The Queen of saving stinky rich SD businessmen money, while little old ladies support our government by paying taxes on bread and milk;
Last Valentine’s Day, South Dakota businessman Ted Hustead fell in love, politically speaking.
His state’s legislature was considering taxing road signs. For Hustead, the owner of Wall Drug, that meant war. Wall Drug may have more road signs than any single entity on the planet. The signs stretch for hundreds of miles along Interstate I-90 and are also in Paris, Kenya, London and at the South Pole.
While testifying against the bill, Hustead began to take notice of a new face.
“All of the sudden I’m just sort of watching her on the committee and noticing her and noticing how articulate she is, and how knowledgeable she is and how she understood both sides of the issue,†said Husted. “After the committee dispersed I just sat back in my chair and watched her work the room. I was just very impressed with her.â€
“She†was state Rep. Kristi Noem and Hustead, one of the most powerful political money men in the state, would be a good friend to have, helping her raise more than $2 million.
Unimpressed with two other candidates who’d announced runs, Hustead learned from a lobbyist friend that Noem would be announcing her candidacy for South Dakota’s only seat in the House of Representatives the following day.
“I said to the lobbyist, ‘Please get a hold of Kristi Noem and have her call me … I know where the money is,’†Hustead said. Noem agreed to drive across the state for dinner.
Everything was going well at dinner as the two discussed the logistics of how Hustead could help. It was getting late, though: 8:30 p.m. Hustead was feeling guilty about Noem’s long trip home — a two-hour drive with a loss of one hour from the difference in time zones.
That’s when Noem made her pitch. “The real reason I’m here is I want you to be my treasurer,†she said. Hustead was thrilled. The two kept talking into the night until finally, at 11:30 p.m. or so, she left, to arrive home after 2 a.m.
The next morning, at 7:30, Hustead found a page-and-a-half-long e-mail thanking him for dinner and outlining her plans for him as her treasurer.
As far as I am concerned, taxing advertising in SD is way past due.
She wears cowgirl boots in Washington. Guess where they came from? Wall Drug.
l3wis. Where can I find those stats on percentage of kids in SF on assistance for school lunch programs?
What a creepy story.
Okay, so from Wall to Castlewood is (according to mapquest) 375 miles – and she made it in an hour and a half? (11:30 Mountain – 2:00 Central) That works out to 250 MPH. It did say someting about the “long drive” home – didn’t it?
Maybe we should take a collection to put billboards at the western borders that say: Warning! Aggressive interdiction using dogs. If traverse of this state is unavoidable, inspect your vehicle for faulty equipment, obey all traffic laws, and remove the batteries from your cell phones.”
Join ip in going to your favorite forum west of the chemical toilet that is South Dakota, then copy and paste the above warning.
Poly it isn’t just Sioux Falls… expand your horizons and look at the numbers statewide and you might be shocked.
You can find some general information on the SD Dept. of Education website (specifically the nutrition section) here:
http://www.doe.sd.gov/cans/index.asp
Then on the right hand side of the page is a link to the spreadsheet you are looking for. It is called “Percent Free/Reduced, by Attendance Center” and the URL to it directly is http://www.doe.sd.gov/cans/documents/PerFreeRe.xls
The average for all Sioux Falls schools is 45% which in comparison to many schools is well below average. Rapid City is 44% so they are basically a mirror. Aberdeen (the third largest district) is 34%.
The real shockers are outside of the larger districts. I realize in some cases these numbers relate to reservation systems, but when you see a percentage it is a lot higher than you might expect and makes Sioux Falls look amazing.
For instance:
Sisseton – 59%
St. Francis Indian School – 81%
Wagner – 72%
Waubay – 68%
Oelrichs – 77%
Mclaughlin – 83%
Faith – 68%
Cheyenne River (BIA) – 82%
Not exactly sure what this has to do with the Noem article however. I do have to agree with Scott on this one… the story is creepy. Hustead might have been impressed with Noem, but I’ll promise you it has nothing to do with her ability to be “articulate” and more to do with her physical looks. The fact is, Noem isn’t even remotely articulate nor is she educated. She has also displayed a complete misunderstanding of the issues and doesn’t consider both sides unless you believe one side if the GOP viewpoint and the other is the Tea Party viewpoint.
Poly since my first post is still awaiting moderation (due to the embedded links) just try this:
http://www.doe.sd.gov/cans/documents/PerFreeRe.xls
Not exactly sure what this has to do with the Noem article however.
Actually it has nothing to do with noem. I just know the topic has been discussed here many times before, and knew someone here would know. As I recalled, it was north of 40% but wanted to know exactly. Thanx for the links. Had been there before but forgot to bookmark. Didn’t really want to hijack a thread, but I did try to inject some noemuances.
Here, check out noems wall drug cowgirl boots.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=41749#
The different times that I have seen her being interviewed and/or speaking in DC she appears to be one of the poorest groomed congress women there. I have heard pros and cons about the comfort of cowboy boots. These comments come from people that wear the boots frequently. However another name for cowboy boots is “shit kickers.” I wonder if the ones that she is showing off were purchased or a gift??? If the other women can wear dress shoes I would think she could too.
I like cowboy boots. I had a kickass pair in HS that were snake, of course my favorite band at the time was G N’ R so that probably explains the fascination. I will say boots are uncomfortable, until you break them in. But nothing beats a pair of Chucks.
Imagine Detroit Lewis doing the ‘Axle Rose’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHEUsGhUtgg
We should triple tax advertising to make up for lost time.
Or at least at the same rate as bread.
Hustead helping Noem get elected makes perfect sense
…almost poetry.
No shit? Huh? A bunch of stinky rich SD scratching each other’s backs? Who knew it went on? The next time I go past Wall, SD, I’m going to speed up, throw my empty beer bottles out and give them the bird.
I know there was a lot of bad blood between Kristi and primary folks after the June 8th win. I’m not sure that is any different from Kristi’s daily life though.
If you are in Watertown or have anything to do with her you know she is an ALFA B**** and most people like her husband more than her.
It seems the better people know her the less they like her.
I’ve heard from several people that Ted H. likes to buy Noem boots and gifts from his store and dress her up like his little Barbie Doll and that she lets him because it gets her access to his money and his connections.
Gross.
I’m sure ted dresses her up. Some of my friends said they sat with Kristi at a dinner and she couldn’t stop talking about ted buying her stuff and how close they are.
Like I said above, Gross.