Transcript 0:00 Let me grab my car keys and we'll roll Are we still going to that new bar downtown? Yeah. Supposed to be fun. Lexi, give me driving directions from home to downtown bar district Autocorrect. Suggest Uber. Pick up home. 0:12 Drop off downtown bar district No, I'm driving Suggest the Metro bus departing in 12 minutes Huh. Point taken, Lexi. We'll grab a ride. If you drink, don't drive. Decide to ride. 0:23 Brought to you in partnership by Anheuser-Busch, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and Uber This message brought to you by Beale Distributing of Sioux Falls If you wanna understand what's really happening in South Dakota, start with the Dakota Scout, South Dakota's leading journal of politics and culture. 0:40 Locally owned and printed in Sioux Falls. 0:43 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. 0:55 From Sioux Falls City Hall to the state capital in Pierre, the Dakota Scout delivers breaking news, investigative reporting, and serious political coverage without the spin. 1:06 Its Lewis and Clark inspired logo reflects its mission, charting new territory in a new era of South Dakota journalism. 1:14 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 1:30 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. 1:41 Juno Sleep Systems in Sioux Falls and online at junosleep.com. 1:46 [upbeat rock music] Welcome to The Scouting Lounge, a podcast from The Dakota Scout newspaper based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 2:06 My name's Jonathan Ellis. That was a Beale distributed product- I'm Joe Sneve... that you heard Joe Sneve crack. Joe Sneve, Casey Crabtree. That's Casey Crabtree. Thanks for having me on, fellas. 2:17 Beale senator, senator from Madison. Sexy guy. Thanks for having me on, boys. Look like you're slipping a Juno. Yep. Got your beauty rest. [laughs] This place is looking nice. 2:27 There's a little refresh to the old, uh, you know, the h- the HQ of Dakota Scouts podcast. It's looking sharp. Cub stuff on the wall. Hell yeah. I love it, boys. Fly the Dub. Hear, hear. 2:37 They're doing pretty well this year. We're hanging in there. I mean, they got- MCA's the man. Oh, yeah. He's, he's, he's fire. Mm-hmm. I wasn't so sure when... 'cause he's kinda small and kinda wonder- Were they buyers? 2:51 Uh, well, they traded for the Mets. They traded around. Yeah, they traded around a little bit. I wouldn't know if I'd call them buyers, but- Hmm. I'm gonna see them, uh, I'm gonna see them next week. 2:58 Yeah, I- Looking forward to it... I'll be there two days after. The friendly confines. Thought about going on my birthday, 'cause that's Monday. They're playing a night game against the White Sox. Yeah. Hard to... 3:09 I wanted to do that one, but night game, taking the kids, daytime at Wrigley. You ever been there, Ellis? Nope. It pops. It is- If the sun's shining, you walk in, it's not like other baseball stadiums. 3:21 I'm a baseball nerd, but that place is awesome. Um, been to Fenway too and few others, but Wrigley dominates. The colors are just like- It's- I don't know. It's a- Something about it. It, it- It's a history, man. 3:33 Think about- Yeah... like who's been in there and who's played on that field. I went, uh, to a playoff game last year, and I ended up kind of wandering around 'cause of the people I w- was with. I wanted to like... 3:48 Well, I wanted to smoke a cigarette, okay? So I found a place to smoke a cigarette in Wrigley Field. It's not statute of limitations yet, but- [laughs]... 3:54 I got to see, like some pretty cool spo- parts of it, uh, that I'd never seen before. Nonetheless, welcome in. Off the rails already here. Uh, hey, you are gonna be in an election coming up. You have... 4:13 You had a primary. I did not have a primary. Nobody challenged you again after you won 80 to 20 the time before. Is that what happened? I don't know, but, uh- [laughs]... 4:22 this will be my very first general election and, uh, I'm much looking forward to it as well. Will it be closer than your primaries were? I don't know. I'm gonna work hard to make sure it's not. Uh, I can tell you that. 4:33 I'll be around the area as, as I always am, and I think, uh, the thing is, you know, got kids that go to school there. You grew up there. My wife grew up there. It was my, you know, high school sweetheart. 4:45 We own businesses there, um, and we care about the future of that area, so it's fun. You lead the posse? Oh, yeah, yeah. Only if the bad guys come to town. When the bad guys come to town. When the bad guys come to town. 4:55 Yeah, dude. Uh, that's exactly right. Well, yeah. Uh, you guys did pretty well, baseball. We did. I just couldn't be any more excited, uh, right now, I'm telling you. 5:07 [laughs] So the, the Madison boys, my oldest, uh, they, uh, they capped off an unbelievable run and won the state legion title, uh, this week in Madison nonetheless. Dells can't win them all. No. 5:19 Uh, Dells has been a force, but, uh, I think that's been replaced and, uh, it was kinda, kinda fun to see, uh... Actually, my- Your- My kid was able to get, uh, an RBI single t- And a- With a full count too... 5:31 with a walk off? Oh, it's his walk off, yeah. Wow. Uh, to, to- Proud dad... punch out Dells. Yeah, it was fun. 5:36 And so those boys, uh, ended the season with, with that victory in the state legion, and then you had, uh, they had the high school championship as well, and, uh, the inaugural Rock, The Rock tournament, which is in honor of Ken Prorock, the deputy- Yeah... 5:50 uh, that was, uh, that was killed up there, uh, a couple years ago. 5:53 His boy plays for that team, and so, uh, and he, uh, you know, Deputy Prorock, uh, coached those boys when they were younger and I coached, uh, along with him and, and fun to, fun to see that kinda come to fruition for those boys. 6:06 And so super excited for them. It's a fun time to be a dad Well, if Dells can't win it, you know, I was happy to see at least your, your... 6:15 Unless, at least Crabtree got, got to have, uh, be the walk-off, I guess, if it had to be anybody. Y- you know, there's a lot of good baseball, though. I'm not gonna... 