Transcript 0:00 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. 0:10 Juno Sleep Systems in Sioux Falls and online at junosleep.com. What's your big picture? To fix my fixer upper. To be done renting. To make more room. 0:22 [laughs] If a great home is in your big picture, First Bank and Trust can help you navigate buying, building, or remodeling with local mortgage experts who make it easy. To give Hazel a big backyard. 0:35 Find out how First Bank and Trust makes home buying easier at bankeasy.com. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender, NMLS 409296. 0:45 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. 0:58 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. 1:10 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. 1:21 Its Lewis and Clark inspired logo reflects its mission, charting new territory in a new era of South Dakota journalism. 1:29 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. Let me grab my car keys and we'll roll. 1:47 Are we still going to that new bar downtown? Yeah, it's supposed to be fun. Lexi, give me driving directions from home to downtown bar district. Autocorrect. Suggest Uber. Pick up home. Drop off downtown bar district. 2:00 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. 2:08 Decide to ride, brought to you in partnership by Anheuser-Busch, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and Uber. This message brought to you by Beal Distributing of Sioux Falls. 2:15 [upbeat rock music] Welcome to The Scouting Lounge, a weekly program of The Dakota Scout newspaper based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 2:40 I'm Joe Sneve trying to grab my beverage that isn't cracked yet. 2:44 This program's sponsored by Beal Distributing and Juno Sleep Systems and First Bank and Trust, which is probably gonna have to raise interest rates on CDs because, uh, the Fed defied Donald Trump, but that's, that's a different show. 2:58 Uh, my partner in crime is not here. He is on a well-deserved vacation to the Great Lakes. Uh, dude hasn't really had a vacation in four years, so it's well-earned, but I think he'll be back in time to do paper route. 3:14 So, but I am not alone. We have return guest, uh, soon to have a really boring job potentially, uh, Public Utilities Commission candidate, former lawmaker, former AFP director, 3:32 f- current father, uh, state's attorney of Minnehaha County. One other title, husband. So many titles. Grandfather. So many titles. And what's your proudest one, you think? So- Oh, absolutely father. Okay. 100%. 3:48 Hey, Chadwick. Chad walks in. He's back. So we're gonna- Let me know if you need pictures. We do. All right. Eventually, but we'll be in it for a little while, so... 3:57 100% dad, and I am thrilled that Jonathan is going on a fact-finding mission to the Great Lakes so he can visit, uh, uh, Lake America and the others. Lake America. Yep, yep. Thrilled. But- Well-... 4:12 uh, happy to be here, of course. Yeah. Well, last time we talked, or, well, we speak fairly often, but on or around a microphone I guess, was at convention. Sure was. 4:24 In a really loud cafeteria area, where every time we started to get some good content some guy was breaking down boxes or something, so... But, n- it was a good... I think it was a fine interview, though. 4:38 Uh, and you were, you were glowing from a win. Although it was closer than you had thought, we don't have to revisit that. The, uh, welcome in. Think this is at least your third time on the program. Fourth, maybe. 4:51 Yeah, I've lost count, but the... It's been several times. Yeah, so- And, and always it's, uh, just a life-changing experience every single time. Yeah, well, um, you don't have to lie. 5:02 [laughs] So, uh, but congratulations on that win. Uh, now you're f- we're, we're fully immersed into general election season. Uh, this is not a convention race anymore for you. 5:16 Uh, it's a head-to-head v- verse a across the aisle. Our gu- our, our readers, readers, our listeners, um, tuned in last week, heard from your opponent. Uh, you are not the same candidate as your opponent. 5:32 You're, uh, not just in the letter next to your name, but I think your approach in this campaign has been different. What is your approach and, and I guess is, are you running just- Well-... you, not to lose? 5:46 Like you're not running from behind here. Well, there are quite a few differences, um, between, uh, my opponent and I, but the reason I'm running is, uh, y- energy policy in this state, um, 6:01 w- and just as we look toward the future of our state, uh, it's a big deal. I mean, you, you called it a pretty boring job, but I would say it's a pretty important job. And my concern- That's, uh, often the case. 6:13 And- Yeah. And my concern is that we make sure that energy remained affordable and reliable and that at all costs, uh, you know, a PUC commissioner's job is to protect the consumer. 6:30 And so those are the principles, uh, that, that really define what I'm, what my vision is for my role as a Public Utilities Commissioner. You know, 6:42 I don't do my homework before we start these things, so this is a very free flow- You fly by night, or fly by the seat of your pants. Tell me... a- and I, you know, I don't, I don't think it, uh... 6:53 I hope you don't think it's baggage on your sort of bio- bio or background, because I certainly don't. Uh, but your time with AFP makes it ironic that you're now running for a regulator job, right? 7:06 Have you considered the irony there? [laughs] Oh, 100%. 7:10 And, uh, the, the, the s- story I like to tell is, uh, you know, when I talked to my wife about running for this position, uh, and she goes, uh, you know, "Don, uh, you have, uh, you have all your career as a, as a legislator and, uh, in your work with Americans for Prosperity, you have fought for less regulation, and now you be, now you wanna be a regulator." 7:35 And she goes, "Are you okay?" Yeah. [laughs] And, and the, the, the right answer, I mean, we laugh, but then the right answer is, "Yeah, we need to make sure we regulate the right way." Yeah. 7:47 Uh, and it's not a partisan way. Um, and it's not, uh, going into that position with any kind of bias toward or against anything else. 7:55 But it's w- it's taking a look at what the legislature's vision is, uh, what they have passed, what laws they've passed, and making sure we're interpreting them fairly when folks come to us with a case. Do you, uh... 8:11 I mean, you guys are regulators in fa- in that you're enforcing the rules in which the legislators have- That's correct. 8:19 The legislature sets policy, and the job of the Public Utilities Commission is to interpret that while, again, as I said before, protecting, uh, South Dakota taxpayers and consumers. How did, uh... 8:35 I mean, does your prior pos- your prior gigs help you be... Well, if you win this race, will your prior gigs have helped you be a better commissioner? Oh, I think so. Uh, uh, 100% I think so. 8:50 You know, I, I call myself a recovering legislator. 