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Tribes still face uphill slog for housing infrastructure funding after passage of rules
South Dakota’s tribes may lose out on a quarter of a $200 million pool of workforce housing infrastructure money before lawmakers can pass a bill giving them access to the funds. The Legislature’s Rules Review Committee voted 5-1 Tuesday to give final approval to the rules for the program. But a wrinkle in the law […]
Sioux Falls man now facing 16 counts of COVID-related fraud
SIOUX FALLS — A Sioux Falls man already facing possible federal prison time for bank fraud has been charged with two additional counts of wire fraud for allegedly lying to secure another $700,000 in COVID relief funds. James Bunker, 52, of Sioux Falls, was initially indicted on a dozen fraud-related charges related to the Paycheck […]
Anti-abortion group sues South Dakota over campaign finance requirements
A Virginia anti-abortion group wants a federal judge to strike down a South Dakota law that requires nonprofit organizations to list their top five donors on political messaging. Students for Life of America is a nonprofit advocacy group launched in 2006, with an aim to educate and connect anti-abortion students with messaging tools and one […]
Minnehaha County passes rules for carbon pipelines despite opposition from both sides
SIOUX FALLS – Officials in South Dakota’s largest county dealt a blow to opponents of two carbon pipeline companies with a vote to set shorter-than-requested spaces between homes and pipelines in their first-ever set of rules for such projects. Minnehaha County commissioners convened Tuesday to take up the issue of setbacks in a long-debated pipeline […]
Slower growth, sluggish borrowing expected to impact South Dakota economy
Higher interest rates, inflation, a cooling housing sector and a dip in consumer spending are expected to slow economic growth in South Dakota, according to the state Bureau of Finance and Management. The agency’s projections for two years of lower growth in the state came during Wednesday’s meeting of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers. […]
Housing cash one step closer for South Dakota builders
The rules for a $200 million infrastructure funding program are headed to lawmakers for a final sign-off. The board of the South Dakota Housing Development Authority voted unanimously to approve its rules for the program on Wednesday after about an hour of public comments from local economic development offices, attorneys, home builders and others. Commenters […]
For-profit businesses in, tribes out in housing infrastructure rules update
For-profit entities might have a shot at some of the $200 million in housing infrastructure funding, the Housing Development Authority’s board members learned on Tuesday. Tribal entities, however, likely won’t be eligible unless the Legislature rewrites the law next year. Those two changes to the proposed rules of the long-delayed workforce housing incentive program came […]
Prison workshops bleeding money despite requirement to break even
The South Dakota Department of Corrections is required to operate its prison workshops without losing money, but the DOC has long failed to live up to that expectation. Not only do some shops lose as much as $400,000 a year, but inmates aren’t spending enough of their work time filling customer orders. Inmates regularly tag […]
Nine months and counting: Slain transgender woman’s family frustrated by wait for justice
Prosecutors in Rapid City know who shot and killed Acey Morrison. They’ve known since Aug. 21, 2022. That was the day the transgender member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe was shot in the mobile home of a man she’d met for an ill-fated hookup attempt that began on a dating app. What they don’t know […]
Tie vote delays decision on carbon pipeline policy in Minnehaha County
SIOUX FALLS — Minnehaha County commissioners gridlocked Tuesday on setbacks from rural homes and postponed a vote on an ordinance with the potential to scuttle two carbon capture pipelines. The absence of Commission Chair Jean Bender set the stage for a 2-2 vote and a return to the issue at the June 6 meeting. Plenty […]
LGBTQ+ candidate recruitment event draws dozens to downtown Sioux Falls
SIOUX FALLS — Being an LGBTQ+ lawmaker in a deep red state may feel like an uphill battle, but offering a presence and voice in statehouses “makes a big difference” behind the scenes. That was a key message at a candidate recruitment event in downtown Sioux Falls on Saturday organized by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit […]
State investment manager argues against ban on ‘green’ investments
The state’s top investment officer doesn’t want lawmakers to bar him from trading the securities of “green” companies — provided those companies can make money for the state. The goal of stock market purchases in South Dakota, Investment Officer Matt Clark said, is to buy low and sell high — regardless of the kind of […]