6:24 I mean, i- it's fun to, fun to cheer on our Madison boys, but there's a lot of good teams around the state. 6:28 It's kind of, uh, it's, it's fun to see how much better, uh, I think all high school sports, but certainly baseball, has, has taken off in the last- Oh, man... 20, 25 years versus what it was i- in my day. 6:41 Yeah, it's, it's good to see that. Hopefully it'll sustain because, I mean, when we were kids... I don't know, did they do it this way when, when you were a kid where you lived? 6:51 Uh, all the kids in baseball would ride down to the park and have one big practice, and then we'd all be on our own teams. Is that how they did that back in the day? 7:00 Well, [laughs] I grew up in Arlington, and so, uh, it was everybody rode there and everybody was on a team 'cause we didn't have enough players to do much else, right? Or one game. You know? Yeah. 7:08 So, um, but I would just say that I think you're seeing the skill level of all those, all the athletes that are, I, I think, uh, across the state, but certainly around this kind of Sioux Falls area, really take off. 7:21 And, uh, I think that's pretty exciting, not only for the high school ball, but colleges and beyond. 7:26 Is, is that because sports and h- having been coaching in sports and competitive sports, is that because people are playing year-round now instead of, like, seasonally, you know? 7:35 Well, I don't know necessarily about that. I mean, I... You take a town like Madison, every, you know, they, we're encouraging all the good athletes to play every sport. Oh, everything. Right? 7:44 And, you know, certainly at our house, that's what we're encouraging our kids and the kids I talk to. But I, I think there's just a, a more of a focus on developing them as athletes. I mean- Bigger, faster, stronger. 7:55 Yeah. More camps. Yeah. There's more... I mean, it kind of makes me think. Sanford today, right, announced, uh, out in Rapid, the sports complex stuff. 8:03 I mean, that's a naming rights agreement, but Sanford for 25 years has been developing sports. Yeah. Right? These kid- these kids I think are, are more skilled, but they're also just better athletes. 8:14 They're, they understand what weightlifting's about, they understand nutrition, and I think there's folks coaching them on that, and I think that's making a big difference. Yeah. 8:23 Well, it's just ironic, 'cause you said the last 25 years, and I just, uh, wrote the, the news story that we posted about the Rapid City thing, and I recall, is that for 25 years Sanford's been doing this sports development, getting into the sports development world. 8:38 Well, it's such a great for them. Well, I mean, well, yeah, I mean, I'm not, they're not a sponsor here, so, but maybe they- Not yet. Not yet. Not yet, but you're working on it, you mean. 8:45 [laughs] They are on our digital, though. Yeah. But that's not why I'm saying this. 8:48 I mean- Well, yeah, but I'd say they owe, I mean, a, a sort of debt of gratitude to Sanford for, um, what they've done for the sports here. I mean, for, for soccer for certainly. 8:58 I mean, for travel soccer we can put competitive teams that are, that are gonna be able to compete in big city markets, you know, from Sioux Falls. Yeah. And that's true of baseball. 9:05 I know of base- Because of the facilities... you know, because of the facilities, because of the training pro- the regimen. Yeah. 9:10 I mean, th- they, you put, you put these boys and girls through these training programs that Sanford puts on at the field house or whatever. Um, yeah, it's, it, they really improve skills for sure. 9:20 Well, great branding opportunity for them, right? These kids are wearing around their jerseys, their T-shirts, uh, everywhere they go. Yeah. They have those. 9:26 But, you know, on behalf of, uh, I think the parents and the athletes, uh, because of Sanford and many others who have stepped up, I mean, these kids are playing on awesome fields. Yeah. 9:36 I mean, you take a look at, I think, you know, Sioux Falls, not Rapid, but certainly, you know, other communities, Madison, Brookings, others that have just really, really top-notch facilities. 9:47 A lot of that's led, uh, by their investment. 9:49 And if you wanna tie that back in, uh, you just look at Dakota State University, look at our track, look at our football field, uh, the things that our kids in, in school get to participate on work- and work out at, which are all tied to a lot of their investments, too. 10:03 So, it's fantastic. Well, you sure like talking about Madison. [laughs] It's America's ho- well, it's America's hometown for a reason. But, but you don't work up there anymore. 10:11 Well, I wouldn't say I don't work up there anymore, but, uh, I did, uh, accept a new job. Your nine, your nine to fiver is not up there. Yeah. 10:17 So I did, did, uh, accept a, a new job recently, so I joined with Ertz Capital firm right down here, and so that's really a lot of, a lot of fun. And, uh, it's been fun to kinda dive into that. 10:29 It works a lot with what I've been about for a long time, which is on economic development- Yeah... and, and building and making our community stronger. 