Bluestem Prairie

Senate District 4: Kupec wants to serve on Agriculture and Rural Development Committee

As we noted in the post, MN Senate and House name committee chairs, St Cloud-area DFL state senator Aric Putnam will chair the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Development Committee.

Who will join him on that important committee?

In an interview with the Detroit Lakes Tribune's Michael Achterling, Kupec talks tax cuts, recreational cannabis as freshman state senator prepares for first session, the newly elected Rob Kupec, DFL-Moorhead, notes:

"What I've always said is that (recreational cannabis) has never been one of my top issues, but I'm not opposed to it," said Kupec. "I think it's gonna happen and I just want to make sure we do it right."

But there's something the Moorhead meteorologist does want, Achterling reports at the article's close:

Since Senate District 4 is a largely rural area, Kupec said he would like to be put on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

"I let that be known (at the caucus meeting)," he said.

This shouldn't come as a surprise, since Mike McFeely reported in TV meteorologist Rob Kupec makes bid for Minnesota state senate on early May at the Fargo Forum:

He lists his top issues as . . .protecting the farm economy and water recreation from climate change.

We'll be keeping an eye out on this one, since as Achterling points out in the article that Kupec won only two rural townships in Clay County, while losing in all precincts in Becker County. His win? The DL Online reports:

Kupec lost every precinct in Becker County, however, he ended up besting Bohmer by more than a two-to-one margin in a handful of Moorhead's thirteen voter precincts. He also maintained tighter losing margins across greater Clay County.

Bluestem suspects those pesky Gen Zers, college students, women and such in the regional urban center put Kupec over the top. But then, those pesky kids are often concerned about climate action.

Whatever the SD4 voters' motivation, we think having a meteorologist on an ag committee might be a great thing, especially when we recall outgoing Senate Ag chair Torrey Westrom's answer to a question about environmental challenges in the October 26 PDF edition of the Swift County Monitor:

Environmental challenges Times: Stories about the impact of a warming climate on Minnesota’s lakes and landscape are being written with increasing frequency. How can the Legislature address this threat to our agriculture, lakes, and landscape as well as our businesses and citizens? 

 

Westrom: “Climate change,” use to be called Global Warming, and just a decade or two before that in the 1970’s, the scientists strongly warned of the “Ice Age” that was coming soon. In the National Geographics, they warned by the turn of the century, there could be significant devastation if man didn’t drastically change their ways.

 

 Fast forward to the 1990’s and the science community had done an about-face and changed their alarm to “Global Warming”.  Thus, in twenty short years, the weather predictors had changed from returning of the ice age, to the threat of now being much too warm to survive as a planet. All of this has been during my lifetime. 

 

Couple this with the history books that teach us about the massive glaciers that use to cover much of western Minnesota, including many parts of Senate district 12. Somehow those glaciers eventually did melt thousands of years ago, according to the “textbooks”, and we now enjoy the great places we all live, raise our families, operate farms or business, and recreate in many of the lakes. In short, the evolving and ever-changing Ice-Age, to Global Warming to Climate Change, is probably best for the legislature to not have a knee-jerk reaction to embrace it as an absolute scientific law. There also are counter theories to Climate Change, so it’s important to read, listen and study all the possible scenarios, and then make the best decisions on what makes sense for the present time with the technology we currently have to improve our lives and protect children’s futures.  . . .

Since Westrom will likely now be the ranking members of the committee, Bluestem prays Kupec will provide some helpful balance at a time when farmers face challenges from drought, derechoes, and such, rather than Westrom's nostalgia for the melting of Ice Age glaciers or his privileging of deer farmers for early session committee hearing time.

 

But perhaps Kupec's no Paul Douglas.

 

Related posts

•  Drawing the line at family: contrasting cases of Republican state senate candidates in SD, MN 
• After wasted weeks in Ag committee, Westrom drops deer farmer special non-drought demands from Minnesota Senate drought aid bill
• Fact check: Did Rep. Paul Anderson say WI farmers got $100 million drought relief?
• MN House passes drought relief bill 101-33
• House to vote on drought relief Thurs afternoon; Senate burdens its bill with deer farmer aid
• Minnesota House Ways & Means Committee passes drought relief bill while senate dawdles
• Second Walz administration drought relief bill meets with GOP crabfest in committee

Photo: KVRR-TV Chief Meteorologist Rob Kupec announced he is running for a seat in the Minnesota state senate.Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor, via TV meteorologist Rob Kupec makes bid for Minnesota state senate in the Fargo Forum.

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SD Searchlight: Incoming Secretary of State looks to hand-count ballots, audit each election

Well then. 

A look at South Dakota Secretary of State-elect Monae Johnson's ambitions for the Rushmore State's elections, from the South Dakota Searchlight.

Minnesota readers will recognize the name of Johnson's campaign manager's husband, Rick Weible, "a former mayor of St. Bonifacius Minnesota, who traveled [the North Star State] prior to the midterms posting videos about election fraud."

Incoming Secretary of State looks to hand-count ballots, audit each election
Auditors, current state office holder disagree on accuracy of tabulator machines
By Joshua Haiar

Secretary of State-Elect Monae Johnson campaigned as the candidate who would secure South Dakota’s elections.

That message helped her defeat Democratic challenger Tom Cool – who campaigned on concerns about Johnson being an “election denier” – with 65% of the vote. 

But the campaign is over, and Johnson is thinking about the changes she hopes to make when she takes office next year.

Changes like an audit of every precinct in South Dakota and a state-level push to convince county auditors to hand-count all ballots. She’s also suggesting that lawmakers consider barring the use of tabulator machines altogether.

Election officials across the state – including the outgoing secretary of state and a county auditor who presided over the last fully hand-counted election nearly two decades ago – worry that such changes would complicate counting and render it less accurate.

“You’d never get an accurate count,” said Julie Pearson, the former Pennington County auditor that oversaw the transition from hand-counted ballots to tabulation. “Plus, the time. Our scanners, I think, run 200 ballots a minute.”

Secretary-Elect Johnson comes to office with election credentials of her own. She spent more than eight years working in the office she’ll take over in January. 

