SD legislators channel Trump, anger obese Brookings blogger

Earth hating Brookings, South Dakota bulky blog bully Pat Powers derides soda taxes, embraces usury and advocates tanning beds for teens without parents' permission but insists cannabis prohibition is not nanny-statism. He has kids suffering from hellish diseases and autism yet he decries effective therapies for those afflicted. Accusing others of dirty tricks Powers adds anonymous comments to his blog and dishes out the load he can't take. 

Likewise, Donald Trump has famously mocked and derided people, including his own nephew, with disabilities so using those precedents Republican South Dakota State Senator John Carley as joined by Representatives Aylward, Baxter, Jensen and Jordan have put in a bill - Senate Bill 66 - to violate the voting rights of the disabled and deny them the use of assistive voting technology. 

So, using that rationale voting places and businesses should be allowed to ban obese people like Powers and his wife, airlines and taxi services should charge more for fat people. Scales and Body Mass Index stations should be outside stores where food is sold. Businesses with buffets should have scales at the door and anyone with a BMI over 23 will pay an additional $1.00 for every whole number above that. Food stores should have scales at tills that add surcharges according to BMIs. Gas stations should have scales that determine price per gallon according to BMI unless you have documentation in your debit/credit card updated by your doctor that you're on a weight reduction regimen.

Powers has looked worse but he is still morbidly obese so now the load on his health is taking its toll and a source close to his family says he's being treated for pancreatic cancer. 

Kristi Noem is probably a criminal and unindicted co-conspirator

This interested party has been following Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem's (KLAN's) career since she was elected to the South Dakota Legislature in 2006 and ordered a staffer in a leg cast to go into the Capitol parking lot during a blizzard so former South Dakota Snow Queen Kristi wouldn’t have to get into a cold car.

Her father, who smothered in a 1994 grain bin incident likely modeled extramarital proclivities, hated American Indians, she hates Indians and Donald Trump hates Indians. And, after her father died she had an affair with a much older man who was an employee for the US Department of Agriculture then after she was elected to Congress she began boinking Aaron Schock, a now-disgraced Illinois US Representative. Corey Lewandowski is simply one in a string of her paramours.

A 2010 Sioux Falls Argus Leader piece laid the backstory.

Noem's dive into the family operation led to posts agricultural boards - her first steps into politics. She served on the South Dakota Soybean Association board. In 1997, then-Sen. Tom Daschle nominated her to serve on the state board of the Farm Service Agency. That led to an appointment to the board from President Clinton. Noem also attended one of Daschle's leadership camps, which were intended to groom up-and-coming Democrats to compete for local and state offices. Noem said she attended when the camps were open to Republicans because she wanted to learn more about campaigning. Noem isn't sure how her name got to Daschle for the FSA appointment. It came when the board was being expanded from three members to five. Regardless, Noem was a Republican serving among Democrats. "I don't know why or how she got on that board," said Mike O'Connor, a former Democratic lawmaker who served as the executive director of the state FSA.

Trump henchman, Roger Stone reportedly noted that when she was in Congress Noem was like a porcupine but all the pricks were on the inside.

Noem nearly lost her bid for Congress in 2010 following revelations of a 20-year driving record fraught with recklessness and numerous arrest warrants for failure to appear.

It isn’t that uncommon in Noem’s family, based on court records since 1989. Noem’s husband, Bryon, had 18 recorded traffic citations during that period, 11 of them for speeding. Noem’s brother, Rock Arnold, had 34 citations during that period, 25 of them for speeding. He also missed court or fine payment dates four times and had warrants issued three times. Another brother, Robb, had 21 citations, including 12 for speeding. And Noem’s mother, Corinne Arnold, had 11 citations, nine for speeding.

In 2015 while Noem was in Congress it was revealed that her brothers used the H-2A program to bring in workers during planting and harvest season. Today, people - particularly those using the H-2A program - have been a target of Immigration and Customs Enforcement including in South Dakota. 

Noem was a partner in Racota Valley Ranch until 2008. Racota Valley Ranch received $3,058,152 in farm subsides in 1995-2008. Her ownership percentage was 13.5 percent in 2000-2001 and 16.9 percent in 2002-2008. Her 2009 financial disclosure form lists her as a partner in Racota Valley Ranch. EWG’s estimate of federal farm subsidies paid to Noem is $443,748.

Racota Valley Ranch Partnership has received a total of $4,910,179 in taxpayer-funded subsidies between 1995 and 2024.