10:36 And here we're making a community stronger while we're also, uh, helping people build their wealth and diversify their portfolio, so it's kind of a win-win. And you're neighbors with us. 10:45 And I'm neighbors with you guys now, so, uh, you better lock up that, better lock up that beer fridge- Oh, we better... when it's happy hour, boys. Where's all the Beall distributed products? Yeah. 10:53 Well, we did have to hang... We have had to hang up notes out in the fridge for the other people in the building, like, "Don't steal our shit." 10:58 [laughs] Oh, well, if you're gonna have Cubs games on, Cubs gear on the wall- Mm... and a cold one in here, that seems like an all right place to be. 11:06 The, the only thing I don't like about this, the airflow in here isn't great. Like, um, it's pretty stuffy sometimes. Like, if you close that door especially, it gets kinda stuffy in here, so. Yeah. 11:17 Well, we looked at a new studio upstairs a couple days ago. Mm. [laughs] Win- windows are expensive. Yeah, they are. 11:24 [laughs] So, uh, well, hey, uh, you still, I mean, you have a new nine to fiver, but, if there is such a thing anymore, uh, but you're still a man of the people. You're a public servant. Yeah. 11:36 No, I- Senator Casey Crabtree, are you gonna... I think when people that listen to this show wanna know what's going on in the world of politics. So, like, you were Senate Majority Leader, then you weren't. 11:48 Are you gonna be again? Well- Are you gonna be, uh, pro tem? Like, what's, what's going on? Well, let's, we think he's gonna win, win an election, though, first. Oh, yeah. General election. You're in District 6, right? 11:58 Mm. District 8. You're in District 8? Yep. Okay. So you're saying you wanna talk about what, wanna talk about that? So you've got... Let me, I just, hold on. I pulled up voter registration numbers. 12:05 So that district you've got as of August 1, there were 10,951 registered Republicans, 3,523 Democrats and 2,550 Independents So you ran for leadership. 12:20 [laughs] You have an overwhelming advantage in terms of voter registrations. Yes, and I think that's the way when you look at, uh, the state as a whole, we have that, right? Republicans are at an all-time high. 12:32 You guys wrote an article about it recently. Republicans are at an all-time high. Democrats are at a recent low. And, uh, so I think that really dictates a lot of things that are coming up, right? 12:42 We've got some statewide races that are coming up, um, but certainly the makeup of the legislature is kinda made up that way as well, um, which probably looks like 32-ish, uh, likely Republicans coming back, um, this next year. 12:55 And so when you talk about leadership elections, they happen, uh, every two years, is just how they work. And as far as me, I'll do what our, what our team would like me to do. 13:04 Um, but we know we'll have some replaced, right? The assistant majority leader lost, uh, his election to, uh, a very talented, uh, senator that's, uh, that'll be coming in, uh, Katie Washkock from Aberdeen. 13:16 Um, and I think she'll do a great job. Brings- Did she have a general? 13:19 Uh, I don't think she does, and so brings a, a, a ton of like, uh, you know, energy and enthusiasm, young family, business background, but also a long history of being around politics with her family. 13:30 And so I think she'll do a great job. We've got a, a whip spot that's gonna be open, uh, as we see, uh, um, Tom Pischke, uh, withdraw from, from running going into the future. 13:39 And so, and a number of the new people that are coming in that I think, uh, are really kind of focused on the things that I'm focused on and have been focused on, and I think those things matter the most to people at home, and that's, you know, things like the affordability, making sure that, uh, the economy's strong, that we're driving more dollars back into the pockets of hardworking South Dakotans, and then public safety. 14:00 I mean, I talk about growing up in Arlington, and we expect our, you know... I left my keys in my pickup as a kid and the door unlocked to the house and- Yeah... 14:07 you know, those are, those are the kinda communities and the kind of safety we want for our families. And- Yeah... 14:13 and so those are the things we are focused on, and I think that's why you see a lot of these new faces back. I think there's still a lot of that in South Dakota, right? There is. Gotta keep it. 14:23 So as far as leadership goes, like, well, you guys, you wait till after the general to vote though, right? Like, or is there s- I mean, is that stuff kinda locked up beforehand though? Because let's face it, 14:38 you're, you're probably gonna have just as many... Most of the Republicans are gonna win, you know? So do you guys pretty much have this all written down but not signed- Well, I think when-... before the election? 14:53 I think when you're looking at these type of steps, right, um, you take for s- example myself, it's be laser focused on making sure you're out talking to voters in your district, make sure you win in November. 15:03 That's, uh, that's what I'm encouraging from my Republican, uh, colleagues. 15:07 And of course, I think there's a big difference between, uh, all the Republicans that are on the ticket and those in the, in the Democrat Party, uh, right now. 15:14 And, uh, I think that couldn't be any more distinct than it is right now, and you're watching like the national news, you're seeing socialism- Are, are there any, are there Democratic socialists running in South Dakota? 15:23 Well, it's all almost the same thing, you know? Have we found them? So I think we'll, uh, we'll see our, we'll see our crew of, of Republicans I think do extremely well. 15:33 You think they- And you get through that, and then you... It's right then in, in, you know, that, that weekend that we generally have in both the Senate and the House our leadership elections. 15:40 And, uh, I just, from that, that's about, you know, who's got, I think, the experience and who can help form an agenda that, uh, that works well to get things done here and, and tackle those things that people think are the big issues, right? 