Johnson agreed to an interview with South Dakota Searchlight on her plans for the office, not the results of the 2020 election. She discussed her views on that election in a pre-election interview. 

The incoming election official said that her previous time in the secretary of state’s office showed her the value of customer service. Her predecessor, Steve Barnett, excelled in that regard, Johnson said, but she also said there are important differences. 

“The main difference is I’m totally against voter fraud, online voting, or online voter registration and updates, and that secretary of state (Barnett) was pushing it his whole four years,” Johnson said. “His latest bill was that if you were already in the system, you could go online and update your address to make it more convenient.”

Current Secretary of State Steve Barnett has publicly rejected tabulator-related concerns of voter fraud. He also said that voters can’t change any of their voting information via the state’s online system at the moment. The bill he proposed that would have made that possible, which did not pass, would have required a valid state ID and social security card to make any change.

Machine mistrust

Johnson said her concerns about voting tabulator machines and online voter updates are shared by “highly qualified professionals.”

“I had people reaching out to me saying ‘no’ because anything can be hacked,” Johnson said. “That was the biggest thing. The people reaching out to me were IT people, military people.” 

Johnson did not name the IT and military sources who expressed those concerns, but campaign manager Gretchen Weible did point to sources for the hacking claims.

Firstly, her husband Rick Weible, a former mayor of St. Bonifacius Minnesota, who traveled his state prior to the midterms posting videos about election fraud and pushing for changes to election procedures, hardware, and software. The Weibles were on stage with Johnson during her election night victory speech in downtown Sioux Falls.

Rick Weible said his time as mayor exposed him to the flaws of machine counts, which led him to the election integrity fray. 

“It was off by one to two votes every election,” Weible said. 

However, Weible said tabulators proved valuable in post election audits.

The Johnson campaign also pointed to Jessia Pollema of South Dakota Canvassing – an organization that advocates for no electronic devices in South Dakota elections.

The crowd pushing election integrity has a misunderstanding of what “the machines” in question are and do, Barnett said.

“These people think anything that can be plugged into a wall can be hacked, whether it has a modem or not,” he said. 

The state already uses paper ballots and requires voter ID, but Johnson said there is room for improvement.  Specifically, she would like to implement a post-election review. All but five states have some sort of post-vote audit, and those audits can look very different from state to state.

A March story from the Minnesota Reformer about an election reform rally that featured Rick Weible noted that 3% of precincts in that state perform hand counts after each election. Those counts are observed by representatives from both parties. 

The 400,000-ballot audit of the 2020 election in Minnesota confirmed the validity of the state’s machine-run results. 

Secretary-Elect Johnson would like to see auditors in each county take a sample of the ballots from each precinct and hand count them to make sure the votes line up with tabulator machine counts.

“And if the hand count matches, your precinct is good to go,” Johnson said. 

Hand counting ballots

County auditors make the call about tabulator use on the county level, but Johnson said would advise against their use. It would take lawmakers to do away with tabulators altogether, she said.

“I know there’s a lot of people that would love all the machines gone,” Johnson said. 

One South Dakota county tried hand-counting ballots on Election Day. Tripp County gave it a go during the recent midterms – the only county in South Dakota in nearly 20 years to perform one. 

Several races had to be recounted by Tripp County’s volunteer counting boards – sometimes three or four times on election night. 75 ballots even went  “missing” in one precinct during the post election audit.

Ironically, the explanation for the mismatch was identified by a voting tabulator – the machines Johnson and Tripp County commissioners dislike.

“It’s been a nightmare,” Tripp County Auditor Barb Desersa told South Dakota Searchlight the day after the election. “To me, it’s plain as day (that the machine is more accurate), but I know there are others that don’t see it that way and question it.”

Johnson advisor Rick Weible said the issue in Tripp County wasn’t hand-counting ballots, but that the people counting those ballots grew tired. A fine-tuned process for hand counts would alleviate fatigue-related problems, he said. 

“The way we’re doing it in South Dakota is terrible,” Weible said. “We need multiple shifts.” 

For larger counties like Pennington, where nearly 46,000 ballots were cast for the 2022 general election, counting by hand isn’t realistic, Auditor Cindy Mohler said.

Mohler anticipates election integrity legislation to be introduced during the upcoming legislative session, but she hopes legislators reach out and listen to officials like her.

“Please talk to your county auditors, They’re the ones in the trenches, dealing with this every day. The laws will affect the work they do,” Mohler said.

Minnehaha County Auditor Ben Kyte echoed Mohler’s concerns about moving away from tabulators.

“It would create some challenges,” Kyte said. “We had over 75,000 ballots cast. I would be concerned about the accuracy of hand counting.”

Rick Weible said there wouldn’t be a problem because larger counties have a precinct per so many people that would each be counting ballots, making the counts scalable.

Auditor with hand-counting experience trusts tabulators

Former Pennington County Auditor Julie Pearson oversaw that county’s transition from hand-counted ballots to tabulator counts in 2004. 

“(I) guarantee you 99.9% of the time your machine count is more accurate than a hand count is ever going to be,” Pearson said. “They’re gonna lose track of where they’re at. And when all you’re doing is doing little sticks (to keep count), you know, one two, three four five, how do you not lose track of where you’re at?”

The current system in South Dakota already offers a pre-election audit, she said. Prior to an election, a foot-tall deck of filled-out sample ballots is run through the tabulators, Pearson said.

“And then on election night, we’re required to run the test deck through each machine,” Pearson said. “And our machines are secure. The auditor’s office is always locked. Nobody is allowed in there. Once we start voting or have ballots, nobody else touches our ballots but deputy auditors and law enforcement.”

The right spirit

Pearson disagrees with Johnson’s policy prescriptions, but she thinks her intentions come from the right place. 

“Whether you call her an election denier or not, I think it’s good that any new secretary of state, as the primary election official in the state of South Dakota … review everything that is in that election process,” Pearson said. “That’s really part of their job.”

Johnson said she does not want to make elections and voting harder for people. She’s particularly concerned about voting rights for the state’s Native American population, she said. 

“I want to work with the tribes,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if other secretaries of state have reached out to the tribes. So once I am sworn in, that’s one of my main goals.”

