On Jan. 12, we held our fourth annual property rights rally, where the media proclaimed that the grassroots movement was “bigger and stronger than ever before.” During that rally, farmers, ranchers, landowners, and concerned citizens from across the state gathered together with a shared mission to safeguard our God-given, Constitutionally-protected property rights.
Specifically, as we headed into the legislative session, we had two missions — kill the egregious 2024 “landowner bill of rights,” and fortify our property rights within our state constitution by officially eliminating eminent domain for private gain.
As a lifelong rancher, my family runs cattle just east of the James River. This beautiful prairie is home to native grasslands, wildlife, and my beloved cow-calf pairs. It’s the place where I raise my four kids. It’s home to generations of family tradition and heritage. It’s my peace, solace, and my slice of the American dream.
But when a Green New Deal carbon pipeline boondoggle came into the state of South Dakota and threatened to take that away from 160+ landowners, trampling on property rights and destroying that dream for so many along the way — we FOUGHT BACK and WE WON.
We defeated SB201, the third bill packaged as the “landowner bill of rights” that would have stripped away local control and given eminent domain authority to just three people on a state level.
We voted out 12 legislators who pushed that bad bill and replaced them with property rights advocates, and with that election, we were able to place a conservative stronghold in leadership on both the House and Senate.
That momentum afforded us the opportunity to advance HB1052, a bill that stopped eminent domain for carbon pipelines. This bill was carried by property rights champions, Speaker Pro Tem Rep. Karla Lems and first-time Senator Mark Lapka — both impacted landowners along the carbon pipeline route.
Then, this summer, a conservative group of legislators, including Rep. Lems, Senator Lapka, Speaker of the House Jon Hansen, Rep. Liz May, and myself, traveled to Washington, D.C, where we fought tooth and nail to get a provision within the Big Beautiful Bill that would have allowed for eminent domain for private gain to be used on carbon pipelines.
A few months later, we pushed back when the North Dakota Attorney General threatened to sue the state of South Dakota over HB1052.
No sooner were those fires put out that we faced another threat — Congressman Dusty Johnson’s attempt to fast-track projects like carbon pipelines and data centers with his bill HR4135. We went public with our concerns, and we continue to monitor to see if that terrible policy moves forward in Congress.
With these victories, the entire nation has been watching and asking — how is South Dakota winning? These accomplishments have had a ripple effect on other states.
In fact, I was in Washington state earlier this summer, and an agricultural advocate there was describing to me how awful some of the policies they have to fight in that state are. She told me, “Amanda, you better hope we win against some of these threats coming in Washington, because they will trickle to middle America and impact states like yours.”
My response to her was, “In South Dakota, we are advancing positive pro-agriculture, pro-business, pro-property rights, and pro-liberty legislation. We take that responsibility very seriously, and know that we can have a positive impact on other states, including yours. You better hope we can continue to win here, because if we lose ground, I’m not sure what other state will step up to lead on these issues.”
With that in mind, there was careful and deliberate planning and preparation leading up to the 2026 legislative session. The fight for property rights has never been about stopping a carbon pipeline, or any other project, it’s been about ensuring that every landowner and homeowner has the right to say “Yes,” or “No, thank you.”
There are continued threats to land, liberty, and property that exist today, and we have traveled every corner of the state making a promise to others who boldly and selflessly stood up for us when we faced the imminent threat of the carbon pipeline scam. That promise was simple — we will never stop fighting for property rights for ALL.
That means wind, solar, data centers, and other “economic development” projects that seek to overpower and undermine individual liberties and freedoms. Because the reality is that until the split 5-4 Supreme Court decision, Kelo vs. the city of New London, is overturned, we will continue to see the trampling of our property rights and eminent domain abuse being used under the guise of “economic development” and “increasing the tax base.”
So when House Joint Resolution 5001 was introduced, the intention was clear — we must keep property rights in the hands of the people. We must never allow the government to give or take away something that is inherently ours. We must fortify property rights in the constitution and eliminate eminent domain for private gain once and for all.
