Colorado is interested in geothermal as a way to supplement other renewable energy resources, as the state looks to end coal production by 2030 and reach 100% net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. [What is geothermal energy, and how are states in the Mountain West promoting and regulating it?]In South Dakota’s Black Hills the US Department of Energy, New Mexico's Sandia Labs, Los Alamos National Laboratory, South Dakota School of Mines and others are collaborating on the potential for generating electricity using EGS but Hot Springs, Belle Fourche, Philip and Midland also enjoy untapped geothermal resources.
1/30/25
New Mexico, Colorado exploring additional geothermal potential, whither South Dakota?
1/28/25
Former Rapid City cleric blasts administration over raids
“The Catholic community stands with the people of Chicago in speaking out in defence of the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers. Similarly, if the reports are true, it should be known that we would oppose any plan that includes a mass deportation of U.S. citizens born of undocumented parents,” he said. “For members of faith communities, the threatened mass deportations also leave us with the searing question, ‘What is God telling us in this moment?’” he asked, calling for a collective examination of conscience. [Cardinal Cupich: We oppose any immigrant mass deportation plan]Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and General Michael Flynn are modern Falangists financed by the John Birch Society. Many catholic schools are in the Hillsdale bubble because the curriculum ignores the church’s role in the Native American Genocide and Opus Dei is a cult of Fascists.
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a separate statement also criticized some of Trump's wide-reaching executive orders on immigration. ['Look in the mirror': Vance knocks Catholic organization for criticizing Trump immigration policy]In 2023 Pope Francis sacked an apostate who endorsed the phrase: "You cannot be Catholic and be a Democrat" and today Francis calls the deportation scheme a "disgrace."
1/27/25
Grassland fire danger grips South Dakota again
1/25/25
Haaland clearly the frontrunner for NM governor
His decision not to launch a gubernatorial campaign could clear the way for former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to be the highest-profile candidate in the race. She attended the opening day of the 60-day New Mexico legislative session in Santa Fe this week and received a loud ovation from Democratic lawmakers when introduced in the House chamber. [Martin Heinrich rules out run for governor, citing high stakes in Washington]The Earth haters will likely nominate Nella Domenici who lost bigly to Sen. Heinrich.
In 2012 I organized for @Barack Obama in Indian Country. Our mission was simple, leave no voice unheard. Today that mission has never been more important.
— Deb Haaland (@debhaalandnm.bsky.social) January 24, 2025 at 8:19 PM
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1/24/25
Wyoming Republicans will likely doom another Indigenous historic site
"In the interior, there are a series of wooden juniper drive-line structures and there is a physical antelope trap where Native American Indian tribes came to hunt for significant periods of time across the land-scape," says Chad Krause, Field Manager for the BLM's Newcastle Field Office. There's only one existing ACEC in the management area overseen by the Newcastle Field Office. The cur-rent plan, which was approved in 1999, includes Whoopup Canyon east of Newcastle. "It has petroglyphs that are around 11,000 years old," Krause says. The proposed area has public access via the Little Missouri Road and is a popular hunting area for – unsurprisingly – antelope. What made this site stand out, he says, was partly the information gathered from the tribes and partly the manageability of the location. [BLM proposes new protected area]Learn more at Salon.
1/21/25
SD agro-terrorists push bill to hide ecoterrorism
The restriction on obtaining information about CAFOs worries Jay Gilbertson, manager of the East Dakota Water Development District, which promotes conservation and management of water resources in eastern South Dakota. "But when it comes to animal feeding operations, if you really want to know, you have to go to Pierre, and try to get in the DANR building and dig through the paper files? That would just be silly." [Bill to protect farms from spying could limit access to CAFO data]Add the absence of cultural fire, the extirpation of apex predators, the resulting rise of mesopredators, increased numbers of domestic livestock then stir in a melange of industrial chemicals with climate change and voila: red state collapse on parade!