8:53 Um, but my time in the legislature, especially in leadership in the legislature, uh, helped me understand, uh, how it works and how to make it work for people, for the regular citizen. So that I get. 9:10 And, uh, even my work, uh, with, uh, with Americans for Prosperity, which was a nonprofit organization, a nonpartisan organization, um, I got exposed to a lot of, um, we'll call it energy subject matter experts. Mm-hmm. 9:27 And of course, the big thing you'll hear Americans for Prosperity talk about right now is affordability. And 100%, that is the most important thing that's on people's minds today. What's the price of gas? 9:40 What's the price of groceries? And how about, how about electric bill? Can we keep our electric bill under control? Price of gas, that's our subject today. I hear you. Went up a dollar. I drive, I drive a Ford F-150. 9:54 How do you think I feel about that? Jiminy Crickets. I think, uh, I think I ran one. [laughs] It kinda feels like it. Uh, we're all getting kicked in the teeth here. 10:06 I think it's time to start seeing little Trump stickers on the gas pumps like we did with Biden that pointed like, "I did that." Uh, it's only fair, credit where credit's due. 10:17 That's a, that's a whole nother discussion- Yeah... for another day. But Tru- I mean, I don't... If you were in a different state running for this office, that would be a real problem right now, wouldn't it? Well, 10:29 look, a- again, I'm just gonna keep coming back to what I talked about before. Affordability is an issue everywhere. R- uh, and, you know, affordability was an issue under the previous president. 10:41 Affordability is an issue today. Right. But what I mean is in a state with a healthier opposition party- Oh... 10:47 you know, uh, the, the, uh, unfavorable period for the president of your party, you know, of the country that's in your party would be a drag in which it could, it could knock some 11:00 Republicans off in other states, I think. Yeah. You know, I hear what you're saying, but, uh, again, you know, my approach really isn't partisan at all anyway. Yeah. 11:09 You know, when I talk about affordability and, and reliability of power, everyone wants that. 11:14 And, and of course, it's important to protect property rights as well, and I've always been a strong proponent of property rights, landowner rights. 11:22 So, uh, I think those are messages that cut across the, the political spectrum. Yeah. And this is a, this is not nearly the kind of, uh, uh, you know, partisan kind of 11:37 position that, that others might be running. So you're not gonna, like, call your opponent woke? [laughs] You're not gonna use, like, transgender issues to undercut your opponent in a PUC race? 11:52 Uh, I, I, I don't think I'll have to go there. Yeah. Well- That's right... you stay out of the fray, I suppose, with the PUC. Um, the... You know, you said you try to... It's a nonpartisan position, uh, race. 12:08 That's different. I mean, some issues aren't partisan. Some issues are just issues, right? We're seeing horseshoe effect everywhere right now. Um- 12:17 But you have done more than your opponent has to kind of avoid planting flags on issues during this race. Well, there's a pretty good reason for that. 12:27 A- and the reason is, uh, y- you know, when a, when a, a case comes before the Public Utilities Commission, and they're called dockets, and pub- Public Utilities commissioners are, um, quasi-judicial. 12:42 So they're supposed to be unbiased when issues come before them to be, to be settled or negotiated, whatever the case is. 12:51 And so if I were to take a position, a strong position on, on a transmission line, or, "Hey, I oppose a transmission line," I would be, um... 13:03 I would have to recuse myself, or the, the attorneys would throw me off the, the, the panel, uh, for consideration of that. 13:13 And, uh, I would argue that my, my opponent probably has already done that, uh, on both transmission lines and data centers. Uh, so the very issues he says he cares about, he wouldn't be able to vote on. 13:26 The, you know, data centers themselves wouldn't be going before the PUC, right? It would be their energy providers. That's, that's correct. So how, 13:38 I mean, how nitty-gritty- But it is, it is my job, or it's the PUC's job, and it's going to be my role to protect people from data center abuse. 13:48 A- and that's important, 'cause a- again, you remember I talked to you earlier about, I mentioned protecting consumers, and that's- Yeah... that still is central to what I, what I plan to do. Oh, I know it. 13:59 Uh, Chris Nelson, the commissioner, had always told me you gotta read a lot, and- Yeah, yeah... you get really into the weeds. I mean, what's smaller? Like you g- you get, 14:08 more so than even in the weeds, you probably get into the chloroform, right? [laughs] Or, or whatever the photosynthesis juices are in a plant or something, or the atoms. 14:18 You're getting way down in there deconstructing these things, right? And, uh, proposals, justifications for proposed rate increases. How, and do you know yet how, 14:32 how, uh, granular the information you're gonna get is, and can you really draw a line to, to unique customers? Well, that's a great question. A- and I will tell you that I, 14:43 um, I probably don't know as much as I need to know yet. Um, but I've already been really diving into that. And, uh, uh, we have great staff. 14:54 We have a fantastic staff up in Pierre, uh, that really does do a lot of that research for us, and then it makes it easy us, easier for us to ask the right questions- Mm-hmm... uh, about cases that come before us. 15:07 But, um, thankfully, and fortunately, I'm, I'm kind of a, a, a nerd when it comes to reading. 15:15 And I have an MBA, so I like to, I like to look at numbers a lot and, and, uh, and draw conclusions, and I know the right questions to ask because of that experience. The, uh, 15:27 when you said we got this great staff that does the research for us, it reminded me of, like, high school, where, like, the, like, the jocks get the nerds to... But then you brought up the nerd thing. 15:35 Like, you're the nerd. So- Thanks a lot. Yeah. The, uh... I, I don't think it's quite like Fast Times at Ridgemont- No, it's not... or anything up at the Capitol. But, um, well, 15:48 it, it strikes me as interesting when the data center all started coming up, uh, Xcel was in front of the council kind of explaining how th- it works through their prism. 