Beyond elections

The office of the secretary of state is responsible for state elections and  South Dakota’s public documents. That is another area Johnson sees room for improvement.

The state’s campaign finance expenditure reports ought to be more navigable, she said. A searchable database would help reporters “follow the money trail.” 

“A lot of reporters reached out to me and said, ‘Is there any way that we could just put in a name like, say Monae Johnson, and then see who Monae donated to right now?’ You can’t do that search right now.”

This story is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. To support the South Dakota Searchlight, donate here.

Related posts

•  SD Republican Secretary of State candidate: The trouble with Monae Johnson and Jell-O 
• Funhouse mirrors? The peculiar GOP endorsed secretary of state candidates in MN & SD 
• MN Reformer: Republican Party of Minnesota endorses election denier to oversee elections
• Westrom wouldn't talk to local reporter about why he attended sketchy election fraud event 

Photo: Secretary-Elect Monae Johnson celebrates her November 8, 2022 election victory. Behind Johnson (from left) stands her campaign manager, Gretchen Weible, and her husband Rick Weible. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight).

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

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Free entrance to Minnesota state parks and recreation areas on Friday, November 25

My partner and I will be spending some time in Minnesota on Friday and perhaps we'll avail ourselves of a free visit to Big Stone Lake State Park.  Some of his family has lived in this area since long before statehood.

A reminder from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will waive entrance fees to all 75 state parks and recreation areas Friday, Nov. 25 — the day after Thanksgiving.

This “Free Park Day” is one of four days each year on which the DNR waives the vehicle permit requirement to enter state parks and recreation areas. The goal of Free Park Days is to encourage Minnesotans to get outdoors and enjoy the health and wellness benefits of spending time in nature.

“Minnesota state parks and recreation areas are open year-round and provide places of peace and beauty to recharge during the hustle and bustle of the busy holiday season,” DNR Parks and Trails Division Director Ann Pierce said. “It’s a fantastic time to get out into nature with friends and family following Thanksgiving celebrations.”

According to the American Psychological Association, spending time in nature is linked to improved attention, lower stress, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders and even increased empathy and cooperation.

There’s a state park or recreation area within 30 miles of most Minnesotans. Free Park Days provide an opportunity to visit a state park or recreation area for the first time or return to an old favorite to discover something new.

Most state park offices and visitor centers will be lightly staffed on Nov. 25. Before and during their visit, visitors are encouraged to:

• Check visitor alerts and find directions on state park pages via the DNR website (mndnr.gov).
• Download GeoPDF maps (mndnr.gov/mobile/geopdf) before the trip. These maps will display a user’s current location, like other map applications, but the user does not have to be connected to the internet or have cell service to use them.
• Visit the self-orientation signs near the park entrance for suggestions on what to see and do while visiting.
• Help protect these special places for the future by staying on trails and leaving no trace.

For more information, visit the free entrance days to all Minnesota state parks page of the DNR website (mndnr.gov/freeparkdays) or contact the DNR Information Center by emailing info.dnr@state.mn.us or by calling 888-646-6367 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Photo: A tiny bit of oak savannah in Big Stone Lake State Park. Via the Minnesota DNR website for the park.

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SD Searchlight: Board of Education hears more comments on proposed social studies standards

An important update on this ongoing struggle in the Rushmore State from the South Dakota Searchlight.

Board of Education hears more comments on proposed social studies standards
By Joshua Haiar

The public had a second opportunity to speak to the South Dakota Board of Education about proposed changes to the state’s social studies standards on Monday at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

The in-person comment session came after nearly 1,000 people submitted written testimony, and dozens of educators braved the cold to protest the document. 

Opposition was apparent even before visitors entered the building, as about a dozen protestors carrying signs stood outside.

Inside the convention center, proponents of the standards spoke first, with concerns ranging from supposed Marxist indoctrination and kids using litter boxes in schools to beliefs that the new standards would increase national pride and Native American representation.

Larry Fossum said that he was disappointed that the first draft of the new standards had little mention of Native American history, but said the reworked version of the standards are rich with that history. 

“We finally have a social studies standard that would lead this nation by example and begin to represent all the people of the state,” Fossum said. 

South Dakota tribes disagree. 

Brian Wager, an education consultant for Crow Creek and education director for Lower Brule, said all nine tribes in the state oppose the new standards. 

“The social studies standards, in regards to Native Americans, are missing for great spans of time as if Native Americans didn’t and don’t exist,” Wagner said. 

Other opponents argued that the new standards are reductive and replace doing social sciences like geography and history with the memorization of names and dates.

One said reducing history to memorization isn’t educational. 

“These standards focus on history as a series of things to memorize, rather than to think actively and critically,” said Stephen Jackson, who teaches history at the University of Sioux Falls. 

While the curriculum does challenge students to memorize a lot of information, proponent and South Dakota State Historian Ben Jones said, that memorization sets them on a path to deeper understanding at higher grade levels. 

“The proposed standards build knowledge in the early grades so that students have something to think critically about as their knowledge is building,” Jones said. 

Few current South Dakota educators spoke in favor of the new standards.  The educators backing the standards were largely retired or worked for private, out-of-state charter schools – something opponents like Rob Monson found frustrating.

“Where is the evidence that what we are doing in South Dakota and how we are doing it isn’t working?” said Rob Monson, executive director of School Administrators of South Dakota.

Originally, the social studies standards were crafted by a more than 40-person work group.

That initial proposal was scrapped around the time Hillsdale College of Michigan began to work with former president Donald Trump’s staff on classroom materials designed to counter so-called “anti-American indoctrination” in education. Those materials were the starting point for a 15-person work group, which included a retired Hillsdale educator, to begin work on the standards up for debate now.

The Department of Education said it collected 968 comments regarding the new standards — 103 are in favor, 828 are opposed. The rest are neutral. 

That disparity was mirrored at the convention center. When opponents were asked to identify themselves in the room of about 250 people, nearly every attendee stood.

This story is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Donate to the South Dakota Searchlight here.

