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Pennington County in dispute with state over opioid settlement amounts
Pennington County is arguing in court that the state should recalculate its national opioid settlement amounts to pay the county’s litigation costs. The national opioid settlement was the product of two channels of litigation: a multidistrict lawsuit against manufacturers and distributors of opioids for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic, and state attorneys general […]
State doesn’t inspect or license growing IV hydration clinics
The South Dakota Department of Health doesn’t inspect or license IV hydration clinics, which are increasingly popular places to treat ailments such as hangovers, fatigue and jet lag with supplements delivered intravenously. The clinics have appeared as retail storefronts, medical spas and Sturgis Rally vendor booths in South Dakota. The IV cocktails can cost anywhere […]
Third SD nursing home to close in 2023 as Legislature studies long term care sustainability
A third South Dakota nursing home will close this year — citing short staff, rising costs and years of insufficient Medicaid reimbursement. More than 15 South Dakota nursing homes have closed since 2017. The Bennett County Nursing Home in Martin operated at a loss of over $1.3 million in the first six months of 2023, […]
Medical marijuana cards surpass 11,500
More than 11,500 South Dakotans hold medical marijuana cards two years after medical cannabis became legal in South Dakota. That’s well ahead of projections made by the state when the program first started in 2021, said Jennifer Seale, the state Department of Health’s medical cannabis program administrator. The state began issuing cards in November 2021 […]
Higher taxes and fees fix hundreds of bridges, but some local governments don’t participate
In 2015, nearly 25% of locally owned bridges in South Dakota were in poor condition. Eight years later, more than $142 million in taxpayer funding has been spent on 500 local bridge improvement grants through a state program. As of 2022, the number of locally owned bridges in poor condition had decreased by 46 while […]
Public defender recommendation won’t provide relief to cash-strapped counties, legislator says
A task force studying costly legal services recommended a state public defender’s office last month to ease the burden on counties when defendants can’t afford a lawyer. But Sen. Jim Mehlhaff, R-Pierre, a member of the task force, told legislators during a separate study committee meeting on county funding issues Wednesday in Pierre that the […]
Six SD nursing homes are among nation’s worst-rated
Six of South Dakota’s 98 nursing homes are on a federal list of the nation’s worst-rated care facilities. Five of the facilities are eligible for a special program to improve quality of care through increased regulatory oversight, and the other one is already in the program. The five eligible South Dakota facilities as of the […]
SD has lowest per capita tax burden in the region; highest sales tax burden, report says
South Dakota residents bear the lowest tax burden per capita in the region, according to a report shared with lawmakers Monday. But residents also bear the region’s heaviest sales tax burden. The Legislative Research Council, which provides legal and fiscal analysis for lawmakers, shared the report with the South Dakota Legislature’s Executive Board during a […]
Why hasn’t a lawsuit challenged SD’s trans health care ban?
Twenty-one states have implemented laws or policies banning gender-affirming care for transgender children. Nearly half of the laws have been challenged in court, but not South Dakota’s. That’s partly because a similar ban was already blocked by a federal judge in Arkansas earlier this summer. The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the Arkansas law in […]
Dewey County opens satellite office on reservation, staving off petition to move county seat
It’s an afternoon off work — an 82-mile round trip — for residents of Eagle Butte to visit the Dewey County Courthouse. But it’ll now be a matter of minutes for Eagle Butte residents to visit Dewey County’s first ever satellite office opened earlier this month — the third county satellite office in the state. […]
Rapid City senator accused of illegally accepting $600,000 in COVID-19 relief funds
State Sen. Jessica Castleberry, R-Rapid City, is accused of illegally accepting over a half-million dollars in COVID-19 relief funds to support her child care business, according to the governor and attorney general. Gov. Kristi Noem divulged the information in a news release Thursday, along with a letter from Attorney General Marty Jackley requesting that Castleberry […]
54,000 South Dakotans disenrolled in Medicaid unwind; 52,000 expected to be eligible with expansion
Roughly 54,000 South Dakotans have lost Medicaid coverage since the end of pandemic protections in March. At the same time, 52,000 South Dakotans are estimated to be eligible for enrollment in a voter-approved Medicaid expansion that took effect on July 1, state officials told legislators at an appropriations meeting Wednesday in Pierre. Voters approved the […]