Governor Kristi Noem 2023 State of the State

Summary

In her State of the State address, South Dakota Lieutenant Governor Rhoden reflects on the state's strengths - a thriving economy and agriculture industry, record tourism, and top rankings for personal income growth and new housing. She outlines policy priorities including cutting taxes, recruiting businesses and workers, expanding apprenticeships and workplace benefits, supporting families through paid leave and adoption assistance, protecting against foreign threats like TikTok and Chinese land purchases, and honoring everyday heroism of South Dakotans. Rhoden conveys pride in the state's people and optimism for the future while emphasizing freedom, limited government and fiscal responsibility as keys to South Dakota’s success.

Takeaways

• 😊 The governor welcomed a new grandchild named Branch Brian
• 😀 SD has seen tremendous growth in personal income, housing developments, and family-owned businesses
• 🏆 SD State won the national championship in football
• 👪 Proposals to extend paid family leave, provide pregnancy care, and offer adoption assistance
• 💰 Plans to cut taxes, eliminate sales tax on groceries, and provide tax relief
• 🏢 Highlighted companies like Howe, Valley Queen, and gevo investing billions and creating thousands of jobs in SD
• 🔐 Banned TikTok for state government and initiated a national movement to address security concerns
• 🚜 Preventing purchase of SD ag land by foreign entities that may threaten infrastructure or security
• ❤️ Honored nursing home staff and air guard member for acts of heroism in emergencies
• 🤝 Emphasized cooperation to ensure free, efficient and equal government for SD citizens

Q & A

What constitutional requirement does the governor have at the start of each legislative session?

The South Dakota state constitution requires the governor to begin each legislative session by giving the legislature information concerning the affairs of the state and recommending the measures he/she considers necessary.

What industries are growing in South Dakota, according to the governor?

According to the governor, South Dakota's agriculture industry, tourism industry, financial services industry, and other industries are growing.

What does the governor highlight as ways South Dakota promotes stronger families?

The governor highlights paid family leave for state employees, pregnancy and postpartum care for Medicaid recipients, incentives to encourage private companies to offer paid family leave, and adoption assistance for state employees as ways South Dakota promotes stronger families.

What is the governor doing to address child care shortages?

The governor is overhauling child care rules and regulations, releasing $40 million in federal grants for child care providers, partnering with Farm Bureau to provide health benefits for child care workers, and taking other steps to address child care shortages.

How does the governor plan to cut taxes?

The governor plans to cut taxes by eliminating the sales tax on groceries. This would provide relief to all South Dakota families.

What is the governor doing to attract workers from out of state?

The governor is proposing legislation to streamline occupational licensing so workers moving to South Dakota can more easily have their licenses recognized.

How does South Dakota support veterans?

South Dakota is ranked the #1 state for veterans to live and work. The governor also highlights how the National Guard provides assistance during emergencies.

What is the governor doing about national security threats from China?

The governor banned TikTok on state devices due to data privacy concerns with China. She is also working on legislation to prevent purchases of South Dakota agricultural land by Chinese-affiliated entities.

How did the governor honor everyday heroes?

The governor recognized nursing home staff who saved lives during a tornado and a member of the Air National Guard who rescued a woman from a flipped, flooded vehicle.

What is the governor's main message about the state of South Dakota?

The governor's main message is that South Dakota offers freedom and opportunity for people to build their American Dream through limited government, personal responsibility, and private sector growth.

Outlines

00:00

😊 Welcoming remarks and updates on family, state growth

The lieutenant governor welcomes attendees and shares updates on her new grandchild and South Dakota's economic growth, especially in agriculture, tourism and financial services. She states her goal for South Dakota to be number one in growth, tax climate, work ethic and family support.

05:01

😃 Proposing tax cuts, sales tax elimination on groceries

With state revenue surpluses, the governor proposes tax cuts and full elimination of sales tax on groceries to provide relief to families struggling with inflation and high food prices. She highlights a local affordable grocery store benefiting from tax relief.

