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Team Krebs on the Job, Working on Secretary of State Website

Jason Gant is sleeping in today... which may not be different from most of the last four years when he had to drive to Pierre to be Secretary of State. Working the impression out of his office chair is Shantel Krebs, South Dakota's new chief of elections, keeper of seals, and only female besides Public Utilities Commissioner Kristie Fiegen* in a statewide elected office in the Capitol.

Job 1: fix the branding! Team Krebs is already hard at work scrubbing her predecessor's name and replacing it with hers:

Top of SDSOS.gov, 2015.01.02, 08:30 CST
Top of SDSOS.gov, 2015.01.02, 08:30 CST

Hmm, better work on that style sheet a bit. That thin white font floating inconspicuously in the corner seems entirely unlike the dynamic Secretary Krebs we all expect to make a deep impression on the office.

Team Krebs has launched the new @SOSKrebs Twitter account:

Screen cap from midpage, SDSOS.gov, 08:44 CST
Screen cap from midpage, SDSOS.gov, 08:44 CST

New PIO Jason Williams must not be in the office yet. Hop to it, Jason!

Secretary Krebs does have her smiling face up on the SOS homepage, with an image so big I have to switch to full-screen view to take it all in:

Screen cap from bottom of homepage, SDSOS.gov, 08:46 CST
Screen cap from bottom of homepage, SDSOS.gov, 08:46 CST

That image file is 361 KB, and it's on the template for every page. Holy cow, Team Krebs! Free up some bandwidth! Move that image to the top and shrink:

Modified SDSOS.gov banner
Modified SDSOS.gov banner

And if you can get Secretary Krebs to jump 3-D over my browser tab, that would be really cool. Carry on, SOS Web team! (And remember: don't call Pat for Web advice!)

Update 09:03 CST: We can spend the day watching the SOS website evolve before our eyes. Team Krebs has already changed some of the subsections to reflect my suggested change, shrinking that splendiferous image file and copying it to the banner:

SDSOS.gov banner, screen cap, 2014.01.02.09:03 CST
SDSOS.gov banner, screen cap, 2014.01.02.09:03 CST

I think that's now three distinct fonts in the banner—Bill Fleming may have issues. And as expected, Krebs's name didn't stay that small ghostly floater in the corner; it's now all caps, in gold, and a couple pixels larger than the name of the office. That's the SHANTEL KREBS we expect to own the room!

Correction 10:09 CST: In my original post, I forgot PUC Fiegen! Shameful! With Keystone XL bubbling, it is inexcusable that I forget one of the three state officials who can save us from the great black snake from the north. Commissioner Fiegen, I apologize for my oversight.

41 Comments

  1. Jenny 2015.01.02

    Slow news day, Cory? As long as you're at it, she needs to quit dying her hair so white. She's pretty enough without it. :) Honest lady advice here, no pun intended.

  2. mike from iowa 2015.01.02

    Someone should point out that brain bleach goes inside the cranium,not on top. She's got lovely bleached blonde hair. Wonder why she dyed the roots black?

  3. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.02

    Hey now, I'm not going there.

  4. Lynn 2015.01.02

    Hey! Come on everyone! Lets give her some time to get settled in to her new position. Jason Williams sounds like he could be a very valuable asset for her team and on just about any team. Once she gets her office set up I would imagine there would be far better communication as to everyone's role in the office and what it services it provides and as compared to the previous SoS.

    Patience before we criticize ok? :)

  5. mike from iowa 2015.01.02

    So far no one has managed to interject cow into the subject like wingnuts did with "Moo"chelle Obama.

  6. Nick Nemec 2015.01.02

    I'll let Mrs. Krebs be judged on the results if and when there are any. Of special interest to me and many South Dakotans will be the Native voting issues that Mr. Gant did all he could to sweep under the rug during his tenure. If she turns out to be "same song second verse" I'll criticize loud and long.

