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Lawrence County residents, your right to influence local zoning decisions is under threat! Ordinance 24-05, if passed, will fundamentally change how Conditional Use Permits are approved, eliminating public oversight and the ability to challenge decisions through a referendum. What Would Ordinance 24-05 Do? Currently, decisions on Conditional Use Permits follow this process:
What’s at Stake? Conditional Use Permits apply to a wide range of activities, including but not limited to:
Read about the first reading of the ordinance in the Black Hills Pioneer How Can You Help? 📧 EMAIL THE COMMISSIONERS Send a message to oppose Ordinance 24-05. Your email doesn’t have to be long—what matters is that your voice is heard.
🗓 ATTEND THE MEETING Join us at the second reading of Ordinance 24-05:
📝 SAMPLE EMAIL Subject: Oppose Ordinance 24-05 Dear Commissioners, I strongly oppose Ordinance 24-05 because it removes critical public oversight from the process of approving Conditional Use Permits. These decisions impact all of us, and citizens must retain the right to challenge them through a referendum. This ordinance concentrates power in the hands of a single board and silences the voice of the community. I urge you to vote NO on Ordinance 24-05 and preserve the rights of Lawrence County residents to participate in our local government. Sincerely, [Your Name]  Hello! I'm Victoria Greenlee, and I am excited to announce my candidacy as an Independent for the South Dakota House of Representatives, Lawrence County District 31. A little about me: I graduated from Spearfish High School and went on to earn degrees in English and Economics from Randolph Macon College in Virginia. My career has been diverse; I worked in advertising and finance in England and New York before returning to school to earn a teaching certificate. For over 20 years, I dedicated myself to teaching, a career that has shaped my understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing our community. Today, I live in Spearfish, caring for my father and I'm deeply invested in the future of our Black Hills region. I am running for office because there are critical issues at stake in our state that impact the quality of life for all residents. These issues transcend party lines. I am committed to providing a strong, independent voice for the voters of District 31. My core issues include: - Restoring and protecting a woman’s right to make her own choices regarding healthcare and reproduction - Strong support for education - Protecting our environment These are issues that affect every one of us, and I believe the people of Lawrence County deserve a representative who will approach them with integrity. I look forward to meeting many of you in the coming months and hearing your thoughts and concerns. Together, we can work towards a brighter future for Lawrence County. Thank you for your support! Best regards, Victoria Greenlee www.Victoria4House.com www.facebook.com/Victoria4House www.instagram.com/victoria4house secure.actblue.com/donate/greenlee-for-house-district-31-1 Lawrence County Democrats Overwhelmingly Back Amendment G – Abortion Access in South Dakota7/23/2024 The Lawrence County Democratic Party is pleased to announce our overwhelming support for Amendment G, a critical ballot measure aimed at restoring and safeguarding abortion access in South Dakota. This November, South Dakota voters will have the opportunity to vote on this vital amendment, joining four other states with similar initiatives on their ballots.
Amendment G, also known as the Roe v. Wade or the Abortion Rights Amendment, seeks to modify current South Dakota law by allowing abortions in the first trimester (up to 12 weeks) and to preserve the health and life of the mother up to 24 weeks, the gestational viability stage. In the third trimester, abortions would be legal only to save the mother’s life. Passage of Amendment G would also enable healthcare providers to manage pregnancy complications safely, restoring the standard of care that existed before South Dakota’s 2005 trigger law took effect in 2022 when Roe v. Wade was overturned. Presently, any person assisting or procuring an abortion in South Dakota is committing a Class 6 Felony, punishable by up to two years in jail and a $4,000 fine. Although no one has been prosecuted under this statute, it has severely restricted not only abortion access but also physicians' ability to manage pregnancy complications, exacerbating the state’s shortage of obstetricians. Statistics underscore the importance of this amendment:
South Dakota is one of five states with abortion initiatives on the ballot this November, alongside Colorado, Florida, Maryland, and Nevada. Notably, since 2022, voters in seven states (California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, and Vermont) have all voted in favor of abortion access. Historically, South Dakotans have shown strong support for women’s reproductive rights. In 2006, voters rejected a total abortion ban initiative with a 55% to 44% vote, and in 2008, a ban except in cases of incest and rape was similarly rejected by the same margin. By supporting Amendment G, South Dakotans can return our state to a place where women can have safe and private reproductive healthcare. We encourage everyone to get out and vote this November – together, we can achieve this! By Brad Schneck  For the last 56 years, Medicaid has been a part of the American safety net, helping provide medical coverage to millions who desperately need it. The states and federal government share the burden of funding, but it is the states that manage implementation. In fact, the burden of financial responsibility is fairly even with the feds footing about 57% of the bill. It’s because of this that standards to receive benefits vary broadly across the country, and access to Medicaid can be more difficult to acquire in some places than others.
