Greetings from District 20 Representative Kaley Nolz!

In case, we have not had the opportunity to meet yet, I would like to quickly introduce myself. I am a small business owner, member of Holy Family Catholic Church, an auntie to eight nieces and nephews, and a rancher’s daughter. I graduated from Mitchell High School and then went on to South Dakota State University for Agriculture Business with minors in Marketing and Banking/Financial Services. My first job out of college was as an Ag Credit Analyst. While working full time, I also completed my Master of Business Administration from University of Sioux Falls. After five years in that role, I had the opportunity to work for myself and also come back home to the family ranch. Now, I will add legislator to my list of jobs. 

The South Dakota Legislature is a part-time legislature made up of everyday people, like you and me. This is my first term serving, and it is both an honor and a privilege. SD’s historic 100th Legislative session officially started last week Tuesday. It has been a busy time already! We heard the State of the State from Governor Noem, the State of the Judiciary, the State of the Tribes, and the State of Ellsworth Air Force Base. There have already been over 165 bills introduced in the first week. The Capitol is a fast-paced environment with a lot of information to absorb. Check out the bills for yourself on www.sdlegislature.gov and track their progress. 

I was assigned to serve on two committees: House Agriculture and Natural Resources and House Commerce and Energy. The first week, we had informational meetings from Game, Fish, and Parks, and the Department of Labor and Regulations. Commerce and Energy meets Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 10 a.m. and Ag and Natural Resources meets Tuesday/Thursday at 7:45 a.m. Tune in to listen to committee hearings and floor sessions on SD Public Broadcasting. 

I would also like to highlight a bill that I have signed onto as a co-sponsor. 

“HB1052: An Act to prohibit the exercise of eminent domain for a pipeline that carries carbon oxide.” This bill was introduced as a direct response to the mandate given by the people. The defeat of RL21 in 65 of 66 counties with 59 percent of the votes shows the will of the people. HB1052 provides Constitutional clarity, without infringing on the private property rights of individuals. Currently, 28 house members and 11 senate members have signed on to HB1052. 

It has already been a whirlwind, four legislative days! I am excited and looking forward to what comes next. Feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns. My email is Kaley.nolz@sdlegislature.gov

Kaley Nolz,

State House of 

Representatives, 

District 20

By Rep. Jeff Bathke

The first week of the historic 100th Legislative Session in the great State of South Dakota is in the books. Governor Noem presented the State of the State Address, Chief Justice Steven Jensen gave the State of the Judiciary Address, Chairman J. Garrett Renville gave the State of the Tribes Address, and Colonel Derek Oakley gave the State of the Base Address on Ellsworth Air Force Base. 

During the State of the State Address, Governor Noem focused on the future, even though she will not be with us much longer, covering several accomplishments over the last six years. Some that are important to me are expanding agriculture, disaster mitigation funding, securing the border, growing the economy, and less government regulation. In the end, she thanked her family and welcomed the soon to be new Governor Larry Rhoden. It will be interesting to see who he will select for his replacement and what his priorities will be for the state. 

During the State of the Judiciary Address, Chief Justice Steven Jensen discussed additional community programs prior to and after prison. These additional community-based programs should reduce recidivism, which is very important considering the Department of Corrections is currently building a 288-bed medium security female prison in Rapid City, at a cost of $87,145,020, which is $252,951 per bed and in the planning stage of building a 1,512-bed maximum security male prison in Lincoln County at a cost of $737,854,980, which is a cost of $487,480 per bed. Chief Justice Steven Jensen also recognized Mitchell Court Services Officer Tim Moon for his successful work with offenders assigned to supervision under the Unified Judicial System, who received a standing ovation. 

During the State of the Tribes Address, Chairman J. Garrett Renville discussed rebuilding the relationships between the State and the Tribes. He is ready to have a fresh start and move forward. 

