Transcript 0:00 Uh, the, the recon boards all did a great job, I'll say. Uh, Justin Smith, Rodney Steele, and Matt Tisdall Come on alone, head for the mountains of Bush Beer. Head for the mountains. 0:14 It's cold and it's smooth, and it's waiting for you. Come on, head for the mountains of Bush Beer. Head for the mountains of Bush. Head for the mountains of Bush Light Beer. 0:33 Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2022. Mrs. Bush, Bush and Bush Light Beer. St. Louis, Missouri Beale Distributing, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 0:38 If you want to understand what's really happening in South Dakota, start with The Dakota Scout, South Dakota's leading journal of politics and culture, locally owned and printed in Sioux Falls. 0:51 Founded in 2022 by veteran reporters Jonathan Ellis and Joe Sneve, the Scout brings more than 40 years of combined experience and a reputation for relentless, fair-minded reporting. 1:03 From Sioux Falls City Hall to the state capitol in Pierre, the Dakota Scout delivers breaking news, investigative reporting, and serious political coverage without the spin. 1:14 Its Lewis and Clark-inspired logo reflects its mission, charting new territory in a new era of South Dakota journalism. 1:22 Subscribe today for full access to stories delivered straight to your inbox, plus the Scouting Lounge podcast. $7 a month at thedakotascout.com. The Dakota Scout. Stay informed. 1:37 We could have saved the three bears a lot of time. Just right mattresses built by mattress nerds with a lifetime comfort commitment. We build them by hand and deliver with love. 1:48 June Sleep Systems in Sioux Falls and online at junesleep.com. 2:10 Welcome to the Scouting Lounge, a podcast of the Dakota Scout newspaper based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on a pretty damn warm summer day. Makes the Beale distributed products all the better. 2:24 And that was co-host Jill Sneve opening up a Bush Light. Bush Light. And I'm Jonathan Ellis opening up a Bush Light. So thanks to Beale Distributing and June Sleep Systems. It tastes good on a... 2:39 I feel like I should mow a lawn. Mow a lawn? Yep, they do taste good with yard work. And then you stop and you drink a beer. Yep. Maybe a baseball game on in the background. 2:47 Yeah, I don't know if beer ever tastes better than when you're just super sweaty and overworked, you know? Yeah. Well, um- We don't get to, um... I wish we ha- we're having a beer with our friend David. Right. 3:02 We'll kind of have a somber note to start off. Um, most long, longtime listeners will- A-... 3:08 recognize that David Barranco is probably our most- Andy Richter, Ed McMahon, we used to give him shit about how often he was on the program. Um, pretty bummed- Yep... about it all, so. Um, he passed on Monday, was it? 3:23 Yep. Yep, Monday morning, uh, 53 years old. Leaves behind two fine boys and a wife. Uh, they have a GoFundMe page set up. Yeah, it's a bit awkward position to be in, you know? Um, 3:40 the... I mean, South Dakota, you h- we're good, we're good at our jobs 'cause we have good relationships with our sources, you know? And, um, a media ethics 3:53 teacher in college might, might say we- we're too close to the line sometimes, you know? And, uh, I think we, I trust our judgment on that stuff, but there's no question David was close. 4:06 He's a friend, I would say, um, no doubt about that. Uh- He was a good guy... he wa- yeah, and I mean, he had a journalism background too, so he was, it was... 4:16 I guess I f- I was more comfortable getting close with him 'cause he understood the rules, you know? Um, 4:24 and if, if he w- I don't think he'd ever had any qualms if I had to write anything about him 'cause he's, he was a, you know, uh, a gentleman and he knew the, I guess, knew the, the game, for lack of a better term, so. 4:39 We'll, he will be missed. Yeah, definitely. Christopher William, um, it's, uh, yeah, it's too bad. So, um, we definitely will miss David, uh, so keep those guys in your thoughts and all that, so anyway. 4:55 Uh, we still have some olives here too. I don't know we'll ever throw those olives away. They're the studio lounge olives. Anyway, so but, 5:08 uh, David's wife Catherine is, she won the nomination, uh, 'cause remember when he got sick, um, he bowed out of the race and she picked up the gauntlet. For state auditor. Was it two weeks ago now? 5:21 At the state convention. Yep. So and we'd, we'd broached that a little bit last week with, uh, Representative Mucky, right? About one of the, um, one of the candidates in that race. But there's other... 5:39 Well, we should say we're gonna have Julian Baudhuin on later in the program. We will have Julian on, yes. He's a US Senate candidate, so, uh- He had some good stuff to say about his campaign. It was- He-... 5:49 a good interview... he didn't have to go through a convention or a primary to make the ballot. Um, he will face Brian Banks and Senator Mike Rounds. So you interviewed him. We'll hear from him later. Uh- 6:05 And we will also discuss more about, uh, city politics too. We'll obviously get into the big news of the week after we talk to Julian. But, um, 6:16 now that that race is over, the recount's over in the mayor's race, um, I feel like I kinda forgot there was a governor's race happening. Didn't it feel like that? I kinda like- It's- Oh, yeah... well, I, I... 6:28 For me, not so much because on Monday I had to go to, uh, you know, the, the governor was in town getting an endorsement from- Oh, yeah... Mayor Paul TenHaken. 6:37 Um, so that, that race was, I mean, for me, that, this week, that was kinda- Yeah, it was... a big thing. Um, for you, you were on the city hall beat. Beat. I was doing some stuff- Yeah... on the, on the race, so. Yeah. 6:48 So how do you think, um, TenHaken's endorsement, like, it's a, it's a precarious position to be in in state politics, right? Especially in a primary. Because I think the Doden camp can easily just say, like, "Well, 7:03 you got a big city-" Yeah... "y- you know, they'd be a blue dog Democrat somewhere else", you know? Um, you know, 10 years, fif- 20 years ago they might... I mean, they could probably make that sort of response, right? 7:17 Like, I'm not saying that's true, but if I was PR-ing for a campaign. You could say that, you could say that he, that Mayor Paul TenHaken's a blue Democrat. Well, yeah. I mean, he's like the moderate. Yeah. 7:27 I, like, like, that's what I would say if I was Toby Doden. Right. I'm not saying that as, like, my opinion. I think he said he was a Democrat. Oh, did he? 7:34 Remember his, his sta- his, uh- Oh, I didn't read his statement once. But- If you remember, I was on a motorcycle. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, it was cool. Clothed, by the way. Did you see this picture? I, yeah. 7:47 Let's move on. [laughs] Hey, you're a true patriot. [laughs] Yeah. Flying the flag. Flying the flag. It's, uh- Flying flags. Flying the flags. The- So, uh- [laughs] So yeah. 8:00 So the, uh, but yeah, the governor's race, and, uh, is as, as sort of I predicted, uh, it would heat up a little bit post July 4th. Uh, and it started to. Um, you indicated that there's some polling going on. 8:15 Oh, yeah, yeah. So. So a couple... I mean, I've, I haven't seen these polls, but I heard early in the week that there was at least two polls in the field, meaning that they were out there doing that. 8:26 One, maybe some exit polling happening at, you know, early voting too. And, um, getting mixed signals like you always do, right? Because I don't know precisely who's paying for these polls, but they're typically 8:44 not pure of bias, at least the motivations of having the poll, right? It depends on what kind of poll it is. I mean, if it's- Well, if it's a... If not like a- If it's-... TV station poll or a, a news poll. 8:55 If it's a candidate poll is what I'm saying. Like, somebody wants somebody to win, they're paying for a poll. Now, they maybe they're, they want it to be as pure as possible. Good for them. I would. 9:05 But I'm not saying- I think the campaigns do, I mean, because they wanna, they wanna actually see- Yeah. Exactly... what's that. They don't wanna be flying blind. 9:12 Um, now if there's, you know, outside groups who are doing push polls, now those are definitely the different, a different animal. But those pop out typically. Yeah. If they get the results they are trying to get, right? 9:24 So, but I've heard, you know, the polls I've heard that say, um, Toby's in front. He's not as front, as ahead as the governor is in the poll. What I'm hearing about the polls that show him ahead. 9:43 Like, we're talking double digits in those polls. Um, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes, and politicians are full of shit half the time. And sometimes you wonder if it's just 9:56 boasting confi- projecting confidence or if it's true. So. Well, I bet you it's gonna be a bigger than four vote margin. Could you imagine- [laughs]... if we end up in something like that with- Yeah... this too? 10:11 We don't need that. We need to, we need to have, finish the rest of the summer, have a nice, like, relaxing summer. It's- Um, and- Keep-... and go into the general election, I guess. 10:21 Well, speaking of, like, people say this is really good for the paper is, you know, like Grant, our landlord- Who brought us a nice bottle of bourbon... yeah, he, he was over here earlier. 10:29 He brought us a nice fancy bottle of bourbon. Finally. He said we deserved it, we earned it. We've been in sort of news cycle hell for how long now. 10:38 And he's not wrong, and I guess that lends itself to what I was gonna say, is sure, like, if we have to have another election for the mayor's race, whatever, um, this has all been great for political advertising. 