1/17/25
Cook, Hickey contrast Hitler, Trump
Then Trump became part of the ‘80s debt craze: going bankrupt, and defaulting on payments for his Atlantic City Taj Mahal Casino. By 1992, Trump’s efforts collapsed under the weight of unserviceable debt, “a victim of his own prodigality as the recession deepened.” [Cook: Comparing Reagan and Trump]In 1993, Trump henchman, Roger Stone constructed ad copy and radio scripts depicting the Mohawk Nation as violent criminals and drug dealers so Donald Trump could erect a casino. Then, after losing a lawsuit to the Tribe Trump declared war on Native America and in 2020 he used the Hitlerian model and launched a biological weapon on tribal communities.
Like Trump, Hitler was duly elected by the people, in spite of a criminal record—he actually did time for a coup he attempted in Munich, but the voters didn’t care, or didn’t mind. Beginning in 1933—the year of Hitler’s ascent to the chancellorship—a new “Nazi Religion” infused German churches. It demanded that all pastors sign an oath of allegiance to the Führer, to National Socialism, and to the German state, the “Reich.” Hitler ‘s rise to power seemed the answer. Dietrich Bonhoeffer would have been a man for our times, had he lived in our space. As it is, his courage must remind us to stand tall and call upon our resources to cope with the days ahead. [Cook: Watching Hitler]Hickey is also a scholar who studies Dietrich Bonhoeffer and calls him a martyr but he is also a Trump apologist.
Under lighting a subject is often used in horror movies, and photos, to make someone look unsettling and evil.
— Jesus Freakin Congress (@TheJFreakinC) January 16, 2025
Think of how you hold a flashlight under your face to tell a spooky story… this portrait is heavily under lit.
It should also be pointed out that his facial… pic.twitter.com/4t1L3592y4
When Trump pardons 1,000 convicted insurrectionist he will be forming his army whose allegiance only to him. Clockwork Orange 2.0. The Proud Boys arrived at the Washington Monument at 10am I followed them towards the Capitol then went back to the Ellipse to hear Trump speak. pic.twitter.com/1dhJzf4k9b
— Sandi Bachom 📹 (@sandibachom) January 6, 2025
1/16/25
South Dakota politicians likely covering up Parkinson's risks from ag chemicals
The company, Syngenta, says that paraquat, which it produces under the name Gramoxone, "is safe for its intended and labelled use." Clayton Tucholke, who used Gramoxone for years on his farm in LaBolt, South Dakota, and has since been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, says otherwise. ['Burns me to a crisp': Farmers allege link between popular herbicide paraquat and Parkinson's disease]A cynical observer might suspect that China is retaliating after being ripped off by the State of South Dakota in the Bendagate scandal.
Expert witnesses can make a case or break it. That tension has become increasingly apparent in litigation involving over 7,000 people who claim exposure to Syngenta’s herbicide paraquat caused them to develop Parkinson’s, writes columnist @JgreeneJenna https://t.co/O8u9qM7xdx pic.twitter.com/xpxsWCSpOX
— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) December 6, 2024
1/15/25
Goss, bankers wary of tariffs, see grim future under Trump
“Recession would be probably too strong of a word, but certainly it’s going to be slow going for the year in my judgement, and it’ll be a little bit slower than in 2024," Goss said. [Bill Janklow's idea of public radio]Goss and the Business Conditions Index track the economies of nine midwestern states where supply managers remain pessimistic with some 41% signaling a recession and a significant drop off in the near future.
Looking ahead six months, economic optimism, as captured by the December Business Confidence Index, sank to 52.8 from 55.6 in November. A weak regional economy slowed purchases from abroad as the import reading slumped to 42.1 from November’s 49.1. [Mid-American Economy]A cynical observer might suspect bankers provided gloomy outlooks to the Index for at least five months especially in midwestern swing states to sink Democratic Party prospects just as Republicans in congress stalled immigration reform because it makes sense to Earth haters that after he was elected again the Orange Julius would run America into the dirt so banks can foreclose on the whole dealio to massage auction price points.
And don't forget, as the rhetoric from the White House increases and the push to act on taxes, trade, and immigration pressures the Republican Congress to act, there's still a Farm Bill to write, regional conflicts to influence, and a federal debt limit to raise. [CoBank: 2025 rural economy will be 'squeezed, hobbled, slowed']In Iowa where the Republican governor is among the most hated in the US cancer rates are off the charts and the list of impaired waterways increased again.