Related posts

• Noem Nincompoopery: ad scolds Jamie Smith for vote shared by state representative appointed to 2nd social studies standard work group 
• Oceti Sakowin March for our Children: over 200 march, drum, and ride horses in pouring rain
• South Dakota News Watch: South Dakotans overwhelmingly support teaching of indigenous history and culture in public schools
• SD News Watch: SD teachers endure new stress as politics & culture war seep into classrooms

Photo: A proponent of the new social studies standards offers a statement of support to the state Board of Education on November 21 in Sioux Falls (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight).

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StribGuy: Small Minnesota town may become focus of abortion fight 'cause of Tim Miller

It's a story Bluestem posted about since August in Retiring state rep Miller to push unconstitutional local ordinances for new PLAM Action job and this month in Tuesday, Prinsburg City Council heard Tim Miller propose PLAM Action anti-abortion ordinance.

Not to forget  MN News Network: Prinsburg in west-central MN is “launch site” for new anti-abortion strategy.

But I'm always impressed with John Reinen's reportage from Greater Minnesota at the Star Tribune and his taking up of this story is no different.

Check out In Small Minnesota town may become focus of abortion fight. Reinen reports:

Minnesota's newest abortion battleground might be a town of 500 people on the western prairie.

The Kandiyohi County city of Prinsburg is considering an ordinance that would allow residents to sue abortion providers. Although the town doesn't have an abortion clinic, the proposed law also would allow lawsuits against companies that provide abortion drugs by mail. . . .

And that ordinance is so indicative of that Minnesota rural-urban we all keep reading and hearing about. Reinen reports:

The proposed ordinance had its first public hearing at a City Council meeting last week. It's based on a Texas law passed last year that allows private citizens to sue anyone who "aids or abets" an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy — a time before many women know they're pregnant.

Jonathan Mitchell, the Texas lawyer who wrote that law, is working on the Prinsburg proposal with Pro-Life Action Ministries of St. Paul, Miller said. . . .

Miller said he's confident the ordinance can withstand legal challenges, but a law professor was skeptical.

"This is something that I am pretty darn sure is outside the power of this municipality to promulgate," said Laura Hermer, a professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Minnesota law and court decisions have affirmed the right to abortion in the state, she said, and it makes no sense to allow a city to pass a law overriding that.

"While the state of Minnesota may not be able to restrict a given right, to say your neighbor can — and the state can allow your neighbor to effectively take away that right — it makes a mockery of what we call rights," she said.

"It is such an affront to the rule of law."

Similar ordinances have been passed by cities in a handful of states, including Texas and Nebraska. The difference is, abortion was already illegal in those states, said Emily Bisek, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund.

"Typically, the ordinances are difficult to enforce and carry little weight," she said. "But they do scare abortion patients and confuse them, and further stigmatize abortion patients." . . .

Miller said his effort is backed by the Thomas More Society, a national nonprofit law firm focused on opposition to abortion and other conservative "culture war" causes. If Prinsburg — or any other city — were sued over an anti-abortion ordinance, the society would defend the case at no cost, he said.

"If this law professor doesn't think it will stand up in Minnesota court, they can file the lawsuit," he said.

Oh the down home originally thinking on the lone prairie.

Related posts

•  MN News Network: Prinsburg in west-central MN is “launch site” for new anti-abortion strategy
• Tuesday, Prinsburg City Council heard Tim Miller propose PLAM Action anti-abortion ordinance
• Retiring state rep Miller to push unconstitutional local ordinances for new PLAM Action job.
• Tall grass prairie? State representative Tim Miller goes to Moorhead for grassroots organizing
• Retiring Rep. Tim Miller will work for Brian Gibson at Pro-Life Action Ministries sister group
• We won't have Tim Miller to kick around anymore--at least as a MN House member
• New House Republican Tim Miller shares unique understanding of gas tax in legislative update
• State rep Tim Miller: MN state public officials beholden to radical anti-livestock enviro groups 

Image: The town sign for Prinsburg. Via Alchetron entry for Prinsburg.

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University of Minnesota Morris: LaDuke to give Keynote at Sustainability Forum

Just as I was reading about how rural Minnesota can't be left behind, I find this press release in my inbox. Those student leaders in the Morris Campus Student Association (MCSA) at the University of Minnesota Morris are convening a Sustainability Forum the campus on Friday, Dec. 2 at 5:45 p.m. in the Science Auditorium.

Here's the press release:

LaDuke to give Keynote at Sustainability Forum

Native American environmental leader, author, politician, and economist Winona LaDuke will be giving the keynote address during a Sustainability Forum at the University of Minnesota Morris on Friday, Dec. 2 at 5:45 p.m. in the Science Auditorium.  Her presentation is, “Hemp as a Renewable Resource in Agriculture and Structural Development.” 

LaDuke, Mississippi Band of Anishinaabe, is an industrial hemp grower and co-founder, with the Indigo Girls, of Honor the Earth, a platform to raise awareness of and money for Indigenous struggles for environmental justice. Nationally, LaDuke is a two-time vice presidential candidate with Ralph Nader for the Green Party. Globally, she is known as a leader in the issues of cultural-based sustainable development strategies and renewable energy in Native American communities. 

The Sustainability Forum will focus on the pillars of sustainability through the lens of Indigenous and underrepresented populations. This special event was planned and will be convened by the Morris Campus Student Association (MCSA).

MCSA sustainability officer and lead event organizer, Amalia Galvan ’24, Shoreview, shared, "It was really important to the leadership of MCSA to hear Native voices. This event is amplifying Native perspectives on sustainability. Indigenous people have been on the forefront of sustainable practices in the past and present. We are excited to hear what our speakers are thinking about!"

The Sustainability Forum begins at 4:30 p.m. with three, 15-minute presentations.  The first is by Dr. Michelle Montgomery, enrolled Haliwa Saponi/descendant Eastern Band Cherokee,  Associate Professor and Chair, Division of Social and Historical studies in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington, Tacoma. Her topic is “Embracing Mindfulness in a Climate Justice World.”

Next, Dr. Teresa Peterson, Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota & citizen of the Upper Sioux Community will share her practices of gardening, foraging, and preserving foods and her love of feeding friends and family. Her presentation is titled, “Makoce Kin Mitakuye - My relative the land.”

