The Scouting Report: A weekly digest

Controversy at Rotary, supporting veterans at School of Mines, hydroelectricity

Some members of the Downtown Rotary Club in Sioux Falls were not happy that Gov. Kristi Noem’s campaign pilfered video of a meeting the club had with Democratic governor candidate Jamie Smith. The video of Smith speaking to the club at an open luncheon on Oct. 17 was used by Noem’s campaign to create an attack ad that implied Smith wanted to increase taxes. That ad was emblazoned into the brains of anyone near a television in the final couple weeks of the campaign.

It didn’t help that Noem had declined an invitation from Rotary to discuss policy issues with Smith. Rotary includes some of Sioux Falls’ biggest names in business, including a lot of people who have written checks for Noem during her political career.

In a note to club members, President Cindy Peterson acknowledged the discontent.