South Dakota, Trumpistan sinking fast

Creighton University's Ernie Goss has been warning that the Trump Organization is bad for American agriculture and follows the economies of several breadbasket states including South Dakota's — one of the slowest growing in the US. 

Almost 57% of rural banksters are freaking out because the Rural Mainstreet Index fell to 45.7 in May from 47.9 in April and three quarters of them recommend no change to Federal Reserve interest rates. Farm equipment sales dropped to 18.2 marking the 33rd straight month below growth neutral or 50.0.

The May RMI for South Dakota declined to 45.7 from 47.9 in April. The state’s farm and ranchland price index climbed to 52.3 from April’s 48.0. South Dakota’s new hiring index for May sank to 44.8 from 48.0 in April. According to trade data from the [International Trade Association], South Dakota exports of agriculture goods and livestock for the quarter of 2026, compared to the same period in 2025, fell by 55.1% to $25.6 million. [Creighton]

Threatened dipper fighting back against LawCo

ip image: a Say's phoebe nested in the tractor in 2024.

In South Dakota over a hundred native species are at risk to the Earth hating Republican Party including the endangered pallid sturgeon, paddlefish, black footed ferret, northern long-eared bat, the black-backed woodpecker that feeds on bark beetles and a bird that actually walks underwater – the American dipper plus the occasional black bear, moose and wolf, just to name a few.

Work to replace a bridge on Elmore Road in Spearfish Canyon has been delayed again after an American dipper returned to nest on the existing structure despite the county’s best efforts to encourage the bird to move on. The Black Hills marks the eastern limit of their home range. Construction on the structure was scheduled to start in May, but after it was discovered that the dipper had come home to nest again, construction has been put off until Aug. 1. [American dipper strikes again on the Elmore Road bridge]

In a related story, a brand-new Ford F-250 at Olathe Ford Lincoln in Kansas was legally placed "on hold" from customer pickup because a mama robin built an active nest directly on top of one of its tires.

Polls showing Democratic momentum

Generic Ballot Polling trend among Independent voters by NYT/Siena (A+) 🔴 Sep 2022: Republicans +10 🔵 Sep 2025: Democrats +10 🔵 Jan 2026: Democrats +15 🔵 May 2026: Democrats +18 Net-28 point swing towards Democrats

— Poll Tracker 📊 (@polltracker.bsky.social) May 24, 2026 at 11:00 AM

House Model Update: 🔵 DEM: 233 (+18) 🔴 GOP: 202 (-18) - May 24, 2026 - (Seat change with 2024 Election) Full article available for Substack subscribers here -> unitedstatespolling.com/p/new-pollin...

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— Polling USA (@usapolling.bsky.social) May 24, 2026 at 7:56 AM

Generic Ballot Polling: 🔵 DEM: 48% 🔴 GOP: 40% WSJ / May 18, 2026

— Polling USA (@usapolling.bsky.social) May 23, 2026 at 2:40 PM

woof, Trump's approval among REPUBLICANS is down to 57%, among those who strongly approve it

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— Polling USA (@usapolling.bsky.social) May 23, 2026 at 2:40 PM

Generic Ballot Polling: 🔵 Democrat: 49% 🔴 Republican: 42% Zogby / May 22, 2026

— Polling USA (@usapolling.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 7:39 PM

Four Corners governors move geothermal energy forward

At least as early as 2011 the Four Corners region was seen as a geothermal powerhouse where Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories assembled plans for energy development. 

Today, the governors from Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona have moved to improve and streamline the production of underground renewable energy and on 16 June the US Bureau of Land Management will begin a geothermal lease sale on 68 parcels across 197,852 acres in Doña Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna and Sierra counties in New Mexico.

In 2021 BLM sold a geothermal lease in Hidalgo County, New Mexico despite a 2016 blowout near a $43 million geothermal electricity plant erected by Cyrq Energy in 2013 when Republican Susana Martinez was governor. Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals, Inc. bought Cyrq in 2024 and has four working geothermal projects including Lightning Dock Geothermal Power Plant near Animas. It's a 15.3 MW binary geothermal plant with two production wells and 7 injection wells that sells power to Public Service of New Mexico (PNM) with firm baseload power. In December, 2024 BLM sold geothermal leases on seven parcels totaling 4,468 acres in Doña Ana County.

