South Dakota lawmaker kicked out of South Dakota House after 'Aunt Jemima' tiff

Sen. Tom Pischke apologizes for leaving syrup bottle on colleague's desk

PIERRE – A South Dakota senator is receiving disciplinary action after gifting a bottle of syrup in jest to a fellow lawmaker.

Sen. Tom Pischke of Dell Rapids has been barred from the chambers of the state House of Representatives by Speaker Hugh Bartels for allegedly violating Legislative code of conduct standards Monday.

“It has come to my attention that you placed a bottle of syrup on a Representative’s desk,” Bartels wrote in a letter to Pischke, citing ethics standards outlined in the Legislature’s joint rules book. “Therefore, I am removing your privilege of coming on the floor of the House of Representatives.”

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Bartels told The Dakota Scout that a member in the state House “did not appreciate” the gesture, which comes after Rep. Kristin Conzet blocked a legislative commemoration co-authored by Pischke and Rep. Phil Jensen honoring Nancy Green, a former female slave who was one of the first black models hired to promote a corporate trademark — like the Aunt Jemima breakfast brand.

The company was rebranded in 2021 amid criticisms that continued use of “Aunt Jemima” was racially insensitive, while conservatives have chided the decision by PepsiCo to discontinue the brand as too politically correct.

Commemorations do not carry the weight of law, and opposition by a single member of the Legislature is enough to block a commemoration from being read on the floor of the House or Senate.