Government

Close-up of someone holding naloxone nasal spray. (Courtesy of NIH/NIDA)

‘Why wait?’ SD businesses can purchase opioid overdose medication under new law

BY: - March 20, 2023

Bystanders who witness an opioid overdose in a public space, restaurant or workplace only have one option under existing state law: call 911 and wait for help to arrive. But waiting puts lives at risk, said Rep. Brian Mulder, R-Sioux Falls. Under current law, medications used to treat opioid overdoses in emergency situations — such […]

COMMENTARY
Governor Kristi Noem uses a custom branding iron dipped in ink to issue her first veto of the 2023 legislative session. (Courtesy of the Office of the Governor)

Veto of lodging tax bill doesn’t align with Noem’s freedom-loving rhetoric

BY: - March 19, 2023

Gov. Kristi Noem could often be heard during the pandemic saying that South Dakota’s response to COVID-19 was based on freedom. Her message was that the state wasn’t going to tell local governments to shut down — that was up to them. It wasn’t going to shut down some businesses while designating others as essential […]

A portion of the Pactola Reservoir in the Black Hills. (Seth Tupper/SD Searchlight)

Federal agencies seek to protect Pactola Reservoir and Rapid Creek from mining

BY: - March 17, 2023

Two federal agencies have announced a proposal to protect 32 square miles of the Black Hills National Forest from mining. The Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service made the announcement in a Friday news release. The proposal covers the Pactola Reservoir and Rapid Creek Watershed, which are popular recreation destinations that also serve […]

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, participates in a Senate Banking Committee hearing in March 2023. (Screenshot from committee hearing video)

Congressional Roundup: Sustainability vs. safety

BY: - March 17, 2023

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of periodic updates on the activities of South Dakota’s congressional delegation. A new bill from Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, would take money away from sustainability efforts in schools and redirect it to school safety. The bill takes aim at $500 million in funding appropriated by […]

An aerial view of Verratti Farms LLC, a dairy and grain operation in Newfane and Gasport, New York, on May 26, 2022. (Courtesy of USDA)

Limits on foreign ownership of U.S. farmland gain support in Congress, despite skepticism

BY: - March 17, 2023

WASHINGTON — Bipartisan momentum is building in Congress to restrict China and other foreign adversaries from purchasing U.S. farmland, a reflection of a similar push by some states as well as apprehension over Chinese spy balloons, rising land prices and growing international competition.  “Foreign ownership of agricultural land threatens small family farms and the overall […]

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack testifies during a U.S. Senate Ag Committee oversight hearing March 16, 2023. (Committee video screenshot)

Members of U.S. Senate agriculture panel spar with Vilsack over USDA spending, response

BY: - March 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack bristled at complaints from both Democrats and Republicans of unchecked departmental spending and delayed support for farmers during a Thursday U.S. Senate oversight hearing. He also lobbied Congress to provide a farm bill that will balance large-scale productivity with the needs of small and mid-sized producers, a theme the […]

(Darwin Brandis/iStock Getty Images Plus)

As opioids overdose deaths keep rising, report urges lawmakers to develop new approaches

BY: - March 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers should view America’s staggering opioid crisis, including the rise of illicit fentanyl, through an “ecosystems” approach, argues a massive RAND Corporation report published Thursday. That means they should examine the gaps and interconnections among emergency response, data collection, education, treatment, housing and law enforcement, the report advises. The 600-page volume — which […]

The U.S. Capitol building is seen on Oct. 22, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

U.S. Senate moves toward repealing authority for military force against Iraq

BY: - March 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate took a broadly bipartisan vote Thursday to advance legislation that would end the 32-year-old and the 20-year-old Authorizations for Use of Military Force against Iraq.  The 68-27 vote moves the measure past the chamber’s 60-vote legislative filibuster and towards a final passage vote as soon as next week. House Republican […]

Gov. Kristi Noem, surrounded by National Guard members on March 16, 2023, in Rapid City, signs a bill into law that will increase tuition coverage for members of the South Dakota National Guard to 100%. (Courtesy of the Governor's Office)

New law provides 100% tuition coverage for SD National Guard members

BY: - March 16, 2023

Gov. Kristi Noem signed a bill into law Thursday that will provide 100% tuition benefits for National Guard members at South Dakota technical colleges and public universities. The increase from 50% to 100% coverage will benefit the Guard by providing another incentive for recruitment and retention, Noem said. Noem, whose father served in the National […]

Contractors conduct groundwater sampling in March 2022 as part of an effort to provide alternative water supplies for areas affected by PFAS contamination near Ellsworth Air Force Base. (U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center)

Pentagon to halt use of firefighting foam that contains PFAS as cleanup costs mount

BY: and - March 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — Battered by years of criticism from U.S. lawmakers and environmental advocates, the Department of Defense will stop purchasing PFAS-containing firefighting foam later this year and phase it out entirely in 2024.  The replacement for Aqueous Film Forming Foam has yet to be determined, and advocates are frustrated it’s taken so long to halt […]

From left, Gov. Kristi Noem talks with South Dakota Farm Bureau President Scott VanderWal, farmer Travis Mockler and Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden after a bill signing ceremony on March 15, 2023, at C&B Operations in Mitchell. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

New state law makes it harder to file a complaint or lawsuit against ag operations

BY: - March 15, 2023

MITCHELL — A new South Dakota law makes it harder to file a nuisance complaint or lawsuit against an agricultural operation and limits the amount of money that can be awarded. Governor Kristi Noem signed the bill on Wednesday at a farm implement dealership in Mitchell, after legislators approved it earlier this winter. The law […]

A voter fills out a ballot on Nov. 8, 2022, at a polling place in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Board of Elections changes voter registration form to comply with tribal lawsuit settlement

BY: - March 15, 2023

The South Dakota Board of Elections voted Wednesday to change the state voter registration form to fit the requirements of a 2022 lawsuit agreement between Native American tribes and the state. The lawsuit alleged numerous violations of the National Voter Registration Act, which requires states to allow people to register to vote while applying for […]