15:52 Which is affordability and public safety. The, uh, the leadership votes always remind me of, um, the blinds you guys put up in those committee rooms. Do we... 16:03 I don't even think we have, uh, blinds in the s- Senate conference rooms. The, the big one. The 4141 has these blinds. Oh, that one might, where the House is at. The Senate I don't think even has that, I don't think so. 16:11 You'd think the Senate would have blinds in that one after the whoa, whoa, whoa thing, right? [laughs] When, when Arch, when Archie was chasing that dude down the hallway. [laughs] Yeah. 16:20 That was, uh, that was quite the, uh, that was quite the entertainment. So- If you wanna stand over here too, Chad, you could. Um- You, you by me? Yeah. [laughs] You can stand on my left if you want. 16:30 Uh, but what was I gonna say? Uh... The Arch moment though, going back to that, Joe had some involvement in that, didn't you? Well, I s- was doing faces with Wheeler- [laughs]... uh, Roll and Kyle, Shane Fish. Yeah. 16:48 In the, through the window that leaders, leaders up front couldn't see. Yeah. See, see. [laughs] Right? I was, I was goofing off with the senators in the back of the classroom, you know? Right. 16:58 And then, uh, Anthony whatever, the Ci- uh, Youth for Liberty or Young Americans for Liberty, which I like that group. It's a Ron Paul group, but that, they gotta look who they're hiring anyway. 17:10 [laughs] But- Y- you know it's serious when Joe's face goes up against the window to look in to see what's happening there. No. Well, I've- They're having a big meeting... we've done that. 17:18 I've, I'll say I have looked in there and gotten looks from Milhoff and stuff before when I'm trying to... 17:23 I mean, that's why they put, like, I'm pretty su- I'm not gonna say who, but me and Austin, uh, getting those stories on leadership out of the House is why they put those up. Um, 17:34 but yeah, I had to go hide in the bathroom 'cause this Anthony kid saw me, uh, like looking through the window, and it dawned on him, "Oh, you can look through glass." 17:45 [laughs] Uh, and then so he takes his camera and he shoves it right up to the window, uh, of the other door, which is facing the dais where leaders can see it. 17:54 And as soon as he does that I hear the door handle, crink, like start to open. I dipped into that bathroom so fast because I'm like, "I don't need to be part of this." 18:03 [laughs] And then I hear Arch, uh, you know, "Whoa, whoa, whoa." I hear like the, "Don't point your cane at me." Like, and then, uh, I hide. I hid for a second. Yeah. Yeah. 18:14 And then the dust settled And I went downstairs, third floor, and as soon as I got down the steps, these lobbyists were like, "Did you see what happened upstairs?" [laughs] And I'm like, "Well, I heard it." 18:24 [laughs] Arch hadn't moved that fast in 50 years, I think. Okay. He was, he was moving fast, but, uh, yeah. I'm so glad I wasn't there, 'cause that would've been a lot of splainin' to do. [laughs] Uh... [laughs] Yeah. 18:37 I- I tell you what, it's a, it's a memorable moment when there's T-shirts made, and I know there's some T-shirts that are floating around that say, "Whoa, whoa, whoa." Got one right there. 18:44 And there's one right there on the wall. Yeah, right there. So yep. Yeah. Uh, that's the one thing about, I think, the legislature. 18:50 Uh, every now and then there's a few of those colorful stories that come from some of the colorful actors that, uh, that are drawn into that process, and that can make it kinda, kinda entertaining from time to time, but majority of the work is about fixing the problems people are facing. 19:03 Well, well, you gotta have a little fun, otherwise w- what's the point, right? So hear, hear. [gentle music] My grandpa was one of my favorite all-time people growing up. I remember going to the tulip festival with him. 19:16 I remember his blue jacket was always full of Starburst. 19:20 I remember a lot about my grandfather, but I also remember a lot about what he instilled in me and some of the values he dropped along the way, things like, "I could never afford to buy cheap." 19:31 Now, what that means to me is that in the industry that I'm in, mattresses don't last through their warranty, and those big box brands really don't have your best interests in mind. 19:40 They'd rather have you buy a bed and it break down prematurely, and you'd have to buy a new bed again. 19:45 But at Junas Sleep Systems, we value our commitment to our customers and their satisfaction long-term, which is why we only use the best quality ingredients, and we're there for you any time you wanna make a change to the mattress, even per side. 19:57 At Junas, 1950s values are still alive. We're only as good as the quality products we turn out at the end of the day, and our word is our bond. Come on down and check us out today, 41st and Grange in Sioux Falls. 20:09 Come on along, head for the mountains of Bush Beer. Head for the mountains. It's cold and it's new and it's waiting for you. Come on, head for the mountains of Bush Beer. 20:25 Head for the mountains of Bush. Head for the mountains of Bush Light Beer. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2022. Amos Bush Bush and Bush Light Beer, St. Louis, Missouri. Beale Distributing, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 20:41 Thanks again to Beale Distributing and Junas Sleep Systems, and Senator Casey Krattner. Thanks for having me on. Yep. Yep, yep, yep. Good tan. Got a good tan going there. It's a baseball tan. 20:50 It's not, uh, it's not the golf course, I can assure you of that. Or the boat. [laughs] The lake. So- Well, the season's over now, right? It's over. And- It's over, yep. Yeah, you, are, you, have you been on the lake? 21:01 Uh, a little bit. Um, you know, most of my free time though has been at the baseball diamonds. Yeah. I- we've got two of them playing, and- Yeah... 21:08 both had awesome years, both brought home a state championship, and so- Wow... um, it, uh, most of our free time for Ashton and I was doing that. And you know what? What do you feed them? No better way to play, so. 21:18 What do you feed them? [laughs] Wheaties. Wheatie- [laughs] Uh- It's been a while since I saw those, uh, Gold Champion, uh, Dream Team, uh, boxes- Yeah... you know, so. People- That's back from our day... 21:29 still make Wheaties? That's from our day, Joel. They still make Wheaties? Yeah. I don't, I don't recall seeing them in the... But maybe I'm not looking for them. No, I think they're around. Okay. Hopefully. 