After years of underperforming and struggling to meet its original targets, Zanskar used artificial intelligence and advanced subsurface modeling to drill a highly successful new well. Commissioned in mid-2025, this well produces 340°F water—roughly 80 degrees hotter than previous wells—effectively doubling the plant's average output to 10.8 net megawatts per hour.

Using an enhanced geothermal system (EGS) at its Project Red site in northern Nevada Google-financed Fervo Energy completed a full-scale, 30-day well test able to generate 3.5 megawatts or enough electricity to power over 2,600 homes full time. Fervo employs a hydro-shearing process and believes it can deliver about 400 megawatts by 2028 or enough electricity to power 300,000 homes at once from half a dozen other sites across the western US. In 2024 BLM approved the Fervo Cape Geothermal Power Project in Beaver County, Utah which has the potential to generate up to 2 gigawatts (GW) or enough energy to supply over 2 million homes.

Colorado could tap orphaned oil and gas wells to supply hot water for electricity generation especially now that the state is falling behind on its own self-imposed emissions-reducing mandates.

Learn more at KUER public radio.

South Dakota voters are rejecting incumbent Earth haters

Doeden surpasses Johnson in latest KELOLAND/Emerson poll https://t.co/CY6cggFlBt

— KELOLAND News (@keloland) May 21, 2026

Earth hater Howdy Doody Dusty Johnson was reimbursed for private flights more than any member of Congress from 2019 until June 2025 so self-funded Toby Doeden has surpassed him in the SDGOP gubernatorial primary.

In 2026, 70.5% of the state legislative incumbents running for election in South Dakota will face primary contests, a record high since 2010. In total, 55 incumbents face contested primaries across the South Dakota House and Senate. The average number of incumbents contested each election cycle since 2010 was 24. All 55 of the contested incumbents are Republicans. [Ballotpedia]

And from South Dakota's favorite former teevee anchorman, Shad Olson.

So, the latest "smear Toby Doeden" messaging is a string of vague and stupid musings about shadowy, scary, bogeyman "Dark Money PACs" supposedly controlled by Doeden, publishing Jon Hansen's voting record. The Black Helicopters of the 2026 South Dakota gubernatorial primary.

Because to the children of perpetual victimhood in the hypocritical slander squadron, any unfounded personal slander of Toby Doeden is fair game, while even the slightest published critique of Jon's voting record is "mudslinging" and "conduct unbecoming."

Rumors of "Dark Money PACs".... spread like the typical Katie Hoffmann bullshit that has become the lasting hallmark of Hansen Lems and their idiot surrogates. The panic is real.

Hint: Starting a dozen more facebook groups and pages doesn't extend your reach, nor conceal your identities.

Jon Hansen, taking big pharma campaign checks from Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Bayer pharmaceutical.... that's real.

Jon Hansen taking contributions from Dennis Daugaard and diminutive RINO hitman and crank, Lee Schoenbeck, also real. See the screenshots.

AFP, Odenbach and Hansen using PAC money to gas up the biggest idiots in South Dakota politics to be their slandering surrogate squadron, that's real.

If beating Dusty had actually mattered to any of you, the straightest line between two points would have been uniting behind the already well known outsider candidate in the race. If beating Dusty were the goal, (instead of praising him as a "Really great guy,") your boy wouldn't have jumped Toby's public announce date.

On a technical note, and with the origins of advertising notwithstanding, whether by Dusty Johnson, Larry Rhoden or Marvin the Martian, simply publishing Jon's voting record IS NOT negative campaigning. Grow up.

NO matter what the children of perpetual victimhood might claim.

And since handing out campaign advice seems the predilection of Hansen's cadre of cat moms and furbabies, maybe have Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, or Bayer chip in a little more dough to help Jon fight back.

Feast your eyes....