The final short presentation is on “Solar Energy as a Renewable Resource” and will be offered by the group, 8th Fire Solar. Composed mainly of White Earth Tribal members or residents, 8th Fire Solar is lighting the way to a sustainable future by assembling high-quality, energy-efficient, Native-made solar thermal panels for heating homes and small businesses.

Following LaDuke’s keynote, there will be a Q&A panel with the presenters.  Additionally, an after-party will be held in Oyate Hall in the Student Center that will include Indigenous food, a plant give-away, and interactive demonstration tables where researchers, organizations and clubs  promote their work and meet with attendees.

In addition to MCSA, the Sustainability Forum is sponsored by Sustainability Club, Office of Sustainability, Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the Campus Activities Council and the Native American Student Success program. 

Related posts

• | U of MN Regent Steve Sviggum apologizes for questions about diversity at Morris campus 
• Digest: 2 friends' letters prompt U of M Regent Sviggum to ask if Morris campus is "too diverse".
•  Sviggum chooses power above teaching; how will former speaker survive after giving up job?
•  Pick one: Steve Sviggum can take $80,000 half-time job or Regent's post, ethics panel says

Screengrab: Imagery at the top of Winona LaDuke - Ojibwe Business Owner Facebook page.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

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South Dakota retailers adapt to online shopping trend by improving in-person experience

The holiday shopping season is here, with Black Friday this week. With the pandemic ebbing, folks want to shop in-person with family and friends. Stu Whitney looks at ways South Dakota businesses are hoping to regain a greater share of the market.

From South Dakota News Watch:

South Dakota retailers adapt to online shopping trend by improving in-person experience
by Stu Whitney

South Dakota retailers hope to take advantage of a national trend toward increasing in-store shopping this holiday season by enhancing customer experience and blending online offerings into their business model.

An annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insight & Analytics found that of an estimated 115 million Americans who planned to shop this year on Black Friday (the day-after-Thanksgiving retail extravaganza), 67% expected to shop in person, up from 64% in 2021.

That modest increase could be partly attributed to fewer COVID-19 infection concerns and, according to South Dakota shoppers interviewed by News Watch, a growing desire to reconnect with family and friends through shared enjoyment of in-person shopping at a time when retailers across the state are taking steps to improve the overall in-store experience.

The in-person uptick goes against the conventional wisdom that brick-and-mortar shopping faced a dire outlook in recent years due to the rise of digital retail giants such as Amazon and the shift in emphasis among many retailers toward online sales.

“When I took this job four years ago, the narrative was the death of retail, online is going to take over,” said Nathan Sanderson, executive director of the South Dakota Retailers Association. “But what we’ve seen for decades, even centuries, is that retail is in a constant state of evolution. What I think you’re seeing right now is a real hybrid between online shopping and in-person shopping. Online is going to continue to be with us, but that doesn’t mean it’s happening to the exclusion of what’s going on in stores.”

Retail stores had reason to be concerned as the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with rising interest in online shopping among Americans over the past few years.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Retail Trade Survey, e-commerce sales increased nationally by $244.2 billion or 43% in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, rising from $571.2 billion in 2019 to $815.4 billion in 2020.

Helping to level the playing field for in-person retailers was South Dakota v. Wayfair, a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that nixed the requirement that a seller have a physical presence in a state to be forced to collect and remit sales taxes to that state. Requiring e-commerce sites to pay the same tax rate as in-store retailers reduced some of their competitive pricing advantage, Sanderson said.

“I don’t think the impact (of the court ruling) can be overstated,” he said. “If you don’t have to pay sales tax, that’s a 4.5% difference between the price of a product online as opposed to a (physical) store, and that’s significant.”

A national inflation rate of 7.75% in November has helped boost sales tax revenue, but retailers are keeping an eye on the percentage increase between overall sales tax and remote sales tax reported by online sellers.

According to the South Dakota Board of Revenue, revenue from sales, use and excise taxes increased by 13.8% from 2020 to 2021, while remote sales tax revenues rose 22.6% during that period.

Seeking balance rather than outright competition between those revenue streams is part of what Sanderson calls the “hybridization” of online and brick and mortar shopping.

The combination of buying online and in-person is the latest example of retail trends changing, he said, “from open-air markets to general stores to department stores to shopping malls, and now online retail and the resurgence of Main Street. There’s always this evolutionary process, and we’re continuing to see that.”

Improving the in-store experience

On the afternoon of Nov. 18, there was a palpable pre-holiday buzz at the Great Outdoor Store in downtown Sioux Falls. Owner DeAnn Echols moved swiftly among recently strung Christmas lights, chatting up customers and sorting merchandise while trying to focus on a winter outdoor sports kickoff sale that night at the Washington Pavilion.

The specialty outdoor store does online sales, but its website is mainly for regional customers who can’t make the trip to Sioux Falls. Since moving into the former Rock Island Depot building in 2009, DeAnn and her husband, James, have focused on in-store service to those seeking brands such as Patagonia or North Face as well as camping and rock-climbing necessities.

“Being able to try things on, touch and feel them, see the exact color, watch what another person is interested in to get ideas for gift-giving, you can’t do any of those things online,” DeAnn Echols said. “Many of the products we sell are somewhat technical or specific to a certain sport or activity, so it’s great to be able to talk to someone who has used that product or has experience or training within that activity. It’s about the personal touch.”

The Great Outdoor Store was temporarily closed to in-person business for about six weeks in March and April of 2020 after COVID-19 hit, but they still allowed people to purchase and pick up orders by appointment. The momentum of the business – providing apparel and equipment for outdoor activities – wasn’t affected as much as others during the pandemic because people were tired of isolation and looking for ways to explore the outdoors.

For most retailers, though, maintaining social distance during COVID-19 led to ramping up online avenues for customers, whether that meant curbside pickup at big-box stores or expanded remote options and contactless payment at grocery stores. Businesses learned to use social media more efficiently to be part of the community conversation and provide updates to customers.

Much of that progress translated to post-pandemic behavior, with businesses maintaining an online presence by necessity. But attention turned to the in-person experience when people started leaving their homes and returning to boutiques and booksellers, seeking the sort of shopping excursion that a computer, for all its convenience, cannot provide.