Jacking up the bill to We, the People are the usual suspects including the US Chamber of Commerce, Bayer, American Crystal Sugar, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Koch cabal. https://t.co/kcwg5d8cSr #wotus https://t.co/ruUJ84Wig0
— interested party (@larry_kurtz) May 22, 2024
1/14/25
Trump's ag secretary scheduled to appoint BHNF resource committee
It’s unclear what is ahead for these protection efforts as the incoming advisors to president-elect Donald Trump are recommending he waive environmental reviews to boost mining of rare earth elements according to reporting from Reuters. Lilias Jarding said the Black Hills Clean [W]ater Alliance will have to be ready to respond in real time if there are any proposals. The area is considered a sacred landscape and traditional spiritual homeland by the Oceti Sakowin but also many neighboring tribes: Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Arikara, Hidatsa, Mandan, and Crow Tribes. There are places within the Black Hills that are sacred to all these tribes, including the lands of the withdrawn area. [Water protection was made possible by diverse grass roots efforts]The Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board is scheduled to meet on Wednesday.
1/10/25
Trump, Republicans inciting violence against federal employees, stealing presidency
— Mike Luckovich (@mluckovich.bsky.social) January 7, 2025 at 2:24 PM
In the days and months leading up to a fatal July 4 shootout in Yellowstone National Park, federal prosecutors say Samson “Lucas” B. Fussner sent signals that he was planning “pro white nationalist violence.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Gross and FBI Special Agent Eric Barker laid out the allegations in a verified complaint that seeks to have Fussner’s SUV, four guns and various magazines and ammunition forfeited to the government. Gross contends that all of the items were connected to a plot to carry out an act of terrorism. “In attempting to carry out an attack on the employee dining room at Canyon Lodge, and in actually shooting at federal [National Park Service] employees, Fussner intended to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against government conduct,” Gross wrote. [Yellowstone National Park shooter planned ‘Pro White Nationalist Violence,’ feds say]It’s impossible to imagine a more committed insurrectionist than the Republican Party’s standard bearer who gleefully incites his disciples to bloodbaths for his political enemies.
I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as _________ under the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” [Supreme Court of the United States]
“A little over a year ago, Roberts issued a highly unusual public statement that lashed back at Trump’s claims that many federal judges are nakedly partisan and illegitimate.” https://t.co/7QrcbjmNvW
— interested party (@larry_kurtz) December 31, 2019
“While his wife ran around helping Trump with his coup, Thomas was the senior firebrand in a coup of extremists on the court. They yanked power away from John Roberts and are defying the majority will in this country in ways that are terrifying.” https://t.co/fhX7qwi3ds
— interested party (@larry_kurtz) June 25, 2022
1/9/25
Blue state Minnesota compels pipeline company to work with tribes at sacred site
On Tuesday members of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission rescinded a September decision to grant a specific route permit for a gas line near Pipestone National Monument, a site sacred to tribal nations. Magellan Pipeline Company supplies over half of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel used by consumers in eastern North Dakota, eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota. The company is owned by ONEOK, Inc., an Oklahoma-based company. [Minnesota regulators require studies along possible routes before pipeline construction near sacred site]It's not impossible Pipestone will be an Amtrak stop someday.
1/8/25
Number of refugees moving to South Dakota accelerating
1/6/25
Tribal Nations trapped in South Dakota, other states share funding for buffalo restoration
In an email to [Montana Free Press], Buffalo Field Campaign Habitat Coordinator Darrell Geist criticized the state’s motivation for filing the lawsuit. [Montana sues Yellowstone National Park over bison management plan]These days only about 500,000 bison inhabit North America and less than 1 percent of their historic range, just 3 percent of the Earth’s land surface remains untouched by human development and a sixth mass extinction is underway. So, with help from the InterTribal Buffalo Council that started with nineteen tribes and now enjoys the membership of 83 Nations who own 25,000 American bison in 22 states, the Eastern Shoshone Nation will apply a $3 million grant to grow their herd and enhance cultural resilience.