10:50 And that's true, but it has not been good for our health. No. And the paper will make money, but we won't if we're dead. [laughs] Right. So. We could, we could have some chill time, maybe a little just- Yeah... 11:06 you know, like give us some time to do some enterprise stuff. Uh, you know, like, kinda- Yeah... there's some reporting that we, we need to get done. 11:13 But anyway, the, so the governor's race, we expect that to really kinda ramp up here in the next couple weeks. Uh, we- Heck yeah... shit, there's only a couple weeks left. Yeah, yeah. We gotta get moving. And so. 11:23 Someone might be sleeping in their car. How was, uh, Mount Rushmore? You went out and you saw The Donald. I did see The Donald. The, uh- The warmonger. [laughs] The warmonger. 11:37 Well, there's plenty of air cl- aircraft flying around that would wage war. Um, the event itself was pretty cool. I mean, it's, it's, you know, there's a lot of pomp and circumstance that go into these things. 11:47 Um, it was, it was cool because right behind the press pit, we were up on the, in the a- we were up on the upper level of the amphitheater, so we're pretty far away from the main stage. 11:55 And even our good lens didn't really get good, good art of the, you know, of what was going on on the stage. But the first couple hours really kinda sucked because it was raining and hailing and lightning. 12:05 Uh- And you wondered if it, and it just kind of came after wave after wave. Yeah. Wondered. And they had like shelter in place orders. They kicked everybody in- indoors. There's very limited indoors- Yeah... 12:14 spaces when you're talking s- you know, four, 4,500 people. Um, and so we were in a, in an el- elevator alcove. Um, Dan Santella went and did a live shot while hail, while it was hailing on him. 12:28 Uh- That's- So kudos to him. Yeah. He was drenched. Uh- Spent a lot of time with him this week at the recount too. Yeah, I bet. The, uh, so he, uh, he earned his combat pay. 12:40 But once the, once the rain moved out and the event kicked in, you know, it was able to get going again. The, the music was good. Uh, the Air Force Academy band was- Did feel patriotic. Yeah, 100%. Yeah. 12:52 A lot of, a lot of American flags. So Sean Hannity from Fox News was right behind us, and he was interviewing, uh, well, Larry Rhoden was there. Uh, he interviewed, uh, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was there. Yeah. 13:04 Uh, so there was, you know, and people who were there. Uh, the, the, the speech that the president made, um, I and others in the media, uh, corps thought that it was a, a solid, very good speech, uh, for the moment. 13:19 You know, honoring the 250th anniversary. Uh, he did go after the Democrats, uh, electing a bunch of commies. 13:26 Uh, a- and, um, there are some candidates that the Democrats have, uh, put through the primary cycle that, uh, kind of may- maybe resemble that. 13:35 You remember that time when those- But, but just going back to his speech, let me finish. Yeah, yeah. His speech was tight, which is, you, you know can be- Yeah... go off the rails. 13:43 So it lasted about a half hour, and the people in the media who are familiar, and I've covered him before too, um, I thought it was a tight speech, and he did a good job. 13:51 Well, do you remember that time, uh, I had a story, Noah went after the Senate candidates in Georgia and called them communists or something- Yeah... like that? And I, and I, uh- Warnock and, um, uh, 14:06 I'm forgetting the other guy. Alt-, uh- Well, you know, like- He's up in this cycle... the media was all outraged about how you'd accused someone of being communist. And I wrote a story, I think, saying, 14:21 like, for p- like writing about how all this is happening. Like, we've got our governor going after Senate candidates, you know, like in Georgia. It's like, this is weird. Right? 14:31 And- [laughs] And then it's like, well, she's calling them communists, and like, it's... The rest of the press was like ta- like feigning the objection- Yeah... uh, without asking, "Are you communist?" [laughs] Right. 14:45 You got, you actually, you actually went to get comment from one of them, didn't you? Both. Or both. I reached out, and- Ossoff. That's who it is. Ossoff and Warnock. Uh, the, uh- I reached out to both candidates. 14:56 "Are you guys commies?" I said, "Are you, can you confirm or deny your affiliate, uh, connections or espousing of communism?" That was a special election. 15:06 And I, and I wrote like, they would not, they did not, like the, uh, the Argus Leader could not confirm their, or d- you know. 15:14 I teased, I got kind of ridiculed online by the left for the way I wrote that, but I thought it was a straight way to write the story, right? Like, um, well, 15:25 yeah, there's a lot of talk about communism, but it's hard to... I mean, the dude, I don't like communism either, but I'm not taking the bait on this. 15:33 I know there are communists, uh, out there, but in this country, like you can be communist. Like, and if you can get elected, you can be communist. 15:42 And if you, there's a way to get our country to communism, it's through a constitutional convention. And if, if you can work the system in a democratic way, 15:52 they, Americans have the right to do that and hold those views, right? I would say- Which means that Americans have the right to take away everybody's private property? No. Well, if they changed the laws, right? 16:03 Like, if they could change the Constitution through the process of changing the Constitution, then yes. Right? If that's the outcome. You, you'll find me- Yeah, you, you will- You'll find me- There will be war... 16:14 you'll find me with a Pinot Grigio. [laughs] Well, yeah, there will be civil war at that point. Probably way before that. If enough of us still exist by the time it would ever evolve that way. 16:24 But I'm just saying, like you can't McCarthyism people out of being communist, and- Well, right, right now they're, they're worrying, I'll, I'll give you, give you an example. 16:35 My former congressional district in Colorado, basically 16:41 they just, the, a, a 29-year-old communist, basically, they call themselves Democratic socialists, but when you're espousing and g- anti- and you're anti-capitalist, you wanna like redistribute all the wealth, uh, you don't like private ownership of stuff, that's pretty much communist. 16:57 Uh, this lady- But have they- This lady- But have they murdered millions of people yet? This lady, they're gonna get there. 17:01 [laughs] This lady, this lady, she beats Diana DeGette, who used to represent me, who had been in Congress for 30 years, and according, a staunch Democrat, right? Yeah. 17:14 And Diana DeGette had replaced Pat Schroeder, who also represented me for a proportion. Pat Schroeder was elected to that seat before I was born. 17:23 Uh, and so this seat has been represented by a, by a female for- Forget about that... more than 50 some year, a Democrat. 17:32 And the latest lady who shows up and beats Diana DeGette, she's like, "We need to, we need to crush the patriarchy," to my, which my response is, the patriarchy isn't, isn't doing a real good job of being a patriarchy if they're letting, uh, women hold congressional seats for half a century, right? 17:48 I mean, i- it's just, it, it's just bullshit. So anyway. Yeah. Well- It's a little offensive to me, to be honest with you. Well, I don't like it either, but I mean, let's... 17:57 If it also, if all this like, uh, communism stuff wasn't also coming at a time when, like, we're dr- dropping bombs relentlessly in a war that you can't get out of because, like, the guy's not capable of, like, keeping a level head during negotiations, uh- 18:13 I don't know You know- And the, aren't the wheel- Doesn't it feel like the wheels are falling off on Trump here, like the airplane that does ha- like the pool, the ri- like, I don't know. 18:27 I'm talking to a lot of Republicans that were all about him, and nobody likes him anymore. Like, the... Well, what's redeeming at this point, you know? Well, all the tax cuts. Well- That was last summer, though. 18:40 That was last summer, and, uh, the Democrats will probably win because of this for not just one election cycle, and then they're gonna take it all away, and we'll... 18:53 People will blame Chuck Schumer, but I'm gonna blame Donald Trump when, when Puerto Rico and, uh- Washington, DC or states? Yep Yeah. It's Trump's fault because he [beep] this up. Back to the governor's race. Oh. 19:05 [laughs] Back to the governor's race, um, you asked whether, uh, I thought that, uh, uh, Paul TenHaken, going back, whether that hurts or harms. Yeah. 19:14 Because he's the big city mayor, and there's some people who don't like Sioux Falls, right? 19:20 In fact, I talked to somebody today who, like, had to come to Sioux Falls and can't wait to get out, who's like, "Best part of Sioux Falls is when, is when you leave." 19:27 Kinda like, uh, we say, we joke about, uh, the, the old Bill Doherty quote of, uh, leaving Pierre, it's the best sight of the, in your rear view mirror. [laughs] But, uh, so I don't know. I don't know. Uh, 19:39 it could hurt him in some areas. Uh, but the thing about Larry is he's, he's pretty unimpeachable when it comes to being a rural guy, right? I mean, in comes to... 19:49 It's doesn't get very more, much more rural than where Larry comes from, so. Yeah, it is a kinda weird dynamic, right, because you've got the... Paul is the big city outsider, business person. Toby Goedken's 20:02 a newcomer to politics as well, um, reputation in business, so I mean- Paul had a, Paul had a reputation being a social conservative when he was elected, you know, although he hasn't nes- just governed like that. 20:17 Ye- yeah, I mean, well, I think- 'Cause he won't... Some people won't go to the Pride pa- Parade. Well, I think the politics took a turn on him. Yeah. Like so many people, you know- Yep... I think his issues, um, 20:29 you know, he... Uh, the COVID kinda was a mark on him, and then, uh, just 'cause of the masks and the debate around that and the cl- te- limits of 10 and things like that. And then, you know, he, he, uh... 20:44 Immigration became a big thing, right? And Paul is just... You know, he's very... He has a place in his heart. He goes on mission trips. He just thinks it's not productive to the world or the mission of, of... 20:57 You got Christian, um, uh... Well, the Christian mission of, like, loving your neighbors to sort of single people out, like, like, happens, right? 