Uptown Rapid, formerly the Rushmore Mall in Rapid City, features Bar K-9, an indoor dog play center and beer and wine bar as part of a renovation under shopping center investment firm RockStep Capital, which took ownership of the Rapid City mall in 2021. There’s also Happy Hills Painting, which combines “professionally led painting classes with a high-energy environment and a few drinks.”

“People are looking not just for shopping, but for camaraderie and engagement,” said Sandy Brockhouse, general manager of Uptown Rapid, adding that women’s clothing store Böhme offers customized group shopping experiences with a personal assistant. “We get people coming out from the four-state area to do some weekend shopping and have some fun.”

Balancing camaraderie and convenience

On Nov. 20, Erica Berghammer and her 15-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Kvanvig, carried bags from Bath & Body Works and the upscale clothing store Francesca’s after completing a shopping trip to Uptown Rapid.

They were in good spirits after spending a Sunday afternoon on a mother-daughter shopping trip. The communal aspect of in-person shopping is a big reason they sometimes eschew online buying, Berghammer said. They feel freer to be out and about these days now that the pandemic has waned, she said.

“We like to shop because we also like to go to lunch and get coffee,” said Berghammer, 42. “It’s something to do together.”

But Berghammer said she utilizes the convenience of online shopping frequently and uses coupons, pricing deals and free shipping to save money. She’s able to buy home goods online and accrue Kohls’ Cash coupons that provide discounts and sometimes free merchandise which she can have delivered or pick up at the Rapid City store.

As a girl about to turn 16, Kvanvig said the convenience and ease of shopping online are also incentives for her to shop by phone. “You can do it from your bed at home,” she said with a smile. “You don’t have to get up and get ready to go out.”

Kym Hop of Rapid City said she tries her best to shop in person at local stores to support businesses run by people who she considers her neighbors.

“I’m willing to pay a little bit more for things on the local level,” said Hop, 57. “I grew up in Kansas in a small town, so my thinking is always to give back to locals and because we want to keep our city amazing for our business people that are trying to manage within the world of Amazon.”

Like many people, Hop also shops online for convenience and to get better deals, especially on products that might be less accessible in the local community. For example, Hop said her husband recently saved money by buying her a Fitbit health monitor from Amazon.

More often, though, especially now that the COVID-19 pandemic has eased, Hop tries to support Rapid City retailers by shopping in person at local stores. The social, familial aspects of taking a shopping trip are also big reasons Hop likes to shop in person, she said.

“We’re really back to normal in how we’re getting out and getting together,” said Hop, who is married with two adult children who will visit during the holidays. “My husband likes to come along because we have a goofy, funny family, and I love to see people while we’re out, to run into people I don’t usually see.”

-– News Watch reporter Bart Pfankuch contributed to this report.

This article was published with the permission of South Dakota News Watch. Donate to SDNW if you enjoy its coverage on this site.

Photo: DeAnn Echols, owner of the Great Outdoor Store in downtown Sioux Falls, prepares for the holiday season by sorting merchandise on Nov. 18. DeAnn and her husband, James, have focused more on in-person customer experience than online sales. Photo: Stu Whitney, South Dakota News Watch.

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SD Searchlight news brief: Leadership teams lean moderate in South Dakota House, Senate

Given the dominance of the Republican Party in South Dakota politics, perhaps one should be grateful for small favors.

From the South Dakota Searchlight.

Leadership teams lean moderate in South Dakota House, Senate
by Searchlight Staff

The South Dakota House of Representatives elected its leadership team for the 2023 legislative session over the weekend, a week after their counterparts in the Senate did the same.

Members of the 94-member GOP supermajority’s more moderate faction came out ahead in both chambers.

Speaker of the House Hugh Bartels, Watertown, was elected to replace outgoing Speaker Brian Gosch, besting Jess Olson of Rapid City and Jon Hansen of Dell Rapids. Gosch clashed with leaders of the upper chamber during the last legislative session, as well as Gov. Kristi Noem. Hansen led an unsuccessful effort to pass a food tax repeal during the 2022 session – a proposal now supported by Noem.

Mike Stevens of Yankton will serve as speaker pro tempore.

Will Mortenson of Ft. Pierre was elected House majority leader on Saturday. Also elected to GOP leadership positions:

• Taylor Rehfeldt, Sioux Falls, assistant majority leader
• Rocky Blare, Winner, majority whip
• Gary Cammack, Union Center, majority whip
• Kirk Chaffee, Whitewood, majority whip
• Becky Drury, Rapid City, majority whip
• James D. Wangsness, Miller, majority whip

The elections in the House came about a week after the Senate chose its leadership. Sen. Lee Schoenbeck of Watertown will repeat as president pro tempore in the upper house. Casey Crabtree of Madison was elected majority leader, with Mike Diedrich elected as assistant majority leader.

Also serving in Senate leadership:

• Helene Duhamel, Rapid City, majority whip
• Jack Kolbeck, Sioux Falls, majority whip
• Ryan Maher, Isabel, majority whip
• David Wheeler, Huron, majority whip

There are 11 Democrats serving in the House and Senate. Oren Lesmeister of Parade will be House minority leader, with Erin Healy of Sioux Falls serving as assistant minority leader.

On the Senate side, Democrats will be led by Reynold Nesiba of Sioux Falls alongside Assistant Minority Leader Shawn Bordeaux of Mission.

For a liberal take on South Dakota House leadership, check out Cory Allen Heidelberger's House Republicans Reject Hansen Wackadoodles, Pick Schoenbeck Moderates for Leadership.

The South Dakota Searchlight article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Related article

• MN Senate and House name committee chairs

Photo: SD House Republican leaders for 2023 Session. Front: Assistant Majority Leader Taylor Rehfeldt, R-Sioux Falls, Majority Leader Will Mortensen, R-Ft. Pierre, Speaker Hugh Bartels, R-Watertown, Speaker Pro Tem Mike Stevens, R-Yankton. Middle: Whip Becky Drury, R-Rapid City, Whip Kirk Chaffee, R-Whitewood, Whip Rocky Blare, R-Winner. Back: Whip Gary Cammack, R-Union Center, Whip James D. Wangsness, R-Miller. (courtesy SD Legislative Research Council)

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Big Sioux River news digest: CREP program grant and water quality issues downstream

The headwaters of the Big Sioux River (Tehankasandata, or Thick Wooded River) aren't far from where I live in Roberts County, South Dakota, then meanders mostly southward to join the Missouri at Sioux City, Iowa.

