To no one’s surprise, legislators have not mustered the two-thirds majorities in both chambers to call a Special Session to enact Governor Kristi Noem’s election-season food-tax-repeal promise.
According to a memo Bob Mercer got from the Legislative Research Council, as of last week Wednesday, four Senators and twenty Representatives had signed petitions calling for a Special Session. Getting the band together without a gubernatorial decree requires 24 Senators and 47 Representatives.
Legislators willing to go to Pierre right now and repeal the food tax include ten Democrats—that’s the entire caucus except for Representative Ryan Cwach (D-18/Yankton). The thirteen House Republicans who have asked for a Special Session—Aylward, Dennert, Haugaard, Howard, Kevin Jensen, Phil Jensen, Milstead, Overweg, Pischke, Randolph, Soye, Wiese, and Speaker Gosch—all voted for the food tax repeal that Governor Noem publicly opposed back in March.
25 House Republicans who supported the food tax repeal in March—Beal, Blare, Chaffee, Derby, Deutsch, Drury, Finck, Fitzgerald, Goodwin, Gross, Hansen, Karr, Ladner, Marty, May, Mills, Mulally, Perry, Sue Peterson, Reimer, Schneider, St. John, Vasgaard, Weis, and Wink—have not so far been willing to reconvene this fall to reconsider that wise Democratic tax policy.
Obviously, creating new things and fixing broken things just isn’t that important. Pheasants to hunt, kids to get off to school, homes and farms to prepare for winter. You know. South Dakota Stuff.
Speaking of winter this list crossed my desk. Best and Worst States for Winter Weather & Fun.
1. Hawai`i
2. California
3. Florida
4. Arizona
5. Colorado
6. New Mexico
48. South Dakota
49. North Dakota
50. Minnesota
You know P. Aitch. Michael Moore had North Dakota down is his really old television show. You should look it up.
Mr. Aitch–I’ve lived in Minnesota, north of Bemidji where it got down to 62 below and every bit of moisture in the air turned into a large snowflake and drifted slowly to earth until there was 125 inches of it on the ground. I lived in Pierre where I was never so cold as when I walked against a north wind up hill to where I worked. It was so cold there water pipes broke inside walls of houses. Wind chill of 30 below…”Killer Blizzard” Kelo Land cried. Pierre was much more adverse to human life than northern Minnesota. The only time I thought it was possible that I was going to freeze to death was in Pierre.
Thanks for the 411 on North Dakota, Mark. Every day for over a month Michael Moore has been emailing me with persuasion about why Dems are going to shellack the Connies next week. But, this eight-minute video is proof that North Dakota is nobody’s second banana. Frozen banana maybe but second to no other fruit. I especially like the eternal flame that’s burned out. Did you know that ND has more shoreline than California? Really, Governor?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMSuYsZCUew
Arlo. – You’re not learnin’ me nuttin’. I remember a New Years Eve in Strandburg, SD at 71 below, dead still. I’m tellin’ you Russians from Germany descendants. Dere ain’t no diffrence ‘tween 55 and 70 below.
Williston, ND in winter is hell. Satan put me on a 3- man (only one gender in winter workwear, I thought) crew, drove us out to a field, handed us a posthole digger, showed us where to put the hole and said he’d be back to get us later. Taking turns, we managed to get 4-5 inches in the frozen ground the entire day. One guy was from the Congo and we were warned by the third guy if we cried, our eyeballs and mucous membranes would freeze and we would die. Pummeling that ground was futile and you couldn’t pay me enough to go back. I wasn’t aware human life could be so cheap. Up there, when it gets -40°F, oil is your God, cold is your deranged murderer, and Satan fires you if he doesn’t get to rape you.
I lived in Mandan, ND, for 3/4ths of 1981. We moved there from Rapid City on New Year’s Day. Ass-chapping coldest move I ever made. We lived on the north end, where the snirt (snow-dirt) blew in from points northwest. I walked to the US Geological Services Library most days. I’m not sure where that winter stands in the record books, but in mine, it was the coldest winter ever.