15:59 Um, I did a story at the time about commissioners now saying, "Hey, we have this standard that you can't pass costs on. Like, new, new energy users, customers can't... 16:13 Their co- their burdens can't be put on existing customers." At the time, that really wasn't the law. Um, it was just kind of this- Well, it is now. It is now. 16:22 And yeah, there's something called the Data Center Citizens Bill of Rights, and there are three primary principles that set out, are set out in that bill or that law now. 16:34 Uh, but the two most important ones in my eyes, number one, any data center related cost, uh, especially for studies and so on, uh, can't get passed on to consumers. Uh, that's a big deal. 16:51 And then number two, uh, uh, the local community, whether that's, um, a county government or municipal government, they have to be involved. 17:03 And those two principles I think are a pretty good check and balance on whether or not anything like a data center were to advance in South Dakota. But, uh, so I, I think, I think we let that law work. 17:19 Um, and I think that's a good filter through which to review, uh, any proposed rate changes or things like that that an investor-owned utility might come to us with. The, uh, when they, when utilities propose... 17:36 And PUC, utility rates aren't the only thing it does, right? But, and we'll get off this here. It's, yeah, it's kind of, it's one of the big... There's five things, but it's, it's probably- It's the one that people feel. 17:47 It's probably the one people feel the most. The, uh, what was I gonna say here? When you... Like, if you're, if you're on this, uh, 18:00 the utility companies come to you, they propose a rate increase, they show justification. They might say they want an 18% increase. Probably, probably not that high, but maybe. 18:12 Um, and then you guys come, or the PUC comes back and says, "Nah, you really only need 9," right? So then you, they get a 9% approval. 18:22 Is that inherently set up so, like, they're gonna shoot high, and then, you know, they know it's c- you're gonna... Like, the PUC. It's an, it's the art of the deal, right? I mean, how do you avoid that? Is it possible? 18:33 Well, you know, I, I, I'm told that that's kinda the way that goes. Uh, at the end of the day, the most important thing for me is that final number. I wanna make sure that's right. Look, uh, again, 18:51 utilities need to make enough money so that the, the provision of power, uh, is reliable to us. So they have to, pretty much on an annual basis, upgrade some lines, replace old lines that are, that are 40, 50 years old. 19:10 So there's always some ongoing costs. And as you know, in the past, uh, couple of decades, we've had our share of inflation, so guess what? Materials cost more. Uh, salaries are higher. 19:23 Landmen, uh, and construction work costs more than it used to. So- Insurance... so yeah, you name it, insurance, uh, everything. And, and so it's not unreasonable for them to ask for money. Uh, but, but our, 19:42 I think our calling is to make sure that, uh, the rate increase, if there is one, uh, that they ask for is, it complies with the law and is reasonable, covers the costs that, that are, 19:58 I think, presented and not more than that. How many miles have you put on during the campaign? Oh, I, uh... It's probably good that I don't keep track of that. 20:10 Are you- I kind of do, but, uh, you know, I haven't checked for quite a while. Is, is it like- And it, it'll probably, probably be horrifying. Is it, [laughs] is it, well, especially now with gas prices- Yes, exactly... 20:21 the, uh, is that like a five-day-a-week deal campaigning for a statewide? Well, depends. I mean, there's not five days of travel. Um, but, uh, I do campaign work every day, of course. Yeah. 20:35 Well, there's always someone- I'm getting really good at putting in signs. Yeah, I saw y'all putting in signs last week. So it was, uh, 20:44 think it was a little windy, but if you waited for no wind in South Dakota, you'd wait forever, so. Correct. Yeah, uh, what else is cooking? How was your summer? [laughs] Travel? Summer's good. Travel for fun, I mean. 20:59 Anywhere? Uh, n- no, I, I have not done that. Uh, I'll go vicariously with Jonathan up to the, out to the Great Lakes. The, if you win on November 3rd, you'd be sworn in in early January. 21:14 Is that sort of the last- Well-... vac- There's no vac-... there's no vacation for quite a while. Well, you- You know, I will-... squeeze it in, right? 21:23 I will be, uh, I'll be in Pierre, um, full time, I'm sure, during the session. And then I would expect as, as I try to climb the learning curve, um, those next few months I'll be spending a lot more time in Pierre than 21:43 potentially I would once I kinda- Yeah... hit fourth gear. Well, now that you have AI at your disposal, you can just ask AI if you should approve these permits or not. Can I? Uh, [laughs] I don't know. 21:56 You'd have to probably p- buy, like, the paid account of the, of the ChatGPT, otherwise it would hit the processing limit. [laughs] You know, uh, 22:06 I think of AI, uh, and I do use several AI tools personally, but, uh, they are tools. And some, some, some of those tools are Craftsman and some are those really cheap ones that you get as a gift for Christmas. 22:22 Yeah, and the stocking stuffer. Yeah. [laughs] That's right. Yeah. So, so, you know, y- y- and there is a saying, uh, in, in the computer world, garbage in, garbage out. So you have to be very careful 22:35 about, uh, what, what you're getting, uh, because I've seen it deliver completely inaccurate information, so. Yeah. So I always... I- if it does anything for us, it would be good. 22:49 It's gonna help us improve critical thinking skills if we, if we use it the right way. Hopefully. Although it feels like it's going the other way at this point. But- Hmm... 23:00 do you, what do you make of this week there was a bunch of hubbub about AI's gonna kill us all, and it needs to be regulated. Um, I think Kennedy proposed a kill switch mandate. 23:15 Rand Paul, of course, is like, "Nah, we can't be stifling technological innovation." 23:22 You know, where do you come down on all that philosophically as a- Yeah, philos- yeah, philosophically and my worldview generally is if the government's getting involved, it's probably gonna make it worse. 23:32 And, uh, you know, I like the idea of the market, the free market basically finding the best solutions, the most, most efficient solutions. That's usually the way that works, and I don't... 23:45 I view that the same way I view AI, through that lens. Well, I find it very, I don't know, cognitive dissonance or at least sort of a lack of thoughtfulness that people aren't kinda connecting the dots here. 24:01 Like, the AI corporations, the or- the AI creators, the software developers are asking- Asking for regulation... for the regulation. Like, well, you could govern yourself here. 24:16 Why do you need government to come in and tell you how to restrain your creation? Uh- I've, I've asked myself the same question and, and sometimes I think are they trying to ask for a vaccination- 24:29 Because if they don't ask for what they think they need, something worse might come down the line. Yeah. I, you know, I, I don't know Or is it, is it turf war? Or is it, is it- And-... 