BHSU granted $2.1 million from agency Republicans are abolishing

The South Dakota Board of Regents and US Department of Education funding drove the GEAR UP scandal and Westerhuis murders. Republican former Governor Mike Rounds ran for US Senate calling for the abolition of the DoED saying it is a source of corrupting influence in South Dakota.

Those and myriad other nefarious developments spurred some in the state to boost civic engagement and even reconcile historic truths maybe even probe deeper into South Dakota's own history of ethnic cleansing. That the resulting hangout dedicated to exceptionalism would be located at a university built on stolen treaty ground especially with money from a doomed agency is a draft of the American Saga only Earth haters could concoct. 

Black Hills State University was recently awarded a $2.1 million grant to support civic education in South Dakota. The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education’s American History and Civics Education-Seminars program, which serves to promote new and existing evidence-based strategies to encourage innovative American history, civics and government, and geography instruction. Their game portfolio includes several published simulations on events in the nation’s founding. [BHSU press release]

Future fund recipients, Kathryn Johnson, a former member of the Board of Regents implicated in the EB-5/Bendagate scandal, and her husband, prominent Rapid City attorney, Doyle Estes, are longtime contributors to Pierre's culture of corruption. Prior to her departure Johnson capriciously switched her voter registration to Democrat after being called out for imbalance on SDBOR. Doyle Estes was disciplined by the State Bar in February over an ethics breach and went before the South Dakota Supreme Court after defrauding the City of Rapid City. 

A life-sciences building on the campus of Black Hills State University has alumna, Johnson's name on it.

Self-proclaimed christian nationalist torpedoed CPB

ProPublica journalist Andy Kroll was interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air where he exposed Russell Vought as the christianic monster behind the rescission of funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Bible thumping radio stations have been crowding local NPR broadcasts on the lower FM bands for decades. But how to dismantle the administrative state?

Here is a snip from “Put Them in Trauma:" Inside a Key MAGA Leader’s Plans for a New Trump Agenda.

Vought does not hide his agenda or shy away from using extreme rhetoric in public. But the apocalyptic tone and hard-line policy prescriptions in the two private speeches go further than his earlier pronouncements. Vought referred to the people detained for alleged crimes committed on Jan. 6, 2021, as “political prisoners” and defended the lawyers Jeffrey Clark and John Eastman, who have both faced criminal charges for their role in Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Federal law enforcement agencies, he added, “are keeping political opponents in jail, and I think we need to be honest about that.” [Kroll]

NPR is suing CPB for yanking "a planned three-year contract worth $36 million in the face of intense pressure from the White House."

Olson GOES OFF on Thune

Shad Olson isn't fooled by Earth hater John Thune.

No, friends. John Thune did not suddenly "see the light," "grow a pair," "find Jesus," or "finally come around" to the truth of the South Dakota political base and the expedience of "backing Trump."

What you're watching is theater, and John 'Wilkes Booth' Thune, the NeverTrump stalwart (and the very first down ballot establishment sniper to call for Trump's removal as GOP Presidential nominee after the 2016 "Pussygate" tape release by Axcess Hollywood) just turned in the Oscar performance of his miserable, compromised and utterly corrupt political life.

John Thune's role is that of impassioned imposter, mouthing cursory disgruntlement with a wink and a nod to his fellow RINO fiends and his Cory Booker buddies on the political left, all of whom know the fix is in. Reading from the same script.

Anyone who doesn't see this for exactly what it is understands even less about politics than they do about the history of Zapata Oil and the Koch Brothers.

Fortunately for John Thune, South Dakota is brimming to overflowing with people incapable of seeing through his schtick and fooled by his homespun, favorite son, 'Jimmy Stewart Goes to Washington' routine. Four terms and counting.

His cowardice and treachery remain firmly intact. And today's performance on the Senate floor confirms only his mediocre thespian skills and the gullibility of the good natured faction of rubes that still can't believe that their homegrown basketball star and homecoming king squandered away an otherwise sterling career as nothing more than a world class swamp creature, thoroughly marinated in Potomac slime.