21:07 So he, I don't think he's ever picked up that flag in a way that we've seen other Republicans. We've also seen d- in the, uh, Operation Prairie Thunder, they weren't real enthusiastic about being on board with all that. 21:21 Uh- Well, that was one of the... 21:23 He didn't say Prairie Thunder, but he did, uh, in his endorsement, he did talk about how, um, for the first time in 25 years, they, they, on the Rhoden administration, it ensured that Sioux Falls would be more staffed with highway patrol. 21:37 Um- Yeah... I think, uh, eight troopers and a sergeant, and he said that hadn't happened in a while, so he gave- Yeah... Rhoden credit for that. Well, that, um... 21:46 Yeah, I mean, that staffing increase, there was multiple parts of the Operation Prairie Thunder. It was sort of the ICE stuff, I think, that the city wasn't on board with, right? So, uh, and we even... 21:57 The s- the city of Sioux Falls didn't enter into that 96, what, ag- agreement- 287G or- Yeah, something like that, where you can basically, you're deput- the federal government's deputizing a law enforcement agency. 22:10 But, um, I would imagine... I don't know if you got into this with Julian, but, um, you know, Julian, um, that's become a flashpoint for, uh, these national races for sure, so 22:27 maybe we'll, we'll tell- We'll find out if I did. Thanks to, uh, our sponsors, let's hear from Julian, and let's hear how I mangled pronouncing his name. What'd you say, Willong? [laughs] You'll hear. 22:41 A lifetime isn't measured in speeches. It's measured in actions. Larry Rhoden spent his life ranching, welding, serving on the school board, as a deacon in his church, a volunteer basketball coach. 22:53 Long before he was governor, Larry Rhoden was serving his community, not for attention, not for headlines. That's just who he is. 23:02 As governor, he kept serving, delivering the largest property tax cut in South Dakota history, putting $1,000 or more back in families' pockets, reducing violent crime, murder, meth, and robberies by double digits, standing up for life, banning the abortion pill, and defending our Second Amendment rights, earning him the endorsement of the NRA. 23:23 Some politicians spend a lifetime pretending to be somebody else. Larry Rhoden spent his lifetime showing us who he is. July 28th, Governor Larry Rhoden, keeping South Dakota strong, safe, free, and built to last. 23:39 Paid for by Rhoden for Governor. Prepare yourself for a comfortable and relaxed experience when you shop at Juna Sleep Systems for your next mattress. It's where you'll find your mattress zen. Welcome to Juna. 23:56 Welcome to Juna. It's a complete 180 from what you're used to with mattress shopping. All we want is to help you sleep like you're supposed to sleep, and that can't happen if we do all the talking. 24:07 We'll ask you the right questions, listen to you, and within five minutes, you could be peacefully relaxing on your next mattress. We have seven mattress options to fit a variety of sleeping habits and budgets. 24:19 These are hand-built at our location. You get a lifetime comfort commitment, a 120-night risk-free trial, free shipping within 100 miles, and a free mattress protector. Showroom in the front, factory in the back. 24:32 41st and Grange in Sioux Falls. Come see why it's the last mattress you'll ever have to buy at Juna. Let me grab my car keys and we'll roll. Are we still going to that new bar downtown? Yeah, it's supposed to be fun. 24:49 Lexi, give me driving directions from home to downtown bar district. Autocorrect. Suggest Uber. Pick up home. Drop off downtown bar district. No, I'm driving Suggest the Metro bus departing in 12 minutes. 25:03 [laughs] Point taken, Lexi. We'll grab a ride. If you drink, don't drive. Decide to ride, brought to you in partnership by Anheuser-Busch, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and Uber. 25:11 This message brought to you by Biel Distributing of Sioux Falls. Welcome, Julene Baud- Baudoin. Sorry, I n- I, I failed French. Bad- Baudoin. Baudoin. Baudoin. Yes. Yeah. Julene Baudoin. I actually did fail French. 25:24 Um, not... I'm not... I don't know if I passed either [laughs]. [laughs] I'm not s- Democratic candidate for US Senate. Welcome. Yes. Thank you. Um, good to have you in. I've seen you around quite a bit. 25:36 Uh, what brings you into town? I mean, you're... obviously you're in town, in Sioux Falls a lot, but there's a, uh, a picnic or something going on tonight. Yeah, there's a, a really major picnic tonight- Okay... 25:45 with the Minnehaha County Democratic Party. Um, all of the statewide candidates will be here. Okay. 25:49 Um, since we had our convention and all, you know, all of those candidates are now announced, uh, this is probably the first time that we'll be together, uh, outside of that convention for an event. 25:58 So tonight's gonna be pretty big. Uh, I'm excited for it. I think we'll probably have... I think they're expecting anywhere from 250 to 300 folks to show up. Oh, that is a big event. Where at? Where's it at? 26:07 It'll be out at McKennan Park. Out at Mc- well, it's a great place to do it, too. Yeah. There'll probably be some [clicks tongue] beverages. Although I don't know if McKennan... 26:14 Does McKennan have the, uh, uh, I don't know if it's one of those parks that has a alcohol ban, but- Yeah, I don't know. You're getting, you're getting really good at that, Don. Let me tell you. 26:22 [laughs] I've been, 'cause I've been keeping up with the, with the show for a while, and you're, you're really good at this. Mm. [laughs] Well, they make good, they make good products, uh, Biel Distributing. 26:31 Um, so okay, so the picnic's tonight, and you were at the convention. Uh, obviously the headliner of that was the former president. Yes. Um, what were your thoughts on how, how that, on how that went? You know, I... 26:41 [laughs] I'm gonna be honest with you, man, it was much better than I expected. Yeah. Um, you know, s- [laughs] Um, and, and, and I think you probably will hear that from, from many folks. 26:50 Um, we, we came into it excited that a former president was going to be speaking with us. Yeah. But we had no clue the amount of energy he was gonna bring. 26:58 We know that he's sick, and, and, um, you know, his health played, played a, a major role in, uh, maybe even the possibility of him not coming. Mm. But he showed up. He showed up with tons of energy. 27:09 Um, he spoke directly to the people. He spoke f- I don't know, probably 30, 35 minutes. And, uh, I'm not gonna lie, like, I was, I was, I was waiting for the stumbling. 27:18 I was waiting for a couple mumbles, and, um, he, he does have, uh, a speech issue, so- Yeah... so, you know, I was expecting that, but I didn't get that. [laughs] Mm. 27:28 Um, I think maybe once or twice he might have stuttered or stumbled over a word. Uh, but, you know, I, I think when I spoke I stumbled three or four times over- Yeah, well-... [laughs] or more than once. It's, uh-... 27:37 I, I, I did that introing this, uh- Yeah [laughs]... this, uh, this segment, right? So. There you go. There you go. But, but yeah, I mean, it was, it was definitely better than I expected. 27:44 He pulled no punches whatsoever. Um, he talked about the things that mattered. He... I mean, you know, as, as only a president could, he gave jabs where he needed to give jabs, uh, for certain people. 27:54 And, um, uh, yeah, I think, I think overall, though, the entire event was something that really was encouraging to Democrats across the state. Uh, more than that, though, more, more than that, 28:06 I found it particularly encouraging that Republicans were in the room, Independents were in the room, and they made it a point to come up to me after the event to talk about, um, how excited they are for a change in landscape, a change in political landscape across this entire state. 28:21 Uh, folks came not just from South Dakota, but of course with the president coming you're gonna have folks coming from, from other states as well. 28:27 And so I, I had an opportunity to meet folks from all over really the country, at least this region, um, who are excited about what's to come in South Dakota. 28:35 Yeah, 'cause arguably that, that quote, "landscape", that political landscape in this state has been [clears throat] pretty much the same for 15, if not more, years. 28:45 Uh, I think the last time Democrats won a statewide race was 2008. Yeah. Um, so it has not... it has been pretty, pretty consistent. Um, now your is- you, you got kind of a, a, a, a interesting issue. 28:59 I mean, you're trying to... you're running against Mike Rounds. Yes. [clears throat] And obviously Rounds, uh, has been, uh, on the political scene a long time. Uh, he's running for a third term. 29:08 Was governor two terms, so, um, he's a kind of a known quan- known quantity, uh, in state politics. So it's, it's n- uh, it's m- it's not just you, but you're, there's also now Brian Frings is in the race. 29:19 And you had a debate with Brian, uh, this past weekend, West River, right? Yes. Yep. Yeah, we were out, uh, in, in Rapid City, uh, for the 4th of July. 29:27 I actually went down and, and participated in some of the 4th of July events and, and, uh, walked in the parade down there. 29:33 But one of the things that we did have, uh, with an organization called Turn South Dakota Purple, uh, which is... it, it's another media source. I hope I can mention that on [laughs]- Yeah. Yeah, no... uh, here. Yeah. 29:42 But, uh, they're doing actually some phenomenal work politically trying to make sure that they're balancing out the power, uh, structure in South Dakota. They're, they're not blue one way, they're not red one way. 29:51 They're exactly what their name says, is they want to balance out power. Uh- Are they doing that in California, too? Or is it just- [laughs] I think that's just a South Dakota answer. I got you, okay. Yeah. 30:01 [laughs] Uh, no, I, actually I'd like to see it in California, maybe New York and some other places, too. [laughs] Yeah. 30:08 But, uh, but, but, but yeah, so we, we had what, uh, really was set up originally to be a conversation between the two of us. 30:14 Um, and the intention was because there's so many voters that are, um, that are potentially split between Brian and I. Mm. 30:21 And understanding- The, the concept behind the split is because Brian, of course, ran as a Democrat the last cycle against, uh, Senator Thune. Mm-hmm. Um, and, and now is running as an independent. 