Noem's anti-civil rights actions are no accident. She's is a graduate of the Koch Brothers' American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC, an anti-think tank think tank that teaches how wedge issues raise campaign dollars for the extreme white wing of the Republican Party. South Dakota's GOP legislators and candidates enjoy millions in lobbyist benefits from ALEC.

When she was governor she sought to cover up the death of Joe Boever who was killed by South Dakota's attorney general with a 2011 Ford Taurus that was damaged so badly it had to be towed. The state settled with Joe's family for an undisclosed amount orchestrated by the Governor's Office of Risk Management.

When she was in Congress Noem said she believed in the sovereignty of tribes but voted against supporting the needs of Native women and during the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020 Governor Noem sued to have the checkpoints that protected Native Americans removed from the highways on reservations.

Noem has never supported the Violence Against Women Act but anyone who believes she's never been a victim of sexual harassment or unwanted touching is delusional. Is she compliant, infidelitous, or simply a jaded career politician who's used to trading her favors for advancement? 

At her urging Trump invoked the “national emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rules for a $220 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign that benefited a firm with ties to Mrs. Noem.

Three former Department of Homeland Security officials have made it clear that either numbed, radicalized, infidelitous Kristi Noem resign in 2026 or Herr Trump will fire her then replace her with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin who is leaving that post. Mrs. Noem caused the murder of a Minneapolis woman and will not go unpunished.

Illinois U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly announced she is filing articles of impeachment again Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in the wake of a deadly ICE shooting in Minneapoli.

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— CBS News Chicago (@cbschicago.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 6:41 AM

Guest post: state government in Pierre picks winners and losers

Editor's note: France controls each end of the Rapid City Pierre and Eastern Railroad in South Dakota. On the west end a bentonite mining firm that operates near Belle Fourche merged with the French company Imerys. On the eastern end a State-funded French salted fat factory in Brookings relies on socialized dairies and the state's current Republican governor criss-crosses South Dakota doling out cash as his campaign flounders.

The following column was penned by long time blogger Steve Sibson of Mitchell.

In their 2024 tax return, Dakota Resources said they build the financial capacity of rural economic development corporations through community development loan products. They also reported that the own 51% of Dakotas America, LLC, which was formed through a joint venture solely for the purpose of applying for allocations of New Markets Tax Credits from the US Treasury which had totaled $460,000,000. 

Perhaps South Dakota News Watch should tell the story of the $1,000,000 loan Dakota Resources provided the Mitchell Area Development Corporation (MADC), the developer behind Mitchell TIF 31. The project plan is to extend 15 th Ave to the West to allow Echo Electric Supply to construct a new $2,500,000 building. “Without the assistance of a TIF, the project will not be built, and the Echo building project will not proceed,” according to the project plan. The South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development is providing a $362,500 grant for the project. 

Echo Electric Supply was acquired in 2024 by Sonepar, which is based out of Paris France. Sonepar is a member and active participate of the World Economic Forum and the world leader in B-to-B distribution of electrical equipment, solutions, and services. They are also involved in the controversial data center business. 

So the story is how Dakota Resources, who makes money off of the federal taxpayer, is loaning money to the MADC that is also subsidized with state money and will be diverting a million dollars in local property taxes allowing a multi-national corporation a competitive advantage over local electrical supply businesses. 

This is not what we should call rural economic development. This is a story about how public-private partnerships are used in a communist-styled planned economy that sucks money out of rural areas, through the taxing authority of federal, state, and local governments, and ends up in places like Paris France. 

Zionist Deutsch wants outfitters to avoid liability

Brookings Wildlife Federation President Bob Kurtz will preside over the group's annual meeting with area legislators on 9 January. Last session South Dakota considered BWF's House Bill 1215 that would have required the licensure of fishing/hunting guides and outfitters and specific insurance requirements as part of new regulations but it ultimately died in committee. BWF is affiliated with the National Wildlife Federation and South Dakota Wildlife Federation. 

Senate Bill 16 is new effort introduced in the 2026 legislative session with similar goals but Earth haters like Fred Deutsch are nearing civil war over liability if the defense at his Faceberg page of outfitter libertarianism is any indication.

