IOWA GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS ISSUES DISASTER PROCLAMATION FOR FIVE COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST IOWA

DES MOINES, IA – Following the severe winter weather seen on Wednesday, March 19, Iowa’s Governor has issued a proclamation for five recovering counties.

On Thursday, March 20, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for five counties affected by Wednesday’s winter weather.

The governor’s office says the proclamation allows state resources to be used for response and recovery. It has been issued for Crawford, Harrison, Monona, Shelby and Woodbury.

In a statement issued from the Office of the Governor, they detail some of the benefits of the declaration.

“The proclamation also temporarily suspends regulatory provisions of the Iowa Code that pertain to hours of service for disaster repair crews and drivers delivering goods and services while responding to disaster sites, and various requirements for the transportation of loads related to disaster repairs on highways within Iowa.”

The proclamation is effective immediately until Thursday, April 3, 2025.

 

RHODEN RESETS KEY SOUTH DAKOTA POLICIES FOLLOWING LEGISLATIVE DEFEATS UNDER FORMER GOVERNOR NOEM

PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) – Gov. Larry Rhoden reset several major state initiatives after the Legislature rejected key proposals from former Gov. Kristi Noem in the 2025 session.

The policy shifts span prison funding, property taxes, and eminent domain as Rhoden navigated a Legislature increasingly influenced by populist, pro-landowner Republicans.

“We’re looking forward, not back,” Rhoden spokeswoman Josie Harms told the South Dakota Broadcasters Association in a March 14 email.

Prison Funding Reset

Noem’s prison funding proposal faced direct legislative rejection. Her request for $182 million to fund the $825 million facility failed to gain traction, with lawmakers instead establishing a study panel that was due to report before a July 22 special session.

Rhoden announced “Project Prison Reset” in February, requiring a reassessment of the prison’s size, location, and funding model. During a press conference in February, he referred to the Lincoln County site as a “gift from God” due to its proximity to Sioux Falls.

“I thought it was a gift from God to find the site that we did that was appropriate for this prison relative to where it is now,” South Dakota News Watch reported. “And so that’s what just kind of makes me sick to my stomach to think about starting over,” he added.

Rhoden also warned delays could increase costs by $40 million annually.

Property Tax Relief Reset

Property taxes became a liability for Noem’s administration after steep assessment increases across the state. Former House Majority Leader Will Mortenson from Pierre—who retained his House seat but lost his leadership position due to the election of pro-landowner Republicans in the June primary —described the situation as a crisis.

“People are getting taxed out of neighborhoods they’ve lived in for decades,” he said, according to SDNW.

Noem did not mention the brewing concerns over rising property taxes in either her December Budget Address or her January State of the State Address.

After Noem’s failure to advance substantial property tax relief, Rhoden introduced Senate Bill 216. That measure caps residential assessment growth at 3 percent annually over five years and expands eligibility for tax relief programs for elderly and disabled residents.

“If you want to cut those property taxes, you have to cut schools’ budgets or find new revenue,” Rhoden said during a press briefing. He proposed exploring new revenue sources while avoiding mandates on local governments.

Eminent Domain Reset

On eminent domain, Rhoden signed House Bill 1052 in March, prohibiting its use for carbon dioxide pipeline projects, such as Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposal. This measure reversed Noem’s more pipeline-friendly policies in previous sessions.

“I encourage Summit and others to view it as an opportunity for a needed reset,” Rhoden wrote in his decision letter, as reported by The Dakota Scout. He also said, “I’ve fought for private property rights in this Capitol for over 20 years.”

Pipeline supporters maintain the projects would benefit the state’s agricultural economy, particularly ethanol producers seeking carbon capture solutions.

SDPB Funding Cut Setback

Another rebuke of Noem’s agenda came when appropriations committee lawmakers unanimously rejected her proposed $3.6 million reduction to South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s budget—a 65 percent cut that would have eliminated 50 positions, according to Current, a publication that covers public media.

SDPB Executive Director Julie Overgaard testified that the cuts would jeopardize federal matching funds and force reductions in programming.

“People in South Dakota like their high school activities. They like their open government, and they like their local public broadcasting programming,” Overgaard said.

Appropriations legislators rejected Noem’s proposed cuts in a 15-0 vote.

Rep. Erick Muckey, D-Sioux Falls, an appropriations committee member, called the decision a “team effort across both sides of the aisle” in a session-end news conference.

Veterans’ Benefits Protected

Another defeat for Noem’s budget priorities came when the House unanimously voted down House Bill 1038. It would have eliminated state stipends for veterans’ headstone etching and settings in private cemeteries. The 70-0 vote in the House demonstrated strong bipartisan opposition to the proposed cut.

Legislative Assessment

Noem’s final legislative session saw multiple defeats, including the failure to secure prison funding, rejection of SDPB cuts, inability to make the 4.2 percent sales tax permanent, and the lack of passage of Education Savings Account funding.

Despite her final session setbacks, Noem’s governorship saw notable achievements. South Dakota recorded a 1.8% unemployment rate and maintained its AAA credit rating. She signed stringent abortion restrictions following the Roe v. Wade reversal and implemented a temporary sales tax reduction from 4.5% to 4.2% in 2023. Noem expanded educational options through homeschooling legislation and tax credit scholarships for private school students. Her administration invested in infrastructure while maintaining balanced budgets. These accomplishments reflected her conservative principles of fiscal responsibility and limited government intervention.

While acknowledging the 2025 setbacks, Rhoden’s office emphasized continuity between administrations.

“Governor Rhoden worked closely with Former Governor Noem to lay the foundation for a successful session,” Harms told SDBA. “She has been doing incredible work in her new role as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and we are proud of what she is accomplishing to make America safe again.”