10:02

👩‍💼 Workforce growth through license recognition

To address open jobs and workforce shortages, the governor proposes legislation recognizing professional licenses from other states to attract workers. Similar laws have grown workforces in other states. Apprenticeship programs are also expanded.

15:03

💰 Tourism and hunting/fishing records, business growth

South Dakota continues breaking tourism records and sees airport arrivals up 10% in 2022 despite inflation. Hunting and fishing licenses also set records. Large investments from companies expanding in the state are highlighted.

20:05

👪 Stronger families: paid leave, pregnancy care

The governor proposes expanded paid family leave for state employees and a risk pool for private companies to make benefits affordable. New Medicaid pregnancy/postpartum care and adoption assistance aim to support stronger families.

25:07

😴 Child care availability, provider workforce

To address child care shortages, overhauled regulations and federal grants to providers are announced. Partnerships and benefits will improve workforce availability for child care providers.

30:09

😤 Fighting communist China, protecting agriculture

The governor highlights South Dakota leading over 20 states in banning TikTok to combat Chinese data gathering. New legislation to prevent purchases of South Dakota farmland by Chinese-affiliated entities is proposed.

35:09

💪 Honoring everyday heroism

Heroism honors are given to nursing home staff who saved residents during a storm and an air guardsman who rescued a woman from a flooded, overturned vehicle. This reflects South Dakotans dedication to service.

Keywords

💡economy

The governor emphasizes how South Dakota has the strongest economy it has ever had, with record revenue growth and low unemployment. This economic strength allows the state to cut taxes while still investing in priorities like infrastructure and education.

💡freedom

Freedom and liberty are recurring themes, with the governor portraying South Dakota as the "freest state in the nation" that defends constitutional rights and fights federal overreach. Examples include rejecting extended unemployment benefits and opposing vaccine mandates.

💡China

The governor warns about the threat posed by China and the Chinese Communist Party, using examples like the TikTok app harvesting Americans' data and the threat of China purchasing agricultural land near critical infrastructure.

💡tourism

Tourism has hit record highs in South Dakota, breaking the record for visitors and visitor spending. Hunting and fishing opportunities have also expanded. This benefits the economy and reduces the tax burden.

💡veterans

South Dakota is ranked the #1 state for veterans and soldiers to live and work. The National Guard units are supposedly the best in the country. Veterans are honored and recruited to the state.

💡families

Multiple policies aim to support families - paid family leave, pregnancy care, adoption benefits, foster care recruitment. Affordable childcare is also a priority.

💡jobs

There is a focus on expanding the workforce and filling open jobs, through steps like occupational license recognition and new apprenticeship programs. Grants are awarded to set up career pipelines.

💡derecho

A powerful derecho storm hit the state, but nursing home staff heroically risked their lives to hold doors shut and protect residents. This exemplifies the selflessness of South Dakotans.

💡agriculture

Agriculture remains a pillar of the economy at $32 billion. There are efforts to block foreign purchases of agricultural land to prevent Chinese control. Expanding ag is key.

💡founders

The governor bookends her speech by invoking the founding fathers and the state motto "Under God the People Rule", portraying South Dakota as the embodiment of the founders' vision of America.

Highlights

South Dakota's agriculture industry is a $32 billion industry responsible for 1 in 5 jobs

South Dakota is the #1 state for personal income growth and fastest housing development

South Dakota recognized as the state making the best decisions by the American Legislative Exchange Council

South Dakota is the #1 state to live and work as a soldier, airman and veteran

Proposing to eliminate sales tax on groceries to provide relief to South Dakota families struggling with inflation

Proposing legislation to recognize professional licenses from other states to grow workforce

Announcing dedicated Native American tourism campaign to showcase tribal stories and heritage

Record spending and visitors to South Dakota parks and attractions in 2021 and 2022

Proposing to expand paid family leave to 12 weeks at 100% salary for state employees