Since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, federal money has been available for South Dakota to expand our Medicaid program to more of our citizens. However, SD legislators and politicians refuse to accept money based mostly on partisan political reasons. They claim that the increased funding from the feds would leave the state footing the bill in the long run and that South Dakota can’t afford it. But there’s plenty of reasons to accept the increase that would help the entire state of South Dakota. It is time for our state to expand Medicaid in order to improve our economic conditions, stimulate the healthcare industry in the state, and provide care to South Dakotans who desperately need it. In South Dakota, our standards for income-based eligibility for Medicaid are $9,528 annual income for single adults and $14,292 for couples. With the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) set at $12,880 for individuals and $17,420 for married couples, this sets the eligibility for Medicaid in South Dakota at 74% of FPL for individuals and 83% FPL for couples. South Dakota does have a lower cost of living comparative to the national average. In fact, according to bestplaces.net, our cost of living falls 12 points below the national average. An argument could be made based on comparative analysis of these two metrics that South Dakota is just adjusting federal guidelines to actual state needs. But let’s take a look at what it’s like to live right at the federal poverty level here in our state. At $12,880/year, your wages break down to $1,074 a month. The average cost of a one bedroom rental is $625, which sets your housing cost at 58% of your income right off the bat. Now, if we assume you have absolutely no debt whatsoever, that leaves you $449 to cover utilities, groceries, transportation and other expenses before you can even think about affording health insurance. For people at federal poverty level in South Dakota, private health insurance just isn’t an option. This creates major problems for our state, as those people don’t just stop requiring medical care. They either forego it until major issues arise, or they are forced to choose between basic living expenses and medical expenses. In either case, the burden of medical care becomes a major hurdle to getting ahead and oftentimes is a huge factor in keeping people stuck in poverty. In 2014, a pivotal Supreme Court ruling on Medicaid expansion wrapped up in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed states to opt in to federal funds to expand Medicaid to adults under 65 whose income was up to 133% of FPL. The deal wasn’t that they’d fund the expansion fully forever. The funds did lessen over time until we come to 2020 where they would rest at 90% of the expansion covered by the Federal Government. Many states jumped on the 100% funding right away and steadily went about the work of expanding their programs within the state and taking on the new recipients. But many states did not. South Dakota didn’t outright reject the offer at first. Governor Dennis Daugaard initially embraced a proposal with a modest rise to 100% FPL to take advantage of the government’s offer of full funding. That increase was estimated to have helped 50,000 South Dakotans access healthcare that previously did not have it. It would have also cost nothing to the state for three years while they went through the legislative process to adjust budgets accordingly. Despite this fact, the effort was stalled in the legislature in 2016, and by the end of the year, a newly elected White House pretty much sealed its fate. Governor Dauugaard dropped the effort after a meeting with VP Mike Pence made it clear that the entire ACA was in the new administration’s crosshairs. But in four years, the Trump administration was unable to remove the popular legislation, even with two years of complete control of the Executive and Legislative branches. Governor Kristi Noem succeeded Daugaard in 2018 and soon made clear her political alliances as a hyper partisan ally of Donald Trump. There seems to be hope amongst Republicans that the ACA, and all its expansions of the federal healthcare programs, will someday meet its demise. They hope this even as millions of Americans and the communities they belong to benefit from Medicaid expansion in their states. So, as our state Executive and Legislative branches follow the lead of their national parties, there seems little hope of realizing a much needed and beneficial expansion of Medicaid here in our state where real South Dakotans face real problems with medical care and its costs. When low income families and individuals are required to live without healthcare, they are playing a game of roulette with their well being that eventually becomes a problem of the state. Whether you have insurance or not, you are guaranteed care in this country. The problems usually come when the cost of that care is not able to be recovered. But lost profits and increased costs aren’t the only negatives to low-income Americans who lack affordable health insurance. Many times these people forgo basic medical treatment because of lack of affordable care options. The overall health of adults and children directly affects the health of our schools, workplaces, and community centers. If you can’t afford to lose wages, oftentimes you must choose to work while potentially infectious or send your kids to school because you can’t afford to keep them home. Long-term expenses like medication and treatment for chronic illness is also an issue as people are forced to choose between their health and basic needs like food or clothing. And when there is no choice, our neighbors have to take on debt in order to make ends meet each month. Our health and well being should not be a choice