  7. JeniW 2015.01.02

    As I have mentioned previously, I know Shantel, she is a dyed in the wool Republican, and I do not agree with her on many topics, but I believe that she will try to do the right thing.

    If selecting some staff that will help her to the right thing, I think that is better than the stumbling around that Mr. Gant did.

    Whether or not she can fill the shoes left by Alice Kundert remains to be seen.

    What is the big deal about her hair? I have yet to see anyone complaining about the elected officials who have male pattern baldness, and how they cope with it.

  8. Jenny 2015.01.02

    You're right, JeniW. There is always a double standard when it comes to judging men and women on their looks. I do not hesitate to call out a man's physical weakness if they are deserving of it.

  9. larry kurtz 2015.01.02

    In late 2001, Mitch Krebs had hair plugs installed.

  10. 96Tears 2015.01.02

    Doctored up photos to make her appear 15 years younger don't take the place of good public policy. So far, it's a paper-thin vanity trip for Mitch's wife. I predict she'll show a prettier face than Gant, but the malicious policies will intensify to manipulate the office and enhance the state GOP political machine.

  11. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.02

    Nick, agreed: as a blogger, I find websites interesting, but the big news will come when Secretary Krebs is asked to support satellite early-voting stations and when she gets her first petition to review.

    I'd also like to see her put back the older corporate records that Gant removed from the online archives.

  12. mike from iowa 2015.01.02

    The big deal about her hair is that is all there is to this woman. No record to discuss or criticize. If you can't say something nice about someone,say something nasty. It;s the wingnut way.

  13. South DaCola 2015.01.02

    Is that a photo of the new Renee Zellweger?

  14. South DaCola 2015.01.02

    As I have pointed out on my site a few times, when the snowgaters were out collecting petition signatures at the Minnehaha County Administration building Shantel refused to sign and went on a rant about how "Initiatives and Referendums in South Dakota should be illegal." I doubt her opinion has changed much. It will be interesting to see how she handles 'progressive' initiatives being turned into her office for approval.

  15. Nick Nemec 2015.01.02

    That's a troubling anecdote. South Dakota is the proud home of both the initiative and referendum. I can only hope Mrs. Krebs respects that heritage.

  16. Richard Schriever 2015.01.02

    Any web developer worth their salary is smart enough to refrain from posting updates/changes directly to the production server. Always create code/content changes on the development server - triple check everything works and looks as intended - THEN transfer updated code to production server. Sheesh.

  17. Deb Geelsdottir 2015.01.02

    I'm with Lynn. Let's wait to see her actions as SOS.

    96 and Mike, you are being unfair criticizing her appearance. Every politician and executive, plus a few gazillion other people have professional photos that are often deceptive. It's not a big deal.

  18. Douglas Wiken 2015.01.02

    Her pretty face should not be in the masthead or on the opening Secretary of State page. That and any other personal info which has nothing to do with the tasks of the Secretary of State should be on a separate "About the Secretary" page. Remember, she is one of those who thinks the way to fix highways is to tax electric and high fuel mileage vehicles extra.

  19. mike from iowa 2015.01.02

    Ms Deb-what is there to wait for? She will not buck the white male establishment. They already don't have much use for women. You can tell by the legislation passed to deny women fundamental rights. Expect the worst,then you won't feel disappointed or betrayed.

  20. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.02

    Richard, remind me to have you on staff after we stage our Madville Times coup in Pierre. ;-)

    South Dacola—yikes! Krebs said that? I share Nick's alarm that we would have a Secretary of State who wants to outlaw I&R. Did she mention that on the campaign trail? Perhaps just as importantly, did Angelia Schultz mention that? Please remind us of that story when she starts checking petitions and when she runs for re-election in 2018.

  21. Deb Geelsdottir 2015.01.02

    I get your point about not waiting. However, there are some decent Republican women who are as appalled by their party's War on Women as any Democrat, feminist, or anyone else.