Launching Stronger Families Scholarship proposal to provide educational opportunities for foster children

Partnering with Farm Bureau to provide health benefits for child care employees

Banned TikTok for state government and set off national movement with 20+ states following

Introducing legislation with Senator Tobin and Rep. Kamatz to block purchases of South Dakota farmland by adversarial foreign entities

Honoring nursing home staff who saved residents' lives during tornado and construction worker who rescued woman from overturned car

We have made South Dakota the state where anyone can build their American Dream, strengthened families, and secured the state

Transcripts

lieutenant governor Rhoden Mr Speaker

members of the House and Senate chief

justice Jensen Supreme Court Justices

constitutional officers and my fellow

South dakotans the South Dakota state

constitution requires the governor to

begin each legislative session by giving

the legislature information concerning

the Affairs of the state and

recommending the measures he considers

necessary

notice I didn't say she

the Constitution doesn't say she and

maybe we should fix that sometime

foreign

it's also the perfect time for me to

come before you to let you know that I

am a brand new grandmother I have a new

grandbaby

his name is Branch Brian he is named

after his grandfather he was eight

pounds nine ounces and I was thinking

this morning about our family and how

many challenges we go through how many

good times and how I fail them at times

but yet branch is a reminder that we

have new beginnings that we have hope

for a future and I hope that all of us

can Embrace that today for the year of

2023 that we can have a new beginning

and a start where we can continue to

work for the people of South Dakota and

protect that promise of Liberty and

freedom now South Dakota is growing and

we're thriving we are strong

our states

our state's agriculture industry is now

a 32 billion dollar industry it's

responsible for one in five jobs in our

state we need to continue to preserve

agriculture's future you know tourism

financial services and other Industries

are also growing as well that's all

great news today I'm going to share with

you how our state has become the number

one state for individuals for families

and businesses to build the American

dream

now we've also promoted our state and

we've promoted stronger families and

we're also going to continue to secure

South Dakota far into the future

we are number one in the nation for

personal income growth over the past

several years

that is how South dakotans build the

American dream by working hard and

earning more than they have before we

have the fastest growth of housing

developments in the entire country we

have the most family-owned businesses of

any state that's part of how we make

families stronger we have the most

registered Hunters per Capitol capital

of any state as well which is something

I'm extremely proud of and we were

recognized as a state for making the

best Decisions by the American

legislative exchange Council one more

thing

South Dakota State University

jackrabbits are the FCS national

champions in football go Jackson

I understand the team's going to be with

us next week so that'll be a fun day to

celebrate as well

I normally wait to honor our military

until the end of this speech but I

wanted to highlight this now we are the

number one state in a nation to live and

to work as a soldier an Airman and a

veteran that is how we make South Dakota

safer and more secure for the future

both our army and our air guard units

have led the nation their winning award

after award for the best units in this

country just this past month we deployed

the 109th Regional support group to the

Middle East as part of operation

inherent resolve but the National Guard

stands ready right here at home too when

the winter snow and bitter cold hit our

state just before Christmas the men and

women in uniform form took time away

from their families in need across their

state they went and helped other

communities and individuals who needed

assistance to get through that bitter

cold

they went to our reservations that asked

for assistance and needed it as well

would everyone who is here that is a

veteran or serves in the National Guard

please rise so you can be recognized and

thanked by all of those here in

attendance today

foreign

I believe South Dakota is the freest

state in the nation we fight to defend

our constitutional rights we ensure that

every South dakotan has the right to

life liberty and the pursuit of

happiness but here's what I love about

South Dakota we never settle we never

sit back and say that's good enough we

turn challenges into opportunities

together I want us all to take on the

challenge of making South Dakota number

one in growth tax climate work ethic and

building and supporting strong families

our nation was built on freedom but our

constitutional freedoms are under

assault from Washington D.C America

needs South Dakota's example of how

conservative policies and values make

people's lives better these policies

bring success and they bring hope

in the last four years we made South

Dakota the strongest state in America by

making it the state to pursue an

American Dream a state for stronger

families and a secure state in the next

four we're going to prove that the best

is yet to come

now together we have to continue to

build and to advance that American dream

and in this legislative session we will

accomplish that we're going to

accomplish it by cutting taxes for

people

we continue to have record surpluses and

what should we do with those surpluses

my answer is simple

cut taxes and provide relief for South

dakotans

now I've been to a lot of grocery stores

over the state for the last many months

prices have dramatically increased for

the past two years that families weren't

prepared for And when they see the final

bill at the end of the checkout line

they're astonished

when I was standing there at dozens of

grocery stores running the checkout line

talking to people about one out of every

four Shoppers had to go put something

back on the Shelf because they didn't

have enough money to pay for it it was

shocking folks listen South dakotans

need this relief and it's not up to us

to pick and choose how they use their

extra dollars that are in their pocket

by cutting the sales tax we will help

every single family in this state and

then they have the freedom to decide how

to use those dollars to meet their needs

in their family and again isn't South

Dakota all about embracing freedom and

helping every single person not just

picking winners and losers

now fair market is a store in Sioux

Falls it provides a special service to

those who need it they offer groceries

for about half the price that you see in

a typical grocery store Kristen Johnson

recognized the need for affordable

groceries in her community so she opened

up fair market in early 2021.

