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Decision looms by Sept. 6 on pipeline permit, overruling counties
The Public Utilities Commission will decide at a later date whether it will overrule county zoning officials on behalf of a carbon pipeline company. Friday marked the second day of a two-day hearing in Pierre on the question of county authority, brought by Navigator CO2 Ventures, the company behind one of two proposed carbon pipelines […]
Navigator asks Public Utilities Commission to shoot down county pipeline rules
South Dakota counties have taken extraordinary steps to interfere with state-level permitting for two carbon dioxide pipelines, a pipeline representative told the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on Thursday. The assertion was part of a PUC hearing at which the commission is being asked to preempt and overrule pipeline-related rules enacted by several South Dakota […]
One year later, no decision in slaying of transgender woman in Rapid City
It’s been a year since a Rapid City man shot Acey Morrison to death in a trailer home north of town. Pennington County prosecutors have yet to decide whether to charge the shooter or close the investigation into her death. Morrison, a transgender Native American woman, was shot after meeting a man on the dating […]
The biggest thing you’ve never heard of: How EROS changed the world from a cornfield
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center is celebrating its 50th anniversary. If you’re like most South Dakotans, EROS is the most important building you’ve never heard of. If you know it at all, there’s a strong chance you live in the Sioux Falls area and a slim chance you actually […]
Appeals court: Chamberlain must reimburse family for special education
A three-judge panel on Tuesday affirmed a ruling from a South Dakota judge ordering the Chamberlain School District to pay $100,000 for the out-of-state placement of a child with special needs. The Steckelberg family sued the central South Dakota district over its failure to find “appropriate placement” for their son, who is now grown, near […]
‘I want to speak life into people’: State takes all-in approach to suicide prevention
SIOUX FALLS — Roslyn Ward lost her 35-year-old son to suicide last October. The loss turned the Lemmon mother into an advocate for suicide prevention, and she founded an organization called “Hope … Your Life Matters.” Ward was on hand Friday in Sioux Falls for the South Dakota Suicide Prevention Conference to gather ideas, inspiration […]
Huron power struggle sets precedent for rural electric co-ops across US
In 2019, some board members of the rural electric cooperative Dakota Energy wanted to find out if they could get a better deal for wholesale power on the private market. Rates, and electric bills by extension, had doubled in 15 years for the 2,300 member-owners who pay the Huron-based co-op for electrical service. Wholesale costs […]
‘Rethinking Suicide’: Expert urges South Dakota audience to challenge assumptions
SIOUX FALLS — The Centers for Disease Control says up to 45% of the people who kill themselves had no history of mental illness. Psychiatrists and psychologists think 90% of them have such a history. The disconnect between the two figures is one reason health care professionals need to look beyond their assumptions if they […]
Two deaths, fewer citations mark third official day of Sturgis bike rally
Two people died in motorcycle crashes on the third official day of the Sturgis rally. The rally’s first fatality took place before 10 a.m. Sunday just southeast of Sturgis on Interstate 90, when the rider of a 2021 Harley Davidson motorcycle braked unexpectedly, causing a van to rear-end the bike. Another motorcycle with a sidecar […]
Senator accused of illegally pocketing COVID funds cooperating with state
Attorney General Marty Jackley says a Rapid City state senator accused of illegally accepting more than $600,000 in COVID relief funds is working to resolve the situation. Monday was the Jackley-imposed deadline for Sen. Jessica Castleberry, R-Rapid City, to either pay back the $603,219 in funds she collected for her daycare business, Little Nest Preschool, […]
Court: Kevin Costner may need to pay off South Dakota sculptor
Actor Kevin Costner may end up on the hook to pay a South Dakota sculptor for her work after a state Supreme Court decision in her favor. In 1994, the movie star commissioned Rapid City artist Peggy Detmers to create bronze statues of buffalo and Lakota warriors for a planned Deadwood resort dubbed “The Dunbar,” […]
Task force recommends creation of state public defender’s office
A task force studying the cost of public defense costs to South Dakota counties has concluded that a state public defender’s office could ease the burden. A seven-person office would cost the state around $1.4 million a year under a rough outline of its duties presented Monday during a virtual meeting of the Indigent Legal […]