30:33 Uh, folks were thinking that we are two of the same, and I think what happened is that we came out of that conversation realizing, um, that Brian is probably far more Republican than he is... 30:43 Or, uh, maybe I shouldn't say Republican, but far more conservative than he is a, a, a Democrat- Mm-hmm... um, than he is more progressive. 30:50 And so, um, we had an opportunity to discuss the issues that really matter to us. Brian talked a lot about taking big money out of politics. 30:58 Um, I talked a lot about, you know, the, the issues that I believe matter to South Dakotans, such as making sure that we have universal healthcare- Mm-hmm... 31:05 and protecting the federal ed-, uh, Department of Education, uh, protecting our farmers, uh, protecting home ownership. 31:11 Those things that I believe matter to South Dakotans because I've been able to travel this entire state, and now have done 28 town halls across 35 counties, and talking directly to the people, those are the things that they're telling me, um, they're interested in. 31:23 And that's not to say that, you know, taking big money out of politics is not something that we shouldn't be fighting for. 31:28 Um, I'm actually part of a, a nationwide coalition, it's actually the largest candidate-led coalition in the entire country, where I actually lead the Midwestern part of our coalition. 31:39 Um, it's called Take Back Congress and, and some of those pillars that we stand on is to take big money back out of politics, um, such as making sure that we're overturning the, the decision of Citizens United. 31:50 Um, that's a really, really valid point that he's making, but it's not the only thing that, that matters to South Dakota, and it's certainly not the most important thing that matters to South Dakotans. 31:58 Yeah, I was gonna say, I mean, Citizens U- United is obviously undergirded by a Supreme, a Supreme Court decision. 32:04 Uh, and it seems to be that overturning that is something that would take a lot of work, whereas, uh, you know, a more, maybe a more immediate goal for, uh, policy goal for, uh, Democrats would, as you say, in, you know, Department of Education- Yes... 32:18 uh, things in that, that, that, that, that the legislature, the legislative branch has- Yeah... some direct control over. Yeah. 32:25 And, a- and I'll actually point, uh, because you mentioned the Department of Education, I'll also point to that being a direct impact to whoever gets elected to this seat, particularly because Mike Rounds is the author of the Senate bill to dismantle the federal Department of Education. 32:39 So when we talk about a direct impact to South Dakotans, you can't get any more direct than that. Mm-hmm. Well, so I, I mean, there... 32:48 Look, there, there, there have been, uh, some efforts to try to say you should get out of the race and leave it with Brian. Yep. Um, and you, and are, uh... And who's the spoiler, I guess? Or is it you? Is it Brian? 32:59 I mean, what's the- Well, let me, let me give you, let me give you two things. I'll give you a timeline, and you can decide who the [laughs] who the spoiler is or the, the listeners can decide who the spoiler is. 33:09 Um, a- and then I'll, I'll tell you, too, after the, after the conversation, um, there were tons of folks online, not on... 33:18 A- and this is why I, I don't take this with a grain of salt is because it wasn't on my platform and it wasn't on Brian's platform. 33:24 This was on Turn South Dakota Purple's platform to where many folks said, "Hey, I originally was hoping that Julian would drop out, but after today's conversation, I'm switching to support Julian, and I'm hoping that Bangs would drop out." 33:37 Now- Yeah... I'm not advocating for that, but it sounds like the people have heard and are making their, their decision. We're gonna continue to run this race for sure. Um, a- and, and we are not dropping out. 33:48 I used to say that we have no intention of dropping out, but that, that feels like it leaves the door open. Sure. I'm, I'm telling you solidly we're not dropping out of this race. 33:55 We're in this for the people of South Dakota, and we'll continue to run this race through the end of November or through the beginning of November. Um- Well, I mean, uh, by, by staying in- Mm-hmm... 34:03 uh, uh, at the very least, I mean, it gives you an opportunity to offer the ideas, right- Well-... that you think matter to, to the voters. I- I... 34:10 So yes, and I also think that because I'm a believer in what democracy looks like in our country, it gives people the option to choose who's best for them. 34:20 I'm not asking Brian to drop out because he's an option for the people, and if the people decide that Brian's the best, um, method of, uh, of representation for the state, then so be it. 34:29 At least we've had the option to choose. 34:32 One of the things that I hear a lot, especially over, you know, maybe national, uh, races, but you always hear it over presidential races, is that, "Man, why do we only have two people to choose from?" Mm-hmm. 34:44 And so now we're giving you more than two people to choose from, stop complaining. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Like, you have... A- and, and, and to Brian's credit, Brian's a good candidate. 34:52 Mike Rounds is a good candidate. I'm a good candidate. You have three solid choices for the United States Senate to represent the state of South Dakota, and it's gonna be up to the people to make their selection. 35:03 Um, to talk about who's the spoiler, again, I'll give you the timeframe. 35:06 Uh, my very first call whenever I, whenever I made the decision or my wife and I made the decision to run for US Senate, was directly to Brian Bangs. 35:15 And I asked Brian, "Hey, are you, are you interested in running for, for, for this seat? 'Cause I know you, you ran last time and..." Um, and as a matter of fact, I was a supporter of Brian's- Mm-hmm... 35:25 when he ran as a Democrat. Um, and, and Brian told me very clearly, no, he had no interest in running for that spot. He was happy where he is with the Park Service, uh, or excuse me, where he was with the Park Service. 35:38 Um, and so he, he even went as far to say he supported my candidacy. Wow. Um, and then directly after that, I made my announcement. 35:47 Two, maybe three weeks after I announced, um, Brian sent me a text and said, "Hey, things have changed." Um, he saw that, you know, he might have been one of the dogecuts. 35:57 It ended up being where he wasn't a dogecut, but he might have been one of the dogecuts, and he wanted to, he wanted to now run for the United States Senate, but he wanted to do so as an independent. 36:06 And at that time, I welcome in, welcomed him into the race, and we've been running against each other ever since. So- Yeah... so when you, when you look at the timeline, I certainly don't feel like I'm the spoiler. 36:15 Well, see, he, uh... So he gets in, um, as an independent, and there's a thought among some... 36:24 uh, mid- when Midwestern Democrats especially, uh, that you have to be, in order to be successful, that the Democratic Party has to run somebody who's kind of a camouflage as an independent. Sure. 36:35 I mean, that's what they're doing in Nebraska. Uh, do you... I mean, you're running as, you know, a proud Democrat. Do you believe that the Democratic label is so badly damaged in South Dakota that... 36:47 I mean, I- you d- you don't agree with that, right? I mean, you- I, I, I don't agree that you have to be, uh, really camouflaged as an independent to win a, a statewide race, and h- and here's why. It's because 36:57 the last two folks who have won these seats have not camouflaged themselves as independents. They haven't tried to... I mean, they... 37:06 I think to a sense you have to try to make sure that your policies are reflective of everyone in the state, whether you're an independent Republican or Democrat. But those folks have always leaned into Democratic values. 37:18 And I think where we have failed as the Democratic Party, not just in the state but nationally, is that we have gotten away from who we are. We've gotten away from the values that we represent as Democrats. 37:29 Um, and so I'm not gonna lie, that pissed me off. Mm. 37:31 Over the, over the last decade or so, it has, it has ticked me off that we have not been able to stand up for who we are and stand up for, um, what, you know, it, it's flip-flopped the majority sometimes of this country represents. 37:45 Um, and so if we don't lean into our values and we're not happy to, to be who we are, then, then who are we? 37:51 Um, and I think when, when you think about it in, in those terms or in that sense, um, you get candidates like we had last cycle running for, for US Senate. Um, and that, that's not who I am. 38:04 That's not who we are as a state party. And I think, um, I think with the switch in leaning into those Democratic values, you're starting to see the momentum pick up in South Dakota with Democrats. 38:15 Folks are not no longer afraid to come out in public [laughs] and say that they're Democrats in this state. Folks are no longer afraid to put their business on the line, uh, for Democratic values here in this state. 38:26 Um, we have... Listen, we had a president that j- we just talked about it. We had a president that just visited South Dakota because of the reflections of the Democratic Party. 38:34 And then on top of that, our state Democratic Party has outraised the Republican Party, the state Republican Party, now 16, 17 consecutive months. 