she's had to relocate she's expanded

multiple times as demand grew and just

last month they opened a second location

on the west side of Sioux Falls

when I visited their store I met

customers who were so grateful for the

opportunity that fair market provides

because many of their groceries are

reclaimed that means that they've had a

branding change maybe it's a damaged can

maybe it's a seasonal good or maybe it's

because there's a market Surplus but

because they are reclaimed there's

always something new and unique and more

affordable for customers many of these

customers enjoy looking in the store

hunting for Unique finds

now Kristen with her husband Greg and

Danelle who works for them are here

today would you all please stand where

you are they're right over here

thank you for all that you do for the

people right here in South Dakota Fair

markets customers will greatly benefit

from the elimination of the sales tax on

groceries but so will every single South

Dakota family every person every small

business owner even every homeowner our

economy is the strongest it's ever been

our revenues continue to grow December

revenues have have us up another 10

million dollars above legislative

adopted estimates now is the time let's

get this done

this economy has been thriving over the

past few years but with that we've

experienced some growing pains in 2022

our unemployment rate was the lowest

that it's been in our state's history

but we still have 23 000 open jobs in

our state

during my first year in office I signed

legislation that recognized occupational

licenses for military spouses who moved

to our state then two years ago in

response to the challenge of filling

health care jobs I proposed legislation

to recognize the health care licenses of

folks moving here from all other states

thank you for the help with that that

legislation expanded to other

professions and it helped us fill many

jobs here we have an opportunity to

finish the job this legislative session

to provide a path to recognize licenses

of just about every single profession in

this state

when other states have done this they

have seen their workforces grow almost

immediately Arizona's Workforce has

grown by about 5 000 workers since their

law was implemented thousands more in

the future to come as well that's the

kind of drastic Workforce boost that we

need right here in South Dakota

we are constantly looking for

opportunities to expand registered

apprenticeship programs here in our

state and just last month the Department

of Labor and regulation awarded four

grants to create apprenticeship Pro

pipelines for high schoolers across the

state

the four recipients of these grants were

bare Butte Gardens for agriculture Belle

Fourche school district for health care

Harrisburg School District for

agriculture and Dakota State University

for Education later this week they'll

announce even more Awards

more and more businesses are realizing

the value of these apprenticeship

programs

I want to highlight lemonade butcher

shop in Lemmon South Dakota which was

incorporated

Incorporated an apprenticeship program

to hire and to train new staff they

initially hired one employee named Jesse

who is now supervising more people that

are going through that program

that allowed the owner this year for the

very first time to take his first

vacation

now that's making the American dream

come true

how Incorporated in Sioux Falls has used

apprenticeships to build their Workforce

for decades when they gave me a tour of

their apprenticeship program

it was so impressive it was incredible

they already provide apprenticeships in

plumbing fire protection HVAC sheet

metal and they recently worked with the

Department of Labor and regulation to

add a mechatronics Apprentice program

and they're currently in the process of

setting up another program for sprinkler

filters

now over the years Howe has used their

apprenticeship program to hire more than

60 employees it's been a total game

changer for them and for their Workforce

other companies can seize this

opportunity as well I want South Dakota

but South Dakota businesses to continue

to start apprenticeship programs if you

are interested in launching one at your

business please reach out to our

department of health and labor reach out

to us and stay tuned for more news later