21:37 That'd be a freaking national tragedy if they didn't. I mean, they were... At one time, those were pretty cool, right? Yeah. When the Olympics came around, they always had the boxes with- I-... the athletes on there... 21:46 I saved a whole bunch of those, thinking I'd be rich by now. So- Empty Wheaties boxes or just full? [laughs] They're worth, like, oh, $11, you know? No, they're... I didn't open them. Yeah. 21:53 I was smart enough to know you can't open them. You got to, you know, it's like you get, like, I don't know, a collector's item. You can't open it and play with it. You gotta save it. 22:02 But we got a little break of news during the break. Sounds like in- uh, like, uh, there was always this question, once the GOP selected Lance Russell, he was seen as sort of an extreme candidate to, to, like, 22:17 moderates, traditional chamber of commerce Republicans and Democrats. He seemed like a beatable candidate. 22:23 So the, the, the Dems were gonna maybe recertify, trying to get another convention, because they had already had theirs and just didn't pick a nominee. So 22:36 sounds like they're not gonna have another convention after they had requested one. 22:41 Last week, I talked with some Democratic, um, you know, board members or committee members who said they were waiting on Moné to say yes, 'cause apparently she has to sign off on it, and there was some question on if she could... 22:55 She had to say yes or not. I don't know if, if, like, what's true and what's not, if they're, if that's just convenient excuse or not, but they've withdrawn their request for another convention. 23:10 So they've given up on the AG's race. Yep. Which- Could that just be because they still couldn't find anybody? It just seems... I mean, within the, within the legal community, there are a number of prominent Democrats. 23:23 It just seems odd that they were not able to find somebody in round one to run for that. I think it's kinda odd. From what I'm told, like, they weren't sure they could do it. Moné was kinda holding them up, 23:36 and they just decided not to, like, challenge it in court. So then that tells me there's not any s- good lawyers that want it, because they'd have helped. [laughs] You know, right? You know? 23:49 It just seems a bit perfunctory. Yeah, but I mean, I... They, you know, left some races open there. They left a number of races open when it comes to, like, the legislature. 24:01 And, you know, I guess from my opinion, it just goes back to what we've been talking about, right? I think by and large, um, that message is 24:11 really dominated when it comes to affordability and it comes to public safety, uh, by the Republican Party. 24:16 And I think, uh, when you see, when you look at the primary, when you look at the general The candidates that are really focused on that, um, those are the folk- those are the folks that are gonna go serve, uh, their friends and their neighbors and, and, uh, you know, in South Dakota I think it's awesome that it's a citizen legislature at the end of the day. 24:34 These are people living underneath us, and if you wanna- Well- If you wanna complain to them, you can find them at a baseball game. Yep. You know? You absolutely can. [laughs] I mean, it's... Let's... 24:44 You could get ahold of Thune if you had to, you know, if you're just a normal person. So- I was just asked about this the other day because there were, there... You know, Thune's been in the news a lot. 24:51 Obviously, when you're the leader of the US, uh, Senate, it's a big deal, right? 24:58 [laughs] And, and I just said, "You know how awesome it is that we've got a guy like that who is literally at basketball games, football games?" 25:05 I mean, you're talking maybe one of the top 10 most powerful people in the world, and you can find him anywhere in, in South Dakota, and he will chat with you about the issues of the day, and you know what? 25:18 He's gonna remember your name. And I think we're super lucky with that. Yeah. To have that kind of accessibility. So I wonder- You're not getting that next door in Minnesota. 25:28 I mean, the- those folks are not about talking to you, and they're sure not showing up at the high school, a class B, you know, basketball game. Do you guys, um... You guys have a super majority already. Yes. Right? Yes. 25:41 In the Senate and House. Yeah. In fact, so in my six years of serving, i- it's always been, it's always been that way. 25:48 Well, Dan Ahlers, who's running for governor, he's also the executive director of the party, when he was in here a couple months ago, probably a little longer than that now, um, it was just me and him. 26:00 You, I don't think you were there. I was gonna say, at Dell Rapids Only thing? This- Yeah. Ellis was, like, delivering papers or something. I don't- Who knows? Who knows? Yeah, you... I have no idea. But 26:13 maybe you were at session or something. It was that far long ago. But he was talking about, well, they're not running candidates in these legislative races because y- it's not where you build a bench. 26:23 Like, you gotta do it school board and city council and, like, that's how bad it is for them. They have to start there, where people don't ask which party is, you know? 26:32 And it's kinda like- Well, they've been trying to do that for a while. Ben Nesselhauf was trying to do that, you know, build that bench. Yeah. L- lo- local races, things like that. 26:41 I mean, that, that was an issue in the, uh, in the 2010 mayor's race, right? When... So they've been trying to build that bench a long time, you know? It's coming along slow. Well, yeah. Well, you... 26:52 Rome wasn't built in a day, and I would imagine, like- Well, Ben kinda gave up, right? So, or you get bounced by your committee. And then there you go. It's like the Redskins having a new coach every two years. 