“There’s a big effort to get buffalo out of Yellowstone to tribes,” said Jason Baldes, a Montana State University graduate who is the Shoshone Tribal Buffalo representative. “A lot of tribes are interested in those Yellowstone genetics to enhance the heterogeneity of other herds.” Perhaps even more impactful, however, are three grants of $21.25 million to the InterTribal Buffalo Council to restore and manage native grasslands ecosystems for tribal buffalo restoration in Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Florida, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. [Buffalo rematriation: Grants boost efforts to transfer Yellowstone bison to tribes]In 2023 the National Park Service rehomed 300 bison in the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation and Standing Rock Sioux.
1/4/25
Odenbach would bleed the beast to pay welfare farmers
I’m very interested in eminent domain reform. I think the basis that we have had for the arguments to have carbon capture pipelines, and assuming that, that the assumptions underlying the Green New Deal and the Inflation Reduction Act that says carbon is this bad thing that we have to sequester and liquefy and use eminent domain to pipe across people’s land and then only put it back underground in North Dakota are based on a false premise, the false premise being that that this carbon dioxide is something besides plant food and that it’s the main driver of so called climate change. [Odenbach looking forward to Legislative session as house majority leader]Global warming has been accelerating since humans began setting fires to clear habitat, as a weapon or just for amusement. Evidence that we humans have eaten or burned ourselves out of habitats creating catastrophes behind us is strewn throughout the North American continent. European settlement and the Industrial Revolution in the New World took hardwoods for charcoal then humans allowed fast-growing conifers to replace lost forests. But leaving dead or dying conifers on the forest produces methane, an even more dangerous greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide is. Now, desertification driven by agricultural practices, overgrazing, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and urban sprawl have turned much of the United States into scorched earth.
But the huge amount of money that came into the state with the COVID relief money, that all went to more water. We’ve put hundreds of millions of dollars into water projects for development, for developers, etc. We did a bill a few years ago to up the amount of money spent on the riparian buffer strips program. That program works when you use it. And if you study this before, when the ecosystem, if you will, was balanced, and we had wolves and we had predators, they kept the deer out of these river bottoms. So you had willows and you had aspens and you had cottonwoods and you had trees and you had grass, and so it filtered the water, and we don’t have that anymore. [Odenbach]But, Scott Odenbach is clearly just another christofascist hypocrite so since the Black Hills region is a de facto part of the American Redoubt Odenbach is tapped into the survivalist real estate boom, too.
1/2/25
Today's intersection: huge retailer targets Brookings then fire destroys downtown businesses
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation currently has nearly 2,000 stores across the United States. About 30 are near college campuses, according to the company’s website. Target stores nationwide range in size, with the typical store averaging about 125,000 square feet. The Brookings Target store is expected to be 127,000 square feet. [City trumpets Target as Brookings Marketplace anchor tenant]Dad actually hated the town despite being born in the Brookings Hospital and spending most of his life in the county but that's not really what this post is about. It's more about the outpouring of local support after the blaze but fires in downtown Brookings aren't a new phenomenon and because of the ages of most of those buildings on Main they're all at risk to a runaway conflagration. The park just south of Nick's Hamburgers is there because of a fire and dollar stores have lured lower income shoppers away from downtowns cutting up the retail pie even where Walmart and Target don't exist.
In the meantime, Grunewaldt Properties LLC owner Kevin Grunewaldt said structural engineers are coming up from Sioux Falls to assess the conditions of the walls of the buildings that are adjacent to the now-collapsed one that housed Brost’s, including the one he owns at 314 Main Ave. The affected businesses in his building are Johnson & Richter Creative, The Nook Bookstore, Emerald Grace Clothing Co., Prairie Soul Studio, Greenleaf Accounting and Hand Tied Floral. Nearby businesses also dealing with the fire’s impact include Seven Songbirds Boutique — with half of its back ceiling collapsing during firefighting efforts — and The Exchange, which sustained water damage, he said. [Blaze destroys Brost's Fashions, displaces residents in downtown Brookings]Mr. Grunewaldt spoke in opposition to a mask mandate during a city council meeting in 2020 so a cynical observer might suspect he's a Republican Earth hater sweating lawsuits while haranguing his insurance company to expedite his claim settlement so he can get tenants out of those nasty old buildings downtown and into something a little pricier maybe near the new Target out by I-29!