this year about expanding these

apprenticeship programs throughout the

entire state

South Dakota is going to continue to

attract the careers of the future and

address our Workforce challenges in the

last year you worked with me to expand

Dakota State University's cyber research

capabilities it's going to bring 500

six-figure jobs to Sioux Falls

now more importantly it's going to give

our kids and our grandkids another

reason to pursue the career of their

dreams right here in South Dakota

I promised to bring the next big

industry to our state with you and this

is it

thank you

in the last year we also broke ground on

the largest economic development project

in our state's history gevo's net zero

one site in Lake Preston is the first

ever billion dollar investment in South

Dakota they will literally turn corn

into jet fuel as impossible as that

sounds but what

foreign

what we're doing in South Dakota is

reverberating across this country and

around the world we would be growing

even more if there wasn't Federal

mandates preventing companies from

coming here

President Biden just extended those

mandates last week

we're in touch with a company in Canada

that wants to move their business to the

Black Hills I can't share a lot of

details with you yet but we're very

excited about this company they are

currently buying property that they

haven't even seen in person and this

family and their business have suffered

due to the covid restrictions and

vaccine mandates in Canada their

daughter was even expelled from her

University for refusing the vaccine they

are ready to gain back their freedoms

they want to grow their business and

improve their quality of life right here

in our state the Biden administration's

vaccine mandates are standing in their

way

we are going to help them and we're

going to help them start a new beginning

right here in South Dakota and embrace

their freedom again

and we aren't just bringing new

businesses to South Dakota our existing

businesses are growing and they're

thriving Valley Queen and Milbank broke

ground on this year on a 200 million

dollar expansion that will recreate an

additional 140 jobs for that community

South Dakota's total milk production has

risen 11 percent in the last year that's

going to continue to increase once this

facility is completed

the governor's office of Economic

Development has facilitated 1.7 billion

dollars in New Economic investments in

South Dakota over the last year

that has created 2400 new jobs in fact

in my first term we delivered more

economic investment in South Dakota than

the previous 10 years combined that's

the kind of success that you only see in

a state where government is limited

where personal responsibility is Central

to everything and the private sector is

Unleashed

thank you

now remember we were the only state to

reject the additional elevated

unemployment benefits that were offered

by the federal government our people

kept working our unemployment rate

remained low our economy remains strong

and new businesses they moved here now

we have a very healthy unemployment

trust fund balance which gives us the

opportunity to cut the employment

unemployment tax for businesses my

Department of Labor will be bringing a

bill to revise employer contribution

rates to the unemployment trust fund

this will bring an estimated 18 million

dollar savings to South Dakota

businesses over the next couple of years

foreign

to break records for tourism it's no

secret that folks have been visiting

South Dakota by the millions and that

many of them first heard about us during

the pandemic in 2020 we broke the record

for the most visitors to South Dakota

state parks in 2021 we shattered that

record and broke the record for visitor

spending as well now we don't have the

final data yet but it looks like South

Dakota set another record for visitor

spending in 2022. our Airport arrivals

increased by about 10 percent over last

year and even with Nationwide inflation

and increases in gas prices visitors

continued to choose South Dakota

our economy is reaping the benefits and

in fact tourism Revenue it decreases the

tax burden by a thousand dollars per

South Dakota family the tourism industry

also supports 57 000 jobs in our state

this year the Department of Tourism will

launch a dedicated Native American

