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South Dakota Activists File Measure That Could Put Marijuana Legalization On Ballot For Third Election In A Row

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South Dakota Activists File Measure That Could Put Marijuana Legalization On Ballot For Third Election In A Row


South Dakota activists have taken a primary step towards placing marijuana legalization on the state poll for the third time in as many election cycles.

Voters rejected the marketing campaign’s most up-to-date reform initiative final month, however advocates say low turnout throughout a midterm election and inadequate funding have been largely guilty, mentioning that an earlier 2020 legalization measure was authorised by voters earlier than being invalidated by the state Supreme Courtroom amid a authorized problem led by the governor.

Whereas South Dakotans for Higher Marijuana Legal guidelines (SDBML) hasn’t essentially dedicated to pursuing one other reform measure on the poll in 2024, activists are exploring funding choices and really feel assured legalization would prevail, particularly contemplating that presidential election years see higher turnout by younger and liberal voters who broadly help legalization.

SDBML lately submitted the textual content of a reform initiative to the state Legislative Analysis Council (LRC), Dakota Information Now reported. That physique will full a evaluation of the measure as one of many first steps on the trail to the poll.

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It’s not clear if the textual content has been revised from its 2022 type, however that measure was stored deliberately easy to keep away from a single-subject problem, which is what led to the sooner 2020 model being invalidated by the courtroom.


Marijuana Second is monitoring greater than 1,500 hashish, psychedelics and drug coverage payments in state legislatures and Congress this yr. Patreon supporters pledging a minimum of $25/month get entry to our interactive maps, charts and listening to calendar so that they don’t miss any developments.

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The initiative that voters defeated final month would have allowed adults 21 and older to buy and possess as much as an oz of hashish. They might have additionally grown as much as three vegetation for private use. The measure didn’t contact on regulatory insurance policies regarding taxing hashish gross sales, licensing or fairness.

SDBML Director Matthew Schweich didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Marijuana Second, however he instructed Dakota Information Now that the group is “keen to revive the need of the folks.”

“The largest hurdle is ensuring we will run a well-funded marketing campaign, and it’s too early for me to say whether or not we will or not,” Schweich, who additionally serves as deputy director of the nationwide Marijuana Coverage Undertaking, stated. “So we’re going to maneuver by the method whereas making an attempt to construct up a bunch of individuals that may donate generously and ensure now we have a well-funded marketing campaign.”

Whereas it waits to listen to again from LRC in regards to the textual content of its potential 2024 poll initiative, SDBML can be making ready to advocate for hashish reform within the upcoming 2023 legislative session.

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In the meantime, prohibitionists are additionally gearing up for one more struggle, with the group Defending South Dakota Youngsters saying that they plan to launch a non-profit to oppose efforts to legalize marijuana and put a lobbyist within the legislature to advocate towards the reform.

Rep. Fred Deutsch (R), who serves as treasurer of the group, stated he plans to push laws to dam activists from placing the identical subject on the poll in successive election cycles.

Forward of the November election, a ballot launched in October discovered that 51 p.c of South Dakotans deliberate to vote towards the legalization measure, whereas 40 p.c stated they’d be supporting it and 10 p.c remained undecided. That was the third ballot in a row exhibiting the legalization measure behind.

Schweich beforehand instructed Marijuana Second that the state marketing campaign had felt largely ignored by nationwide hashish companies who’ve put their lobbying focus into Congress with at the moment little to point out for it.

SDBML additionally launched an advert forward of the election that reminded South Dakotans about how a lawsuit led by Gov. Kristi Noem (R) in the end precipitated the state Supreme Courtroom to invalidate the sooner 2020 legalization measure that voters authorised. The legalization marketing campaign individually performed a 10-day statewide tour to register voters and educate the citizens in regards to the initiative.

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Whereas the governor has extra lately labored to align herself with the state’s medical hashish program that was additionally authorised by voters in 2020, regardless of beforehand opposing it and the complementary leisure measure, she stated in August that she was dedicated to fulfilling her job and seeing by the implementation of adult-use legalization if voters ended up approving it this yr.

She stated that the 2022 measure “is written extra appropriately in direction of the Structure,” signaling that she wouldn’t topic it to a different authorized problem.