38:42 So if that's not momentum leaning into your democratic values and showing you what can win in South Dakota, I don't know what is. Let me ask you, you talk about the Democratic values. 38:51 There have been some, uh, nationally, uh, some races, uh, primary races con- for congressional seats that have gone, which I think's fair to say, extremely far left. Um- Mm-hmm... self-avowed socialists. Yep. 39:06 Um, and I don't know, do you... D- Is that sort of... Does that create headwinds for you, or is that is something you embrace? I mean, they, they are, uh, that they are anti-capitalists. Mm-hmm. 39:19 I'm frankly- I'm not- I, I, I'm pro-capitalist [laughs] so- Yeah. I, I, I-... I'm gonna be honest with you. Yeah. Uh- Now, I, I will say I disagree with the premise of how capitalism started. Uh. 39:26 But in the world we live in today, I'm certainly not an anti-capitalist. Okay. So, so you're, so y- you're, you, you diverge definitely from that. Yeah. For sure. 39:34 Is that concerning for, for you, do you think, a- as the party? I mean, because you're see- you, you wanna, you wanna try to get back to the, the fundamentals of the party principles, workers, and things like that. 39:44 But, uh, it seems to me that some of the, the momentum is on the far left for your party. Yeah. And, and I think when you look at some of those, uh, wins, most of the... So two things point out. 39:54 Most of them come in in major cities. Yeah. Um, and then, uh, the second thing is most of them come in cities who are already blue. Very blue, yeah. V- very blue. Yeah. 40:04 Um, and so they're leaning into the values of the people that they represent, and I think that's why it's so important here for us as South Dakota Democrats to lean into the values that we represent as South Dakotans. 40:16 Mm-hmm. Not necessarily as Democrats, not necessarily as Republicans, but as South Dakotans. Mm-hmm. 40:21 Um, and what's been, what's been eye-opening for me are these town halls that I've been able to travel the state and do, um, is because at every single town hall, and I kid you not when I say every one, I mean every single one, there's been at least one Republican to stand up in the room and say, "Listen, I'm so happy and so proud to see somebody, number one, listening to the concerns of the people, but number two, being willing to hear the other side of things." 40:48 Um, and that's, that's really reflective of what true leadership is. 40:53 So when you talk about, when you talk about some of the things that are happening in some of the other states and bigger cities with the Democratic socialist movement, um, I don't think it creates any headwind for us, but I also don't think it holds us back. 41:05 Mm-hmm. Because that's happening there. We have to be focused on- Do- It's compartmentalized. Yeah. We have to be focused on what's happening here. Now, from a national perspective, if you wanna bring in the national... 41:16 the, the, the DNC, the National Party and their perspective, um, I would hope that they're embracing that because Democrats are the party of the big tent. 41:25 And so our values are from, you know, moderate conservatives to very, very liberal to in the middle being pretty progressive. Mm-hmm. I'm in that progressive lane. Mm-hmm. Um, and so that's, that's where I'm proud to be. 41:38 Um, that's where I believe most South Dakotans are. 41:41 Uh, and we'll continue to just talk through, you know, what, what being progressive means to the state of South Dakota and how we can create policies that are reflective of the people. 41:50 How much of your campaign has, uh... I mean, you had a background in law enforcement and as a small business owner. Yeah. I mean, how much have you talked about that on the campaign trail? Quite a bit, actually. 42:00 Um, not, not as much with small business ownership. Mm. Um, and, and, um, the- And which is... So, so listeners will know. Yeah. [laughs] Restaurant. And do some good cooking. Yeah. 42:11 My, my wife and I do own a, a restaurant here in Sioux Falls. Yeah. Um, a shameless plug. It's Swamp Daddy's Cajun Kitchen. Make sure you give us a- Plug away. [laughs] Plug away. Make sure you give us a visit. Yeah. 42:20 Um, but, but yeah, I hadn't talked too much about small business, um, ownership. A- and- I think the reason why is because folks are hurting in other ways. Mm-hmm. 42:30 Um, yes, small businesses are hurting right now, and I would include our farmers in that category of small businesses, especially those family farms. 42:39 'Cause man, we got, we got word here a couple months ago from, uh, some agriculture banking, uh, from the agriculture banking industry that about 40% of family-owned farms, uh, have the possibility of filing for bankruptcy towards the end of this year here in South Dakota. 42:54 That's not a national statistic. That's right here. So I would put, I would put them in the category of struggling small businesses right now. 43:01 Um, but everywhere else I go, when I, when I tell you, man, I'm sitting at, I'm sitting around kitchen tables with folks, I'm sitting, um, kinda in, uh, i- in, in these small community coffee shops with folks, 43:15 every time somebody's talking about whether or not they can pay their bills next month. Yeah. You know? Um, because gas has been extraordinarily high in rural South Dakota. 43:25 They're talking about whether they have to fill their tank or if they wanna pay their light bill. 43:29 Um, they're talking about if they wanna renew their co-op membership or if they want to, um, you know, pay their full mortgage payment the n- the next month. 43:38 Um, all of those things are important, and all of those things matter, and I think they matter more in people's minds right now than someone being a small business owner. 43:50 I have the privilege of owning a business, and I understand that. Um, not many people have the same privileges or are afforded the same privileges as my wife and I. Yeah. 43:59 And although it is still a struggle, it's a different struggle. Mm-hmm. And it's not the struggle of the people right now. So we haven't been, we haven't been really talking about that a lot. Yeah. 44:08 Well, so you, uh, going back to the, uh, the, the Brian, uh, Bangs debate that you had, you, you felt that that went very well, um, 'cause people were able to see that you're the progressive candidate, uh, and the issues that you care about. 44:21 Um, are there any other plans for more debates, uh, with Brian? Um, yeah, I certainly hope so. Mm. Um, and, and again, I think this first one was shaped more as a conversation. 44:30 I think it turned out to be more debate-like, um, than, than a conversation. Uh, so I'm, I'm gonna stick to the, to, to the point to where it was a conversation. 44:38 I know we went into it just hoping to have a discussion with him about those things. 44:43 Um, but yes, West River, I believe there's another organization that's, uh, that has extended an invitation to not just me and, and Brian, but also to Senator Rounds. Well, that's what I was gonna ask next- [laughs]... 44:53 is to get all three of you on the stage. Yeah, yeah. 44:56 Um, and, and from what I understand so far, it sounds like Senator Rounds might be open to the opportunity to, to have, you know, more of a, a formal debate-style, uh, conversation with, with the two of us. 45:08 Um, I- so far I am the only one that's committed to that date. 45:13 Um, we haven't heard that, you know, either of the other, uh, candidates have said yes, but they also have not said no, which is, which is a good thing, I think, for, for the public. 45:22 Um, because voters deserve, again, to hear the voices of the candidates, to hear the policies of the candidates and where we stand, and then voters deserve to make an educated choice based on that. Okay. 45:32 Well, before we get you out of here- Yeah... what el- anything else that we, that we didn't cover that we should've? Oh, man. Um, y- you know, I just... Let me, let me just throw this out. Mm-hmm. And this is, um, 45:44 this is, this is more or less something that's happening right now with the, with the Graham Platner situation. Oh, boy. Yeah, that's, uh, we d- I- we didn't go there- [laughs]... 45:53 but yeah, that's, uh, that, that thing has gone off the rails there. Yeah, yeah. Um, you know, I've, I've been pretty vocal in the past about not being a supporter of Graham Platner. Yeah, okay. 46:02 But, uh, even, even before this. I, I think all of the signs were there, and when you look at a Senate candidate, you want-- You don't want anyone who is borderline racist. 46:14 When you look at a Senate candidate, you don't want someone with a Nazi tattoo on their chest. 46:19 When you look at a Senate candidate, you don't want someone where you have to a- a- uh, answer questions or even ask questions about whether or not they're a womanizer. 46:28 Those are not questions you ask for, uh, a Senate candidate. And so I've not been a supporter of his for a long time. The writing has been on the wall for a while. 46:36 Um, and I, I think right now, um, folks nationally who have intentionally ignored those signs, I'm not gonna say they missed them, 'cause they were there. 46:45 They, they have in- [chuckles] intentionally ignored those signs, are now fighting and scrambling to find another candidate in Maine. 46:52 I will, I, you know, I don't, I don't know how wide the viewership or listening, uh, audience is here, but I will just... 46:59 I'll, I'll throw this out to say, listen, you have several good candidates right here in South Dakota who have actually been missed, not intentionally, but actually been missed because of, you know, the, the loud candidates like a Graham Platner. 47:13 Mm-hmm. Um, you have folks here that could use your support. You have folks here that can use the listening ear. 47:20 You have, um, you, you have some good representation, and I think South Dakota is in a prime position to show the nation how we can cordially have discourse politically and also how the voters can make the right solution based on education of the candidates, not anything else, not what the news telling them. 47:40 Uh, you know, whether it's Fox or CNN or whoever, don't listen to the loud noise behind the scenes. Listen directly to the candidates. See what the candidates are doing, um, and then make your selection based on that. 47:52 So just, I, I just wanted to talk about that 'cause I don't think we could, we, we can allow that to, um, kind of skate past the moment that we're in with, with me being the, the Democratic nominee. 