24:39 barrier to entry creating- Or it could be something like that. And I, you know, and candidly, I haven't had the time to really look at that closely. Well, personally, I'm kinda with you here that, um, 24:51 yeah, I mean, I've, I haven't really found an example of anything the government touched that was, like- Im-... improved... improved, yeah. You know, I mean, from school to space tr- uh, exploration, 25:04 uh, higher education, I don't know, transportation. Uh- Uh- If any of the listeners can think of an example... Uh, they did all right with highways. Maybe. Maybe. Depends where you're at, I suppose. Depends. 25:20 Depends where the potholes are, I guess. Yeah. Uh, I will say I don't think h- this collective of ours could do any better. Uh- I think we have really good prosecutors, uh, in this- Ch- [laughs]... 25:32 in this, uh, in this county. You know, I'm a fan of your son. Uh, but I also have a hard time voting for, for prosecutors that run for higher office because they made a career out of taking away people's liberty. 25:46 [laughs] So, uh, if, should your son ever run for statewide office, I'll have a real dilemma here. So, uh, but shout out to, uh, Daniel Hager. I mean, he's in his fourth year in that job site? I think that's right. 25:59 Or fifth. Is it fifth? Yeah. Because he was unopposed, uh, when he ran- Oh, he ran again... last, last time, so it must be five, right? Yeah. 26:06 Well, I saw him at a press conference this week where the, uh, public safety h- Don't ask me about flock cameras... well, okay. [laughs] What's your big picture? To keep the farm in the family. To pay off the loan. 26:24 To start my own operation. To drive grandpa's combine. Right, grandpa? If owning a successful operation is in your big picture, First Bank & Trust has ag experts to help you plan for the future. To diversify. 26:38 To teach her how to drive a combine. Find out how First Bank & Trust makes managing your farm easier at bankeasy.com. Member FDIC. Introducing Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda. 26:51 Classic cola, cherry cola, citrus soda, and orange soda. [soda can opens] [soda pours] You hear that? It's seltzer with the pop of soda. Flavor. All with zero sugar. Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda, the loudest flavors ever. 27:06 [soda can opens] [soda pours] Ah. Enjoy responsibly. Anheuser-Busch Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda. IRC Beers, St. Louis, Missouri. Distributed by Biel Distributing, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 27:19 Thanks again to First Bank & Trust. You know, get, think about getting a CD 'cause, you know, uh, Federal Reserve got tired of all the inflation and, and raised the, the rates. 27:31 Uh, I w- I wanna ask you how you feel about that, candidate Don. Uh, thank you to June Asleep Systems and Biel Distributing. Hello to our friend Arch Biel. Uh, 27:43 heard, heard, uh, some good news around Biel Distributing and Mr. Biel. Hope he's doing well. I think, I think he is. So, uh, you said you'll be at session if you win quite a bit. What... 27:58 And then earlier you also said the commission does five, has, like, five responsibilities or five areas. There are five primary functions of the Public Utilities Commission. 28:07 So we got utilities- In addition to, in addition to, um, electric rates, uh, and, um, siting of transmission lines, we also oversee pipeline siting. 28:24 We, uh, work with telecommunications a little bit. Uh, we provide, the Public Utilities Commission provides, uh, oversight of grain warehousing. 28:36 Well, in South Dakota that's a big deal, you know, 'cause a lot of wealth gets transferred through, uh, you know, through elevators and cooperatives. 28:46 And then, uh, we also handle the, uh, what's called the do not call list. Hmm. There are times, uh, where I've thought, uh, that should be expanded to include d- do not texting. 28:59 But then I remember that if the government got involved it would probably make it worse. So, uh, so I, I like the do not call list right where it's at. 29:10 I, I ironically did not realize that that was part of the purview of the PUC earlier this week when I had a conversation with somebody who was complaining about 29:18 a candidate for PUC refusing to take her off their call list, and it wasn't the one I'm sitting in the room with right now. So, uh, I thought that was a bit ironic. I haven't verified that, but, like, allegedly. Hmm. 29:29 Uh, but so the... Was that three or four? We- Did I cut you off? We covered all the main- Okay... main issues there. What do you think is gonna be the most, like, pain in the ass? 29:41 [laughs] Sh- uh, you know, they're, uh, I think they're all important in their own way. Um, but I would tell you, uh, that the thing that's, I think, I'm not gonna say unique, but, 29:59 uh, challenging for the Public Utilities Commission is the grid isn't just in South Dakota. 30:06 It's a interstate connected grid, and we have a, we have the Southwest, uh, Power Pool, uh, which serves quite a bit of the state. We have something called MISO that serves, uh, I wanna say it's 13 or 14 states and 30:23 a Canadian province. Uh, and they all get together and they talk about, um, largely wholesale rates and some tariffs or, or rates that they'll charge to the 30:37 To the cooperatives and the, the, the providers of power to consumers. You know, think, think, uh, municipalities and so on. 30:48 And that gets complicated because now you're talking about being in an organization that, and we're part of those, that, uh, deals with different states that have very different laws from South Dakota. Mm. 31:02 And so- Right... our job as Public Utilities Commissioner is, is, is to make sure that we're protecting South Dakota consumers when we're dealing with those organizations. So you're like the governor of electricity. 31:17 [laughs] Uh, uh, far from that. Well- I, I wish we had that much influence on our, on our rates in South Dakota. 31:26 Well, you're talking about, like, we're a part of, like, the, our electricity footprint, infrastructure's a part of a broader grid that is, has, we have to cooperate and interact with other entities. 31:39 If there was an analogy to use, it might be more like we're a member of the electricity- Competitors... uh, legislature. Oh, okay [laughs]. So, um- And- And, and even then, uh, it's not like it's 31:56 we vote this way and it's done this way. It's not even like that. Yeah. So it's just, it's very complicated, and I'm not gonna claim to be a subject matter expert on that. 32:05 Sounds like the New World Order is what it sounds- [laughs] They've ceded all their power away. Uh, I heard they, they offered, the EU offered Canada an associated membership to the EU, first time ever. Interesting. 