With more than 1,000 hours poured into this, a dozen attorneys and constitutional experts consulted, and a group of core conservative legislators working in lock-step, HJR 5001 sailed through the House. There were amendments made along the way, which critics used to claim that the bill was sloppily written and the sponsors were reckless.
We firmly reject this false narrative, as we consistently contended that we wanted the feedback of the legislature to ensure that if we were going to change the constitution, it would be absolutely perfect, every word precise. The amendments made along the way reflected a listening ear, thoughtful feedback, and an honest attempt to refine and improve the wording before it ever landed on the ballot.
The final version considered before the Senate was a responsible, well-thought-out, and very strong language that aligned with North Dakota’s constitution. Why this is so important is because where Summit Carbon Solutions slapped 160+ condemnation papers on landowners in South Dakota, there were ZERO eminent domain filings in North Dakota. Why? Because North Dakota has the constitutional protections that we simply do not.
With that knowledge, this should have been an easy, obvious, and commonsense vote to give the people the final say on this issue. This policy is desperately needed because state statute and case law can change on a whim, but the constitution would provide absolute certainty, clarity and protections for every homeowner and landowner in South Dakota.
And in the middle of our fight to bring GOOD POLICY to HELP PEOPLE in South Dakota, we squared up to some of the largest lobbying groups in the country. I personally faced death threats, which were reported to authorities. And we had to battle Capitol IT as 3,000+ emails in support of HJR5001 landed in spam instead of being received by our elected officials.
On top of that, saboteurs were in our midst working overtime to kill this bill, and once it got to the Senate, our legislators FAILED to get this across the finish line. Their “no” votes included flimsy excuses based on partisan politics, personal feelings, emotionalism, and a very immature understanding of the Constitution and the history of this ongoing battle for property rights.
Now as we head into a primary election season, we have now identified those legislators who will tirelessly fight for property rights FOR ALL vs. the ones who used a carbon pipeline to get into office. I encourage you all to check the vote count and ask those legislators why they landed on the wrong side of history with this vote and chose to leave you vulnerable — a “sitting duck” on your own land.
In closing, we end the legislative session with a major victory for property rights that I am immensely proud of. The UNANIMOUS, VETO-PROOF PASSAGE of SB88, “The Bossly Bill,” carried by Senator Lapka and Rep. Karla Lems. This bill officially put the final nail in the coffin of the trio of bills dubbed the “landowner bill of rights.” It eliminates HB1185, sponsored by Rep. Will Mortensen, Senator Casey Crabtree, and Senator Erin Tobin, which was deemed unconstitutional in a unanimous Supreme Court decision that determined the unlawful, invasive surveying done at Jared and Tara Bossly’s house is unacceptable in the state of South Dakota.
No longer can a private company come onto your land against your wishes and do invasive surveying. No citizen of South Dakota will ever have to experience the hell that the Bossly’s had to endure when a foreign-backed, out-of-state carbon pipeline company invaded their home and shop, surrounded their farm with armed security guards, trampled on trees, drove through feed yards, and bore a 90-foot hole into their field on a hot, windy day.
We have righted some wrongs. We have fought the good fight. We will continue to travel the state educating citizens on their constitutional rights, and we will not rest until Kelo vs. New London is overturned and placed in the graveyard of bad government ideas that have hurt people across the country.
Your land is worth fighting for. Your legacy is worth protecting. Your American dream is yours to keep. And I thank each and every one of you who stood alongside me in this battle. We will never back down. We will never yield. And our journey is just beginning.
I told myself as I walked into the Capitol for the final vote on HJR 5001, “I got into politics as a cowgirl who cared deeply about the land, and no matter the outcome of this vote today, I will leave the Capitol a cowgirl who cares deeply about the land. And I will never stop fighting for it — not for myself — but for all of our kids and grandkids and future generations to come. That’s who we are. And that’s the principle we never wavered from and must continue to stand on.”
God bless,
Amanda Radke