Free Republic

Every single one of [the 17 states that elected a tea party-supported governor in 2010] has seen its unemployment rate decline since January 2011. Three of them have had unemployment drop by more than 2% (Michigan, Florida, and Nevada). The average drop in the unemployment rate in these states was 1.35%. For a comparison, in January 2011 the U.S. national unemployment rate stood at 9.1%. It is currently 8.2%, meaning that the national unemployment rate has declined by just 0.9% since then. Based on these percentages, it can be said that the job market in states with new Republican governors...

SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA, May 29, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – A PR hand for Planned Parenthood, who is running as a Democratic candidate for state legislature, has been cited for DUI and Careless Driving after police say she collided with a seven-year-old girl who was riding her bike through a crosswalk. Carmen Toft, 32, is the South Dakota Public Affairs Manager at Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNNDSD). She is also running for the Democratic nomination in the state House of Representatives in District 10. The accident occurred last Tuesday at the corner of Eighth Street and North Chicago...

This column originally appeared in THE DAILY BEAST. In looking ahead toward the November election, Republican strategists should take proactive steps to avoid a damaging, dangerous conclusion to the presidential race and to prevent the very real chance that Mitt Romney will win the Electoral College even while losing the popular vote badly to Barack Obama. The problem stems from the lopsided margins President Obama will surely pile up in a few uncontested states with big populations, including California, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts. Mr. Romney, meanwhile, will prevail by comparable margins in only relatively small states: Utah, Idaho, the...

A UN human official is urging the U.S. to turn over control of lands considered to be sacred to Native Americans, including the site of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. James Anaya, the UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, unveiled his recommendations in Geneva on Friday after completing a 12-day visit to the U.S. where he met with representatives of indigenous peoples in six states. The fact-finder also had a chance to meet members of the Obama administration and briefed the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, but no member of Congress agreed to meet with him....

The Constitution of South Dakota says, in Section 24 of Article VI, the following: The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be denied. The language is plain, with perhaps the only confusion being that of the word ‘shall.’ The word itself is nearly synonymous with ‘will,’ except that when used in a sentence in the 2ND or 3RD person it implies authority, command, threat, promise, determination, and/or inevitability. By its usage in the above cited constitutional section its meaning can be discerned obviously as being a command, and being...

Local breaking news; no linkable sources yet. The Battle Mountain Humane Society animal shelter in Hot Springs, South Dakota burned to the ground this afternoon. No human injuries involved; one known animal death . At last word, a full accounting of the animals was on-going.

A former Sturgis ammunition manufacturer and an employee are accused of illegally selling ammunition items to two foreign countries shortly before Jamison International V LLC went out of business last October. A federal grand jury indicted Marc Jamison and Kathy Greenhaw on Tuesday for eight counts of unlawful exportation of arms and ammunition. The illegal exports are believed to have occurred between July 12 and Aug. 29, 2011. Jamison and Greenhaw are accused of shipping ammunition components designated as a defense article on the United States Munitions List without a license or written authorization.

HOT SPRINGS – An easy way to show your support of the Hot Springs VA is to sign an online petition recently created by Save the VA Public Relations Committee member Justin Gausman. One way to sign the petition is to simply log on to www.Change.org and enter “Hot Springs VA” into the “Find” space found in the top browser bar. Another quicker way to find the link is to go to www.chn.ge/zpuT7J> which will link you directly to the petition. “Change.org is a reputable website that has a very thorough privacy policy,” he said. Furthermore, if you receive further...

This is based on a genealogy table I made. Had a bit more trouble than I should have tracking down the first round results, wth.

n his New York Times bestselling book, Throw Them All Out, Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer revealed how members of Congress enrich themselves and their relatives using earmarks and insider information. Now, the Washington Post, following in Schweizer’s footsteps, has conducted a study that found 16 members of Congress have used their power of the purse to benefit companies, colleges, and community groups tied to their relatives. *snip* Among those cited in the Washington Post report were the following (below):

PIERRE, S.D.—As governor of South Dakota for 16 years, Bill Janklow was always in a hurry—pushing lawmakers to approve his proposals and racing to disaster sites to take charge. His need for speed also likely played a role in his one regret: the 2003 fatal traffic accident that landed him in jail and ended his political career. As South Dakota's attorney general, governor and congressman, the colorful politician dominated the state's political landscape for more than a quarter century, changing the face of the state's economy, education system and tax structure. Even his enemies—and there were many—admitted the Republican had...