32:20 I wonder if that's our fault. So I wonder what that's like with, you said they serve that M- MISO, would you call it? They serve a province of Canada. Yeah. Do we pick on them, like kinda elbow them out? 32:33 The Canada guys get to pay all the extra money? Uh, they'll make them pay for a data center electricity consumption. Some of those organizations we have more influence in how they operate, and others we have less. 32:47 It, it's almost maybe a better way of putting it, and boy, I'm probably gonna get in trouble with Chris Nelson and Kristy Fegen because I'm just kinda shooting from the hip here. 32:56 But maybe we're more like a board of directors, uh, on those organizations. Yeah. But, um, they probably have a better analogy or better way of explaining that. 33:09 But the bottom line is these utilities and organizations like those operate in multiple states with multiple regulatory environments. 33:21 Ours is actually pretty good in the whole grand scheme of things, our regulatory environment, and, uh, people don't probably realize that our rates are actually, um, relatively low. 33:33 We're like 16th, I think, in the nation, 16th lowest. So, uh, you know, I'll do my best to keep it there. So what if the MISO or whatever, mesothelioma, that's not what it is, what if they just didn't listen? 33:48 You should probably put that, that drink down. [laughs] Yeah. But what's your question again? Well, what if they don't listen? 33:55 Is it kinda like the UN, where, like, Iran or Russia just, like, doesn't listen and then we're like, "Okay, we're gonna write you a strongly worded letter"? [laughs] Well, uh, I don't think it's... 34:07 You know, I imagine we have various remedies, um- Leisure... you know, and, and, but I'm not gonna tell you I have a full understanding or appreciation of that. 34:18 We could seize it from them and give it to some other utility- Yeah, I don't think-... that's run... I don't think we would win in that sort of a scenario. 34:26 [laughs] Electricity- We're, we're, we are, by the way, probably the most, uh, we m- we deploy the most renewable energy of any state, percentage-wise, of any state in the country. Ever wind? 34:40 Uh, well, we have wind, of course, uh, but primarily it's our hydroelectric from the dam system, and then we've got some solar as well. Interesting. So- So what about nuclear? Where's that going? 34:52 Yeah, well- Is that really gonna happen? [laughs] Well, I would, I would venture to guess it's eventually gonna happen. We're, we're quite a ways from that. Uh, I think, I think it's being studied. 35:06 I know it's being studied, and I think that's a good thing, but, um, uh, it has to be economical, right? Uh, I'm not interested, I mean, this would not be my role anyway, but 35:20 I doubt very much that you'll find legislators or policymakers that are gonna wanna throw a whole bunch of, uh, tax breaks and tax credits at something like that. And, and, uh, but I, I don't think that 35:34 so much of that is, I will tell you, so much of that is still in the, at an experimental stage. I think once they figure that out, I, I suspect you'll see a lot more interest from utilities in developing some of those. 35:48 Well, if you think it's hard to get a data center permitted right now, how about a nuclear plant? Well, you know what? We, uh, our country's been doing it safe for what, seven, 60 years on submarines and- Yeah... 36:02 aircraft carriers. I, I think we're pretty good at it here in the United States. And so 36:08 turning it and keeping it in a relatively small scale, like think about it on those ships, those submarines, it's pretty, it's pretty well-contained. Yeah. Uh, it's not like a Three Mile Island, you know, 300 acre site. 36:23 Mm-hmm. So it's, they're, they're smaller. But, uh, I'm intrigued, but, uh, a- again, at the end of the day, it's all about the economics. It'll be a ways off. 36:32 I just mean in this climate, I mean, we might be good at it, it might be safe, but so data centers might be safe, they might not cost as much money or use as much water. 36:43 The public doesn't seem to care about facts in some, some capacity these days. So I wonder, uh- I think pretty, I think it'd be really tough right now in this environment. 36:54 But like you said, we're a ways off, so things could change in the next 10, 15 years, and I bet they will. 37:00 The, uh- Yeah, I think the education piece is a pretty big deal, and, and, um, and then just studying and make sure we're doing it right. You know, and that's... And w- you know, we're not market leaders in 37:14 data centers either, so I think the steps that the legislature took this last, uh, year, they learned lessons from other states. 37:24 And so I'm, I'm proud of the m- the legislature for protecting consumers, protecting South Dakotans that way. I found it kind of humorous last year when we... Maybe you were there. The MMS 37:38 deal with the m- or the munitions warheads that they were building up in North Sioux Falls, and had been for a couple year or two, and pretty top secret I guess. 37:49 The neighbors had no idea they were building bombs over there. [laughs] I don't think that would, uh, that might have caused a little bit of a stir if... 37:59 But you know, like the old Janklow way, like keep it, keep it in the oven until it's baked, and then they'll be having no choice but to eat the cake, so. All right. Well, appreciate, yeah, what do we have? Uh, 45 days? 38:14 I think it's something like that. Yeah. Yeah. 45 days. Yeah. Um- Get your ad in now. Get your ads in. Uh, I wish you luck on the campaign. 38:23 That's what everyone, that's what everyone tells me is, uh, I ought to be placing ads, and that's, and they're right. Um- Sorry we couldn't get you in debating. You know, I would've enjoyed a discussion. 38:34 Uh, uh, you know, I've, I, I know my opponent and, you know, I get along with him and it would've been, would've been, um, I think, uh, informative. There was some- You know? 38:45 There was ambitions to have you- Doesn't, doesn't always work out, so. Yeah. We, I mean, there was some ambitions and some energy to get you both in here at the same time. Hmm. 38:52 Uh, I don't know if I would call it a debate. More of a- Right... more of a- That's not, that's not what we do down here... No, we sit around and you guys, our guests just kind of tolerate me. I mean, they try to. 39:05 Well, I don't know if that's, that's, that's maybe- [laughs] Wishful thinking... a bit much. Yeah. Wishful thinking. So, well, I'm sorry you g- you missed Jonathan. Uh- I am too, but I, but I understand. 