Mike Rounds

Reductions in force at Ellsworth Air Force Base usually trigger alarm bells in South Dakota’s congressional delegation. 

But this time, Republican Sen. Mike Rounds agrees with a plan to retire some of the base’s planes. 

The assassination of General Soleimani comes only weeks after the House passed a $738 billion military budget that omitted a number of provisions that would have limited the President's military powers to go to war with Iran, and the release of the "Afghanistan Papers," which reveal we've made little progress during our 19-year occupation in the region. Dr.

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal officials say they need emergency funding to fix damaged roads-and quickly. Spring flooding washed out roads in some rural areas and forced culverts out from under ground in others. 

Officials link two recent deaths on the reservation to dangerous driving conditions and say other Great Plains Tribes have the same problem.

It’s tough to drive BIA route 3 on the Cheyenne River Reservation. There are missing chunks of pavement -  potholes in some areas and washed out gravel roads.

Representative Jean Hunhoff discusses the mental health task force she chairs. State Representative Nancy Rasmussen explains the Special Education Interim Study Committee. Representative Lee Qualm and Representative Oren Lesmeister talk industrial hemp. SDPB’s Lee Strubinger reports on freshman state legislator Scyller Borglum’s announcement to run for the U.S. Senate in 2020. Political Junky Jon Hunter discuss this week in South Dakota politics. 

U.S. Senator Mike Rounds discusses Cybersecurity issues. Rounds serves as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity. He says it’s the number one responsibility of the federal government to provide for the defense of our country and that includes protection from damaging cyber-attacks.

Support for technology and innovation reporting comes from SDN Communications, your business broadband provider. Learn more at sdncommunications.com

In The Moment ... December 12, 2018 Show 478 Hour 2

U.S. Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds are rallying behind a new farm bill that passed yesterday in the Senate. Thune, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, says input from the state's farmers and ranchers helped craft the bill that passed by a vote of 87-13.

Dakota Political Junkies Jon Schaff and Roger Whittle discuss the new farm bill along with appointments to Governor-elect Kristi Noem's staff.

In The Moment ... October 11. 2018 Show 440 Hour 1

Do you enjoy a little free wi-fi while enjoying that cup of coffee at your favorite local fast food, donut shop or breakfast nook?  Do you think about the risks? 

One person discussing those risks is Senator Mike Rounds. 

Kevin Woster, who writes the On the Other Hand blog addresses cyber security on his latest post.

In The Moment ... August 8, 2018 Show 396 Hour 1 & 2

In The Moment ... October 31, 2017 Show 210 Hour 2

Congressional Republicans want to make one of the largest overhauls of the federal tax law in decades. The estate tax is on the chopping block. SDPB’s Lee Strubinger joins us to unpack how the debate is playing out in the state.

The Federal estate tax has been around since 1916.

In The Moment ... October 3, 2017 Show 190 Hour 1

Last week Congressional Republicans released their blueprint for tax reform. Some lawmakers are calling the blueprint the largest tax reform in thirty years. Other observers say it's just a starting point, but desperately needed. Overall, South Dakotans stand to benefit from the reform.
SDPB's Lee Strubinger joins us for more.

In The Moment ... May 24, 2017 Show 100 Hour 1

As top programmers compete in Rapid City at the International Collegiate Programming Contest this week, cyber attacks continue to make headlines across the globe. The recent Wanna-Cry malware wreaked havoc in more than 150 countries. U.S. Senator Mike Rounds serves as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on cyber security. He joins us now to talk about cyber acts of war, how to revitalize American policy and strategy and more.

In The Moment ... February 14, 2017 Show 030 Hour 1

Your expectations for national security are high, yet fear of what a national security threat might look like in 2017 continues to shape American foreign policy. Before we can fully prepare for battles in cyberspace, we need to imagine how they might play out. U.S. Senator Mike Rounds joins us today to talk about the threat of cyberwar ... and what he's prepared to do about it. Senator Rounds is chair of the recently created Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the Black Hills is continuing to push for a move to Rapid City from Hot Springs.  The agency released an Environmental Impact Statement detailing its plans.

But South Dakota’s congressional delegation, and many Hot Springs area veterans and residents are critical of the move.

The Environmental Impact Statement or EIS says the Veterans Affairs Black Hills Healthcare system hopes to construct a multi-specialty outpatient clinic and 100 bed residential rehabilitation treatment program in Rapid City.

