Latest news with #SouthDakotaMilitaryHeritageAlliance
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republican leaders first candidates to announce run for SD governor, lieutenant governor
Dissatisfaction with the 'status quo' is driving Jon Hansen and Karla Lems to run for South Dakota governor and lieutenant governor, they said. The pair officially announced their 2026 campaign to hundreds of supporters Thursday at the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance in Sioux Falls. The crowd included property rights advocates against eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines, 'election integrity' activists and over a dozen Republican lawmakers. Hansen, who currently serves as state House speaker, will seek the Republican Party's nomination for governor, with Lems, his second in command in the House, running to serve as his lieutenant governor. The two, along with speakers who introduced them, said elected officials too often put the 'people's interests' second to special interests. To resounding applause, they said that's caused a wave of opposition to establishment politicians, a referred state pipeline law that voters rejected in November, and ousted incumbent state lawmakers in last June's primary election. 'Grassroots patriots from all across the great state of South Dakota are standing up and we are saying in record numbers, 'No more corruption, no more waste and abuse, no more tax on our land and our liberties and our way of life,'' Hansen said to the crowd. 'Today renews the coming of the end for all of that.' If elected, Hansen pledged to 'clean up' the system by cutting state government and spending. He also promised to create 'education choice grants' for alternative and private school education, and sign an executive order to 'define man and woman, end the woke and restore common sense.' Hansen said he plans to stop offering 'corporate welfare' as well. Republican governors and lawmakers for decades have invested millions of tax dollars in bonds, loans and grants to entice businesses to build and expand in the state. That includes funding for farmers and value-added operations, as well as support for larger investments such as Tru Shrimp. Hansen cited the Tru Shrimp deal as an example of 'corporate welfare.' More: Democrat Julian Beaudion announces US Senate run against Republican Mike Rounds in 2026 State and local officials committed $6.5 million in taxpayer money for a low-interest loan six years ago for Tru Shrimp to build a facility in Madison. The company has not built the facility, even though it was expected to break ground in 2024. The company, which has since changed its name to Iterro, announced it's 'more than halfway' to its fundraising goal to begin the Madison project earlier this year. 'I think it's just unnecessary government mingling, and it's risky business, and they're wasting our taxpayer dollars to do it,' Hansen said of the deal. 'It's that sort of stuff that we want to say 'no more' to. Let's just get back to the free market, low tax and low regulation.' A Dell Rapids lawyer, Hansen has spent a decade in the South Dakota House of Representatives. The 39-year-old was elected House speaker for the most recent legislative session after serving as speaker pro tempore from 2021 to 2022. Lems, from Canton, owns a coffee shop and property management business. The 56-year-old entered the state political fray in 2022 and was elected as House speaker pro tempore during the most recent legislative session, the first woman to hold the position in state history. The two are riding the momentum of private property rights and anti-abortion successes in the last year. Both have been leading forces on property rights in the Legislature, culminating in an eminent domain ban for carbon capture pipelines signed into law this year. The legislation contributed to the Public Utilities Commission's recent denial of Summit Carbon Solutions' second permit application to build a portion of its $9 billion pipeline through the state. Hansen would sometimes be introduced as 'our governor' during rallies in opposition to Summit's pipeline. He told attendees at the event Thursday that under his leadership, the 'only thing that's going to get sequestered are leftist climate policies' — a reference to Summit's planned underground 'sequestration' of carbon dioxide in North Dakota. Meanwhile, Republican President Donald Trump championed carbon capture and storage this week, highlighting it as part of his agenda to improve American energy production. When asked about Trump's support of carbon sequestration, Hansen said 'when it comes to taking people's land and using it without their consent in order to build a risky pipeline across their property, that's a big no.' Hansen has also focused on anti-abortion legislation and tightening South Dakota's election laws in the Legislature. Now vice president of South Dakota Right to Life and co-chair of the Life Defense Fund, he organized a campaign last year that fended off a ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Hansen and Lems are the first to announce their candidacy for the governor's race, though other prominent South Dakota politicians have said they're considering their own bids, including Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden and Republican U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson. Other Republicans frequently mentioned as possible candidates include Attorney General Marty Jackley, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018, and Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden, who briefly considered a run against Johnson for U.S. House last year. Rhoden, who formerly served as lieutenant governor, changed the name of his campaign fundraising committee to 'Rhoden for Governor' in February. His lieutenant governor, Tony Venhuizen, created a new campaign fundraising committee the same month. The Legislature changed the process for choosing lieutenant governor nominees this year. The new law allows candidates for governor to choose their running mate, rather than relying on political party conventions to nominate them. If more than one person from each party seeks the nomination, party voters will choose their nominee for governor in the primary election on June 2, 2026. The winners will advance to the general election on Nov. 3, 2026. Rhoden is currently serving the remainder of the second term won by former Gov. Kristi Noem, who would've been term-limited at the end of 2026. She resigned earlier this year to accept the top job at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: First candidates announce run for SD governor, lieutenant governor