48:03 I think I have a responsibility to, number one, address that. 48:07 Uh, but then number two, this is the last thing that I'll mention, um, is that I think it's really important to look at some of the good things that South Dakota has done. 48:18 And particularly when you talk about this Graham Platner situation, several years ago, our state legislature worked with Jolene Letcher and passed Jolene's Law, and that was instrumental to making sure that we had harsher penalties for folks who were committing those crimes- As well as providing resources for the survivors. 48:40 And I think our federal government deserves to look at this law that we have right here in South Dakota, and the good work that we're putting in here, to say we need something on the federal level to make sure that we, we, we are, you know, uh, punishing these folks to, to the highest level of the law from the federal level. 48:55 And also providing resources to survivors to make sure that these stories come out a lot sooner, and also to make sure that survivors are more comfortable telling their stories, because they deserve that. 49:06 Yeah, that's, uh, that is a, a, it's a, it's a deep topic. It is. Absolutely. Um, so before we get you out of here- Yeah... Juliann Beaudoin. Hey, you got it. [laughs] Uh, uh, did any... 49:17 What, what's going on at the picnic? I- did you, uh, did they try to get you to cook anything? Because you- Well, they, they should have. [laughs] No, but we'll, we'll all be speaking tonight. Okay. 49:25 I think me, Dan Hollars, uh, Nikki Grundler will all be there speaking. Yeah. And there are constitutional officers will also have some time on stage to speak. 49:32 And so, um, again, this is the first time since our convention that all of us, the statewide candidates, have gotten together and been in front of an audience like this. So I'm- Well, so who's making the food? 49:42 That's- Yeah, I don't know, man. You don't know? Listen- I'm gonna eat. [laughs] All right. All right. Well, thanks for coming in. Appreciate it. Uh, we'll probably hear from you again as the- Yeah... campaign rolls on. 49:53 I mean, it's still a few months away. It's, it's been a crazy election season, and we haven't even gotten to the who are all the general election candidates- Yeah... yet, so. Absolutely. 50:00 Thanks for coming in, and enjoy the, uh, picnic to- tonight. Yeah. Appreciate it, man. Thank you. Yep. Brian, come smell this. I'm not falling for that again. 50:08 Hey, folks, have you ever had the displeasure of opening up a bed in a box? It's really stinky. Why? Because of all the toxicity in the foams they use. At Juna, we only use safe, hypoallergenic, non-toxic materials. 50:23 Even the glue we use between our foam layers is safe. A lot of companies use aerosol glues that are banned in over 17 states. 50:30 And have you ever slept on a foam or hybrid mattress and just kept sinking, and then kept getting hotter and hotter throughout the night? Our beds don't do that. 50:39 A Juna mattress supports you properly and actually pulls heat away from your body naturally. When we say we use the best materials, we mean it. Come try one out. There's never any pressure to buy. 50:50 Not one ounce, 'cause that, well, it'd be pretty stinky. We build them by hand and deliver with love. Juna Sleep Systems, 41st and Grange in Sioux Falls. You're gonna love the way you sleep. We guarantee it. 51:03 We guarantee it. Taking into account all of the decisions made by the recount board on all of the ballots, the recount total for the candidates is Jamie Smith 18,277, 51:21 Christine Erickson 18,281. Thanks again to Juna Sleep Systems and Beal Distributed Products. Beal Distributing. Beal Dist- well, I like their products. Beal Distributing. Arch Beal. How you doing, Arch? 51:38 Hope you're hanging in there. Yep. Uh- Friend of the program... saw Jessica Baumuller at convention. She... There was some talk she was gonna run for something, but just think how long that day could've been. 51:50 But anyway, congratulations to Christine Erickson. We have a new mayor. Mayor-elect. At least for now. Well, I think. I th- Is it gonna, is it gonna- It feels more settled. Settled. Right? 51:59 Like, the election itself now is, is... The election itself is settled, right? The, uh... Now it's, uh, it's, it's... Well, technically it's in nobody's hands, 'cause nothing's been filed yet. 52:12 Uh, but I would imagine there'll be some filings next week by the Smith campaign seeking an injunction. And people have asked, um... Well, let's just back up. There was a two-day recount. Uh, I was there for, 52:28 I don't know, the first day I was there for half of it. Uh, second day I was there for maybe a quarter of it, because it was really just running paper through machines. And once I figured out that they were like... 52:42 The process looked pretty standardized, you know. And, um, we had an intern there as well, so she was my eyes when I left. Uh, but it was dicey there, man. The, uh... There was a time when... 52:58 I mean, it's all moving so slow, and nobody does these recou- recounts, especially with races this big, uh, often, so everybody's learning. And then the 53:09 recount board spends half the day figuring out what the rules they're gonna do, you know. 'Cause there's, there's, there's rules, laws, and then there's some gray areas. They're voting on if they're gonna, 53:19 um, open certain ballots or not. You know, there's minutia ev- They're all three are lawyers too, right? So, like, very- By the book kinda stuff? By the book. Yeah. And- Well, you want it to be the unimpeachable process. 53:34 You really do, and I get that. You know, you don't wanna, you don't wanna look like you cut corners. Right. Not at all. Not at all. And, uh, so but nobody knew anything going into it. 53:47 Like, how many rejected absentee ballots are we talking about? You try to find this out. Oh, geez, I'm triggered. The, uh- Or I'm, I'm gonna trigger. You're trigger alert. Well, 53:59 that's why I went outside earlier, 'cause I knew I'd probably get all worked up. The, uh... Ugh. I hate fighting over records. But so, like, right after... If you read my story from last Thursday night, July 2nd, 54:15 about how we weren't gonna find out the number of absentee ballots that were rejected until at least Monday, um, which is... You know, I thought that was a pretty fair, straight, emotionless story. 54:29 Well, that proves I'm good at my job, because I wanted to just- Flood the order... I wanted my outrage. Like- I don't know. I don't know if I am capable of, like, writing a story to s- slice someone up. 54:43 Because if I could, it would've been that one. Uh, I asked for the records, uh, two days after the election. I asked the county, 'cause I knew they were running the election on behalf of the city. 54:56 The election was June 23rd. June 23rd. So, like, June 25th- Okay... I ask the county, "I need... I want this information. I wanna know how many ballots, absentee ballots, were rejected, um, 55:09 up until 7:00 PM on election day, and how many have filed in after." And that is obviously, um, a moving, that's a moving target. 55:20 And, and you see, Grant, the, that's a moving target, 'cause they're gonna continue to file in, and they did every day. Uh, so a couple of days go by. Friday afternoon, so same week of the election, 55:35 says that, "What would that be?" That would be the 26th. Leah says, um, "I'm still working on it, but I'm going out of town, so I'll get back to you." Well, Monday comes. I ask Leah, "What's up with that?" 55:52 The auditor, county auditor, Anderson. And she says, "Well, the city has to give you the records because it's their election." And that's totally reasonable, right? Mm-hmm. They're just assisting, right? 56:03 So I'm like, "Okay." So I immediately send an email to the city attorney, Dave Pfeifley, and Jeremy Washington, the city clerk. And I say, "I want... Hey, guys. You know, I'm looking for," 56:14 what I just said, "and let me know if you have any questions or, you know, whatever." Uh, I'm not looking for any records, I'm looking for numbers, right? Yeah, I guess you could make the argument that's a record, but 56:28 you could just, like, count with your, you know... Count them up, tell me. So, uh, days go by. It gets to be Tuesday or Wednesday, I don't hear anything back. I call the city attorney's office. 56:45 I leave a voicemail with Dave Pfeifley. Um, I think that was Tuesday. And then, uh, uh, then I go up and talk to the city clerk on Wednesday after Ja- Ja- uh, uh, Jamie filed for his recount. 57:01 So I went up to confirm that. And while I was there, I asked the clerk, like, "Hey, how's my record request?" And he says, "Well, we're waiting on the county." 57:10 And I'm like- And you're like, "Huh, that's not what I've heard." Like, "Are you... Leah told me I had to get it from you." And then they said, "Well, we're still waiting on the information from the county. 57:23 Then we're gonna give it. And then, then we can give it," he said. I'm like, "Okay." But I didn't get the feeling... Anyway, I'll just leave it at that. Uh, so then I 57:37 ask Leah how that's going, 'cause I wanna know if I'm gonna get this story. 57:42 And she's like, "Well, I'm working on it f- you know, there's more than just your request that they're working on, so I gotta get a bunch of information for them, but it should be done tonight." So this is Wednesday. 57:52 Then she tells me, "I've s- I've got the information over to the city." This is real basic information. Yeah, like, this is public as public can be. And, um, so then I'm like, "Okay." So now I'm, like, Thursday morning. 