39:17 We'll have you back, win or lose. Come on alone, head for the mountains of Busch Beer. Head for the mountains, it's cold and it's smooth and it's waiting for you. Come on, head for the mountains of Busch Beer. 39:36 Head for the mountains of Busch. Head for the mountains of Busch Light Beer. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2022. Anheuser-Busch, Busch, and Busch Light Beer, St. Louis, Missouri. 39:49 Beale Distributing, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. What's your big picture? To keep the farm in the family. To pay off the loan. To start my own operation. To drive grandpa's combine. Right, grandpa? 40:01 If owning a successful operation is in your big picture, First Bank & Trust has ag experts to help you plan for the future. To diversify. To teach her how to drive a combine. 40:13 Find out how First Bank & Trust makes managing your farm easier at bankeasy.com. Member FDIC. Ryan, come smell this. I'm not falling for that again. 40:25 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. 40:39 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. 40:47 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. 40:56 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. 41:05 There's never any pressure to buy, 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. 41:17 You're gonna love the way you sleep. We guarantee it. Juna. Thanks again to Beale Distributing, Juna Sleep Systems, and First Bank & Trust, and Don Hager, public utilities candidate. Probably, 41:35 I don't know, the prediction markets do, do they do lowly public utilities commission races? I would guess not. 41:45 I mean, I think one of the issues with those, those prediction markets are, are those smaller, the smaller the, you know, the set, subset, right? I mean, one person can put in money and tip the- Tip the scales... 41:55 tip the deal. But, uh, you know, I'm not much of a, I'm not much of a gambler. The, uh, so I, I don't know all about that stuff. And in fact, I thought about, you know, maybe there's a... 42:08 I think we wrote one scouting report this week about a Canastota event where they're gonna be, uh, having some bingo games that, and they have firearms as the, uh- Are you gonna gamble to win some guns? As, as the prize. 42:22 But I was thinking, you know, maybe I would do that. It'd be kinda cool. And, uh, they're trying to build a new playground for the kids there, and I thought- I'm giving my firearms to build playgrounds. But- I like that. 42:32 Yep. But it's, uh, but it's, uh, but I'm the only person in Lawrence Elementary history who never won a bingo game during our little, like, holiday parties, you know? Like, so I just- You just-... 42:43 I just don't have the, the, the luck to, to gamble. The, uh... Well, welcome back. The- Thanks. You were up in Wisconsin? Bayfield, Wisconsin. We're there. They got a lot of casinos in Wisconsin. 42:57 There was, there was one not too far. Yep. Well, I better open my Beale Distributed product. Beast. So, uh, well, welcome back, sir. Don, what... Missed you. But, um, he said he was glad to... 43:15 He'd rather have you not here enjoying a well-earned vacation than, you know, working through pleasantries, I guess. So. [laughs] Well, so, uh, how, how was the interview? Pretty good from what I can remember. 43:28 Uh, it was only yesterday, but what I remember is I think I said chloroform, but I meant chlorophyll. 'Cause I was talking, I was making some analogy about 43:40 get- not getting, not going beyond getting in the weeds, but getting into the chloroform. Isn't that one that'll knock you out? Yeah. And then chlorophyll is, like, in plants. Right. Right? I got that wrong. 43:53 You know, Farmer Dan and I, he, were in biology together in college, and he, we'd study together. And he'd get As and I'd get Bs. I, like I just... Science isn't my thing. But you know what else isn't my thing? Dr. 44:08 Fauci. [laughs] I'll put a picture of the shirt I got up. I can't say where I got the shirt, but somebody's, uh, got me a gift. It's pretty funny. I like it. So. [laughs] That'll probably be the end of the Fauci talk. 44:25 Um, well, welcome back. What'd you guys do? Well- You and Amy... we, uh, took a, uh, took a tour, boat tour of the Apostle Islands out there. Pretty cool. Learned a lot about, you know, Lake Superior. Apostle Islands? 44:42 Yeah. What is that? They're off of a kinda bay field that's, uh, on the so- southern shore of Lake Superior, and it's a group of about 22 islands of various sizes, and you... 44:51 They're all kind of nestled in this area, and actually kind of protects the bay from the real bad weather they get, especially in November when- Hmm... 44:59 and we had a, we had a poster of, like, shipwrecks of Lake Superior, and there are been a lot of shipwrecks since the 1800s of, in Lake Superior. Is that, like, the Re- Edmund Fitzgerald? Yep. 45:09 That's the most famous of them, but- There's a song... there's a whole song, Gordon Lightfoot. But, uh, no. Anyway, there's been, there has been a lot of, a lot of souls have been lost in that lake. 45:20 When's the last time there was one? Major one? I don't know. 'Cause that doesn't really happen anymore, right? Well, every time you think that, then- Something like that... something like that happens. 45:29 But I mean, what, uh, the Fitzgerald was in '75, right? I think that was the celebrated, they ce- uh, celebrated the 50th anniversary last year. Last year. You know? Well, yeah. I guess it's not... 45:43 Humans aren't infallible, even with their technology. Yeah. So then we, um, then we went and stayed last night in Duluth. I'd never been to Duluth, Minnesota. Kind of a cool town. We were coming in and going. 45:56 We stayed down at the canal district, our hotel, and as we were coming in, we got stopped at the drawbridge by this huge freighter that came in. Ah. So. What were they, what were they carrying? 46:07 Uh, I think they're probably gonna be loading up on whatever it is from the iron ore, the ore, you know, the, the range there that they mine, and then they take it down, take it down to the steel industry. Oh. 46:18 So it's kinda cool. Yeah. Ships. I used to live in the... Used to live on the coast in Washington, so you get to wa- do a lot of ship watching, so. Yeah. You know? Yep. Take a long time after travel by ship. 46:32 You got to go all the way to India on a ship. Speaking of that, and one of the things I did is I, I read a book. You got to read a book? Yep. I read a- What's that like? 46:40 I read a biography on James Cook, who was the famous English explorer who basically... Don't even wanna talk about, like, being slow. They would take, they, they would go on multi-year, like, excursions, 46:53 and, uh, anyway, he found all this stuff in the Pacific. Hmm. Three major, three major, uh, voyages. He was in, he was, ended up being killed by the natives in Hawaii. They ate him? 47:04 Uh, no, but there were some, uh, some of his crew got eaten in New Zealand. Really? Yeah. Wow. Uh, like, 10 of them. 47:11 They sent, uh, on, his support ship sent a, a, a group of eight, uh, marines and, uh, two officers to shore to gather some, uh, you know, what provisions or whatever. 