However the concept Noem—who vetoed a modest hemp reform invoice in 2019 and actively urged voters to oppose the adult-use measure in TV advertisements the next yr—is now content material to implement legalization if voters approve it has raised some eyebrows.

Home Minority Chief Jamie Smith (D), the Democratic gubernatorial nominee who challenged Noem this yr, has additionally taken the governor to job over her prior efforts to overturn voter-approved legalization, releasing advertisements in August that remind voters of the interference.

A ballot launched in late 2021 discovered that almost all South Dakota voters authorised of Noem’s job efficiency general, however simply 39 p.c supported her dealing with of marijuana legalization, with 51 p.c disapproving.

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Noem tried to get the legislature to approve a invoice to delay implementation of the medical hashish program for an extra yr, however whereas it cleared the Home, negotiators have been unable to succeed in an settlement with the Senate in convention, delivering a defeat to the governor.

In response, her workplace began exploring a compromise, with one proposal that got here out of her administration to decriminalize possession of as much as one ounce of hashish, restrict the variety of vegetation that sufferers might domesticate to 3 and prohibit folks underneath 21 from qualifying for medical marijuana.

Within the 2022 legislative session, the Home rejected a legalization invoice that the Senate had handed, successfully leaving it as much as activists to get on the poll once more.

A Marijuana Interim Examine Committee, headed by legislative leaders, was established to discover hashish coverage reform, and the panel in the end advisable that the legislature take up legalization. The Home-defeated laws was one of many direct merchandise of that suggestion.

High Wisconsin GOP Lawmaker Warns Governor That Placing Full Marijuana Legalization In Finances Might Tank Medical Hashish

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Picture courtesy of Chris Wallis // Aspect Pocket Photos.

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South Dakota

DIGGING DEEPER: South Dakota governor nominated to lead Dept. of Homeland Security

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DIGGING DEEPER: South Dakota governor nominated to lead Dept. of Homeland Security


PIERRE, S.D. (KTTC) – One week after winning back the White House, President-elect Donald Trump is wasting no time building his second administration.

Among the picks is South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, tapped to serve as secretary for the Department of Homeland Security.

Noem, 52, has no significant experience with homeland security issues but has voiced support for Trump’s hardline immigration policies. She has defended her fellow Republican governors in their efforts to crack down on migrants in their states.

If confirmed, Noem would head an agency that is at the center of Trump’s sweeping immigration plans and his campaign vow to carry out mass deportations of immigrants in the United States illegally.

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Noem is currently in her second term leading the Mount Rushmore State. She became South Dakota’s first female governor after winning the state’s 2018 election. Before that, she was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019 and the South Dakota House from 2007 to 2011.

According to her biography, Noem is a rancher, small business owner, and New York Times best-selling author.

Noem has criticized President Biden’s handling of the border, echoing Trump’s arguments that violent criminals are flooding into the country.

In a statement, announcing his choice for Homeland Security secretary, Trump said Noem “was the first governor to send national guard soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden border crisis.” He went on to say she would “work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan.” Homan served under Trump in his first administration, leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Department of Homeland Security is a federal agency of 260,000 employees created in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, with a vast area of responsibility. As secretary, Noem would oversee ICE, Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Secret Service, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the U.S. Coast Guard.

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At one point, Noem was considered a possible 2024 presidential candidate herself, and then a potential pick as Trump’s running mate.

However, an admission in a book she published in the spring that she once shot and killed her dog didn’t sit well with some. Noem said it was a story from 20 years ago about protecting her children from what she calls a vicious animal.

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Rhoden could be 'steady hand' if Noem joins Trump Cabinet

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Rhoden could be 'steady hand' if Noem joins Trump Cabinet


There will be lots of history made if South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is confirmed as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, as multiple national outlets reported Tuesday.

Noem, in her second term as Republican governor, would become the first South Dakotan to serve as a president’s Cabinet secretary, extending an alliance with Trump that first developed during her time in Congress.

It would also be the first time a South Dakota governor hands over the reins of power during a legislative session, assuming Noem waits to resign until she is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, a process set for January at the earliest.

Poll sheds light on South Dakota’s 2026 election outlook

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Voter opinions on Noem, Thune, Johnson, Rounds and Jackley and their possible next steps.

