Heavy reading | Energy ethics | DWIs spike | Asking the right PUC questions | World exploration & getting eaten | Asking for chains? | Sept 19, 2026 Don Haggar

THE SCOUTING LOUNGE

Heavy reading | Energy ethics | DWIs spike | Asking the right PUC questions | World exploration & getting eaten | Asking for chains? | Sept 19, 2026 Don Haggar

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SPONSORED BY BEAL DISTRIBUTING, FIRST BANK & TRUST, JUNA SLEEP SYSTEMS

The GOP nominee for South Dakota Public Utilities Commission is Don Haggar, a former lawmaker and director with Americans for Prosperity, talks about the irony in running to be a regulator after a lifetime of support for de-regulation.

He and Joe Sneve also talk data centers, AI, grain pricing and campaign travel. Also, Jonathan Ellis returns from a long-overdue vacation and catches up on the news of the week, including the spike in DWIs in Sioux Falls and the recusal of a judge in an election integrity case involving Sen. Tom Pischke.

Joe also mentions a new shirt someone dropped off at the bunker.

Did you miss last week’s episode of The Scouting Lounge? Check out all past shows by visiting the podcast archive.

KEEP SCROLLING FOR LINKS TO A FEW OF The Dakota Scout STORIES & OTHER TOPICS DISCUSSED DURING THIS WEEK’S EPISODE OF The Scouting Lounge

Judge pulled from South Dakota lawmaker’s election fraud case

Reason behind recusal request not given, but judge previously presided over Dell Rapids senator’s 2014 divorce

The Dakota Scout • Joe Sneve

Populist push falls short in South Dakota GOP contest for Public Utilities nod

Rep. Peri Pourier comes up eight votes shy as delegates nominate former lawmaker Don Haggar

The Dakota Scout • Joe Sneve

Drunk drivers flooding Sioux Falls streets as DWI arrests surge

Police made 714 DWI arrests through August. The city's five-year average is 800 for a full year.

The Dakota Scout • Joe Sneve

Sioux Falls’ Flock debate gets a dose of ‘dark surveillance state’ pushback

Mayor Christine Erickson moves to strengthen oversight of automated license plate readers (ALPRs)

The Dakota Scout • Joe Sneve

Police union calls for accountability as Sioux Falls budgets for Flock cameras

Labor organization representing law enforcement officers says state needs statutes with ‘real consequences’ for abusing use of ALPRs

The Dakota Scout • Dominik Dausch

Horse slaughter & smoking | 13 inches | 25 years since 9/11 | Commissioning public utility politics | Staying dry | Data center outrage & Chi-coms | Sept. 12, 2026 Frank Kloucek

SPONSORS Beal Distributing, First Bank & Trust, Juna Sleep Systems - Legendary Democratic lawmaker Frank Kloucek returns to the Lounge, this time as a candidate for the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission.

The Dakota Scout • The Dakota Scout

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