This interview originally aired on "In the Moment" on SDPB Radio.
We dive into what Gov. Kristi Noem brought to the table in her 2024 State of the State address. And we hear the response from lawmakers.
Gov. Noem gave the address on Tuesday. In it, she used her Freedom Works Here campaign as a roadmap to identifying the top 10 ways that freedom works in South Dakota.
Jon Hunter, publisher emeritus of the Madison Daily Leader, analyzes the address and makes his predictions on what could be to come this legislative session.
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Lori Walsh:
You are listening to In the Moment on South Dakota Public Broadcasting. I'm Lori Walsh. Well, yesterday, Governor Kristi Noem delivered her State of the State address. Freedom was the theme of that speech. More specifically, it was about how freedom works in South Dakota. So we're going to get a recap and analysis from today's representative, from our rotating panel of Dakota political junkies. Jon Hunter is Publisher Emeritus of the Madison Daily Leader. He was inducted into the South Dakota Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2022, and he's with us now in SDPB's Kirby Family Studio. Jon, welcome back.
Jon Hunter:
Thanks, Lori. Thanks for the invitation.
Lori Walsh:
Welcome to a new legislative session.
Jon Hunter:
We're excited. It's time to go.
Lori Walsh:
Do you know how many it's been for you that you have been covering?
Jon Hunter:
I don't. I did go to, I would say, 30 consecutive at some point before the pandemic.
Lori Walsh:
Yeah, all right. What stood out for you in this speech from the governor, where do you want to begin today?
Jon Hunter:
Well, the State of the State speech, of course, has evolved over the years. The Constitution requires it, but it's very limited, in that time of course, the governor with limited powers, they just said, "Well, tell us what's going on with the state." The legislature asked that, and so there's not much of a framework. It has evolved over time to really be a presentation of proposed legislation. So the last few governors that I remember, Janklow and Rounds and Daugaard and so on, all would propose lots of things and say, "I'd propose this for your consideration and here's what we want to work on," and so forth. And that's a fine evolution.
But I think Governor Noem has moved that back a little bit, said, "Look, here's kind of where we are." And not surprisingly, for a governor in her fifth year, she would tout accomplishments that I think would be natural. And so she really said here's all the great things about South Dakota, we're the best and so forth that she kind of I think saying we're doing a good job. South Dakota is a great place. And that might be a little ... someone might interpret that as hype a little bit too much. There was no real discussion of serious problems in South Dakota. But maybe that's all right. Maybe this is a speech to give the state of South Dakota and then dig into those tough things as the session evolves.
Lori Walsh:
She mentioned having a narrow window of opportunity when the entire nation was looking at South Dakota. Does she mean her, does she mean her leadership and her administration, does she mean it's a presidential election? What did you take from the, hey, we have to take advantage of this limited window of time when all eyes are on us?
Jon Hunter:
What I think it is she has focused certainly in her five years on making herself and South Dakota in the news. One of the very first things, building a studio in the Capitol building, making sure you're available to Fox News and all the other programs trying to get ... And so she has, she's been successful in that, whether it's for herself or for the state, she has been on a lot. And so I think South Dakota is certainly much more in the national awareness because of that.
And so I think she's saying while I'm here and while I'm focusing on this national attention, let's tell our story. And she did ... actually said those words. And it may be kind of doubling down on let's get me out in front of everyone, whether that's again for personal or state purposes, let's do this more. This whole 'Freedom Works' thing, she has been touting that a lot. There was a press release that came out from the Governor's Office within hours of the State of the State that said here's how great this thing is. So I think she's really doubling down on that campaign and trying to put her person out in front of the nation.
Lori Walsh:
Yeah, look forward to more. It's working. Here's the information that I have to give you that says it's working. I will continue to be outside the box and innovative in this way. That's how she closes. She sort of began and closed with that doubling down of, "This is what we're doing, this is it's working. Here's what I'm telling you is the evidence. Expect more."
What do you expect from lawmakers, and that because there wasn't a ton of policy, does that open the door? There was not no policy. She mentioned many policies that she's enacted in the past, as you said. And we heard with the budget address, there were certain things that she wanted and there were new policies here that she mentioned going forward with that were important to her. But how do you think lawmakers will enter the session then after that speech? They seemed inspired when you heard their reaction. Yeah.
Jon Hunter:
Yeah. I've been thinking a little bit about it. Remember last session, she did propose a number of things in that that were not enacted. And so I'm thinking maybe she's considering a slight change of course. That's let's work with the lawmakers behind the scenes maybe a little bit, not let's put it out there and expose ourselves to maybe not getting these things through. Let's work with the leadership and let's work with whoever needs to get things done.
