Author
Abortion ballot measure challenge on course for late September trial
SIOUX FALLS — A lawsuit against South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot question won’t end before voting begins, according to rulings issued Tuesday. A Minnehaha County judge declined to dismiss the litigation, with a trial set to begin Sept. 23, three days after early voting starts. The abortion rights measure, Amendment G, will be on the Nov. […]
Noem denies clemency to two thieves, updates commutation for woman convicted of murder
One week after inking a second commutation in as many months for a person convicted of murder, Gov. Kristi Noem denied sentence reduction requests for two men serving time on theft charges. Noem sent the denial letters Wednesday to 78-year-old Elmos Hopkins and 46-year-old James Pasek. Hopkins picked up two five-year sentences for grand theft […]
THC seltzers quietly find a foothold in cannabis-cautious South Dakota
About a year ago, bar owner Justin Henrichsen started offering THC seltzers and cocktails at his four establishments in Rapid City, Spearfish and Sioux Falls. Since then, he’s watched the libations’ popularity spike with each passing month, across age groups and demographics, sometimes outselling wine and on pace with craft beers. What he hasn’t seen […]
Fast-track law enforcement training status returned to Western Dakota Tech
A new program director from North Carolina and a series of protocol changes have put Western Dakota Technical College back in the good graces of the state’s Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training Commission. Commissioners unanimously voted to reinstate the Rapid City school’s articulation agreement during a virtual meeting Wednesday after hearing from that new […]
Noem commutes sentences for two convicted of murder
Gov. Kristi Noem commuted the sentences of two people convicted of murder and issued 45 more pardons since February. Since taking office in 2019, Noem has commuted the sentences of 27 people and pardoned 341. Her first commutation of the summer was granted to 70-year-old John Proctor on July 24. Proctor has served 51 years […]
Rosebud Sioux Tribe elects its first female president
The voters of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe elected their first female president on Thursday. According to unofficial results posted late Thursday night, tribal council member Kathleen Wooden Knife prevailed by a vote of 1,192-870 in the presidential election over Steve DeNoyer Jr. The tribe also elected a woman to serve as vice president, choosing council […]
Lawmakers make it official: Annual fees for medical pot businesses will jump 70%
Lawmakers voted 4-1 on Tuesday to finalize a nearly 70% hike to the price of a medical marijuana business license. Sen. Red Dawn Foster, D-Pine Ridge, was the lone member on the Legislature’s Rules Review Committee to oppose the increase. The price change was made possible by a bill passed this winter at the urging […]
Federal health officials tout AI for medical research in South Dakota
Health researchers in South Dakota and across the U.S. want to use artificial intelligence (AI) to do things like cure cancer, predict the onset of Alzheimer’s and diabetes earlier, and diagnose and address disparities in the impact of kidney disease. But first, they need data. Lots of data. Data housed by government agencies, hospitals and […]
State attorney general says former Revenue Department employee faked titles to get loans
A now-deceased state employee used her position with the state Department of Revenue to create 13 fake vehicle titles, which were used to secure $400,000 in loans, Attorney General Marty Jackley’s office confirmed Thursday. The Dakota Scout newspaper had previously reported that a woman named Sandra O’Day, a three-decade state employee, had engaged in the […]
South Dakota attorney general tells lawmakers to consider age verification for porn sites
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley urged lawmakers to pass a bill that would require people to prove their age before accessing adult material online, but he had caveats. To be enforceable and make a meaningful difference in South Dakota, the state’s top prosecutor said, such a law would need to carry criminal penalties and […]
At least 12 die in motorcycle accidents before, during and after 2024 Sturgis rally
Three people died in motorcycle accidents during the recently concluded Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, according to the official tally of the state Department of Public Safety, but the actual number of motorcycle-involved traffic deaths in the state from the days before, during and after the event is 12. The department, which includes the Highway Patrol, attributes […]
South Dakota secretary of state now a defendant in abortion rights case
South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson is now a defendant in a lawsuit over an abortion rights ballot measure, but the lawsuit is still unlikely to change the look of the Nov. 5 general election ballot. If passed, the measure would reinstate legal abortion in spite of a state law that banned the procedure […]