Government

Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum addresses the city's homeless task force on Oct. 24, 2022 in Carnegie Town Hall in Sioux Falls.

Street teams, ‘housing first’ among recommendations from Sioux Falls homeless task force

BY: - October 25, 2022

Street teams of social workers and volunteers would be the first to respond to panhandling and loitering if the Sioux Falls City Council heeds the advice of its homeless task force. The task force met Monday for one of its final meetings before pitching its suggestions to the council.  The group emerged earlier this year […]

New Hampshire Republican U.S. Senate candidate Don Bolduc, left, with Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for the Trump administration, listens to reporters' questions during a campaign stop at the Rochester GOP headquarters in Rochester, New Hampshire on Oct. 18, 2022. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

How claims about a federal abortion ban are roiling one state as the midterms near

BY: - October 25, 2022

WILMOT, New Hampshire — Voters in this swing state are among the relatively few Americans who will decide control of Congress during November’s midterm elections, shaping domestic and foreign policy for the next two years and delivering a verdict on Joe Biden’s presidency.  Granite Staters interviewed by States Newsroom, during a mid-October week trailing U.S. […]

A timber project in the Black Hills National Forest. (Courtesy of U.S. Forest Service)

Black Hills timber sales fall 20 percent

BY: - October 25, 2022

RAPID CITY — Timber sales in the Black Hills National Forest have declined sharply, prompting praise and condemnation. The national forest’s advisory board met recently in Rapid City, where Forest Supervisor Jeff Tomac shared figures from the 2022 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Timber sales in the forest totaled 112,874 CCF, Tomac said – […]

Democratic candidate Jamie Smith, left, and Libertarian candidate Tracey Quint debate Monday night on South Dakota Public Broadcasting. The empty podium was for Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, who declined an invitation to participate. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Differences on health care emerge in gubernatorial debate

BY: and - October 25, 2022

SIOUX FALLS — Differences in health-care policy emerged between two candidates for governor of South Dakota who participated in a televised debate Monday night on South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Democratic candidate Jamie Smith said he supports raising the reimbursement rates paid to medical providers that care for Medicaid patients. “When you lose $50 a day […]

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, speaks during a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing on Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Photo Sarah Silbiger-Pool/Getty Images)

Rounds belongs to private investment club that owns 10 Midwestern hotels, disclosure shows

BY: - October 25, 2022

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds tops the list for minimum net worth among members of the South Dakota congressional delegation, with a portion of his assets held in a private investment club that owns hotel properties throughout the Midwest, a review of lawmakers’ current financial disclosure statements shows. Part of Rounds’ wealth is invested in funds […]

The Veterans Helping Hands Project in Hot Springs will include a factory where veterans will learn building trades after completing substance abuse treatment. (Courtesy of Veterans Helping Hands Project)

Millions in housing help on the way for abuse victims, veterans and others

BY: - October 25, 2022

Victims of domestic violence, veterans, and those who’ve struggled with housing insecurity in South Dakota will soon have more options for temporary shelter thanks to federal COVID relief money. More than $7.5 million in federal funding will be split between six nonprofits with plans to refurbish or expand living spaces in Sioux Falls, Watertown, Pierre, […]

(SDI Productions/Getty Images)

Prolonged challenges by losing candidates could overshadow November election results

BY: - October 25, 2022

Joey Gilbert, a Reno-based attorney, lost the GOP primary for Nevada governor by roughly 26,000 votes in June, a margin of around 11 points. But he wasn’t ready to admit defeat.  Empowered by former President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud after the 2020 election, Gilbert refused to concede. He offered a $25,000 reward […]

Mark Vargo (Courtesy of SD Attorney General's Office)

Q&A: Consider primaries for attorney general nominees, Vargo says

BY: - October 25, 2022

Attorney General Mark Vargo said the state should consider a new method of choosing political nominees for the office he holds. “I will say that I do think it would be smart to consider whether or not that nomination process should be through a convention or through a primary,” Vargo said. Currently, delegates at political […]