we have to make in direct contrast with our ability to financially survive. A healthier and more productive South Dakota is not the only benefit of Medicaid expansion. Healthcare is a major industry in our state, and it employs many people. With more low-income people accessing healthcare through Federally-funded programs, more money will be coming into our state and its healthcare industry. That is money that wouldn’t be here otherwise, and it helps create jobs, support families, and attract qualified healthcare professionals to South Dakota. Those professionals build homes, pay taxes, and build their lives here in our state. Having a robust healthcare industry within a state dedicated to its stability and growth as a way to keep its citizens healthier and more productive also attracts more qualified professionals to contribute. When we have top-tier medical care right here in South Dakota, it also means that our people don’t have to travel to other states to receive care and only helps improve the financial stability right here at home and keep our dollars in our own communities. Federal Medicaid funds also translate to community improvement as our towns and cities realize the benefits of a healthier and more productive population. A healthy and financially stable citizenry translates to less burden on the government over time and more economic mobility overall. Nobody wants to be in poverty. There are many conditions and circumstances that lead to that outcome. If we can alleviate the detrimental effects of costly healthcare expenses on our more impoverished citizens, that gives those folks one less financial burden to deal with, keeps them healthy, productive workers, and helps create healthier communities and industry in our beautiful state. It’s time for South Dakota to join the majority of states in updating its threshold for Medicaid in our state to 133% of FPL and take advantage of the funding provided by the federal government. It’s time to drop the political posturing and make decisions that make sense for South Dakota. It’s time for our state government to listen to the people of this state who routinely are required to bring their issues up for vote by way of initiated measures. Our legislators would prefer to spend their time bringing up bills paid for by wealthy out-of-state lobbying organizations who use our state as a testing ground for their extremist legislative goals. It is up to us to act in bringing this issue forward if our elected representatives refuse to act in our interests. The decision to expand Medicaid in South Dakota comes with many benefits that make it a low-cost, high-return investment for our state and its citizens. If you remove all the political undertones, this just makes sense for South Dakota. Since our legislators and Governor are more worried about supporting national partisan issues than taking care of what is needed here at home, I encourage you to sign the petition for Medicaid Expansion to go on the ballot and use our ballot initiative process to make this happen. The Spearfish Chamber of Commerce hosted a forum for District 31 State House of Representative candidates on October 15, 2020 at the High Plains Western Heritage Center. All three candidates for State House were in attendance, including Brooke Abdallah -D, Scott Odenbach -R, and Mary Fitzgerald -R. Some questions were known in advance, but most came from voter submissions and covered a wide array of topics relating to Lawrence County including: Covid-19, casino gaming, taxes, medicaid expansion, marijuana reform, logging, and education. The Lawrence County Democrats were in attendance to show support for Brooke Abdallah and produced this video of the event. Watch the entire forum here: https://www.facebook.com/SouthDakotaDems/videos/361768541732114
Lawrence County Democratic Party Contact: Bob Wilson, Chairperson PO Box 783 605- 591-2706
Spearfish, SD 57783 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The public is invited to the Lawrence County Democratic Harvest Luncheon on Saturday November 9th from 11am-2pm. Join us at Snapper’s Club in the Spearfish City Park for good food, good conversation and plenty of political chatter. With the state legislative session beginning in just a few months, now is the time to hear state level speakers and share in discussions around the issues influencing our state. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 on the day of the event. Additional information and tickets are available by contacting Bob Wilson at 605-591-2706. Don’t miss this Fall family friendly event to see what topics will be coming up this next legislative session. #  The Lawrence County Democrats kicked off the Downtown Friday Nights series in Spearfish this week with a booth where members helped local citizens to register to vote in South Dakota. The weekly concert and block party was the first of seven where you can meet members of the LC Dems group and learn more about becoming active in local party events and organization.  Besides the primary goal of registering people to vote, volunteers at the booth also made available the South Dakota Democratic Party platform to any who were interested in learning policy positions of the parts, as well as offering a signup sheet for anyone who was interested in becoming involved and attending meetings.  The Lawrence County Democrats are dedicated to being involved in local events like Downtown Friday Nights now and into the future. If you're hanging out in Spearfish on Friday night this summer, be sure to stop by and say hello to our dedicated and friendly volunteers and learn more about what LC Dems are doing in your community. And if you're not registered to vote, we've got you covered. See you there!  |
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