58:08 I should get this information today, right? So I wait all day. It gets to be late in the afternoon. Tomorrow's a holiday for the government. And, July 3rd. July 3rd, yeah. 58:20 So now we're talking, like, so I made the request on the 25th initially. Now it's July 3rd. Um, it gets to be 4:00 maybe. I'm like, "I'm not, I might not get these," right? So then 58:38 I do some f- make some phone calls. You know, I still haven't heard... Didn't get a courtesy of a phone call back from Dave Pfeifley. Um- Huh. And then I s- Ever? Ever. Never. Never? Not once. And it gets worse. 58:53 So, uh, I go, um, I go- You know what? The, the interesting thing about this, this, to me though is, is that, uh, when I f- when I started covering city hall, there was nobody who did PR for the city. Nobody. 59:06 And then eight months, his second term, he hired Jodi Shawana. She kind of did PR, but that wasn't necessarily her title. She was his chief of staff. She did a little bit of... Now they've got, like, how many PR people? 59:16 Yeah. And I don't, but I don't go through PR people. I don't, but they have them. Yeah. Well, when I, when you've been... We've worked with people f- I don't know the number, you know, but... Six? Yeah, I don't know. 59:25 More... For per department, you mean? You used to just call whoever you wanted to talk to. Per depart- yeah, I know. 59:32 Anyway, sorry to- And I know I'm a report- I'm not, I'm a reporter, but I also am a publisher of the paper of record. 59:38 So, and I've been around for 20 years, so I think I ought, I'm owed a courtesy call, even if you're not gonna get, give me the records. I've left a voicemail. I've asked for a call back. I'd appreciate a call back. 59:48 Anyway, it gets late in the day on, on Thursday, and I started making phone calls to other people in the city, and I'm like, "Are, am I gonna get these records or not?" 59:57 And I, I don't think I'm gonna get these records at this point, right? I think they're gonna deny me the r- right to see these records. 1:00:04 And I'm like, "I would not do that, because then I'm gonna write a story that says you guys won't give the records, and there's gonna be all this mistrust around the election outcome," right? 1:00:13 So that's just bad PR, and I wanna make sure they know that before they deny these records. Then I find out, no, they're not gonna deny the records. They're gonna give them to you, but they're just waiting. Um, 1:00:26 you know, they're gonna give them to you. And then I find out, but it's not gonna be until next week. [laughs] And then I also find out the recount board's gonna meet next week. 1:00:36 So then that cuts the wind out of any of my sails, right? Like, why, I'm gonna write a story that reveals some public information the, hours before it comes out in a meeting? 1:00:46 Right, 'cause the board's gonna go over this stuff. Right. So I was like I'm losing any, like l- the shelf life on a story is, is not even worth it at this point. And 1:00:57 so I haven't been denied yet, but I'm also now aggrieved that I've been left hanging without an explanation, right? Like, there's multi layers of me being pissed off now because- Yes, 100%... I'm, 'cause I'm not... 1:01:11 Okay, I'm gonna get the records, but it's gonna be slow. Okay, that's like a four on the pissing me off thing. Not getting a call back or being told my records that I've asked in person and, you know, I've reached out. 1:01:24 I'm not just sitting there idle, and I've, I'm... These guys head off into the weekend, a three-day weekend with no, uh, and we're overworked as it is, you know? And I wanna get into my weekend too. 1:01:38 So then I had to, I find out they're not gonna give them to me for the weekend, and I'm not settling for that, so I call the clerk after hours, you know, and I'm... 1:01:48 You know, it takes a lot, a lot for me to, to go after some... I mean, I chewed him up, okay? I'll just say that. 1:01:55 And I felt bad about, about it, but I don't feel bad about being, uh, disgruntled about what's happened here. And, um, and I asked, and he said, "Well, the city attorney says we need to wait, 1:02:08 um, until all the records requests can be sent out at once, 'cause you're not the only one that's requested anything." So I go, "Okay, well, 1:02:17 that's doesn't even make sense because what if somebody makes a records request Monday morning, then we all gotta wait longer?" You know? Like, that's not, I f- I find the... So 1:02:26 then I f- I said, "Is any, are any of the other requests as narrow in scope as mine?" And they said, "No. They're all broader." 1:02:35 You know, "You've had the records for 24 hours, more than 24 hours, so give them to me please." And he w- he, he... 1:02:42 They were citing legal advice from the city attorney's office, so then- The one w- the one that won't call you back. Yeah. That one. 1:02:47 And I said, "Well, if you're gonna hide behind the city attorney's office because you're..." 'Cause the clerk's office is the decider here. Right. 1:02:54 You know, the city attorney's the city attorney, but might as well make him the clerk I guess. Uh, you know, I said, "Well, if that's the case, then I would appreciate a call back from Dave." 1:03:04 And I was told they w- they were gonna talk to Dave and I would get a call, and I never heard back from anybody again. So then Monday I think I'm gonna get the records, right? 1:03:15 And I'm on the motorcycle, but I'm still checking my email. Records don't come Monday. Records don't come Tuesday. Recount starts. I'm like, "Okay, I haven't even thought about these." I'm like, my, my frustration 1:03:32 is behi- bes- behind me, right? And then, uh, I'm at the recount, and, uh, they're talking about how many ballots there are. In the morning they had 153 ballots that had come in since 1:03:46 election night, so that was one of the pieces of information I wanted. Got it at the inf- I still don't have the information from the city, but I just came out here. 1:03:55 Then the real kicker, the real thing I wanted to know, because I knew they wouldn't, those 153 weren't gonna be counted. They weren't gonna even fight over them to open them or not. They just weren't gonna count them. 1:04:06 The real one was the rejected ballots because that's gonna be what makes or breaks this recount, right? Right. And they say we got eight of them at the meeting. They say that. 1:04:21 And then not too much longer later my phone buzzes, and it's an email from the city attorney's office- Oof... with my records request. So they're just trolling you. They're tr- yeah. [laughs] I was hot. 1:04:34 [laughs] I was hot. They're trolling you. And it actually, uh, I think it led to... It all worked out though, because I think it led to my lack of patience for the day, 1:04:45 so later in the day when, uh, things, this recount board was about to take a weird turn, I had to interject into the meeting, which is an awkward thing to do. Uh, but anyway, nonetheless, I think that was a pretty, uh, 1:04:57 BS series of events for the city clerk's office and the city attorney's office. I give, I'll give the clerk's office the benefit of the doubt that they are just deferring to the city attorney's office, but, you know, um, 1:05:10 unforced errors and PR blunders. Yeah. You know? Like, there's just no reason. When your, when your, when your story went, I got... I'm at Ruff Rushmore, 1:05:20 and people wanted to, people wanted to talk to me about that story. Yeah, well- So, 'cause, uh-... I, like, what- Why are they hiding the information? Yeah, exactly what I thought. 1:05:29 Like, Theresa Staley calls me immediately after the story, goes, "Uh, where, where are the ballots? Where are the ballots? How come you won't tell?" Like, it's just, 1:05:39 you know, I only wrote the story to, to show that we weren't getting the records. 'Cause, like, if you... I, I mean, I got a story to write one way or the other. 1:05:47 I'm writing a story about what those numbers are, or I'm gonna write a story that says I can't get the numbers. Right. So that's what I did. But nonetheless, those rejected ballots lead the... 1:05:56 There was only eight of them. I thought there would be at least 30 or 40, which is why I made the prediction I'm gonna say right now. I predicted Ron before the reg- or before the runoff. Um, uh, and I predicted... 1:06:15 Did I do that? When did I predict Jamie would win? Before the runoff, right? Before the, before the runoff. And then I... So I was wrong there, and then I was also wrong when I said I think Jamie would come back. 1:06:28 I think. 1:06:28 I don't know if I actually said that on the pod or not, but I thought, uh, if they opened up enough absentee ballots, if there was enough rejected absentee ballots, they would open up enough of them, uh, to turn the election. 1:06:42 Because we knew that the b- the absentee ballots would favor Jamie. That was- Only one... 1:06:48 I think they did Over, like overall in the election they did Yeah, they did Not so though on the ones they were able to, that they fought over. Mm. They fought over eight ballots, um, that had been rejected. 1:07:01 Uh, some earlier, like throughout the process, like they'd find a ballot that was left over in a bag somewhere, and that was for Jamie, and then so at one point Jamie was down by one. 1:07:14 And you're trying to keep a score in your head, right? Yeah. And then by the end of it, it was, there was too much going on to have a real, like precise, like confident thought on where the, the count was at. 1:07:25 But you could, but you... I still felt like by the end of the first day, um, we got to learn that, um, you know, she was up by four now instead of two. So then that, that pretty much, I knew, I, they're gonna... 1:07:42 The ne- the second day they were just gonna run ballots from election day through the machine, and those machines are never that far off. Um, so I thought that pretty much probably gonna settle it, right? 1:07:51 And she ended up winning by four. Mm-hmm. But we were, originally we weren't gonna be able to know that until the end of it all. Um, at the- So the first night... 1:08:04 at, at, the first night, you know, they knew they were gonna have to come back the next day and they're talking. I mean, they're not using like Robert's Rules here and it's like that, but it's still a formal proceeding. 