47:22 Then when they didn't return, the, they went out to look for them, and they, they'd gotten eaten. Yeah. That's gross. [laughs] Well, the different times. But I suppose that could still happen. Yeah. 47:36 If you went out exploring and you found some... You know, there... You think there's, like, undiscovered people out there? We kinda know everything now, right? Probably not. 47:47 'Cause of satellites and infrared and stuff like that. Yeah, probably not. The interesting thing about it, though, this was really... It w- it was the... 47:56 So he's meeting all these different people in different wherever, you know, different island change and chains and things like that, and kinda noting their demeanor and everything, and it was very diverse. 48:07 Like, the people of Tahiti loved, loved him and loved visitors. Uh, other people were, like, in the New Zealand. I mean, they were very hostile, but... So it kinda depended on where you went. 48:17 But, uh, the Hawaiians initially were very, uh, treated him like a deity. Um, so it was, it was a... I, I'd always wanted to read about him because he was such a famous explorer. Yeah. Well, um, 48:30 so you're spending your vacation reading a book. We vacation differently, [laughs] I think. Well, there were some Beale Distributed products, like, type. Type? 48:39 Like, Beale doesn't get out that, that far, but, uh, there was some of that, too. Yeah. Well, uh, hope you feel rested. Yeah. Yeah. The drive took it out of me, yes. 48:49 You got thrown right back into things, that's for sure. So, uh, it was a fairly- Busy news week, I think. Um- I saw that there was a lot of content getting pushed out. 49:02 Well, it was also nice to, uh, kinda be forced to t- back into, like, producing a lot of content, you know? It's like- It... This was on... Yeah, this was... I figured this would happen to you. 49:12 [laughs] You all, like, it's been a lot of, like, administrative stuff, and it's hard to get your head back into journalism sometimes, uh, when you're stressed out about, like, moving websites and employees and stuff like that, so. 49:26 But when Jonathan's not around to churn content, you know, we always say the journalism has to come first. Without it, we're not producing anything. Like, what's the point? So, 49:38 um, and we have some good helpers helped us make, you know, ch- churn some content. Uh, some decent news and some bad news. Uh, paper's pretty big this week, but, 49:54 you know, we're drinking beer right now, so be careful when we're leaving here because we don't wanna be a statistic. Yeah. [laughs] So- So you went, you went to the, the crime stat. The, the... 50:03 Do we do it twice a year now? Twice a year. Yep. Give or take. And this was Christine M- Mayor, Mayor Erickson's first one. First one, and they used... So this was Tuesday, I believe, um, at City Hall. 50:17 Instead of, like, police briefing down at law enforcement center, they told everybody, "No, we're gonna do it at City Hall," and that usually means, like, 50:25 s- something bigger than just, like, robberies that happened overnight are gonna be discussed. And they were full force on that. Um, state's attorney's office there, sheriffs, um, 50:40 the, uh, veteran Mike Milstead and the incoming Josh Phillips, and then, uh, the ward- the jail warden, the mayor- Geez... uh, Chief Tomb. Yeah. You know. They had, they had them all. Had them all. 50:53 They were showing a unified front on flock cameras because they could feel the heat. Like, every day there's stories about some other town pausing their use, um, and I think these guys don't want that to happen. 51:06 Uh, Sheriff Milstead was very passionate, and he's like, "I couldn't sleep at night if the last days of my tenure as sheriff were s- were sort of, uh, backsliding on technology because, you know, if we're 51:25 trying to solve a crime and we're, you know, we're, we, we just made it harder on ourselves to bring justice to somebody or whatever." So- Yeah. 51:32 I, I, I get where they're coming from, but what assurances are they trying to offer as to, you know, the, the, like- Well- You know? What are, what are... 51:40 Like, like, you know, I think we talked about this before but, like, okay, so we'll keep the data for 30, 30 days or whatever. Yeah. And I, and I know that there was one, one Florida city that was getting rid of them. 51:49 They, they'd kept it... They would keep it for a year, right? But I, I suppose if there was an investigation and you needed to exceed that 30 days, like, you could make an exception. But I think to appease people like... 52:01 I mean, I don't like surveillance states. I don't want one because I think it'll be used for nefarious purposes at some time. 100%. 52:07 But I'm willing to concede that, yeah, these things can be used, but you have to give me some assurances that- Well, that's- You know?... that's kinda what they tried to do because, you know, I don't think... 52:19 Christine Erickson's in a w- interesting spot 'cause she only won the election by four votes. You know, two and then four. Uh, and these are not... 52:28 Even if you're someone like us that are like, "You know, you're not gonna cut them down here," and I see the merits of them, there's still... Like, nobody is real gung-ho about them. Right. 52:39 Uh, except for law enforcement that I've met. Um, but you can be convinced that they're okay if you're talked through. I... You know, they have a winning argument, I guess. Public, uh, safety people do. But 52:56 does she wanna hitch her wagon to be like... It's a weird spot. You don't wanna be anti-law enforcement, but you also don't wanna come out and put your te- already tepid support, uh, put more baggage on it, right? 