During the State of the Base Address on Ellsworth Air Force Base, Colonel Derek Oakley explained the current and future base expansion, in anticipation of the new B21 Bombers. This will add additional airmen, spouses and children, who will need housing and schools. The economic impact will be huge for the State of South Dakota. Ellsworth is the second largest employer, behind the State. 

Department of Revenue Secretary Michael Houdyshell gave a presentation to the Taxation Committee. He provided an update on sales, use and excise tax, which collected $2.2 billion last year. He discussed property tax collections, of which 44 percent is received from owner occupied, 31 percent from commercial, and 21 percent from agriculture land. On average, property tax collections go to the schools (56 percent), county (27 percent), municipalities (13 percent), townships (2 percent), and special assessments (2 percent). He also gave an update on gambling revenue and motor vehicle licensing fees. South Dakota is going to a new licensing program called 605Drive next month. 

If you are one of the many citizens concerned about high property taxes, you should review HB1019, which eliminates certain property taxes levied on owner-occupied single-family dwellings and increases certain gross receipts tax rates and use tax rates. As explained above, 56 percent of your property taxes go to the school district, which generates $280 million. The school portion of your property taxes would be reduced to zero dollars and these lost dollars would be made up by an increase in sales tax. For many, this would be a cost savings. For every thousand dollars of taxable sales you spend, your sales tax would go from $42 to $50. You would have to buy a lot of taxable goods before you would spend more on sales tax than property tax. Much of our sales tax is generated from tourists but 100 percent of our owner-occupied property tax is generated by residents. 

I also sat in on a budget report from the Veteran’s Affairs Department to the Appropriations Committee, who has concerns with reduced benefits to Veterans. Part of this reduction is eliminating the funding paid to counties to provide a Veteran’s Service Officer (VSO). Since the statute requires each county to have a VSO, the cost to provide one will be paid by your county tax dollars.  

I look forward to discussing issues of importance with the citizens of Jerauld, Sanborn, Miner and Davison Counties over the next couple of months. If you have any concerns, feel free to contact me at jeff.bathke@sdlegislature.gov. 

Bryan Lutter’s letter to the editor in Dec. 19’s issue brought up the clear bias that news networks like Fox News and CNN have. I’d like to use this as a jumping off point to discuss the core values of conservatives and liberals and how they’re used by media to persuade the audience.

A study by psychologists Jon Haidt and Jesse Graham showed that liberals and conservatives usually place higher importance in different values. For instance, equality and fairness tend to hold a higher importance for liberals, while one of conservatives’ primary values is respect for authority. This isn’t to say that conservatives don’t value equality at all, nor that liberals can’t respect authority, but one side usually places more importance in one than in the other. 

When you listen to slanted news stations like Fox News and CNN, those reporters are going to be speaking to their target audiences and their core values, meaning you’ll be more inclined to agree with the information being given to you in the language that reflects your own, Fox News for conservatives, CNN for liberals.

A study by Robb Willer, a professor of Sociology, Psychology, and Business at Stanford University, showed conservatives that read a pro-environment essay using words that targeted their core beliefs of sanctity and purity found themselves more convinced than the conservatives who read a similar essay that instead focused on protection from harm, a core value that liberals generally hold.

I noticed these ideas being applied by advertising campaigns during the 2024 election as well. No to H argued to keep South Dakota pure from Californian ideas, and Yes to H combatted this by appealing to conservatives’ value of patriotism, stating how veterans who are registered as third party are currently unable to vote in the Republican primary, even if the veterans lean conservative.

It’s important to get multiple viewpoints, yes, but don’t limit yourself to mainstream echo chambers when there is a spectrum of thought out there to provide you with perspectives you would otherwise miss. 

Also, be wary of where you get your news from, whether they be biased or give flat out nonfactual information, especially in this age of artificial intelligence. (No, Facebook, where any ding-a-ling with Internet access can post something as “fact,” is not a reliable source.) Fact check things you read and hear. Yes, it takes more work than just taking someone at their word (as well as willpower if what you hear aligns with your own values and bias), but that’s part of your duty as a voting citizen: to be informed!