Free Republic

A former mayor of a South Dakota town has been charged with murder after a triple-slaying Monday night in the community he once oversaw, according to the state’s attorney general. Jay Ostrem, 64, was being held in the Minnehaha County Jail on $1 million cash bond on three counts of first-degree murder, Attorney General Marty Jackley said in a statement Tuesday. “There is no further threat to the public," Jackley said after he announced the arrest in the fatal shootings. The names of the victims have not been released because their relatives have not been notified, authorities said. Ostrem is...

Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) has been banned from all nine of South Dakota’s tribal nations. On Tuesday, the final tribe that had not yet banned her, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, voted in favor of banning Noem from its reservation. Flandreau President Tony Reider called an emergency meeting in response to some of the governor’s comments. “President Reider informed the governor that a ban from our territories is imminent and requested that the Governor refrain from making future blanket statements that offend the tribes within the boundaries of the State of South Dakota, some of which depend on state services...

Officials in South Dakota and Colorado certified proposed amendments that would enshrine the right to abortion in their state constitutions. Republican South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson released a statement on Thursday announcing that her office had approved the abortion measure after certifying that it had the required number of signatures to appear on the November ballot, NBC News reported.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who has been under the microscope this week for an anecdote about killing her dog, defended her actions Wednesday, saying she shot the “dangerous” pup in order to protect her children. “It was a dog that was extremely dangerous,” Noem said Wednesday on Fox News’s “Hannity.” “It had come to us from a family who had found her way too aggressive.” “We were her second chance. And she was — the day she was put down was a day that she massacred livestock that were part of our neighbors,” she continued. “She attacked me....

I have been an admirer of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem ever since she first showed up on my radar after her election in 2019. She has established a solid record as a conservative with ambitious policy goals that have served her state very well and she's an excellent communicator. She's been well up on my list of potential Trump veepstakes picks because she brings a lot to the table. But all of that came crashing down for me yesterday evening when The Guardian published a review of her upcoming book, "No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with...

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) pressed the House on Thursday to pass a Ukraine aid bill, as he launches a campaign to replace outgoing Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.). “I think that the challenge, of course, right now, with the situation deteriorating there, is to try and feel a sense of urgency about this,” Thune said in a PBS “NewsHour” interview. “I’m hoping the House can execute on getting something passed, ideally the Senate bill, but if not something that they could send to the Senate that we could then act on,“ Thune added. McConnell and Thune have been among...

South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune on Monday confirmed his expected run for Senate leadership in the wake of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announcing he would step down in November. McConnell has indicated that will complete his Senate term, which ends in 2027. His announcement came amid mounting internal frustrations within the conference over his handling of border and budget issues. "Well, I hope to be, and I’m going to do everything I can to convince my colleagues," he told KELO-TV, when asked if he plans to become Senate leader. "They're the voters. They're the ones who ultimately make...

South Dakota has issued an apology to a transgender advocacy group and must pay $300,000 under an agreement that settles a lawsuit against Gov. Kristi Noem and the state health secretary over a terminated contract.The Transformation Project, a nonprofit that provides suicide prevention and other services to transgender people in South Dakota, sued Ms. Noem and Secretary of Health Melissa Magstadt last year after the state canceled a contract to hire and train a community health worker to connect members of the LGBT community to health services.The contract included a $136,000 state-administered federal grant, of which the transgender group received...

Why is a Republican-led legislature fast tracking this left-leaning nightmare of a bill package brought by a Republican secretary of state?With the help of Republican lawmakers, South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson has brought a handful of election-related bills to the 2024 legislative session, all to the ire of her campaign supporters. At her request, lawmakers have presented bills to share the statewide voter registration file, establish the crime of threatening a poll worker, and recently SB 17, which modifies the state’s recently-enacted law requiring new South Dakota voters to have resided in the state for at least 30...

A South Dakota Indigenous tribe banished Republican Gov. Kristi Noem from setting foot on its land in protest of her administration mulling plans to dispatch resources to Texas to bolster border security. Oglala Sioux Tribal President Frank Star blasted Noem for publicly musing about sending razor wire and personnel to the border, suggesting she was jockeying for the vice presidency. “Due to the safety of the Oyate, effective immediately, you are hereby Banished from the homelands of the Oglala Sioux Tribe!” Star declared last Friday, using “Oyate,” a word that means nation. Star, who noted the Oglala Sioux is a...

