A tenured professor at the University of South Dakota School of Law, Thomas Simmons concentrates on trusts, estate administration, and the estate tax. Prior to joining the legal academy, he was a partner with the law firm of Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore, LLP Since Monday, there has been a buzz – to put it mildly – relating to the trust administration industry in South Dakota. The leaking of 11.9 million private financial records was very big news and it’s reverberating around the globe. Let me say that again: eleven-point-nine-million financial records. How much data is that? Simmon ..read more

As we prepare for yet another round of redistricting, another gubernatorial election, and another US Senate election, it’s a good.. or maybe an inevitable indication that the environment we see today will not always be what we see. Time always marches on, and a new group of leaders will be there talking the place of the old.    For example, In 2011, our constitutional officers were.. Dennis Daugaard, Governor Matt Michels, Lieutenant Governor Jason M. Gant, Secretary of State Marty Jackley, Attorney General Steve Barnett, Auditor Richard Sattgast, Treasurer Jarrod Johnson, Commission ..read more

Tony Venhuizen, Sioux Falls, holds a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from South Dakota State University, and a law degree from the University of South Dakota. Venhuizen is a member of the South Dakota Board of Regents, and previously served as chief of staff and education policy advisor in the administrations of Gov. Kristi Noem and Gov. Dennis Daugaard. South Dakota’s proposed social studies content standards have been in the news recently.  These standards cover history, civics and government, geography, and economics, and are set by the state so that students cov ..read more

Are business owners in danger of being pushed to the side as some politicians attempt to appeal to populist elements on COVID vaccination? In 1946, a state constitutional amendment was passed to prohibit a person’s right to work from being “denied or abridged on account of membership or nonmembership in any labor union, or labor organization.” Since then, state laws have continued to promote a laissez faire stance towards business, including provisions that labor unions cannot demand that an employer hire certain employees and not others. Yet many years later in 2021, a movement has begun in t ..read more

Gov. Noem Statement on State Attorneys General Amicus Brief in Rushmore Fireworks Appeal PIERRE, S.D. – Today, sixteen state attorneys general filed an amicus brief in the Kristi Noem, et. al. v. Deb Haaland appeal, which seeks to restore South Dakota’s annual Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration. Governor Noem thanked the attorneys general with the following statement: “The Biden Administration’s arbitrary decision to cancel the Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration sets a bad precedent for other states who want honest and predictable federal processes,” said Governor Noem. “I am grateful fo ..read more

South Dakota National Guard to Support Monument Health in COVID Testing Efforts PIERRE, S.D. – This week, nine soldiers with the South Dakota National Guard were activated to support Monument Health in their COVID-19 testing efforts. The soldiers were activated to Belle Fourche, Custer, Rapid City, Spearfish, and Sturgis. “Since the start of the pandemic, the State of South Dakota has worked with our hospital systems to manage hospital capacity so that we can help those who need elevated levels of care. Testing efforts help us to identify and isolate cases to slow the spread of the viru ..read more

South Dakota Redistricting – An Every Ten Year Dance by Senator Lee Schoenbeck, Senate President Pro Tempore Across America states are beginning the decennial project of redrawing their legislative districts, a Constitutional obligation to ensure that every citizen’s vote has equal weight in the legislature by equalizing the populations in districts.  The population numbers come from the census every ten years. Thursday afternoon South Dakota legislators received the new county population numbers. So, Thursday night I sat down with a calculator and a map, and drafted a first look at h ..read more

After 16 years of posts at South Dakota War College, I’m setting the infrastructure in place for political news of a different nature. It will relate back to the Dakota War College homesite, and content will eventually find itself there, but this website gives me the means to explore topics of a different nature. The tentative plan is that this will be where I work out the bugs on podcasts and vodcasts and test new formats (such as using the new WordPress block format), as well as other ideas that are bubbling forth. So stay tuned ..read more