nameless, said, “Pronouncing Pierre, pee-air just seems a little gay to me, and while we don’t accept a lot of gay in South Dakota we seem to be okay with a little gay? Seems like a slippery slope.”
We also traveled to Wagner to get some opinions from residents on the resolution. Carla Running Horse told us that at least they are not calling it Fagner. “But I guess it is far better then being called Crankton or Methchell.”
Bob Britches says, “I live in a small rural town in South Dakota, who cares how it is pronounced just as long as we don’t call it Shirley.”
Of course if these resolutions pass there is nothing legally binding to make people to pronounce the towns names correctly, and even if they do there is NO cost to taxpayers.
A resident in Pierre said this, “I’m no grammar teacher, but I am guessing whether you say peer or pee-air the spelling is the same. I think?”
*of course none of this is really happening . . . or is it?
In Marc Maron’s lastest HBO special he suggests we change the name of abortion clinics to ANGEL FACTORIES to get Christians on board. After hearing the bit, I thought, ‘Don’t give the SD Legislature any more ideas!’
While I detest that most of our legislators in the state are Republican, I do get a good laugh when they start fighting over who is the most conservative. I don’t think any of them are, just Cuckoo. Read this email sent out defending State Legislator Julie Frye-Lactation;
Dear Mary Jane,
Thereâs something strange in the water out in Pierre.
President Pro Tempore, Senator Lee Schoenbeck thinks heâs the King of South Dakota.
Senator Schoenbeck thinks he can unilaterally decide who represents the people of South Dakota.
Schoenbeck, a notorious RINO, is acting like the King of South Dakota and illegally and unconstitutionally suspended a sitting state senator without due process.
His outrageous power trip is disenfranchising and silencing the elected representative of tens of thousands of South Dakotans.
You see, Schoenbeck unilaterally decided to punish South Dakota citizens by suspending Senator Julie Frye-Mueller before an investigation had even been organized, over a private conversation between Mueller and a legislative services staffer regarding childhood vaccinations and other motherhood issues.
Should a politician like Schoenbeck have the power to silence another Senator over a personal conversation?
Schoenbeck, working with Democrats and Establishment Republicans, forced through Muellerâs unconstitutional suspension, overriding the ruling of the chair and dismissing out-of-hand any constitutional concerns.
Unless South Dakotans like you fight back, Schoenbeck and his liberal cronies in Pierre are going to KEEP ignoring the Constitution.
If this challenge to our Republic goes unanswered, Schoenbeck will continue to block conservative bills and control the State Senate like a petty tyrant.
I hope youâll join me in saying âEnough is enough,â to Little King Lee.
Remind him that the President Pro Tempore of the South Dakota Senate does not have the authority to remove a Senator simply based on his opinions of a legislator’s private conversation.
For Liberty,
Bethany Young Grassroots Director Young Americans for Liberty
P.S. President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck is acting like heâs the King of South Dakota. He thinks he has the POWER to remove duly elected Senators based solely on his opinion.
Schoenbeck, a notorious RINO, has illegally and unconstitutionally suspended a sitting state senator without due process. His outrageous power trip is disenfranchising and silencing the elected representative of tens of thousands of South Dakotans.
Yeah there is something strange in the water alright, it is most likely vodka. While I do agree Ms. Frye-Lactation should be punished for having an inappropriate conversation it certainly doesn’t rise to suspension. As reporter Austin Goss recently pointed out on Matters of the State (2:50);
You have people in that chamber, as recently as last year, who have DUIs . . . you have others in that chamber who call each other pond scum and monkeys. So I guess if the reason to throw her off the floor is decorum, I am just kind of confused . . .
I am not confused, while the above email is chocked full of smoke and mirrors there is one clear thing going on here, Julie pissed off the wrong governor and it was time to eliminate her.
It has been brought to my attention that a small southeastern town city administrator is pushing to get a bill submitted (hasn’t been yet) taking municipal referendum and initiative signature requirements to 20 percent of registered voters from 5 percent. This will eliminate yet another safety net to keep city councils in line. That would change the required signatures in Sioux Falls to jump from around 6k to over 24K. Ironically it would take more signatures in Sioux Falls to get an initiative or referendum on the ballot then the amount of people who typically vote in a municipal election.
I often remind people that 1) we need to make the referendum process easier not harder and 2) and signing a petition doesn’t mean you approve of the initiative just your right to vote on it. For example, I signed the slaughterhouse petition even though I already knew I would vote against it. Direct Democracy is a beautiful thing and any opportunity we have to use it and promote it is good for the public.
Several years ago, now retired Minnehaha County Commissioner, Jeff Barth suggested that Sioux Falls City Councilors impose an ordinance that requires employers within the city limits list their salary in want ads. Not only is it a good idea, employers who do list wages usually get better and more applicants. We all know why some don’t list the salary, because it ain’t squat and most people see thru the ruse and don’t apply. Senator Reynold Nesiba is proposing such a thing statewide;
A private employer with one hundred or more employees shall disclose in each job posting the hourly or salary compensation or range of the hourly or salary compensation and a general description of all benefits and other compensation to be offered to the hired, promoted, or transferred applicant or employee. Such disclosure shall not affect the applicant’s ability to negotiate compensation or benefits.