1:08:13 And, uh, they, as the conversation turned to we're gonna pro- produce a report from the day and provide it to the campaigns, it'll have the updated numbers, but the campaigns are not to publicize it in any way, yada, yada, yada. 1:08:28 Then there was some questions from council about what that actually meant, and so that's no social media at all. We just can't say the numbers. What is it? 1:08:38 And then that's when the press realized they're fixing to keep the numbers. They're gonna screw us. They're gonna, like, they're gonna, um, 1:08:46 let us all leave here today without knowing- We're just sat here all day, not gonna give any information... 1:08:51 and, and I, and I can understand, like, I don't know, it's just the culture of closedness in South Dakota or something, I don't know. But I, 1:09:00 just politely, as politely as I could, you know, said, "I'm sorry to, to interject, but is somebody here representing the interests of the public?" And, uh, it was told to me by the recount board that we wanna make sure 1:09:16 the public isn't being yo-yoed thinking the election's over, yada, yada, yada. And then I, we talked, you know, we responded and said, "Well, obviously we can report a number and quickly say that this, it's not over." 1:09:27 Pe- And- People, people understand the, the, as, if you put it into a sports, like, okay, we're at halftime here, and at halftime this is where we're at, right? Well- There's still another day of this to go on. Yeah. 1:09:37 You know? And also, like on election night, you know, you trickle the results out. Right. So- We're gonna wait till the very end and just put it all, big numbers out... honestly that'd be better. Yeah. 1:09:47 Like send a press release. Uh. [laughs] We can go to bed. Yeah. But, um, they reconsidered, and to their credit they, uh, they opened, they decided. Cheers to you for looking out for the public. Yeah. Well, we got... 1:10:03 Honestly, though, if they would've ended the day that way, alls it would've done was just made my night worse and I would've go- went and got the number from... I'd have found a leak somewhere. Yeah. You know? 1:10:13 And, and that's the thing, like, uh, then there'd be finger-pointing and, like the public would wonder what's, why can't we know a number? I know. It's, again- It makes- A PR- Right... PR disaster. 1:10:27 But- But you, you, you saved them from a PR disaster. Yeah. And I didn't belabor the point in the story either, right? Yeah. Like, I didn't even mention that part, like, because I don't wanna be part of the story. 1:10:37 But it's, the thing about this program is you get a little behind the scenes look at what happened, but- Yeah... it, uh, the, the recount boards though did a great job, I'll say. 1:10:47 Uh, Justin Smith, Rodney Steele and Matt Tisdall, they were... The first day was real intense. Everybody was sort of on their, you know, it was brand new. They didn't know each other that well probably. Um, 1:11:03 you know, all figuring it out. The second day, it was kinda like second day at camp. You know what I mean? Uh, everybody's a little more relaxed. There was less to fight over. Um, and 1:11:16 Christine prevailed, so everybody's asking, "What's g- what's next? Is it settled?" Well, the election's settled. I think we will have a court hearing, injunction 1:11:28 granted or not, before next Friday when she's set to be sworn in. Don't know. They'll have to make some of their points during, while asking for injunction, right? They can't- Absolutely. So- Yeah... 1:11:40 I would imagine they could fight over some specific ballots, right? Like they're gonna f- they know some of the people whose were, uh, like some of the names got exposed. And, um, 1:11:56 at least, like, well, actually yesterday they, the Smith camp brought one of those rejected voters in, and the recount board f- found that to be, two of the three on the recount board found that to be very inappropriate. 1:12:09 Um, but that's gonna c- happen when they go to court. They're gonna ha- have somebody attesting that that was their, their vote. 1:12:17 But does that get into a situation then where if Jamie can find five people that do that, that had their ballots rejected, um, or had posted 1:12:28 Monday before the election on their absentee ballot or something, I think the law's pretty clear on that. But if you... They would then have to turn it and let Christine go find some people that were rejected too, right? 1:12:39 Then you get into this horse race, and then at that point if that's allowed to go on, then I think you have a new election. But how, but how many were rejected though? That's the- Well, see, there was only eight. 1:12:50 Yeah, so they don't- Eight. If there would've been... So, like, and honestly, one, I saw one of the names, I'm like, that's a- That's a Christine Erickson voter, I'd bet my kids on it. Mm. 1:12:59 'Cause the same name you saw on their, like, donor lists over and over over the months, you know? And, um, so you could figure it out. It's kinda like, I don't know, the cl- clue, you know? Uh, 1:13:16 and I thought about... But they counted the dude's ballot. If they would've rejected it, I may have called him myself, you know, uh, and asked him what he thought about that. But they counted it. 1:13:28 So yeah, I mean, there's only eight in play, but there's also many that they didn't even open, like, um, uh, I don't know. 1:13:38 I just feel like there's, they keep pulling, there's some provisionals that they didn't count that could be brought back. You've also got the citizenship law that could come into play, you know. 1:13:51 We- I'm, I'm sure the lawyer's looking at it all. And then, oh, some of the wrong ballots, like, 1:13:57 they were given, they would go to a precinct, or they voted early, but they were given the wrong precinct ballot, but it was the same race, right? Um, would the court... 1:14:08 I mean, the court wants to let people vote if it's legit, right? Typically. I think they, they kept saying, like, liberally- Yeah, I mean-... true... 1:14:16 and that's, and that's definitely been true of, of like, um, like the petition process for getting ballot measures and stuff like that. 1:14:23 It's not the, it's not a voter's fault if there's some technical error or whatever, that you do err on the side of, of- Yeah... the democratic process. Yeah. So. But if you, if it's your own fault, then you're SOL. 1:14:37 That could be. And I think it's gonna be really hard for a judge to wanna overturn an election. So what do you think? You think they grant an injunction? 1:14:46 Uh, I'd have to see their arguments before I, before I would stake a claim on that. I mean, I- it, it's- I'm gonna-... 1:14:52 if they, they make, make some compelling arguments in the, in the request, and, um, a judge can say, "Well, look, Paul TenHaken can hang around for a little bit longer while we sort this out," uh, then, then potentially, yeah. 1:15:05 I mean, I, I would imagine it would move pretty quickly, though. Uh, there would be, you know, you ask for an, uh, an injunction, um, a temporary injunction, uh, you know, there'd be a hearing pretty quickly on that. 1:15:19 We better be ready, 'cause I think it'll be next week before Friday. All right. Well, clear your calendars. Congratulations to both candidates, though. I mean- It was a good race... bummed for Jamie. Yeah. 1:15:29 It just sucks somebody's gotta lose, especially when you know both candidates. Uh- Yeah, good, both good people. Yeah. And I think Jamie, you know, he, he, he conducted himself well- Yeah... through it all. 1:15:40 And, um, you know, I think he doesn't seem like things are quite over yet, but... 1:15:46 Well, if I were him, I w- I mean, I, you know, if, if, look, if Christine Erickson had lost by four votes, I guarantee you she'd be looking at, you know, I, I... It would be four, I mean, it's four votes. 1:15:56 And, uh, I would expect, you know, Jamie would wanna explore every option he might have in that. And because he ran a great race, you know? 1:16:04 And- Well, we kind of- You know, we, at the end of the day, if you could, if you could open up those 135 ballots that came in after- 153, yeah... 153, yeah. 1:16:13 I mean, I, I talked to one of those, one of those, uh, a voter whose ballot came in after the deadline. It wasn't counted. He was a Christine Erickson voter. Uh, but again, my guess- Yeah... 1:16:24 is those absentees favored, favored, uh, Jamie. There's my understanding there's only a couple dozen or more, a few more than that, um, that were postmarked in time but just didn't arrive in time. 1:16:39 No, well, the law says you gotta be there in time- Yeah... right? But I wonder, like, mitigating circumstances of the post office's woes and stuff like that could come into play. 1:16:50 Um- We've written how shitty the post office is- Yeah... and it's been well out there in the me- So if you're waiting for a day or two before an election to mail your ballot- And-... that's on you... 1:16:59 and, like, it doesn't, the law doesn't factor in, like, doesn't say, like, "But, you know, you must be there by that day, but, you know, there's an exception," like, but- Well, if the post office sucks as bad as it does- Like, a c- a judge could still do that, 'cause, like, the Second Amendment doesn't say, "But" [laughs] 1:17:16 You know what I mean? We've, we've found lots of ways to, like, ta- like, turn a period into a comma and add a bunch of shit to, uh, the rules over the years. 1:17:26 So, uh, anyway, well- I'm ready to add another Bill Distributed product to my, uh, evening, so- This went a lot longer than I thought it would. But yeah, thanks to, uh, thanks to Julian for coming in. 1:17:38 Yeah, thanks to Bill Distributing and Juna Sleep Systems. Um, thanks to all our subscribers and our 20,000 Facebook followers. 1:17:47 So, uh, we were doing a little giveaway over there, so if you listen to this p- program but you don't follow us on Facebook, uh, you should. You could win some money. So, uh, listeners, welcome. Thanks. 1:17:59 [upbeat rock music]