That puts the focus on Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden, a 65-year-old Meade County rancher and legislative veteran who would be thrust into the spotlight as the state’s 34th governor.

Rhoden would also preside over a consequential 2025 legislative session fraught with budgetary battles and Republican infighting, all while potentially preparing for a 2026 gubernatorial election in which he would be the incumbent candidate.

“Having a changeover happen during the legislative session would be a first,” said Rep. Tony Venhuizen, R-Sioux Falls, Noem’s former chief of staff and a curator of South Dakota gubernatorial history.

“We’re fortunate that (Rhoden) is a longtime legislator who has been heavily engaged in past sessions and would be well-prepared to step in at any point.”

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Neither Rhoden nor Noem’s office responded to requests for comment Tuesday.

Legislative experience seen as valuable

Rhoden, a resident of Union Center, served in the state House of Representatives from 2001-09 and 2017-19, including a stint as House majority leader from 2005-08. He served in the state Senate from 2009-2015 and chaired the State Affairs Committee.

Rhoden finished second in the 2014 Republican primary for governor to now-U.S. Senator Mike Rounds, with Rhoden drawing 18% of the vote.

Longtime Republican legislator Lee Schoenbeck, who stepped down this year and was clearing out his state Capitol office on Tuesday, told News Watch that it “would not be the best thing” to have the transition occur in the middle of session.

He said that Noem could potentially resign earlier to accommodate Rhoden if she were sure to get confirmed in the U.S. Senate, where Republicans will have the majority and South Dakota U.S. Sen. John Thune is favored to become party leader in a caucus vote Wednesday.

Either way, said Schoenbeck, Rhoden has a “steady hand” to handle the role from a legislative perspective, drawing a contrast between Noem and Rhoden in terms of focus on day-to-day operations at the Capitol.

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Key takeaways: Trump sets tone for South Dakota GOP rout

Tuesday’s election was full of good news for the GOP, soul-searching for everyone else and questions about slow tally. “It’s not acceptable that Minnehaha County takes longer to count votes than the entire state of Florida.”

While Noem was criticized for frequent travel outside the state and pursuing national political goals, Rhoden could be found in the Capitol hallways chatting with lawmakers when he wasn’t presiding over the Senate.

“He’s been way more engaged in the Legislature during his lifetime,” said Schoenbeck, who presided over the executive board for the Legislative Research Council in Pierre on Tuesday. “His entire political experience, other than a brief stint on the Meade County School Board, is all about the Legislature. I think his ability to work with and understand those relationships will put him in a strong position. He’s somebody that you might not agree with on every issue, but you can still work together. Nobody agrees with everybody.”

South Dakota Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden, speaking March 13, 2024, at a town hall meeting in Mitchell, S.D., will become South Dakota’s 34th governor if Kristi Noem is confirmed as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in Donald Trump’s administration. (Photo: Stu Whitney / Argus Leader)

In 2023, when Schoenbeck was in a Senate leadership position and publicly feuded with Noem, he told News Watch: “If I have any questions, I contact Larry.”

Rhoden’s style: ‘Personable and direct’

It’s an open question whether Rhoden will have the same sway with the 2025 Legislature, which features new faces and re-structured leadership that reflects recent electoral gains by the GOP’s populist wing.

Freedom Caucus members have clashed with Noem over their contention that she took establishment positions initially on COVID restrictions, transgender rights and carbon pipelines, with Rhoden caught in the crossfire.

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He was challenged at the 2022 party convention by former Speaker of the House Steve Haugaard and escaped with a narrow win, an episode that widened the populists’ rift with Noem.

‘It’s a tough gig’: Noem’s ‘demanding’ style sparks staff turnover, turmoil

Despite Gov. Kristi Noem’s strong approval ratings, lobbyists and former Cabinet members point to turbulence behind the scenes.

Jim Bolin, a Canton legislator who served 16 years in Pierre but was term-limited in 2024, told News Watch that Rhoden could have the right temperament to navigate choppy political waters.