As you can see, this would only affect larger employers. While a great idea that has proven to have beneficial opportunities to employees and employers it will likely die in committee because one of the legislators wives on the committee will cry about paying her 10 year old niece minimum wage to make goat cheese soap candles in the barn.
The state Government Accountability Board dismissed a complaint Tuesday regarding Gov. Kristi Noemâs use of state aircraft, citing no sufficient legal definition of âstate business.â
Isn’t law prickly? Judges conveniently throw out a complaint saying a law doesn’t exist. So if that is true, how do thousands of state employees show up to work each day and know what to do if a legal definition of state business doesn’t exist?
Game wardens could argue fishing all day with a state patrol boat is ‘state business’. Or a highway patrol officer could give UBER rides during their down time. Why not? There is NO definition of state business. And do you trust this legislature to fix it? They are still trying to figure out what the definition of ‘elected representative’ means.
In October, Nesiba said the current law allows the attorney general or a stateâs attorney discretion to look at âstate businessâ and what it means.Â
I guess these judges are struggling with defining the state’s legal definition of ‘state business’
Noem has faced scrutiny for a number of her uses of state aircraft, including flights from Custer and back again during the weekend of her daughterâs 2019 wedding at Custer State Park. Noem has also used a state airplane to attend several political functions in other states.
If you do a five second Google search you will find this handy piece of information;
Official state business or âstate businessâ means any activity conducted in conformance to these rules and directed and controlled by a state agency to advance the lawful policies and purposes of the agency.
I don’t have a fancy law degree or a judgeship under my belt, but I am pretty sure flying your nephew to your Daughter’s Jewish Gun Rights CPAC Wedding extravaganza isn’t the definition of ‘state business’. Maybe if the 4th judge decided not to recuse themself the 4 of them could have took turns typing the definition into the Google search engine?
Thatâs because several chairs in the committee room where the votes took place were adorned with holy crosses ahead of the meeting.
And now, the well-intended gesture by Sioux Falls Rep. Sue Peterson and others is drawing the attention of the South Dakota Legislatureâs Executive Board, which will consider if action is necessary should the oil substance used to make the markings be unable to be removed.
When are these politicians going to figure out they can’t use taxpayer funded property as if it were their church? But there are other issues besides separation of church and state;
âWe were simply praying and blessing the room in which leadership elections were going to be held,â she added (Sue Peterson). âIt appears that someone is trying to make a mountain out of a molehill and shame me for my Christian faith.â
Even if you ignore Sue’s little Jesus moment, she also may have damaged taxpayer property, and she could be charged with a crime.
There is nothing wrong with a legislator having faith in a religion, there is also nothing wrong with them praying before a meeting, I actually support an invocation (invented by Ben Franklin, a deist). I wouldn’t even of cared if she passed out New Testaments at the meeting, BUT, you cannot defile or decorate taxpayer owned property with religious symbolism (or any symbolism) BECAUSE WE OWN IT!
I think a fitting punishment would be making Sue lick the crosses off the chairs. Maybe she could bring her son Robert who has been actively licking his wounds after the slaughterhouse ordinance failed.
âBecause it would exempt the first $100,000 in valuation from taxing,â Ladner said. âRather than a proportional cut, South Dakotans with smaller home value will get a bigger percentage tax cut from this mechanism.â
In Sioux Falls that would be about $1,500 a year tax break. Of course, I doubt this even gets out of committee considering towns, schools and counties will push back on it. It would help a lot of first time homebuyers getting into a starter home and the elderly on a fixed income.
Well, we should have seen this coming, a NEW drug war has emerged after right wingers killed IM 27 with a campaign littered with lies;
Lawmakers want to make it more difficult to expand the list of conditions that might qualify a citizen for a medical marijuana card.
Patients who want relief for conditions not explicitly listed in the law ought to ask their elected lawmaker to add the condition for them during the legislative session.Â
Yeah, that sounds convenient and legitimate! NOT! As I have told people in the past, all Medical Cannabis is, is aspirin that gets you high. It’s a pain reliever, sleep aid and relaxant. It can and should be prescribed for ANY ailment. Isn’t it funny how a group of mostly white male business owners with NO medical, chemistry or biology degrees seem to know so much about reproductive health and chronic pain disorders.
I mean, I knew they were big group of smart fellers (or was it fart smellers?) but they constantly amaze me with all of their genius medical advice and recommendations đ
At a project site near Colton, Golden West Telecommunications CEO Denny Law said the price of fiber-optic cable has gone up 15-50% since 2018. Â Â Â Â Â Â
It's setting up to be another hot day in much of KELOLAND. However, we do have a better chance of scattered rain this afternoon across the east. More on the that story in moment. Highs yesterday reached the mid 90s in many areas from Aberdeen to Sioux Falls, a growing sign of the dry weather […]