Bluestem is sharing two recent news articles about this river which illustrate the issues that arise at the confluence of conservation and agriculture.

At the Mitchell Republic, Jason Harward report in 25,000-acre CREP program looks to improve water quality, recreation access in Big Sioux watershed:

A coalition of agencies and nonprofit organizations in South Dakota has launched a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program in the Big Sioux River Watershed that hopes to expand wildlife habitat and improve water quality.

According to a report on the project by the Farm Service Agency, the state portion of the cost over 15 years, assuming full enrollment and no changes to incentive structures, would be $22.2 million.

“We think it’s a win-win program,” said Matt Morlock, the South Dakota assistant director of Pheasants Forever, a nonprofit partner helping the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department with producer outreach. “Producers will get compensated well for moving environmentally-sensitive, low-production land into different usages. And then the public has access to more hunting and fishing opportunities.”

The program is modeled closely after the successful James River Watershed CREP, which has registered approximately 80,000 acres since its inception in 2009 and significantly expanded breeding grounds for pheasants, ducks and other waterfowl, according to the GF&P Commission, which spearheads both initiatives.

Like the dozens of CREP projects nationwide, the Big Sioux River Watershed initiative is a federal-state cost share built atop the basic Conservation Reserve Program, the federal conservation program funded in the Farm Bill. Producers would sign CRP contracts and receive an additional CREP incentive on top of that contract.

The program will start by enrolling up to 25,000 acres of the 3.8 million-acre watershed into 10- to 15-year contracts, which will allow for planting permanent vegetation like grasslands or herbs. . . .

Higher crop prices could mean increased costs, lower producer interest

The tension between crop prices and interest in non-working land programs like CRP is a simple economic reality. And, while the supposed solution to this issue is the enrollment of less-productive land, overall enrollment in general CRP continues to decline, partially due to crop prices as well as policy factors like lower total acreage caps and more stringent bidding requirements.

 

In September 2012, there were nearly 740,000 total CRP contracts nationwide covering nearly 30 million acres. Ten years later, there are 560,000 contracts representing 22 million acres.

“Prices have come up and in a lot of cases, it’s more profitable to go ahead and farm it,” said Scott VanderWal, president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau. “At the same time, they've been raising the CRP rental rates, which we don't really like because the government's competing with farmers and ranchers for land.”

The Big Sioux CREP, however, avoids some of these downsides. For one, South Dakota is adding premiums of at least 20% and up to 30% on top of CRP rental rates. In addition, it’s a continuous program focused on specific areas in the state, which means farmers don’t have to bid on a finite pot of federal money. . . . 

Read more at the Mitchell Republic.

But the river's pollution problems don't stop as one heads toward Iowa.

Earlier this month, Joshua Haiar reported on one circumstance downstream in Water quality group gives Big Sioux River an ‘ F’ grade over E. coli contamination for the South Dakota Searchlight:

A water conservation non-profit gives the Big Sioux River an ‘F’ grade over E. coli levels beyond what’s considered safe by the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR).

Nitrate levels in the river, fueled in part by agricultural fertilizer runoff, are also rising.

The report card was presented Monday evening at Augustana University in Sioux Falls by Friends of the Big Sioux River (FBSR) in the form of its 2022 water quality summary of the Big Sioux River watershed.

A watershed is an area of land with a common set of waterways and streams that all drain into a single larger body of water, such as a river. To assess the Big Sioux watershed, FBSR took 500 samples at 18 locations along the river, from Dell Rapids to Akron. 

The group reports that over 75% of water samples taken throughout 2022 had E. coli levels considered “unsafe for emersion.”

Water quality degrades in the Big Sioux River as it flows south, according to the nonprofit’s report. The southern monitoring sites at Newton Hills and Akron have higher levels of contaminants.

The primary cause of the unsafe levels is cattle feces, which runs off from farms after rainfall events and makes its way to public waters. A water sample taken just south of Brandon two days after record rain showed E. coli levels almost 200 times higher than the DANR’s allowable limits.

Pollution high in spite of dry conditions

This year’s results are telling, given that the region didn’t receive a lot of rain, said FBSR Treasurer Rachel Koos.

Some Sioux Falls residents want to see the state do something about contaminants. A river with high levels of E. coli running through the state’s largest city is not safe, they say – especially given children play along the river.

FBSR has turned the water sample findings over to DANR. The department is required to issue a water quality report every two years for the federal government.

DANR did not immediately reply to a request for comment regarding the department’s efforts to limit cattle feces from entering the Big Sioux River watershed.

DANR’s biannual reports have shown high levels of E. coli for years. 

Travis Entenman, managing director of FSBR, said the state offers a lot of “carrots” to keep livestock waste out of public water. It may be time for some “sticks,” Entenman said.

“The fines that we give after someone violates a permit could have more teeth to them. Maybe it’s getting cattle out of the water bodies altogether like in many eastern states,” Entenman said. “Or, we could look at what Minnesota has done with mandatory buffer strips.”

A buffer strip is a vegetated area along a stream or river that helps filter out the waste and soil prior to entering the water.  Buffer strip root systems prevent soil erosion along the stream and river banks. 

Nitrates on the radar

FBSR also tests for nitrate levels, which continue to rise but are within safe levels. However, for the second year in a row, nitrates in one water sample exceeded safe levels in the Big Sioux River.

Nitrogen is one of the necessary nutrients for plant growth — it’s often applied to fields in the form of fertilizer. Nitrates are a combination of nitrogen and oxygen.

Nitrates can be carried into watersheds by drain tiles, which are perforated pipes buried under farmland to remove excess water during wet seasons. They stabilize the water table for the crops a farmer has planted, but they also carry anything water soluble with that water – like nitrates.