In her March 14 email, Harms noted: “Governor Rhoden is proud of everything that we accomplished this session to keep South Dakota strong, safe, and free. There’s more work to do – we’re looking forward, not back.”

Legislators are scheduled to return to Pierre on Monday, Mar. 31, for the 38th and final day of the session, traditionally reserved for vetoes.

 

JURY FINDS GREENPEACE AT FAULT FOR PROTEST DAMAGES, AWARDS PIPELINE DEVELOPER MORE THAN $660 MILLION

MANDAN, N.D. – A Morton County jury on Wednesday ordered Greenpeace to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline, finding that the environmental group incited illegal behavior by anti-pipeline protesters and defamed the company.

The nine-person jury delivered a verdict in favor of Energy Transfer on most counts, awarding more than $660 million in damages to Energy Transfer and Dakota Access LLC.

The case centers on Greenpeace’s involvement in protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 and 2017. The demonstrations were started by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which views the project as a pollution threat and imposition onto Native land. Thousands of protesters camped for months north of the Standing Rock Reservation, near where the pipeline crosses underneath the Missouri River in Morton County.

Energy Transfer filed the colossal lawsuit in 2019, accusing Greenpeace of providing resources, including supplies, intel and training, to encourage Dakota Access Pipeline protesters to commit criminal acts to stop construction of the project. The company also claims that Greenpeace intentionally spread misinformation about the pipeline to tarnish its reputation with banks.

“These are the facts, not the fake news of the Greenpeace propaganda machine,” Trey Cox, the lead attorney representing Energy Transfer, said in a press conference outside the Morton County Courthouse after the verdict.

Energy Transfer representatives believe protesting is an “inherent American right” but that Greenpeace’s actions were “unacceptable,” Cox continued.

The company sued three Greenpeace entities — Greenpeace USA, Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Fund.

The jury found Greenpeace USA liable for almost all claims. The jury did not find Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Fund responsible for the alleged on-the-ground harms committed by protesters, but did find those entities liable for defamation and interfering with Energy Transfer’s business. The jury found Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace International liable for conspiracy.

Attorneys representing Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Fund told the jury that they never had any employees visit the demonstration camps or provide money to support the protests.

Both the plaintiffs and the defense have called the case one of the largest and most complex civil suits in state history.

Greenpeace USA, which the jury ordered to pay more than $400 million of the damages, has previously said the lawsuit threatened to bankrupt the organization. When asked whether that was still the case Wednesday afternoon, Greenpeace Senior Legal Adviser Deepa Padmanabha said “the work of Greenpeace is never gonna stop.”

Greenpeace didn’t say immediately whether the organization would appeal the decision.

“We have not had a chance to even circle up as a group yet, but the fight is not over,” Padmanabha said.

During closing arguments on Monday, Cox told jurors that Greenpeace’s actions caused between $265 million and $340 million in damages to the company. He asked the jury to award Energy Transfer that amount plus additional punitive damages.

The verdict brought to a close a more than three-week trial in Mandan. The jury began deliberating Monday afternoon after hearing testimony from dozens of witnesses, including current and former Greenpeace employees, Indigenous activists, Energy Transfer representatives and law enforcement.

Among the witnesses was former Greenpeace executive director Annie Leonard and Energy Transfer Executive Chairman Kelcy Warren, who appeared by video deposition.

Greenpeace denies the allegations and says the lawsuit is a ploy to punish activist groups.

Some observers of the trial who participated in the anti-pipeline demonstration expressed anger after the verdict was announced Wednesday.

“Standing Rock was not heard,” Waniya Locke, a Standing Rock citizen who attended much of the trial, said. She said that she will continue opposing the pipeline.

Kandi White, a member of the Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation who also observed the trial, said she is “ashamed” of the decision. She said she found the implication that Greenpeace orchestrated the Dakota Access Pipeline protests insulting to Standing Rock and the other Native nations that were at the center of the movement.

“An appeal should be easy for any court,” White said.

 

PROTEST AT REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON’S EVENT IN STURGIS TAKES UGLY TURN

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Wednesday, South Dakota Representative Dusty Johnson was honoring local veterans at a ceremony at the Veterans Club in Sturgis. At the same time, Indivisible Rapid City members, a mix of veterans and non-veterans, were standing outside letting their voices be heard.

“We were there to support them and let Mr. Johnson know that we were not okay with veterans’ jobs being lost, veterans’ healthcare being slashed,” a member of Indivisible Rapid City, Roseanna Renaud, said.

With the current administration having plans to lay-off tens of thousands of VA employees, Renaud felt they needed to take a stand. What was supposed to be a peaceful protest would eventually take an ugly turn.

“I heard a commotion behind me, and I turned around, and I observed the victim lying on the ground with his legs out in front of him,” Renaud recounted.

The man lying on the ground was John Griffith. A police report said he was shoved by John Henry and said Griffith sustained cuts to his arm and Henry was arrested for simple assault.

Renaud and other protesters didn’t understand why Johnson wouldn’t come out to address them.

“We are his constituents, we are veterans,” Renaud said. “I would anticipate that he would want to come out and say a few words to the group.”

She said there was never a threat to Johnson.

Jonson said he wanted to arrive at the ceremony on time before speaking with protesters.

“No, not to any of them, not yet, I arrived in time for the ceremony,” Johnson said. “We’ll see, I mean I’m sort of inclined to, but I want to get a sense from some of the locals about who was out there, just so I have good situational awareness of who we have.”

He said VA funding will not be touched by Congress.

“Congress hasn’t and will not cut VA funding,” Johnson said. “There will certainly be some efficiencies that are found as we work together, but those efficiencies are going to be reinvested in the system. We have got to do right by these veterans.”