Latest news with #Beaudion
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Levitt area restaurants looking forward to season
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Levitt at the Falls kicks off its new season Friday night in downtown Sioux Falls. 50 free concerts will entertain crowds throughout the summer. 'It's something we look forward to every year,' Swamp Daddy's Cajun Kitchen Owner and Chef Del'Inkka Beaudion said. Divided reaction to passing of reconciliation bill Swamp Daddy's is inside the Jones 421 building, which is close to the Levitt. 'We definitely see an influx of customers that come and get dinner with us with the family, and then walk over to the Levitt and enjoy the concerts,' Beaudion said. While Swamp Daddy's has been serving Levitt fans for years, a new restaurant in the area is getting ready for its first Levitt season. The Lodge Bar & Grill at Jacobson Plaza opened less than a month ago. The restaurant is managed by the Washington Pavilion. 'We've already been staffing up, we're extending our hours this week to accommodate for Levitt, so we've been preparing for this since we opened,' The Lodge Bar & Grill General Manager Andy Wolf said. Last year's season attendance at the Levitt was 90,000 people. 'It's just important to get the community down and start to see what this area and this part of town is expanding into, what we have to offer as far as shops and food and beverage and just places you can relax, patio spaces, the park,' Wolf said. 'As a small business owner, I can speak for us all downtown that we appreciate the business and the influx of traffic, foot traffic that we have coming downtown,' Beaudion said. Friday's season opener is Grammy-nominated Divinity Roxx, who has played bass for Beyoncé. The music starts at 7:00 pm. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrat Julian Beaudion announces US Senate run against Republican Mike Rounds in 2026
A Sioux Falls activist and business owner will attempt to unseat U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds. Julian Beaudion, a Democrat, formally announced in a Thursday press release his plans to run against Republican incumbent Rounds in 2026. Beaudion is co-founder and executive director of The Hub, a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) leadership, networking and professional development organization in Sioux Falls. The longtime Sioux Falls advocate also is a graduate of the Obama Foundation Leaders USA program. Beaudion worked for more than a decade as a South Dakota state trooper. He served on former Gov. Dennis Daugaard's security detail during part of his law enforcement career. More: SD Democrats announce town hall meetings as frustration grows, even among some Republicans The Democrat challenger's decision to run came as a response to Rounds' support of "President Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to illegally fire federal workers, gut Social Security and strip away protections for working families, and abolish the Department of Education." "This campaign isn't about me—it's about securing a future where South Dakota's working families don't get left behind," Beaudion said in the release. "In the Senate, I'll fight to enforce the checks and balances our Constitution demands and reject the influence of big money and tech monopolies threatening our freedoms—whether it's harvesting private data or undermining rural businesses. It's time we prepared for the future of AI and automation—by investing in our workers, defending our communities, and keeping the American Dream within reach for the next generation." Federal Election Commission records show Beaudion filed to register a campaign committee on Monday. Rounds, who is up for reelection, assumed his current office Jan. 3, 2015. He was South Dakota governor from 2003 to 2011, with Daugaard serving as his lieutenant governor across two terms. Rounds' war chest currently contains about $1.87 million cash on hand, according to FEC data. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Julian Beaudion announces US Senate run against Mike Rounds in 2026
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sioux Falls business owner and former state trooper announces Democratic bid for U.S. Senate
Julian Beaudion, a Sioux Falls businessman and former state trooper, speaks at the downtown Sioux Falls library on Apr. 7, 2025. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) Julian Beaudion, a small-business owner and former state trooper from Sioux Falls, announced Thursday that he is seeking South Dakota's Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Mike Rounds. 'This campaign isn't about me — it's about securing a future where South Dakota's working families don't get left behind,' Beaudion said in a statement. He and his wife co-own Swamp Daddy's Cajun Kitchen, and he also operates The Hub, a professional development program. He previously served 13 years as a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper and is a graduate of the Obama Foundation's Leaders program. If elected, Beaudion would be the first Black person from South Dakota to serve in Congress. He said his campaign will focus on 'practical solutions, bipartisan cooperation, and creating economic opportunities for all South Dakotans.' His priorities include investing in rural infrastructure, expanding telehealth services and supporting workforce development. 