53:09 So they announced, uh, that she, she's signing an executive order that basically puts in order what's already in police policy, which is 30 days holding onto it, on the data. Uh, 53:26 it's gotta go through these two or three steps of checks before you access the system. Uh, pe- penalties or punishments for abuse of it. I don't know. There's other stuff in there. Um, so that's... I don't know. 53:44 It's a feelgood measure I think more than anything. I mean, the, the reality is, like, if, if the... If Tomb is no longer chief and the next guy wants to 53:54 sort of be more aggressive or overzealous with it, now, now they can't change policy without some other oversight, so that is another layer of that. 54:02 But for people who really don't like these things, I don't think that's gonna move the needle for them. Uh- Yeah... 54:09 but they spent a good chunk of the time talking about this also is a good stopgap measure until the legislature figures out where the rules are and what the standards are. Uh, 54:20 nonetheless, that's what they spent a lot of the time talking about. Uh, but th- they did go through the, the biennial stats, and it was all very positive. Let me back up. 54:32 On the flock thing though, very ironic 'cause Aberdeen stopped their, like, advance towards them, right? And the night before this press conference, so Monday night, 54:46 the City of Aberdeen Police Department was putting out, like, a media PSA, "Help us find this 54:51 suspect," or whatever, and it's a little ironic 'cause if they had their flock cameras, they probably wouldn't- They would've had him... they don't have to ask KSFY to help them. Uh, [laughs] what? 55:04 Anyway, at this, so like drug arrests are down, fraud is down, stolen vehicles are down. Like, you know, mostly positive things, but there's one or two blemishes on it, um, and it was DUI arrests are way up, like way up. 55:22 Uh- Hence your warning about too many Beal Distributed products. Yeah. So that is not like... I think what the chief was trying to say was like, "This isn't a new problem. 55:34 We're just catching it more because we're focusing our resources on it." But it, I mean, he didn't say just definitively that it's not a worsening problem, you know, but he did provide the caveat that 55:48 if you look harder, you'll get more, right? But they have some, uh, some highway safety money that they had been putting towards like racing crackdowns and things like that. 56:01 Now they, this year they're focusing on impaired driving. But we're talking like staggering numbers here. So through January through August, there's 714 DUIs, arrests made. And I can find... 56:17 I don't know, did we run the graph? Yeah, right here. Uh... That seems like a lot, by the way. It, it is. Last year through that same time there was 535. Yeah. So that's a 30, more than a 33% increase. 56:35 Um, surely- I would say that's statistically significant. Yeah, and, you know, through the entire year last year there was 830. Hmm. So we very well could be beyond that at this point. Sounds, sounds like it. 56:49 Or pretty, pretty close. Especially, especially when you get the holiday season coming up. Yeah. You know? So I don't know. I mean, it's... Whether you're at.08 or.2, it all is recorded the same, so. 57:04 Are these, or are, do these arrests include highway patrol too, or are these just by the Sioux Falls and the sheriff and...? I believe these are just Sioux Falls PD. 57:14 That doesn't even potentially include what they're finding out on the highway. And I don't know that for sure, but I don't believe the numbers are blended here. I think- Right... 57:23 I think they all presented their own data. I think you're probably right. So- Hmm... you know, that's a lot of, that's a lot of DUIs. During the, the full year, you know, I don't know what that paces out to be, but it's 57:38 over 1,000. And we have, Sioux Falls has not been over 1,000 in a single year since 2018, um, when 10, 1,009 were arrested. And then... Or there were that many arrests. I suppose some people might've got more than one. 57:56 Their number would be in there more than once. But, uh, 2017 it peaked at 1,220 and then started taking down, and then got all the way down to 739 in 2023, and looks like it has been slowly kind of picking back up. 58:13 So- Hmm... took me a couple days to get to it. And- Did no- did anybody else report on it? Did they stay focused on the Flock stuff? Yeah, well, we wrote a story about Flock, 58:23 and they, all the other, our competitors did as well. But, um, I figured 58:30 I'd write a s- like follow-up story either later that day or the next day about these DUI numbers, and then you know how it goes, like I didn't get to it. And I did see, it was like a footnote in stories. 58:42 Most of these stories were about Flock, and then within the same story it was here's the rest of the stats and everything's great except for these two things or whatever. Um, 58:54 so I thought I could still write a DUI story and people who c- it would be fresh 'cause I would lead with that. And then, uh, it would just be like a stat story though. 59:05 And then I was watching the news, I think it was Dakota News Now. 59:08 They were telling, there was a story about a motorcycle crash and this guy got arrested, which was the same night, the crash occurred the same, that same night that Chief Thune presented these stats. And, um, 59:21 thought for sure somebody would sort of bring up the stats when- Did not... like, "Hey, there was a crash tonight that put somebody in intensive care," or, "Last night that put somebody in intensive care. Uh, 59:34 you know, he's facing this charge and that charge." And like that's a natural segue into rec- recent fresh news. Um, lo and behold, I didn't see any of that out there in the news ether in our market. So 59:52 I was, uh, otherwise I probably would've just bagged the story and not written anything 'cause I, I don't wanna look like I'm chasing anybody else's coattails, you know? 59:59 So, or regurgitating what most people probably would've already known if they were, if they consume news. So anyway, that was all right. Yep. Good problem. Yeah. Our friend Thomas Pisky, it's in the news 1:00:15 for the election fraud charges. He got arraigned on Monday, and then the trial, separate trial, I don't know if it's gonna actually go to trial. I think he might be stalling 1:00:26 just to get through like hunting season or something. And [laughs] but I didn't know that you could recuse a judge, like both par- both sides in a case could do it once before people start asking questions. 1:00:40 'Cause I, my question was why. I figured there would be an explanation in the court file, and there wasn't. So then I asked Tom's attorney, Ryan Kolbeck, and I got a "no comment" and then an explanation like 1:00:56 you don't have to say why and you don't usually say why. Yeah. So then I'm like, "Pfft, I wish he'd say why because now I gotta go work harder." So... I think sometimes judges recuse themselves too. Yeah. But, uh, 1:01:13 so I've been poking around in the public court system and tried to answer the question why myself. Next week we'll have, uh, Heather Baxter in. Heather, yep. We've already had Terrance Davis in- Mm-hmm... 1:01:26 Democratic candidate for Secretary of State. Well, thanks to Beal Distributing. Think I'll have a couple more of these before the sun comes up. And, uh- But you better be on the, having gotten to your final destination. 1:01:43 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it was, 'cause they, they don't have Junas in jail. They do not. They do not. 1:01:50 Uh, well at least not- I don't, I don't wanna have to pull some money out of the bank, out of First Bank and Trust in order to bail you out. News tips welcome. Thanks. 1:01:58 [outro music]
