Mike Rounds

South Dakotans often say they want "common sense" solutions to the state's challenges. The people who represent our interests in meeting those challenges are South Dakotans themselves. This week we introduce you to some of the decision makers in our government — people with the power to “get stuff done.”  

In The Moment … January 28th, 2021 Show 980 Hour 1

On Friday, Senator Mike Rounds voted to confirm General Austin Lloyd as the next Secretary of Defense. Does that mean anything different as to how cybersecurity is approached in the U.S.?  We're going to visit about big tech companies and anti-trust implications. And, this is our first visit with Senator Rounds since the riots at the U.S. Capital Building on January 6th. What have we learned from that? Guest: Senator Mike Rounds 

In The Moment … December 17, 2020 Show 963 Hour 1 Since the beginning of the pandemic, face coverings have become a point of political contention for many Americans. Perhaps masking up should have been easy, but it wasn't. Kevin Woster writes about U.S. Senator Mike Rounds and his comments about masks and common sense. You can read his thoughts on our website at http://sdpb.org/woster.  Guest: SDPB's Kevin Woster

Sixty-eight years ago, U.S. Navy pilot Royce Williams survived what is perhaps the longest aerial dogfight in U.S. military history. He would face seven Soviet MiG-15 fighter jets during one 35-minute battle. After the engagement, military leaders were concerned the incident might mark a devastating increase of tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union. Williams was ordered to keep silent about the events of November 18, 1952.

SDPB'S Stephanie Rissler hosted a candidate forum with South Dakota's 2020 candidates for the US Senate. Joining us: Dan Ahlers (Democrat) and Mike Rounds (Republican, Incumbent). Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 

The South Dakota primaries are Tuesday, June 2. In this week's podcast, you'll hear from Sen. Mike Rounds and Scyller Borglum, Rep. Dusty Johnson's challenger Liz Marty May, and the three candidates vying for the Minnehaha County State's Attorney position. 

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In The Moment … May 29, 2020 Show 827 Hour 1

Scyller Borglum is a former state lawmaker now running for U.S. Senate. She is challenging U.S. Senator Mike Rounds in the Republican primary on Tuesday, June 2. She's a professional engineer and business leader who also holds a master's degree in theology. She lives in Rapid City. 

In The Moment … May 28, 2020 Show 826 Hour 1

The South Dakota primary election is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2nd. This week we are spending time with the candidates. Today we welcome U.S. Senator Mike Rounds. He is challenged in the Republican primary by Scyller Borglum. Rounds has served in the U.S. Senate since 2015. Before that, he was South Dakota's 31st governor from 2003 to 2011. He's also been a state senator and a business leader. 

In The Moment ... April 24, 2020 Show 803 Hour 1

As we move further into the American coronavirus crisis, the debate over the federal response and future direction intensifies. U.S. Senator Mike Rounds joins us for a look at where we are today and what to expect in the days to come. 

Politics and public policy reporting is supported by The Center for Western Studies at Augustana University

In this week's In the Moment news, we check in with Senator Mike Rounds, the mayors of Rapid City and Huron, talk the constitutional concerns around coronavirus, and much more.

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In The Moment ... April 9, 2020 Show 792 Hour 2

U.S. Senator Mike Rounds is also a former governor of South Dakota. He's using that insight to join a bipartisan group of former governors to ask for flexibility in how federal stabilization funds are used in individual states. He's also called for investigations into potential price gouging in beef packing. He's joining us now to talk about those efforts and more. 

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.