Free Republic

PIERRE (LifeSiteNews) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Monday signed a bill that bans “gender transition” drugs and surgeries for minors. “South Dakota’s kids are our future,” Noem said in a statement. “I am signing HB 1080 to protect our kids from harmful, permanent medical procedures.” HB 1080, nicknamed the “Help Not Harm” bill, bars healthcare professionals from prescribing puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to minors and performing “any sterilizing surgery” “to alter the appearance of, or to validate a minor’s perception of, the minor’s sex, if that appearance or perception is inconsistent with the minor’s sex.” The new...

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., joined forces with 18 GOP governors to reject President Joe Biden's environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) "agenda," claiming the push is a "direct threat" to the economic freedom of American retirees. Governors in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming formed the alliance Thursday in what they described as an effort to ensure American retirement funds are not used for "woke" investments. "Yet again, President Biden put his political agenda above the wellbeing and individual freedoms of hardworking Americans,"...

South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem vetoed legislation that would have identified central bank digital currency as money with cryptocurrency being excluded. “At this moment in time, such a government-backed electronic currency has not yet been created,” Noem explained to lawmakers. “More importantly, South Dakota should not open the door to a potential future overreach by the federal government.” House Bill 1193 would have defined money as a “medium of exchange that is currently authorized or adopted by a domestic or foreign government.” The bill was passed 49-17 in the South Dakota House of Representatives and 24-9 in the Senate...

We all want uninterrupted postal service, but that's just not always possible. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its employees, customers, and our mail. And sometimes, that means operations can't proceed normally. Over time, we have seen the Postal Service suspend deliveries because of aggressive animals, and close post offices in the midst of natural disasters. Now, the agency been forced to suspend services in six different states. If you were planning to head to the post office anytime soon, you may need to change your plans depending on where you live. The...

Extremist group Family Heritage Alliance said this morning that the safest place for kids are in families that have a married mom and dad. What a dangerous and un-American belief.

The second-term governor is no stranger to firing off public broadsides against her critics.Last month, South Dakota State University (SDSU) sparked fierce criticism from conservatives after allowing a "kid-friendly" drag show to be hosted on campus. Among those critics was Norman Woods, director of the state-based social-conservative advocacy group Family Heritage Alliance (FHA), who penned an open letter to Governor Kristi Noem urging her to take action: "Innocent children should not be exposed to drag shows. Full stop," Woods wrote. "Considering you have the power to hold the South Dakota Board of Regents accountable and fire at will, I am...

In a letter to the Board of Directors for Family Heritage Alliance, Noem asks for Executive Director Norman Woods to be replaced because of his public calls for her to take action on “kid-friendly” drag shows.

Just how bad was Joe Biden’s decision upon taking office to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline? We now have an admission directly from Biden’s own administration. According to a newly-released report from the Department of Energy, which cited a variety of studies on the economic impact of the pipeline’s construction, the cancellation of Keystone XL cost somewhere between 16,149 and 59,000 jobs. Lost GDP from the project is also estimated to be between $3.4 billion and $9.6 billion. Even when you only consider the SEIS, which is the government’s environmental impact study, the numbers of jobs and money involved aren’t...

Ultimately, they want to take down red America – duh. This thread from Nate Hochman is very long, very disturbing, and a total must-read. Yeah, we know, the words ‘MUST-READ-thread’ can sound sorta clickbaity but this time around, it’s just us being honest. It’s easy to take a red state for granted because in a red state you can typically make some general assumptions, especially a red state like South Dakota. Except folks, that’s not always the case. Grab a snack, get comfy, and take a gander at this: A powerful, well-funded coalition is working to bring the transgender movement...

A pro-family leader in South Dakota challenged Republican Gov. Kristi Noem’s response last week to a “kid-friendly” drag show that took place on a state college campus in November. On Wednesday, Noem rejected the suggestion that her administration wasn’t protecting children and hinted that her critic should be fired.A drag show advertised as “kid-friendly” and invited “the whole family for an evening of entertainment” took place at South Dakota State University (SDSU), according to a November 16 news report. The event, sponsored by a college student organization called the Gender and Sexualities Alliance, drew criticism for “encouraging crowd members to...