Donald Trump said that South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) are on the short list to be his running mate in the 2024 general election. He also dispelled rumors that he is considering Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a vice presidential nominee and said his team never reached out to the independent candidates. Speaking with Fox News Sunday host Maria Bartiromo, Trump said he won't announce who he plans to run with in the 2024 ticket for 'a while.'

Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem ... Mexican drug cartels have set up shop on tribal reservations in her state because they know the federal government has jurisdiction over those lands, and that the Biden administration is "letting it happen." "Even though South Dakota isn't a neighboring state to Texas, we're on the front lines of this thing," Noem said .. "I've got nine Native American tribes, and the cartels are set up on our tribal grounds. They are facilitating this drug trafficking, this human trafficking through my tribal grounds here in South Dakota because I don't have jurisdiction there....

PIERRE, S.D. - After a recent trip to the United State's southern border, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem addressed the South Dakota Legislature in a speech that pledged her support to Texas. Find the video of the speech below as well as a transcript of what she said. (snip) Thank you for calling this joint session of the legislative body today so I may address both chambers on a matter of grave importance to the people of South Dakota and the United States of America. It is no secret that our country is being overwhelmed with en masse illegal immigration....

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to roll out a free way to file federal taxes, much to the chagrin of tax preparation firm TurboTax. The IRS is launching a pilot plan, known as Direct File, that will offer a free way to submit taxes for U.S. workers. In December, the agency published its plans for an in-house filing system that taxpayers can use to submit their federal tax returns at no cost. Residents of 12 states that meet certain income criteria will be able to try the new service. To qualify, filers need to opt for the standard deduction...

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated Tuesday that he flew on Jeffrey Epstein's plane twice, contradicting a previous claim by his spokesperson last month. Kennedy was asked if he had ever flown with the late Epstein, who had been widely suspected to have been involved in sex trafficking and child exploitation prior to his death, to which the presidential candidate said he had flown with Epstein in 1993 and again in 2012. The statement contradicts what Kennedy's spokesperson said in November when he said he had “flown one time on Jeffrey Epstein’s private plane" with his then-wife Mary,...

A B-1 Lancer bomber crash landed in South Dakota on Thursday, forcing the entire crew to eject during a training mission. The crash landing took place at 5:50 p.m. at Ellsworth Air Force Base during a training exercise. The 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth said that the accident happened while the plane was “attempting to land on the installation. At the time of the accident, it was on a training mission. There were four aircrew on board. All four ejected safely.” There were reportedly poor winter weather conditions at the time of the crash, which is still being investigated by...

After Ohio’s Issue 1 vote legalized abortion with no gestational limit, the pro-abortion lobby is planning to put similar referendums on the ballots of many other states. As of November 14, pro-abortion initiatives are guaranteed to be on the ballots of two deep-blue states: Maryland and New York. However, abortion is currently legal in both states until so-called “fetal viability” – which is usually defined as falling between 23 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. Loopholes allow killing babies in abortions up to birth in both states. In many other states, the prospect of putting abortion to a vote next year...

Deal could be sealed in coming days, though it is still possible there won’t be one ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Exxon Mobil is closing in on a deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources PXD a blockbuster takeover that could be worth roughly $60 billion and reshape the U.S. oil industry. A deal could be sealed as soon as in the coming days, though it is still possible there won’t be one, people familiar with the matter said. After posting a record profit in 2022, Exxon has been flush with cash and exploring options that would push it deeper into West Texas shale. An...

DailyMail.com uncovered evidence of Lewandowski and Noem's fling: Dozens of trips that mixed business with pleasure, private flights and luxury resort stays The pair met up Friday for a Trump campaign rally in Rapid City, South Dakota, but were careful to have no public interaction – despite being close for years The two were first suspected of being romantically involved in 2021, but Noem scornfully dismissed the story as 'total garbage and a disgusting lie' at the time A rising Republican star tipped by many to be Donald Trump's running mate should he win the presidential nomination has been involved...

n Monday, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission denied a permit for a controversial carbon capture pipeline in the state. Summit Carbon Solutions (SCS) had filed dozens of eminent domain lawsuits against South Dakota landowners to seize properties that had been in their families for generations. The carbon technology captures carbon dioxide pollution from ethanol plants, power plants and steel factories, and stores it deep underground. The $5.5 billion Midwest Carbon Express pipeline would have extract carbon from ethanol plants in Iowa and stored it underground in North Dakota. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by Joe Biden last...