27:07 You can't build any continuity. Uh- I don't know if it's that. I mean, I know I've, uh, talked about it a couple times already, but I'm telling you, I... To me, it's about the messaging and who can- Yeah, absolutely... 27:20 can affect the two top things, right? And that's, that's about who's got solutions when it comes to affordability, a stronger economy, and, uh, public safety. 27:28 And I'm telling you, that's, that's what people are talking about- Yeah, but-... as they go east to west, north to south, all over, and, like, literally 70%- I'm talking about Fauci is what I'm talking about. 27:36 The, uh- [laughs] We'll get a little blowback from that. [laughs] Well, I don't care. Yeah. [laughs] I don't care. I don't care if there's blowback on Fauci. 27:45 It means that you haven't looked into the, like, the reality of it, right? Sorry to do a hard right turn here, but, like, it's unequivocal, like- Sometimes I can't keep up with all your clickbait, Joel. 27:55 I don't know what you're- We haven't really written about it, but- It's not us. It's- This is more therapy hour for me. Um, but I will... 28:02 All I'm gonna say is I made it very clear where I stood last week, and I stand by it. Actually, I'm more affirmed, uh, than I was last week. 28:08 But if you still, like, just have the hubris and the ego and the pride to just wanna defend the guy because you've stuck by him before, which is what's happening, um, don't. 28:22 There's nothing to be gained by sticking your neck out for this man. Like, we've... Just take my word for it. If you trust me as a journalist, trust me here. Um, you don't have to call him a villain, right? 28:35 You don't even have to apologize for carrying his water six years ago. But shut the [beep] up- [laughs]... because there's nothing to be gained. Nothing to be gained. 28:46 I s- here's what I did, and I know I'm a bit obsessed with this. Over the weekend- [laughs]... I went back, because I wanna... Why am I so triggered by this? Yeah. 28:54 This isn't normal for me, right, to be triggered by politics. Like, well, especially national stuff. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm like, "Why is this? Like, how do I remember this? If... Is what I'm remembering and recalling true? 29:03 Where, where was I on this stuff? Where's my gut?" I went through every single social media post I made from 2020 to 2024 and screenshotted every single one that had anything to do with COVID or the pandemic. 29:19 There was 468 of them. And, uh, most of them were just, like, news stories, because we were writing a lot of news stories. Yeah. Our own news stories. 29:29 But then there was ones from, like, The Hill, where, uh, uh, April 8th, 2020, uh, Dr. Fauci recomm- uh, says, "Handshakes are gonna have to go away forever." Right, I remember that. 29:39 And, you know, that, that time I was like, "Are we done yet?" Yeah, same buffets were gonna be over with, like- Forever... 15 years. Like, stuff like that. There's... 29:48 Like, I'm, I'm n- I wasn't wrong then in my gut, and I'm not wrong now. But I will say there are two issues here. One is an emotional one. The guy was a dick. 29:57 He thought it was awesome to be famous, and he, like, let that sort of get, get in the way, right? That's an opinion, though. That's an assessment of the situation. 30:08 There's also this other part that's not an, uh, an opinion, and it's that th- he's... They were saying one thing and doing another. 30:18 The one that's actually kind of the most damning is, is suppressing the evidence that ivermectin and those things were effective simply because the manufacturers of the vaccines weren't going to-... 30:31 agree to produce them and invest in them without any assurances that, that, like, the people asking them to would help bat down any competition, you know? 30:40 And then that's, I don't know any way you say it, and that is not an emotional issue. Like, that is deception, uh, in its highest form. So if, 30:49 I'm just gonna- if you're emotional enough about this to continue to, like, wanna defend Dr. Fauci and, and the CDC and how all this went, don't. 30:57 Like, hi- like I said, in spring of 2020, history will prove you wrong, and it will here too. 31:05 So- There's a, there's a, there's a doctor who's been, uh, who's led the Medical Association, somebody I admire a lot, uh, who went out, uh, last week, week before whenever this was the top line story, and just, you know, went after the guy for, "Hey, you know, lots of docs were following you. 31:21 We listened to you, and you betrayed us." Yeah. And I mean, his kind of summary of that was, was fantastic- Yeah... about, about how he, how he felt it. And this is somebody who's- Yeah, good for him... 31:32 yeah, and this is somebody who's a, who's a medical doctor, and I think- Professional... 31:36 I think maybe the right thing to say on that whole thing, where, where you're heading with it, is people should just go ahead and reserve the right to change their mind when more facts come out, right? Yeah. 31:44 I mean, I think that's something that happens in Pierre plenty of times. You find out more things as something's going through the process, and- Yeah... and your mind can be, uh, can, can be changed that way. Um- Yeah... 31:55 so yeah, if you're... I would agree with you. If you're still stuck in the camp of defending that, y- you're just not looking at any of the facts. And- Yeah... 32:02 I mean, you can add that, you can add that, Joe, to a number of the other things, and then, and then going back to, you know, these two top issues. 