tourism marketing campaign

beginning in 2023 bus tours will begin

domestic and bringing domestic and

international visitors to Pine Ridge to

Rosebud Standing Rock and milks camp we

will continue to emphasize telling

tribal stories they are a key part of

our state's Rich history and Heritage

I'm excited to share that with the world

people who visit South Dakota they also

come here to hunt and to fish

access to hunting opportunities has

never been greater since I took office

more than 50 000 private Acres have

become available for public hunting

above and beyond I was when I was in

office fifteen thousand New Habitat

Acres have been added to promote strong

Wildlife numbers momentum continues to

build in our most recent pheasant

Harvest shows more total birds and birds

per Hunter than the five-year average

and in 2022 we set a record for the most

non-resident fishing licenses sold

every year more and more South Dakota

youth are participating in our Nest

Predator Bounty program youth

participants jumped up to 32 percent of

the total program participants this year

these kids are discovering a passion for

being outdoors and enjoying spending

time with family and friends

when tourists when hunters and fishermen

come to South Dakota they're not just

pursuing big game Wildlife or the catch

of a lifetime they are literally

pursuing happiness a break from their

day-to-day lives moments with their

families and the excitement of new

adventures in The Great Outdoors they

are choosing South Dakota and visiting

us creates memories that will last a

lifetime

foreign

we will continue to work together to

build stronger families in South Dakota

three years ago we worked to pass

legislation to provide Paid Family Leave

to State Employees this gave families

the opportunity to bond with a newborn

and adopted children it also put us in a

better position to attract top talent to

our state government this year I want to

expand that opportunity

currently the state provides Paid Family

Leave benefits at 60 percent of an

employee's salary for eight weeks I'm

proposing that we extend that benefit to

100 percent of salary for 12 weeks and

this new paid family leave policy won't

just cover new births or adoption it's

also going to cover taking care of a

child a spouse a parent with a serious

health condition or situation where a

spouse is called to active duty military

service

thank you

foreign

this will be a tremendous opportunity to

provide a benefit for our state

employees but it's not going to stop

there private sector companies will also

have the opportunity to be a part of the

state's risk pool as well this will make

it much cheaper for companies here to

offer benefits to their employees and

the more people that buy in the lower

the costs will be for everyone my budget

provides 20 million in Grants to

incentivize the private sector companies

to participate for the first few years

foreign

budget also proposes 1.1 million to help

give pregnancy and postpartum care for

moms who are Medicaid recipients

pregnant moms who are at risk of poor

birth and health conditions will receive

coverage and receive Intensive Care

Management this will help moms have a

healthy pregnancy and this care will

extend after birth

moms who are involved in this program

have babies who are less likely to be

admitted to the NICU and after birth

these moms will be able to join the

Bright Start program which you all

helped provide funding for last year

this proves our commitment to helping

moms and families through whatever

situation that they may face we are

going to help them and their babies both

before birth and after

and we're also going to help families

who adopt children who need a loving

home during my time as Governor I've

emphasized adoption as an area where we

can improve as a state and

mylife.sd.gov website helps those

families find resources that can help

whether they're adopting or whether

they're giving up a child for adoption

I'm also recommending this year that we

give twenty five thousand dollars up to

twenty five thousand dollars per state

employees to cover the cost of adopting

a child domestically

today we have several state employees

who are here with us today who have

opened up their homes and adopted

children would you all please stand and

be recognized as well

[Applause]