Editorial on Thune shutdown from a South Dakota town named for a war criminal

Editor's note: "Americans now blame Trump and Republicans for the shutdown by 14 points, up from 10 points last week. Trump reaches his lowest economic approval in Navigator tracking since 2018. As SNAP benefits come under threat, Americans look to Trump and Republicans to come to the table to negotiate an end to the shutdown." And. "The WalletHub Economic Index decreased by over 9% between October 2024 and October 2025. This means consumers are less confident about their financial outlook this month than they were at the same time last year."

The following is an editorial in a mal-named South Dakota paper.

Representatives of the government of the United States of America: It’s time to get back to work. 

For over four weeks now, our government has been shut down, to the detriment of the citizens. Things are about to get even worse, as some state agencies report that beginning Nov. 1, EBT cards may not receive new SNAP benefit allotments until the shutdown is resolved. That means people in need could begin to go hungry, including children who have absolutely no control over the situation, or their situation in general. It is 2025. We cannot voluntarily allow children to go hungry at the expense of political theater. Whether you support the program or not, allowing SNAP benefits to expire would be an absolute catastrophe for a number of reasons.

There is not any one member of our government or any one party to blame for what is now one of the longest shutdowns in the history of our government. This brinksmanship could be prevented if both Democrats and Republicans would work together to provide a solution. Instead, it is more important to them to grandstand and point fingers. We send our representatives to Washington, D.C., to operate the government and solve problems for us. We don’t send them there to shut the government down and then wait for the other party to “blink” in the name of gaining some macabre leverage or advantage. It’s just another example of our federal leadership failing us. It’s something that is becoming all too common.

If our “leaders” (and we use that term very, very loosely) have issues they want to get resolved, they should do so under the umbrella of an operational, functioning government. What is going on right now is accomplishing nothing, and more and more people are suffering. Shutdowns are not inevitable, and can be avoided. It takes two to tango. Unfortunately, it seems like our leaders are presently only interested in dancing on our faces. Meanwhile, federal employees are missing paychecks but still expected to show up to work. Local businesses are losing customers, and our public land suffers as well.

Here in Custer County, we have plenty of public land and we have plenty of federal employees. They may not be saying so on the record, but they are feeling the pinch. It is terrible they are put at the mercy of our increasingly petulant representatives.

The centerpiece of the shutdown is a dispute over  healthcare — specifically the fate of premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and cuts to Medicaid. Republicans argue Democrats want to spend millions and millions of dollars on healthcare for illegal aliens. Democrats say that is not the case. The healthcare system is yet another system in the United States that is broken, but that’s another editorial for another time.

Nothing gets solved when both sides take their ball and go home. It’s long past time for our government to reopen and solve these problems for the people of the United States. Nothing gets solved when people refuse to compromise. Unfortunately that seems to be what our government does best—be uncompromising and get little done. Get back to work. It’s the least you can do for us. [War Criminal County Chronicle]

Company with dairies in NM and SD compels lawsuit over 25,000 head operation in ND

According to the permit approved by the state, the dairy would generate about 204 million to 235 million gallons of liquid manure and wastewater annually. In addition, 12,643 acres are tile-drained, meaning pollutants would drain directly into waterways while there is no requirement to monitor tile drains or to verify compliance with application rates.

The Dakota Resource Council argues the dairy will threaten the Red River and Lake Winnipeg in Canada with nitrogen, phosphorus, bacteria, pathogens, pesticides and other pollutants.

Read it all at DTN/Progressive Farmer.

Guest post: Buche slams Thune shutdown

Editor's note: according to WalletHub, gambling has become a leading source of anguish and despair in South Dakota with a high suicide rate and few avenues for treatment. The state is tied for first in the number of casinos and machines and second in overall addiction to the poison. The reasoning is hardly mysterious. It’s all about the money video lootery, a too big to jail banking racket, a medical industry triopoly, prostitution, the Sturgis Rally, policing for profit, sex trafficking, hunting and subsidized grazing bring to the SDGOP destroying lives, depleting watersheds and smothering habitat under single-party rule. 

The following column was penned by RF Buche.

I’ve spent my entire life in grocery stores. I am a fourth-generation grocer and President & CEO of GF Buche Co., serving rural and tribal communities in South Dakota for 120 years. Some of our customers are the poorest people in the United States and live in the most remote areas of South Dakota. I know exactly what role local grocers play, and right now, that role has never been more critical.