The number of drain tile projects increased in eastern South Dakota in the 2000s, generally because of increased precipitation and demand for higher yields. Some farmers have taken advantage of the drought to install drain tile where fields had previously been too wet to get the tile installed.

Iowa has experienced the downsides of drain tile, however.

Des Moines had to build nitrate removal facilities in response to drain tiling.

Newborns began developing Infant Methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby syndrome,” where nitrogen levels starve the body of oxygen.

The Big Sioux River is not at that level yet, according to Koos, the FBSR treasurer

“Nitrates are not a really big problem for us right now. But we want to proactively watch it because we know how big of a problem that can be,” Koos said.

‘Heartland River’

The impetus for the event was the release of “Heartland River,” a collection of essays that aim to tell the story of the Big Sioux River. 

The book was not conceived as a means to advance water quality discussions, but some authors featured in the book hope its documentation of the river’s history and cultural significance can serve to inform them.

David O’Hara, director of sustainability at Augustana University, said if people learn the history of the river, they may come to care more about it.

“It wasn’t that long ago that this river was clear as glass,” O’Hara said. “This is going to come down to asking the question, ‘how can we, along the banks of the Big Sioux River, become leaders in water and soil conservation in such a way that we’re making money doing that.”

Check out the article at the Searchlight for nifty graphics.

Bluestem republished the SD Searchlight article online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. If you want to help the Searchlight, donate.

Map: Jon Platek - Base map used was taken from the National Atlas, remaining work was done by the uploader. Drainage basin maps used as a reference were from this site from the United States Geological Survey, at Wikipedia entry for Big Sioux River.

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What goes around, comes around: Noem chides New York Times for out-of-context quotation

After surviving the endless rotation of a Noem campaign ad that not only took Democratic gubernatorial Jamie Smith out of context, but unethically edited an interview, we literally laughed out loud at Governor Kristi Noem's response to her share of the New York Times article Bluestem wrote up in The mahogany table of destiny; or, Noem in Florida, closer to Lewandowski than Trump.

See Annie Todd's Fact Check: Did South Dakota governor candidate Jamie Smith actually say he wanted to raise taxes?.

Noem's response was as the old saying goes, enough to make a cat laugh. Slipperpaws, Little Bear, and the foster Ivan the Terrible all joined me.

Newsmax reports in Gov. Noem Calls NY Times 'Liars' for Out of Context Trump Quote:

South Dakota's Republican Gov. Kristi Noem called The New York Times "liars" Friday during a "War Room" podcast with Steve Bannon after the publication used a quote from her that seemed to be critical of former President Donald Trump and his decision to run for president again.

In a story published by the Times on Wednesday, Noem was quoted as one of several key nationwide GOP leaders that the publication said were "inching away" from Trump and his bid to regain the White House in 2024.

"If we narrow our focus there, then we're not talking to every single American," the Times reported Noem saying in an interview. "Our job is not just to talk to people who love Trump or hate Trump. Our job is to talk to every single American."

"The New York Times are liars," she said during the podcast. "What they printed is not what I said. What I said is that every single one of us, as Republicans, needs to be messengers. It's all of our jobs.

"President Trump is the only one running for president, who's the only one who has been president. He's obviously the leader of our party right now and he has a responsibility, but we all do, too."

Noem, who easily won reelection as governor in the midterm elections defeating Democrat Jamie Smith 62% to 35.2%, said that it is not just the responsibility of one person to get the GOP message out to voters. . . 

Ah yes, quoting someone out of context is bad, Governor Noem

But there's more:

She also hinted that Republicans need to change campaign strategies after the lackluster performance that gave the party the slimmest of majorities in the House and losing the Senate to Democrats.

"[Republicans] are all responsible," she said. "We all failed in this election by not talking and telling our stories. What we did is what conservatives believe in, and it works."

She said instead of just "bashing" President Joe Biden for his failed agenda that has hurt the country, Republicans at all levels should have been promoting what they were doing to make people's lives better in whatever capacity they did.

"We did conservative things, and we know the benefits that come," she said.

That's hilarious from a governor whose campaign and party spent its cash on airtime and mailings tying Smith to Biden. 

And there's that website the Noem campaign launched: Jamie Smith and his‍ admiration for Joe Biden (jamieandjoe.com).

And at Dakota War College, there's the September 27 post, Kristi for Governor Launches New Ad: “Extreme Jamie Smith: Endangering Families”:

Today, the Kristi for Governor campaign launched a multi-week, six-figure ad buy for a new ad, “Extreme Jamie Smith: Endangering Families.”

“Extreme Jamie Smith wants complete government control over your family,” the ad begins. The ad highlights Smith’s support for mask and vaccine mandates; his support for Black Lives Matter and President Biden’s open border policies, which have led to higher crime and drug trafficking; and his support for policies that infringe on the 2^nd Amendment. Each of these policies endanger South Dakota families.

“Jamie Smith is too extreme for South Dakota,” said Ian Fury, Communications Director at Kristi for Governor. “He continues to lie about his position on COVID mandates and his position on the 2^nd Amendment, so this ad will bring the facts to the people of South Dakota.”

To learn more about Rep. Jamie Smith’s support for President Joe Biden and radical liberal policies, visit JamieandJoe.com.

There's more, but I trust readers to get it. As for the few positive message ads, her claims about the ranking of South Dakota's economy, and her late-race spin to have always supported eliminating sales taxes on food were just fibbing.

But no she doesn't like liars.

Will she hold a public scourging of herself for her past practice of strategies she just deplored during a "War Room" podcast with Steve Bannon?

That show might make a dandy fundraiser and she wouldn't even have to leave the state to pull it off.

UPDATE: At Dakota Free Press, Cory Allen Heidelberger looks at this development in Noem Bashes Biden More While Telling Republicans to Bash Biden Less. [end update]

Related posts

• The mahogany table of destiny; or, Noem in Florida, closer to Lewandowski than Trump
• SD Searchlight: Noem’s sales-tax promise shows panic during a campaign that should be easy
• South Dakota Standard on Noem's economy 

Photo: Laughing cat.. Mumble by Firefrost DarkWolf. via Movellas.

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