I've been job hunting for a while, and had to cast my net out in a wider arc. I'm looking at a possiblity in Sioux Falls, SD. I've never been there and never known anyone from there. Is it nice? Full of lefties? etc. Thanks in advance!

In an exclusive Human Events interview, the senior Republican on the Senate’s Agriculture Committee's Jobs, Rural Economic Growth and Energy Innovation subcommittee discusses his take on the MF Global bankruptcy scandal. “I have heard from several South Dakotans who were affected by the apparent fraud that occurred in the final days of MF Global before its collapse,” said Sen. John R. Thune (R-S.D.), who worked in the Small Business Administration​ under President Ronald W. Reagan. [Video of Thune's December 13 questioning Corzine is at the bottom of the article.] The firm’s Halloween bankruptcy was followed by the November 4 resignation...

Dozens of people gathered at the Sioux Falls Convention Center Saturday night for a straw poll. The event is being put on by the South Dakota Republican Party. Voters could pick one of the 8 republican candidates. Tickets were $25. Herman Cain won the poll coming in with 35% of the votes. Newt Gingrich 23%. Mitt Romney 20%. Rick Perry 7%. Ron Paul 5%. Michele Bachmann 4%. Rick Santorum 3% and Jon Huntsman 0%.

President Obama’s proposed “Buffett Rule”-- which would force the wealthiest Americans to pay higher taxes to help cut the nation’s deficits -- has met its Republican match. Republican lawmakers have introduced their own “Buffett Rule” that would allow billionaire investors like Warren Buffett who say they’re not paying enough taxes to voluntarily give more money to the federal government. Under the legislation, authored by Sen. John Thune of South Dakota and Rep. John Scalise of Louisiana, taxpayers can donate at least a $1 to the Treasury fund for deficit reduction when they file their federal income tax returns starting next...

When it comes to energy, America is lucky to be next to Canada, whose proven oil reserves are estimated by Oil and Gas Journal at 175 billion barrels. This ranks just behind Saudi Arabia (260 billion) and Venezuela (211 billion) and ahead of Iran (137 billion) and Iraq (115 billion). True, about 97% of Canada's reserves consist of Alberta's controversial oil sands, but new technologies and high oil prices have made them economically viable. Expanded production can provide the U.S. market with a source of secure oil for decades. We would be crazy to turn our back on this. In...

If you don’t mind an old saloon and two empty jails then this historic ghost town in South Dakota is for you. For sale: The majority of the land within the Township of Scenic, South Dakota, totaling about 46 acres. Over the years, since 1906, it has been a thriving town mostly of visitors for the convenience of fuel, groceries, hunting, fossil hunting and the world famous Longhorn Saloon. And the price? $799,000. Population: 9. The nearest town might be 50-miles away, but reporters, television crews, and millionaires are making plans to visit this small town located on the edge...

The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs recently yielded the remains of a 60th mammoth, the giant, extinct creatures that once roamed the continent. [just a teaser--AP story]

Persistent Northern Plains rainfall and heavy mountain snowpack is setting the stage for the worst flooding on the Missouri River since 1993, reports Allen Motew, QT Weather meteorologist. These extreme levels of flooding are predicted to last for at least the next month. “The entire Missouri River Basin is flooding – only to get worse over the next several weeks,” Motew reports. “Abnormal rainfall is now expected to continue (or increase for many) across 1000’s of miles and millions of acres over the next eight days, from Alberta to Ohio.” Motew says recent reports show that the Missouri River is...

(Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry on Friday ceremonially signed a bill making Texas the twelfth state to require photo identification from voters. "Today we take a major step forward in ensuring the integrity of our electoral process in Texas, a major step protecting the most cherished right that we enjoy as a people," Perry, joined by lawmakers who supported the legislation, told reporters. The measure was one of the Republican governor's "emergency" legislative priorities for the session, and he's not alone. Republicans across the country are pushing such legislation. This year, more than 30 states have considered adding or...