Ultimately, they want to take down red America – duh. This thread from Nate Hochman is very long, very disturbing, and a total must-read. Yeah, we know, the words ‘MUST-READ-thread’ can sound sorta clickbaity but this time around, it’s just us being honest. It’s easy to take a red state for granted because in a red state you can typically make some general assumptions, especially a red state like South Dakota. Except folks, that’s not always the case. Grab a snack, get comfy, and take a gander at this:

On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow,” Senate Minority Whip Sen. John Thune (R-SD) responded to a question on the possibility of a government shutdown by stating that “anything right now is on the table” and whether a deal is reached largely depends on how badly Democrats “want to get a deal to not blow it up with all kinds of new non-defense-related spending.” Thune also argued that the massive increase in spending “has contributed to and been largely responsible for the run-up that we’ve seen in inflation.”

Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) wins a second term as South Dakota's Governor.

It is a busy week for Kari Lake and for Republicans who harbor White House ambitions. Several are more than eager to share the stump with the Arizona gubernatorial candidate, a fact that Democrats believe underscores their arguments about the “ultra MAGA” right and the rise of GOP extremism. Tuesday morning in Scottsdale, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will have coffee with Lake and her supporters. The next afternoon in the Phoenix suburbs, Lake will share the stage with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Former President Donald Trump arrives Sunday to host a rally in the town of Prescott Valley.

A Louisiana federal judge on Wednesday permanently blocked the federal government from enforcing its mask and vaccine mandates for children and teachers in public preschool. The Head Start program, which provides early education to infants, toddlers, and kids preparing for kindergarten, cannot require that any adults or students in the applicable centers or daycare be vaccinated against Covid-19 or wear masks, U.S. District Court Judge Terry A. Doughty ruled. The regulation applied to children as young as two years old, Doughty noted, both indoors and outdoors during activities that involve close contact with other people. The court rejected the argument...

Billboards slated to go up in Mississippi and Oklahoma inform women that ‘California is ready to help’ if they ‘need an abortion.' The signs quote Mark 12:31, which reads: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.’SACRAMENTO (LifeSiteNews) — California’s radically pro-abortion Gov. Gavin Newsom is continuing to make the Golden State a “sanctuary” for abortion, opting to put up billboards in pro-life states promoting the ease with which women can kill their babies in California. Critics have blasted the effort as “evil” and “shameful,” particularly as some signs quote Scripture to justify the murder of...

Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he does not support Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) proposal for a 15-week federal abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. Anchor Jake Tapper asked, “Your Republican colleague Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a bill that would ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks. Do you support the bill?”

While New York, California, and Boston continue to be the most expensive rental markets in the country, some unexpected locales have actually experienced the largest increases in one-bedroom apartment prices year-over-year.Greensboro, North Carolina, sits atop the list with rent increases of 74.2 percent, followed by Newport News, Virginia, at 60.7 percent, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, at 59.8 percent, according to Rent.com’s August report. Jon Leckie, a researcher with Rent.com, told The Epoch Times that such increases aren’t unusual, given the amount of people who have been flocking to these areas.“We’re seeing a pattern where the markets around the larger metro areas...

A South Dakota ethics board on Monday said it found sufficient information that Gov. Kristi Noem may have “engaged in misconduct” when she intervened in her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license that it could take action against her. The three retired judges on the Government Accountability Board determined that “appropriate action” could be taken against Noem, though it didn’t specify the action. […] The retired judges also referred a complaint that Noem flew on state-owned airplanes to political events to the state attorney general’s office for further investigation. […] Both complaints were brought by then-Attorney General Jason...

It was a busy evening at the Sioux Empire Fair. Caught up with lots of South Dakotans, and got in a little grandkid time. Oh, and some great fair food. #sdsummer pic.twitter.com/uPzAI688fr— Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) August 9, 2022