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Supreme Court: Release T. Denny Sanford court records
Court records ought to be released to the public that could finally shed light on why the property of South Dakota’s richest man was searched as part of a child pornography investigation, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. It’s the second loss in a row at the state’s high court for T. Denny […]
Storm delays hearing on paid family leave for state employees
A little more than a week will pass before a state board considers extending paid family leave to 12 weeks for state employees. The Civil Service Commission was set to hear about the proposal on Tuesday afternoon, but the meeting was postponed until April 13 because of winter weather-related state government office closures, according to […]
State employees could receive Noem’s paid family leave expansion, despite legislative rejection
A state commission could endorse 12 weeks of paid family leave for state employees less than two months after lawmakers voted against changing state law to make that happen. The Civil Service Commission will consider the rule change during Tuesday’s meeting. It would extend paid family leave for new parents from eight weeks to 12 […]
South Dakota one of few states to saddle counties with public defense costs
All U.S. citizens have a right to an attorney when charged with a crime, even if they can’t afford one. Only 11 states, including South Dakota, use local rather than state dollars to pay for the vast majority of public defense. Just one state relies more heavily on counties to pay the cost than South […]
County commissioner: Carbon pipelines should outfit volunteer fire departments
A Minnehaha County commissioner wants volunteer firefighters in the state’s most populous county to ask for safety equipment from two carbon pipeline companies for use in the event of a pipeline failure — something the companies say they’re willing to do. The suggestion from Commissioner Joe Kippley came last week on the heels of a […]
Limits, application of South Dakota ‘stand your ground’ law debated before Supreme Court
BROOKINGS — In 2019, Minnesota native Ramon Deron Smith killed a man and wounded two others in a Sioux Falls parking lot during his first visit to the city. He kept shooting as his targets fled across a busy urban thoroughfare. After doing so, he drove back to Minneapolis, shaved his head, ditched the vehicle […]
State Supreme Court considers role of lie detectors in sentencing
BROOKINGS — A man who contends he was not the shooter in a 2020 robbery-turned-homicide in Sioux Falls wants the South Dakota Supreme Court to order a judge to consider the results of his polygraph test at a new sentence hearing. Ray Banks is serving an 80-year sentence for manslaughter for his role in the […]
Sanford lawyer: Allow billionaire to review records in child porn investigation before release
BROOKINGS — Billionaire philanthropist T. Denny Sanford wants the South Dakota Supreme Court to let him review court documents expected to outline the reasons the state launched a child pornography investigation involving him, which ultimately drew no criminal charges. At the heart of the dispute is public access to the court records generated as part […]
Minnehaha County votes to bolster prosecutors, public defense
SIOUX FALLS – Federal grant funding from the Violence Against Women Act could soon bring a domestic violence specialist to the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office to help shepherd victims through the criminal justice system. The Minnehaha County Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar to apply for a Services, Training, […]
Kidnapper, attempted rapist vows to walk free without parole supervision
SIOUX FALLS — An inmate who abducted and tried to rape a 12-year-old Wasta girl in 1984 told the Board of Pardons and Paroles this week that he’d rather walk free in four years than ask for mercy and supervised release again. Wayne Edmonds Jr., 62, was sentenced to 75 years for kidnapping and seven […]
Criminal justice bills passed in 2023 described as ‘just a start’ for lawmakers
The recently concluded legislative session emphasized and funded criminal justice to an extent not seen in a decade, but according to some prosecutors and lawmakers, it’s just the start of reforms. The focus next year, they say, should be on rehabilitation. “We’ve had legislators who have reached out and have already said, ‘Hey, what can […]
Ag Department launches cattle contracts library urged by Johnson
A recently launched program championed by South Dakota’s lone congressional representative aims to aid livestock producers in price negotiations with slaughterhouses. The Cattle Contracts Library is meant to log basic information on the prices paid for cattle by the nation’s four major processing conglomerates: Cargill, JBS USA, National Beef Packing and Tyson Foods. The idea […]