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Easter Sunday Boredom Busters: April 20th
MOUNT RUSHMORE (KELO) — Celebrate Easter at the Shrine of Democracy. An Easter Sunrise Celebration will take place in the amphitheater of Mount Rushmore National Memorial starting at 7 a.m. Mountain Time. Parking is free. VFW Post 628 in Sioux Falls is hosting its monthly All-You-Can Eat Pancake Breakfast. Serving time is 8:30 a.m. to noon at the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance. The cost is $8 for adults, $2 for children. Sit down with your family and enjoy an Easter Brunch at several Sioux Falls restaurants. They include all six Hy-Vee locations, Minervas located downtown, The Blue Rock Bar & Grill at the Sanford Sports Complex and the Holiday Inn City Centre. If you can't make it to Easter church services in-person, KELOLAND TV is airing Sunday TV Mass at 10 a.m. and Worship at Bethany at 10 a.m. on KELOLAND CW. The Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $15.50 for adults, $11.50 for children and free for ages under two. The Butterfly House & Aquarium in Sioux Falls is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $11 for children and free for ages under two. Movies playing at the historic State Theater in downtown Sioux Falls include Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, rated G and Bruce Almighty, rated PG-13. New movie releases playing at a theater near you include Drop, rated PG-13, plus Sinners and The Wedding Banquet, both rated R. The Palace Theatre in Luverne, MN is featuring A Minecraft Movie, rated PG. Showtime is 2 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Alliance's military milestone
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A favorite concert venue in Sioux Falls and gathering place for veterans is celebrating a military milestone this year. Five years ago, the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance opened its doors to the public as a one-stop location for veterans and active-duty members. We look back at the Alliance's five years of operation and find out what the future holds for the non-profit. A flash of inspiration struck Stacy Kooistra one morning back in 2016 as he paid a visit to the sprawling Badlands Pawn building as the business was in the process of closing. 'And I just wanted to see it before it closed because it was such a unique, if not odd, facility and I just walked through and I think just from my army days to my Air National Guard days,it just triggered an idea of this could be a great military and veterans facility,' Kooistra said. At that moment, the concept of what would become the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance was born. An ambitious idea that, at times, overwhelmed Kooistra from the beginning. 'Fundraising was part of it. How do you eat this elephant? How do you operate a gun range, and a concert venue and a restaurant and a bar and then have tenants within it? The scope of the project would dawn on me from time to time,' Kooistra said. Kooistra's non-profit raised money to purchase Badlands Pawn and covert it into the Alliance. It's official opening was set for March of 2020. 'And of course, we started with all these plans and ideas and the same week we wanted to do our grand opening, Covid,' South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance Executive Director Brian Phelps said. Behind the walls of the SD State Penitentiary: Part II The coronavirus pandemic delayed the Alliance's opening until later that year. Despite the setback, the Alliance would prove to be a popular destination not just for people with ties to the military, but for the entire community. 'Over the last five years, we've brought in over 500 thousand guests through our front door. That's twice the population of Sioux Falls that's come here in five years,' Phelps said. The customer experience is a priority at the Alliance, to make sure people plan return visits here. 'We don't worry about the hamburgers or the beers, we want people to come here, have the experience they can take home with them and share with their friends and family about, wow – this is what I did at the Alliance, this is very unique, I want to go there again,' Phelps said. The Alliance also includes a converted armory that houses both the local American Legion and VFW posts. 'We can have veteran organizations in here who maintain their own identity and are distinct in that regard, but also can collaborate and that's something I think we needed from the veteran community point of view,' Kooistra said. The American Legion credits the Alliance, and all its services available, for boosting its membership, especially among younger veterans. 'Instead of being an old man's club, we are trying to get more modern and recognize the fact that the younger generations of veterans who are coming and we want to make it… this venue is perfect,' American Legion Post 15 Vice-Commander Pat Branco said. Alliance leadership is making plans for the next five years and that includes converting the former AAA building located next door into a museum honoring all branches of the military that fought in all U.S. conflicts. 'South Dakota does not have an all-eras, all-branches museum. We have some excellent ones. The Air & Space Museum in Rapid City. The National Guard museum in Pierre. But we don't have one that covers everybody and we're losing a lot of stories and South Dakota's military heritage and so that's what we want to pour into next,' Kooistra said. Kooistra says the building's horseshoe-shaped layout will make it an ideal location to house a museum to include rotating exhibits. But there's still no timetable yet on when the project will begin. A 5-year-old facility that never even had a grand opening will expand its footprint and embrace more and more guests for years to come. 'It has room and opportunity for growth, I see nothing but great hope,' Branco said. The South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs was the very first tenant to move into the Alliance back in 2020. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