“I would describe him as personable and direct,” said Bolin. “He doesn’t beat around the bush. Having the transition (in the middle of session) might be challenging, but a lot of the people who have worked in the executive branch have been there for many years. They probably aren’t leaving South Dakota to become part of Homeland Security, so that will help make it easier. The issues themselves will be difficult, but the transition can be handled.”

Rhoden could run as incumbent in 2026

At a Mitchell town hall earlier this year, Noem credited Rhoden with helping her learn the ropes in 2007 as a rookie legislator in Pierre, something she kept in mind when it came time to choose a running mate for her 2018 gubernatorial run.

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“Because I was a farmer and rancher, I was advised to choose a businessman from Sioux Falls,” Noem told attendees. “So instead I chose a rancher from West River. I trust his instincts and values. He loves the Lord and loves his family. I knew that if I got killed the next day, he’d run this state exactly as I would, and that was important to me.”

Rhoden, who runs a cow-calf operation and custom welding business near Union Center, joined the South Dakota National Guard after graduating from high school and served six years.

He has four sons with his wife, Sandy, and also six grandchildren.

Accepting the role as Noem’s lieutenant governor in 2018, he said it was clear that “Kristi is fighting for something much bigger than herself, and she expects the same of those serving in her administration.”

Rhoden withstood Noem’s often-turbulent time in office, marked by five different chiefs of staff and no one currently in that role. The administration saw higher-than-normal turnover among Cabinet positions and executive staff.

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Rhoden is viewed as a likely candidate for governor in 2026, which would mean a highly competitive GOP primary battle against U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson and possibly Attorney General Marty Jackley, among other candidates.

Past transitions include 1993 tragedy

This would mark the third time that a South Dakota lieutenant governor has taken the reins as top executive while a term was still ongoing.

Democratic governor Dick Kneip resigned in July 1978 to become U.S. ambassador to Singapore under President Jimmy Carter, ending his final term about five months early. He handed the reins to former state Sen. Harvey Wollman, who had already lost the Democratic primary for governor but served until Republican Gov. Bill Janklow took office in January 1979.

The next occurrence was prompted by one of South Dakota’s most profound tragedies. George Mickelson was killed April 19, 1993, when a propeller blade broke loose on his airplane and it crashed into a farm silo about 10 miles south of Dubuque, Iowa, killing everyone on board.

Also killed in the crash were two state pilots, Ron Becker and David Hanson, banker David Birkeland, power company executive Angus Anson, Sioux Falls Development Foundation leader Roger Hainje, economic development commissioner Roland Dolly and energy commissioner Ron Reed.

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Lt. Gov. Walter Dale Miller, a Meade County rancher and former speaker of the House, then became the oldest person to serve as governor at age 67.

He declared the rest of April a special period of mourning after huddling in Pierre with staff members, who had received a call from the Federal Aviation Administration around 5 p.m. with news that the state-owned plane had gone down.

Plans were made for Miller to be sworn in as governor the next day. As he left the Capitol on the night of the tragedy, he had a simple message for reporters that had gathered.

“Say a prayer for us,” he said.

Janklow challenged Miller in the 1994 Republican primary and prevailed, setting up his return to Pierre for two terms, followed by eight-year stints by Rounds and Dennis Daugaard and what appears to be a truncated tenure for Noem.

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This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit news organization. Read more in-depth stories at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they’re published. Contact investigative reporter Stu Whitney at stu.whitney@sdnewswatch.org.



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Trump appoints South Dakota governor Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary – Times of India

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Trump appoints South Dakota governor Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary – Times of India


US president-elect Donald Trump has selected South Dakota governor Kristi Noem as the next secretary of the department of homeland security on Tuesday, according to CNN.
The department of homeland security is responsible for everything from border protection and immigration to disaster response and the US Secret Service.
Once considered a potential running mate for Trump, Noem is currently serving a four-year term as Governor of South Dakota, having won with a landslide victory in 2022. However, Noem faced political instability this year.
Noem rose to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic for her decision to implement a statewide mask mandate.
Fans speculated that she entered Trump’s bad books following backlash earlier this year in April after she shot an “untrainable” dog that she “hated” on her family farm.
Earlier on Monday, Trump named Tom Homan as his administration’s incoming ‘border czar’ who emphasized that his primary focus would be on deporting illegal immigrants who endanger public safety and national security.





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