32:09 And if you're to go out and talk to voters, that is by far and away, you know, when we're talking affordability, public safety, that is what people are bringing up on the bleachers, in the grocery store, anywhere else you go. 32:19 That's it. And then all this other stuff kind of falls to the side, and that's where I'm... When we go back to talking about the Democrat Party, 32:28 they don't seem to have the solutions there, and, uh, I think that's the difference, and South Dakotans recognize that. 32:33 And that's why you're seeing our registration's at the highest number that it's been ever, and theirs at the lowest it's been in recent years. Well, I think it would do a Democrat some g- uh, 32:45 good if you're a candidate to, to throw Fauci under the bus. That'll get you a couple points if you're a Dem running. Knock on your door, "Hey, I'm, I'm running for office. I'm a Democrat. I hate Dr. Fauci." 32:57 Bing, bing, bing. Like, I think you're gonna go up in the polls there. Anyway, uh, what'd you... You got a little blowback? Little- Little, yeah, well- Yeah, you can tell us something there. 33:06 It was- I'm, I'm opening up... it was a little- [laughs] I didn't notice. [laughs] Well, affordability though, like, I wanna, like... 33:14 Like, how does, how does the leg- I mean, legislature doesn't have a ton of, like, power to do that. I mean, you know, let's face it, you're constrained by the Constitution, things that you can do. 33:23 I mean, you know, y- y- what are, what is it some, what are, what are some of the solutions there? 33:28 Well, I think when you're talking about the affordability, it's about how you can make the economy stronger and how you're creating more jobs, better pay, uh, better opportunities for South Dakotans every single day. 33:40 And so you can go into the very simple piece and give a kind of this overview, which is, it, it, that's about what the business climate's like. 33:47 You know, are we making sure that we're keeping government out of the way so private business can thrive? 33:52 Are we doing things that make it conducive that there's more investment from the Dakota Scout, uh, or whoever it might be that wants to, wants to grow their business here? 34:01 And I think those are things, uh, that people think about. And when we're doing that, we're driving money back into people's, people's pockets overall. So do you think that- No advertising tax, sales tax. 34:11 Yeah, no advertising tax, you know? [laughs] I mean, you're ta- I mean- Lobbying here. Yeah. [laughs] Do you, uh, I mean- That comes up like every single year too, and every- Yeah, well, they're looking for places to... 34:22 Well- Well, where would they go, right? I mean, this is what kills me when somebody's brings this advertising tax. 34:26 Like, ev- most all of these things that come there, and they think that, you know, some, you know, uh, I don't know, magical fairy's gonna pay for this. 34:33 But at the end of the day, if you're charging more for your advertising tax, guess who pays for that on the goods and services they buy? That's the hardworking folks of South Dakota. Yeah. 34:41 And so that's why, yeah, you eliminate those things, and you keep them eliminated. You- Well, it's less money for businesses to spend on advertising You know, you know they're gonna pass it through- And then-... 34:51 in their end of, in their end product, right? So at the, at the end of the day- Yeah... 34:54 it's about driving that dollar back to the people of South Dakota It slows the economy 'cause businesses don't have as much money to spread the word about what they're doing, you know? 35:02 So- Well, last time you were in, you talked, we talked about data centers, and obviously there's some legislation that kinda curtailled that. You've got, you've seen how New York has put a ban on moratorium on them. 35:14 Some other states are moving to do some of that stuff. More... Since you've been in, more information has really kinda come out about this anti-data center movement. 35:26 A lot of this is being propelled on social media by Chinese communists, Russians, Iranians, people who don't, or people who don't want to have, uh, the United States to, you know- To lead... 35:38 to be forward in A- AI- Yeah, in that area... ventures. With fencing, yeah. Um, do, do you think that that's kind of 35:45 more of your colleagues are sensing, like, this, that, this, the, the negative, negativity is be- is actually w- our enemies are actually the ones that are driving a lot of that? I don't know. 35:54 I mean, there's a, there's a ton of misinformation a- and things are out there. 35:59 I also think that there's some really, uh, good paths to, to doing this in a responsible way, and I think the White House, uh, about two weeks ago, um, they released something on this to make sure that data centers pay their own way. 36:13 Sure. 36:13 Um, that the investments around it are making the lives of people, uh, that live in those areas better, that they're not built in places that, uh, you know, don't work with the neighborhoods and, you know, lots of these things. 36:25 And in South Dakota, we've, we've done a lot of this work already to, to, to try to do that. Now, we don't have a lot of these large investment ones happening either. 36:33 Um, but I think the White House really laid out a great plan for that, and they asked different legislators that they wanted to sign on to support where they're at, which is making sure that they pay their own way and that the American people ultimately benefit from these. 36:45 And those are, that is something that I signed on immediately to and I think is, is probably the framework that I see the rest of the, the rest of the country, uh, working through this in a responsible way. Mm-hmm. 36:56 That they're located where You know, when they're built, that they're only located where that is a good spot for them to be Where they're wanted. Yeah, and that they don't increase electric costs. 