The government shutdown has thrown SNAP benefits into uncertainty. Families are anxious, wondering if and when they’ll be able to put food on the table. Children should not feel the stress of parents deciding whether to skip meals. And even if benefits land this month, the scheduled cuts coming in 2026 keep me up at night. I know who will pay the price: parents working multiple jobs, children whose school lunches may be their only full meal, elders choosing between food and medicine, and veterans who served their country but now struggle just to eat.

When Washington plays politics, real families go hungry.

Midnight on SNAP Day

On SNAP disbursement days, we keep our stores open late. If you stand inside at midnight, you’ll see a parent pushing two carts, one for groceries and one with a sleeping child wrapped in a blanket. Hunger. Exhaustion. Relief. For many, it’s the first real food in days.

This isn’t hypothetical. It happens every month in South Dakota.Rural Hunger Looks Different

In places like Pine Ridge, Mission, Marty, and Lower Brule, hunger isn’t about poor choices, it’s about barriers built into geography and economy: long distances, limited transportation, fewer jobs. More than *113,000 South Dakotans, including 1 in 5 children, struggle with food insecurity. *https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/south-dakota/how-nonprofits-are-teaming-up-to-fight-hunger-in-south-dakota These aren’t statistics in my stores. They are customers.

This Isn’t Political. It’s Personal. 

I’m not here to point fingers. I’m here to say that kids shouldn’t go to bed hungry while Congress argues over shutdown leverage. Treating food access as a bargaining chip is a moral failure.

South Dakotans take care of each other. When one neighbor struggles, the rest of us step up. That’s not charity, that’s who we are. But right now, decisions made thousands of miles away are pushing families to the edge.

SNAP Works, And Cuts Will Hurt 

SNAP is not a luxury. It is the backbone of food access for:

• Working parents

• Seniors stretching limited income• Kids who deserve nourishment to learn and grow

• Veterans deserving more than survival mode

SNAP dollars spent in a rural store support the entire community, keeping doors open, jobs local, and shelves full. Cutting this support is not responsible governance. 

We’re Stepping Up – Washington Must Too

Through our nonprofit Team Buche Cares teambuchecares.org, we aim to provide 50,000 meals at Thanksgiving and another 50,000 at Christmas. We respond to urgent needs when families reach out. But philanthropy cannot replace federal responsibility. Donors help thousands. SNAP helps tens of thousands.

Hungry Children Can’t Wait 

This isn’t a policy debate. It’s dinner. Stability. Survival.

Here’s what I’m asking Congress to do:

• End the shutdown• Fully fund SNAP for November

• Reverse the cuts planned for 2026

• Remember the families living with the consequencesMy family built our grocery stores on one belief: food is love, food is dignity, and food is hope. In the United States of America, in the heart of South Dakota, no child should have to worry about eating.

South Dakotans take care of each other. Caring for our neighbors, sharing in times of plenty and ensuring no one is forgotten, those are the values that make our state strong.

It’s time for Washington to do the same.

Learn more at South Dakota Searchlight and at ICTNews and at Bill Janklow's idea of public radio.

As USD prof reinstated NMSU Earth hater sues

Philip Michael Hook is a tenured art professor who has taught at the University of South Dakota for nearly twenty years but was suspended after posting truth on Faceberg about for-profit Nazist Charlie Kirk. USD has since dropped its bid to fire Hook after a federal judge halted his dismissal amid a pending lawsuit.

In 2021 christianic white nationalist David Clements was fired from New Mexico State University for endangering students and others by refusing to comply with state COVID-19 protocols. An attorney, Clements is representing himself in a lawsuit against NMSU and believes he's been vindicated by the Trump Organization's Department of Health and Human Services. NMSU dropped its masking requirement in 2022 because vaccination participation in New Mexico was widespread so cases and hospitalizations were declining. 

The university declined to comment on the pending litigation. Earlier this month, NMSU’s attorneys asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that a two-year statute of limitations on contractual claims had passed and that it would be immune from claims that COVID-19 requirements violated “implied” terms of his contract. [Albuquerque Journal]