Half of South Dakota’s governors now have monuments as part of the Trail of Governors initiative.

The foundation, which erects statues of former governors near the state Capitol, is meant to educate tourists about the state’s history through art.

Organizers say the Trail of Governors concept is the only one like it in the country. The statues of Governor’s Warren Green, Nils Boe, and Mike Rounds are set to be placed in various locations in the town of Pierre.

Federal lawmakers hope to create institutional change at the Indian Health Service with a bill meant to protect whistleblowers, increase oversite and implement leadership changes. The bill was discussed at length in Rapid City late last week.

Several hours of testimony and hearings on what it’s like to receive care from IHS hospitals was meant to give lawmakers an idea of the culture at several Great Plains area hospitals.

South Dakota’s US Senators are pushing back against President Obama’s recent Supreme Court nomination.  

U.S. Senator Mike Rounds defends the decision to not hold hearings for any of Obama’s nominees, leaving the Supreme Court position vacant until after the election.

But critics say this strategy could backfire on the GOP.

President Obama recently nominated Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court.  Garland is currently the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling any day now in King v. Burwell. The ruling will answer the question of whether health insurance subsidies are limited to those states with their own exchanges. If subsidies are limited to the 17 states that established exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, 6.4 million people could lose their insurance subsidies, including some 19,000 South Dakotans.

Senator-elect Mike Rounds takes the Oath of Office on January 6th. He’s hired staff and received his U.S. Senate Committee assignments. He’ll serve on the Armed Services; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Environment and Public Works; and Veterans’ Affairs committees.

Republican Rounds served as South Dakota’s Governor from 2003 to 2011. He was elected to the U.S. Senate last month and replaces retiring Democrat Tim Johnson. Rounds joined Dakota Midday and discussed how new leadership and rules could change how work gets done in the U.S. Senate.

Around 54 percent of South Dakota's eligible voters went to the polls yesterday for the midterm elections. In the most closely watched race, former Republican Governor Mike Rounds won his bid to become South Dakota’s next U.S. Senator. He replaces retiring Democrat Tim Johnson. Rounds’ win last night helped Republicans take control of the U.S. Senate.

Republican Kristi Noem won a third term as the state’s lone representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. Governor Dennis Daugaard was re-elected as part of a Republican sweep of all statewide offices.

Republicans took control of the U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s election.

South Dakota U.S. Senator Elect Mike Rounds is part of the wave of new GOP Senators.

Rounds, who served two terms as South Dakota’s governor took office with over 50% of the popular vote in a four way race for the open seat.

Rapid City Journal reporter Seth Tupper and Sioux Falls Argus-Leader political reporter David Montgomery joined the Dakota Political Junkies this week. They discussed the latest news in the race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Tim Johnson along with the unfolding EB-5 saga.

In his campaign for U.S. Senate, Republican Mike Rounds says voters have a very clear choice between philosophies on how government should run and which direction the nation should head in the future.

Rounds served in the state legislature before first being elected governor in 2002. Following his second term in office, he returned to his insurance and real estate business. Rounds faces Democrat Rick Weiland and independents Larry Pressler and Gordon Howie in the November 4th election to fill the seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Senator Tim Johnson.

South Dakota's contest for U.S. Senate is receiving national attention as a race that was considered safely Republican but is now seen as closer than expected. Some recent polls have Republican Mike Rounds in first at around 35 percent with either Democrat Rick Weiland or independent Larry Pressler in second place just a few points behind the former governor.

Candidates for United States Senate are weighing in on the federal government’s role in Indian Affairs. The four men running for South Dakota’s open seat met Monday at a Sioux Falls Rotary Club lunch for a panel discussion. Candidates agree that something needs to change for sovereign Indian nations.

Gordon Howie is running for US Senate as an Independent. He says poverty and dysfunction exist on Native American reservations because politicians claim they champion Indian communities and don’t follow through on their support.

On Wednesday members of the Government Audit Operations Operations met in Pierre to discuss the EB-5 program. Lawmakers reviewed written responses from former Republican Governor Mike Rounds and current Governor Dennis Daugaard to questions asked by the committee. Rounds is running for U.S. Senate and Daugaard is seeking re-election. Democrats have been making EB-5 an issue in the fall campaign and trying to link it to Rounds.