'I'll fight to enforce the checks and balances our Constitution demands and reject the influence of big money and tech monopolies threatening our freedoms,' he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Beaudion criticized what he described as Rounds' defense of and support for President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's policy agenda, including firing federal workers without congressional approval and Rounds' legislation to eliminate the federal Department of Education. A Rounds spokesman sent a statement in response to a South Dakota Searchlight message: 'Mike is focused on the actual job — securing the border, national defense, growing our economy, eliminating the federal Department of Education, and working with President Trump to get our country back on track. South Dakotans have soundly rejected Bidenomics and Obama's job-killing policies. Good luck running on that platform.' The South Dakota Democratic Party announced on Monday that it will conduct public town halls this month in at least four South Dakota cities. Beaudion will be one of the Democrats participating in those events. South Dakota's primary election is June 2, 2026, and the general election is Nov. 3, 2026.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Beaudion running for Rounds' Senate seat
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The race for South Dakota's Senate seat opening up in Washington in 2026 has its first official entrant. Pleas of not guilty entered in Hibachi Grill case Julian Beaudion of Sioux Falls is running as a Democrat for the seat currently occupied by Republican Mike Rounds. Rounds' term ends in January 2027; he has not yet officially announced any plans beyond his current term. Beaudion served as a trooper in the South Dakota Highway Patrol for 13 years. Today, he runs The HUB SD, and he and his wife also own a Sioux Falls restaurant. He unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Sioux Falls City Council in 2020. Julian-Beaudion-AnnouncementDownload 'This campaign isn't about me—it's about securing a future where South Dakota's working families don't get left behind,' Beaudion said in a statement provided to KELOLAND News Wednesday night. 'In the Senate, I'll fight to enforce the checks and balances our Constitutiondemands and reject the influence of big money and tech monopolies threatening our freedoms—whether it's harvesting private data or undermining rural businesses. It's time we prepared for the future of AI and automation—by investing in our workers, defending our communities, and keeping the American Dream within reach for the next generation.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How Julian Beaudion has helped change Sioux Falls
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — If the name Julian Beaudion sounds familiar to you, that's for good reason. He has been a key figure in various events across Sioux Falls However, before he started to consider himself an activist, he worked for the South Dakota Highway Patrol. DOGE announces first real estate closure in South Dakota 'I was a trooper for about 13.5 years when I became a trooper. I was the third black person to ever put the uniform on,' Julian Beaudion said. But after George Floyd was murdered, things changed for Beaudion. He was one of the voices at the protest that was held in Sioux Falls. 'Right after I gave that speech talking about the negatives in law enforcement, I had to turn around that same night because there was a riot at the, at the, at the mall and put the uniform on. And, you know, some of those same faces that attended the protest were also at the riot,' Beaudion said. Since then, he has expanded his role as an activist in the city. He's now president of the Juneteenth celebration in Sioux Falls and has helped manage its tremendous growth. 'We've been able to grow and develop that organization, into, you know, from what used to be, you know, 50 to 100 people coming to have a picnic to where now we have 5,000-6,000 folks showing up,' Beaudion said. Beaudion was selected as an Obama Leader this year. He was one out of 106 people from 6 countries to receive the honor and go through the Presidential leadership program. 'I want to make sure that I'm taking those tools and those resources and the knowledge to bring right back to South Dakota to say, how can we implement success here in South Dakota, as they have, in other states across the country,' Beaudion said. As Black History Month comes to a close today, it's an important reminder that Black history is American history, and should be remembered year round. 'We're not in this battle to say black people need to be better than anyone. We're here to say the inclusion of black folks makes everyone in our country better,' Beaudion said. Beaudion says one of his largest accomplishments was being selected as the Biden nominee to be the U.S. Marshal for the Territory of South Dakota. While he never went through the Senate confirmation process, he was the first black person to be nominated for it in the state of South Dakota. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