Certainly, as you know, the budget address a month or so ago introduced a lot of those policy things because most policies take money in some form. So she has introduced those kinds of things. So I'm thinking the lack of policy is really, the possibility at least, is that she wants to do things behind closed doors this year and work with lawmakers that way. We'll see.
You did say that I think there's some support among some legislators saying, "Yeah, I think we're behind her, we're going to go with this." And so we'll see how those things pan out.
Lori Walsh:
Yeah, I want to talk about a little bit of lawmaker response. So here's a clip from House Majority Leader Will Mortenson. He is talking here with SDPB's Lee Strubinger. And Strubinger asks him about the child care crisis in South Dakota, whether lawmakers might provide some solutions for that this year in Pierre. Take a listen.
Will Mortenson:
In the last couple of years we've put a lot of money into child care infrastructure. That is we've seen other states that have just created subsidies and given a lot, a lot of ongoing money. Those states have largely failed. I mean, you go Google California child care crisis, there's a news story out from this week, and that's despite them putting in a lot of these subsidies. We're really looking for an alternate path to move the needle on making sure that there's safe and affordable child care for everybody. We found out what doesn't work, we're still looking for what does.
Lori Walsh:
Jon Hunter, it doesn't sound like child care has a lot of traction. Do you see a champion among Republicans anywhere that might bring something forward, is there a path forward for that in this session at all that you're hearing?
Jon Hunter:
I actually think there is. Even though Will largely said we know what doesn't work, we're still looking for what does work. I think there will be proposals whether things get passed or not or funded or whatever, but I think it's clearly part of a workforce development ... We've talked about this for a long time, housing and child care are two critical elements in us trying to grow workforce in South Dakota.
And especially if people do come to South Dakota ... I don't think they've come yet, they've expressed a lot of interest in coming, that's what most of the statistics that the Governor's Office has put out is how many emails we've had or how many clicks or likes or those sorts of things on the Freedom Works campaign. But if people start coming here, then we will need some of those elements. So yes, I do think that those proposals, I don't know who is ... I haven't heard of anyone championing it, either Republicans, Democrats or the Executive Branch.
Lori Walsh:
Yeah. All right, let's hear from a Democrat now. Kadyn Wittman spoke with SDPB's Jackie Hendry after the speech yesterday. And she talked about how she was genuinely touched by part of the governor's speech where Kristi Noem talked eloquently about caring for mothers as well as children. And so Jackie Hendry asked her about the rumors regarding hunger and school lunches and whether Whitman was working with Republicans on that. And here's what Kadyn Wittman had to say.
Kadyn Wittman:
Well, the rumors are true. So it's really, really important to me that this bill has bipartisan backing. If you didn't know, we have a super majority of Republicans in South Dakota and I can't get anything done without the support and the camaraderie of my Republican colleagues. And so Representative Tyler Tordsen has been instrumental in bringing more Republican voices on board with this initiative. I am really glad we're back in Pierre because I'm able to get a hold of folks that I haven't been able to get a hold of over the last couple of months. And we actually had I think two or three of my Republican colleagues in the house sign on to that bill this morning. So we're just going to keep chipping away, making sure we can get as many voices as possible to the table on this issue and figure out how we solve and move the needle on childhood hunger in South Dakota.
Lori Walsh:
All right, Jon, Democrats also issued some statements after the governor's speech about their responses to the speech from Kameron Nelson and Reynold Nesiba and others. What are you expecting from the Democratic Party this year?
Jon Hunter:
Well, I actually absolutely love Representative Wittman's response to that. And that's the way Democrats get work done successfully in South Dakota with that super majority of Republicans, it's going to be personal relationships, it's going to be in committees. They're not going to get anything, some challenge on the house floor or the senate floor. So she's very smart in saying, "Look, I'm trying to build these relationships. I've got some people who are carrying it for me among Republicans. Let's work on this."
And I think that really has removed some of the bipartisanship. When you can meet with someone after the committee meetings or lunch or whatever those kinds of things are and build those relationships, that is exactly how Democrats will get any of their things done. And in committees as well, that's an important place where things can get amended. And then before they move to the house floor, which tends to be a lot more public and people tend to take a little bit more harder party lines, I think those approaches get some, maybe not 180 degrees differently, but modify some things that are already on the path to going.
Lori Walsh:
Yeah. Jon Hunter, South Dakota Newspaper Hall of Fame, thanks so much for your analysis today. We'll see you next time.
Jon Hunter:
Thanks, Lori, take care.