The BWF is in its 46th year of supplying conservation information and activities to the Brookings community. Other issues that the federation members may bring up with the local Legislators are: 

Legally define recreation as a beneficial use of South Dakota waters 

Require a big game harvest survey (to reveal impacts of non-residents and help management) 

Remove the nest predator bounty (less effective than habitat creation) 

Reinstate pheasant brood counts (much needed for management decisions) 

Define specific numbers of non-resident licenses for archery hunters 

Re-establish rules for appointing GFP Commissioners — federation members feel that then-Gov. Kristi Noem’s appointments upset the balance of the commission [Brookings Register]

Dependent on wedge issues for campaign donations and selling himself as the son of a Holocaust survivor Fred Deutsch is a small town chiropractor with a religion-driven hatred of the 21st Century medical industry because he's icky catholic creepy evil in the flesh. Quack Deutsch has been raising campaign cash gallivanting around South Dakota with a crusade calling a death with dignity "Don't Eat Grandma" or something but won't spend a dime for mental health. Fred is a sectarian who attends anti-civil rights conferences featuring the Duck Dynasty grifters. 

Scary when a legislature endures members trained in chiropractic who haven’t earned prescriptive authority and deny the efficacy of western medicine put voters and residents at risk. 

Learn more at KELO teevee.

Disclosure: Bob Kurtz is this interested party's first cousin.

Trump is destroying the Midwest farm economy

I usually save the looney stuff for a slow Friday afternoon, but I came across this in my run through the daily Trump bad news. 

Creighton University's Ernie Goss follows the economies of several breadbasket states including South Dakota's. 

A score of 50 is growth neutral.

South Dakota: The December Business Conditions Index for South Dakota slumped to 44.6 from November’s 49.1. Components of the overall December index were: new orders at 41.3; production at 46.0; delivery lead time at 49.4; inventories at 48.1; and employment at 38.5. According to the ITA, South Dakota manufacturing exports for the first three quarters of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, fell from $1.5 billion in 2024 to $1.2 billion in 2025 for an 18.4% decline.

And. 

A survey of supply managers in Iowa and eight other states shows Midwestern manufacturers ended 2025 with another downturn, reporting job losses for the ninth straight month.

Creighton University Economics Professor Ernie Goss says the region’s main economic indicator sank to its lowest level for the year during December, and much of the decline is being blamed on tariffs enacted by the Trump administration and by other nations in response.

“Small firms are taking it on the chin right now, with tariffs having much more of an impact on small firms than large firms. We’re seeing that continuing for manufacturing as well,” Goss says. “Tariffs elevated in importance. They’re all of a sudden mattering. Everybody who said, ‘Well, tariffs don’t matter,’ they do matter. They are mattering. They will matter even more in the first half of 2026.”

The December employment index on the survey sank to the lowest reading since May of 2024. Supply managers surveyed reported weakness in both imports and exports, while urban areas across the Midwest fared better than most ag-based rural areas, and Goss sees the trend continuing.

“Now, what about the next six months? We’re talking about the economy. Still, I won’t call it jobless, there are some jobs, but not enough,” Goss says. “We’re talking about moving slightly up to sideways. Manufacturing, likewise. The second six months, I think we’re going to see a rebound, now, this is all circumspect depending on what happens going forward.”

Goss says some of the business leaders surveyed say tariffs have increased input costs by a minimum of 10 percent to as much as 48 percent, and in many cases, those higher costs are being passed on to consumers.

“Twenty-five percent of the survey participants said that tariffs were pushing up prices more than 15 percent,” Goss says, “and 37.5 percent do not support the Trump tariffs, so what we’re seeing is increasing resistance to the tariffs of the Trump administration.”

Goss says Iowa’s main economic indicator dropped to 44.6 in December from a reading of 52.1 in November.

He says federal data shows Iowa manufacturing exports for the first three quarters of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, fell from $11.5 billion to $10.5 billion — that’s a nine-percent decline.

Read that here. 

Yes, 35th safest, 47th in workplace safety, 39th in emergency preparedness rank and tied for 45th in climate disasters per capita South Dakota is truly a failed state. Students in South Dakota are fifth in overall rank of those in debt and suffer that load at the highest proportion in the US. The Bendagate state is 37th in grant and work opportunities rank and is tied for 42nd in student work opportunities. 113,750 people in South Dakota don’t have enough food including 1 in 5 children. South Dakota is 51st in elder care, the state’s governor is a reactionary cracker. Infrastructure is crumbling. Industrial agriculture is smothering wildlife habitat. Churches are girding for gun violence. Meth has replaced alcohol as the state’s drug of choice. Pierre’s culture of corruption and attacks on kids have ended open government. Native wildlife are being exterminated to make way for disease-ridden domestic livestock and exotic fowl. Jails far outnumber colleges. Bankers continue to enslave landowners and the state’s medical industry triopoly operates without scrutiny.