we all should be able to agree that

children deserve to have a permanent

loving home and I want to thank all of

you for opening up your homes to these

children and for loving them and making

them a part of your family

this is something that's incredibly

important and I hope we all can do

together

now another way that we can help kids

grow up in a loving home is foster care

two years ago I launched the stronger

families together initiative before this

initiative we were recruiting fewer than

200 families every single year now we're

recruiting over 300 Foster families per

year to help we met our Target in year

one and our recruitment contacts are up

for year two but our foster children

still face educational challenges as a

result of their circumstances today I'm

announcing the stronger families

scholarship proposal which I am hoping

to work with all of you to provide new

education opportunities for these

children

any child in the foster care system will

have the opportunity to receive up to

four thousand dollars in a scholarship

to help them achieve their full

potential from kindergarten through 12th

grade this money can be used to pay for

tuition at a private school pay for

tutoring or teaching Services purchase

curriculum pay for standardized tests or

AP exams and more help there's always

more that we can do

and today there are more than 100

businesses across the state that provide

targeted discounts to help Foster

families and those children I love that

I love that they're helping these

families save dollars so they can open

more children their homes up to more

children I'd like to challenge more

businesses in the state to do that as

well

I know that one of the biggest

challenges that families in South Dakota

face today is also access to child care

families might have to go on a wait list

for many months maybe before the child

is even born in order to find Health

Care Child Care that is adequate to

serve their family's needs one parent

may even have to quit their job and stop

working for a time being

in the coming days we will be completing

our overhaul of our child care rules and

regulations we've been working closely

with child care providers to rewrite

those rules in a way that makes sense

while prioritizing and continue to

making keeping our kids safe

we're also going to be releasing nearly

40 million dollars in federal grants for

child care providers we had several

meetings with providers so that those

grants would Target exactly what they

needed from new technology to Startup

funds to Quality initiatives

we also heard though about these child

care providers and the challenges they

face with Workforce we're going to help

tackle this by making it more attractive

to work in the child care field

currently child care providers struggle

to give benefits to their employees

so we will be partnering with a South

Dakota Farm Bureau to fix that today we

have with us some of the leadership team

from Farm Bureau who's helping us make

these health benefits possible would you

all please stand and be recognized as

well for opening up this opportunity for

so many families

thank you

through all of these efforts we are

making it clear that South Dakota

prioritizes stronger families and giving

families more options at home

now we live in the strongest and the

greatest nation in the history of the

world with that greatness comes unique

challenges but we aren't afraid of

challenges

as President Harry S Truman famously

said America was not built on fear

America was built on Courage on

imagination and an unbeatable

determination to do the job at hand

perhaps the greatest external challenge

facing the United States is the Chinese

Communist Party

they are using a popular app called Tick

Tock to gather data on the American

people and our people right here in

South Dakota it's possible they are

using this app to gather users

keystrokes which means that the Chinese

Communist Party could have access to the

financial information of tens of

millions of Americans it's an

unacceptable security threat coming from

a nation that hates America

now a little over a month ago I signed

an executive order Banning Tick Tock for

state government and in doing so South

Dakota began an important movement

more than 20 different states have since

taken action Congress recently passed

legislation to reflect this policy for

the federal government as well they all

followed our lead and that's the power

of the example that South Dakota is

setting for the nation that's the

responsibility that we all need to take

seriously people are watching what we do

foreign

our effort to combat communist China

shouldn't stop there

we've also we're looking for ways to

ensure that taxpayer dollars aren't

benefiting Chinese companies or the

Chinese Communist party and I'm working

with Senator Tobin and representative

camac on legislation to block purchases

of South Dakota AG land from Nations

that hate us

this legislation is going to create a

board called the committee on foreign

investment in the United States South

Dakota or cepheus SD

this new board will include egg experts

National and state Security Experts and

legal counsel it will review any

purchase lease or transfer of South

Dakota agriculture land by a foreign

person company or entity and make its

recommendation to the governor whether

the purchase should be approved

that's the kind of divisive decisive

action that we need we all know what