  22. Deb Geelsdottir 2015.01.02

    Previous post was a response to Mike. Sorry I forgot to address him.

  23. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.02

    Doug, I'm ambivalent on putting our elected officials' faces on the homepages of the departments they run. It looks like it's standard practice for every elected office in Pierre. It seems to make sense to be able to put a face to the office, to know what the person we have to blame looks like. I definitely agree that I don't need personal details, not even on the "about me" page. An "About Me" page telling about family, hobbies, etc. is irrelevant to the function of the office. (By the way, Shantel likes volunteering and horseback riding.)

  24. CLCJM 2015.01.03

    Thanks South DaCola, that's scary but thanks for sharing it. We needed to know and we need to remember it!

  25. leslie 2015.01.03

    pretty or not, taxpayer funded websites are not facebook and are not appropriately used as self-promotion devices like this. theft, lack of integrity, "pretty" standard stuff for republicans, really. daugaard has over-all responsibility for maintaining order in the state capitol. this is day "one", two fails.

  26. leslie 2015.01.03

    p.s. lawyers have been using 3 different fonts on their letterhead for two hundred years.

  27. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.03

    Leslie, I suppose I shouldn't gripe about font usage, given my own extravagance.

    Nick, Krebs has already made clear she thinks the voting centers that our Lakota neighbors want are unnecessary. Perhaps when her people get done with the website, they'll be filing their amicus briefs to help Jackson County.

  28. Nick Nemec 2015.01.03

    If Mrs. Krebs insists on continuing to make it more difficult for Natives to vote than the white population she will have to defend her position in US Federal District Court. Good luck with that.

  29. JeniW 2015.01.03

    Nick, I 100% hope that whomever filed the lawsuit will win.

    There is no legitimate excuse not for not making voting more easily accessible to everyone.

  30. Jenny 2015.01.03

    Actually the SDDP should sue the state of SD if the Lakota people don't get their voting stations.

  31. JeniW 2015.01.03

    I agree Jenny.

    The state was able to budget $500,000.00 to support ALEC, it would then seem that the state has enough money to make sure that democracy works.

  32. Lynn 2015.01.03

    JeniW $500,000 is billed to the state of South Dakota for ALEC? That seems like a lot of money for that and if it is true someone should raise hell about it. We can easily use that 500k elsewhere in the state with the numerous challenges we face.

  33. Tim 2015.01.03

    Lynn, that 500 grand was budgeted for travel expenses our state republicans said they needed to attend ALEC's annual brainwashing. People did bitch, as usual, didn't do any good.

  34. Lynn 2015.01.03

    If that is the case I'll call up my district reps(they are all Republican) and visit with them about the upcoming legislative session about ALEC and a few other things that I hope are addressed. Hopefully others will do the same. ALEC is not only partisan but also a luxury and a waste of money for taxpayers.

  35. JeniW 2015.01.03

    My understanding of the $500,000.00 was to pay for each of the state legislator's membership to ALEC, to attend ALEC related events, and per diem.

    The thing that bugs me, is that there does not seem to be any sharing of what the legislators learn at the ALEC events with the the people they are suppose to be representing.

    I intend to be commenting to the legislators in my district, all three are Republicans, about their membership to ALEC, and ask how their involvement with ALEC has improved anything.

  36. Tim 2015.01.03

    JeniW, you want to see what they get from ALEC, just watch the garbage they introduce in session.

  37. mike from iowa 2015.01.03

    JeniW-things have improved immensely for the koch bros. They are the money behind and the biggest upfront beneficiaries of ALEC written model legislation.

  38. CLCJM 2015.01.05

    Thanks for posting that link to the previous article about ALEC. More enlightenment is good. I'm relatively new to Madville and so haven't seen many older articles. The Republicans have such narrow and circular logic that it makes me dizzy but of course they can't see it. God help us!

  39. Roxanna 2015.01.05

    That picture is about 10 years old.

Comments are closed.