37:06 I think there's some great ideas out there when you look at generation coming from, you know, background in the energy world, but I think there's a ton of, uh, opportunities where the generation that they might need, they can pay for and that consumers can benefit off of if we do that the right way. 37:23 Um, so I think there's some opportunities to do that. I think there's opportunities, um, in other places to lower, uh, lower property tax based on them. Mm-hmm. 37:31 But there's a right way to do them, um, there's a right way to do them and a wrong way, and, um, I think, like I said, I think the White House is really leading in which the, what that framework looks like going into the future for us to, to do them the right way where it benefits the people, 37:47 um, but also makes dang sure that we stay in front of China and some of these others because, uh, I think that's a real, real threat. Well, you know what they do with NIMBYism in China, they just bulldoze you. 38:00 Well, if China runs all the data centers, they'll say Fauci's the good guy. [laughs] Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. They'll say all kinds of things, I think. So, um, I think that, I think that, you know, there... 38:13 I mean, going back to that, I think there's some states that have done this horribly wrong. Yeah. 38:17 Um, and there's states that have learned from that, and there's a pathway now of how you do this in a responsible way, when you have to do it, where you have to do it, um, while also protecting the environment that, that exists. 38:29 And so, uh, I think those things are out there as well. So is that issue coming back to the legislature, you think, in some way? You know, I don't know if it will or not. 38:36 I mean, last year we passed Senate Bill 135, which made sure that we were really protecting the, uh, the rate payers that were out there, uh, water quality. Uh, so I think that was a lot of the discussion. 38:46 I don't know- Was that Carr's bill? Was that the- It was, um, yes, uh, Senator Carr had that on the Senate side. Okay. Bill of Rights. And so- Was that the Bill of Rights one? Yeah. Yeah, okay. So that went out there. 38:58 That put, put some of that framework together. I mean, y- you know, in a lot of other things locally we have the other pieces, right, when it comes to, uh, where you site these things. 39:06 I mean, the, the folks locally would have to want this, um, for that to happen. And so I think we've done some things. 39:14 Again, I think, uh, following what, uh, the White House has put out for their framework is probably a, a smart way to do it. Do I think this is gonna be number one issue of the session? 39:23 You know, I don't, I don't think so. Well, what is gonna be the number one issue of the session? You never know. You never, you always Uh, uh, when you, till you, till you get there. Yeah. 39:30 I mean, that, that one I think, you know, I, I don't, I don't see... You know, I'm not hearing a lot, uh, on that one right now. 39:38 I think there's, I think there's some public safety things, uh, that still remain out there, right, that, that, that are coming up. 39:44 Uh, we've got some, uh, we've got some folks that are working on an EMS study, which matters a lot- Mm... in our rural communities. 39:50 I mean, these are real things that we're facing every single day is how are we gonna make sure that ambulance shows up, um, and our first responders have the, have the funds they need to take care of things. 39:59 So I think that's a big thing. Uh, I know Senator Reed and Senator Otten are spending a lot of time with that. Um, so I think that's gonna be one thing. 40:06 Um, and I, I know there's a number of others that are out there, but those are some things that come to top of mind. Well, you know- 40:14 I'm, I'm still trying to recover from the last legislative session, so I don't really... I guess I don't wanna start talking about the next one. It was a little bit of a whirlwind, that's for sure. Well, yeah. 40:22 But I, I, I do think, you know, you're gonna start to see the legislature, uh, I think you're gonna see the Senate and the House start to form, uh, their agenda, you know, in the fall, and work closely with the governor's office as we, as we form that, on the things that we need to, need to take care of. 40:39 You know, we, we talked about, uh, making sure things are affordable, making sure that, uh, our families and communities are safe. Those are things are out there. 40:46 We also know that we've got, you know, this EMS stuff that we're picking up. We've got, uh, some election, uh, uh, bills that were coming, right, where we couldn't early vote. 40:54 That was, you know, there were some things that went on early there in the, in the primary things, depending on counties. 40:59 And so there's just some things that are out there to, that, that I think we can fix in that point- There's some fixes you need to make... for agenda. They're fixes. Yeah. 41:06 Um, I think the best analogy sometimes you can use for the legislature is, um, you know, at the end of the day, you're, you're plumbers. You're, you're just fixing some of the problems. 41:15 And so we, we know we've got some of those problems to fix and, and so it's, it's maybe less about some of these large national issues and more about those- Sometimes the legislature's like a plumber that cranks too hard on the thing and 41:27 then it just... [laughs] It blows over. It blows over. Yeah. Uh, I love how you tied that right back into the, uh, right after you tell the story of how you were hiding in the bathroom up there. [laughs] Yeah. 41:36 [laughs] Full circle there. Uh, well, thanks for coming in, Casey, Senator. Good luck in your election. I'm gonna say 83-17. Well, thanks for having me on and for the encouraging words. 41:49 We'll work hard, and we'll talk to folks, and, uh, and I hope to get the chance, uh, to get back out and work with my colleagues and make South Dakota a little stronger. The, uh... Well, I'm gone. 41:59 We gotta keep an eye on the rally tally. See how it compares to last year and the year before and the year before. Thanks to BL Distributing, June Sleep System, Senator Crabtree. News tips welcome. Thanks. 42:10 [outro music]