happened to our neighbors to the north

where a Chinese affiliate purchased land

near a critical infrastructure to our

national security we cannot allow that

to happen here we can't allow Chinese

interest to purchase any South Dakota AG

land much less any land near any

military base or critical State

infrastructure infrastructure South

Dakota is going to set the example here

too as well

now other states are already examining

our legislation with plans to replicate

it I look forward to working with all of

you and us getting it done to protect

South Dakota and to protect the United

States of America

we are committed to securing our state

we're committed to honoring the men and

women in uniform who make that possible

South Dakota respects our law

enforcement we've proven that in our

actions and also in our words we

recruited out of state law enforcement

officers to move to a state where they

would be respected it isn't just our law

enforcement officers who go above and

beyond the Call of Duty I hear story

after Story of incredible South dakotans

who step up every single day

stories like the staff at the Avera

adventera Nursing Home in Salem

who brought residents into an inner room

at the nurse's station when the derechio

hit their facility this spring

those individuals had to physically hold

the door shut in their bare hands to

keep them from being ripped off their

hinges and when the storm abated

everything on the other side of those

doors were gone

these nursing home employees may have

felt like they were just doing their job

but they saved so many lives that day

the staff of that nursing home is here

with us all today would you all please

stand and remain standing for just a

minute stay at stand up we'll give you a

round of applause but don't sit down

foreign

I want them to stay standing for a

little bit when I was there

right after the storm I was shocked by

what I saw I had never seen a situation

where people literally had to stand

there and hold a flimsy door shut to

protect people in the middle of the

derechio tornado situation and they did

it to protect their residents and

literally risked their lives to do it

it's incredible the devastation that

happened and what they did that day it's

a testimony to the people of South

Dakota and I've got one more individual

that I'd like to talk to talk about

today as well

Mark cook Works in construction he has a

wife and five kids and one day he was

driving through a torrential downpour

when he saw a car that was flipped on

its side in the median he pulled over he

climbed into the flipped vehicle he

found a woman who was in shock from that

crash the car was filling up with water

and the woman was hanging from her

seatbelt

Mark cut her loose he held her out of

the water calmed her down and held the

car door car door open above his head

until emergency responders could arrive

now Mark is a hero

he was a hero that day

but he's also a hero in uniform Mark is

a Staff Sergeant in the South Dakota air

guard and he was driving on his way to

drill when he stopped and helped that

woman potentially saving her life

his job in the guard is to keep our

nation safe and to protect our freedoms

but he could have just kept driving that

day he didn't he pulled over he stepped

up and staff sergeant cook and his

family are here today would you please

stand as well to be recognized and be

thanked for your heroism

thank you

stay standing today I want to honor both

the staff at Evan Avera Aventura and

Salem and staff sergeant Mark cook with

the governor's award for heroism thank

you so much for being incredible

witnesses to the extent to which South

dakotans will go above and beyond to

protect and to serve each other thank

you and congratulations on this award

and thank you for all that you do for

your communities

thank you

our state is safer because of men and

women who answer the call of duty

without being asked I'm proud to be a

South dakotan because of people like all

of you

thank you for setting the example

Now ladies and gentlemen

that's the state of our state

for four years now we have made South

Dakota the state where anyone can come

here and build their American Dream

we've strengthened families we've

secured their state this state and we

have built here in the last four years

exactly what our founding fathers

envisioned when they created our nation

and the founders of our state who

enshrined the phrase under God the

people rule

we are just getting started

in 1790 less than one year after taking

office as the President of the United

States George Washington delivered his

first State of the Union Address

now some people think it was the best

State of the Union ever delivered it was

also the shortest so that might have

been a reason why

but President Washington delivered an

important important point that I think

we should all remember today

the welfare of our country is the great

object to which our cares and efforts

ought to be directed I shall derive

great satisfaction from a cooperation

with you in the pleasing though arduous

task of ensuring to our fellow citizens

the blessings for which they have the

right to expect from a free efficient

and equal government

that is still our task today to ensure a

free and efficient and an equal

government for the people of South

Dakota I look forward to working with

all of you to get that done and may God

bless you and may God continue to bless

the great state of South Dakota

[Applause]