Government
Gabbard says Democrats ‘taking freedoms’ has moved her to align with Noem
A former Democratic Congresswoman from Hawaii earned enthusiastic applause from backers of Republican Gov. Kristi Noem on Wednesday. Tulsi Gabbard recently announced that she’d left the Democratic Party over its “extreme positions,” though she did not say whether she would join the Republican Party. Gabbard appeared alongside Noem twice Wednesday, visiting Rapid City in the […]
Tripp County first SD county in two decades to hand count election ballots
An election law on the books since 1994 allows county commissions to overrule the county auditor by “experimenting with” a combined hand-counting and tabulated ballot counting system. That statute allowed the Tripp County Commission in south-central South Dakota to order a hand count for Tuesday’s general election. It also allows the Fall River County Commission […]
Federal agencies sue Iowa biofuels producer while providing millions in aid
An Iowa biofuels producer that stands to collect $3.9 million in federal assistance is also being sued by the federal government over alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $70.8 million in grants to help provide financial support for 10 Iowa biofuel producers that sustained unexpected market […]
Concerns raised over an energy storage project along the Missouri River
Backers of a multibillion-dollar proposal in rural south-central South Dakota say they have a way to capture and store renewable energy for later use. The clean energy pitch has drawn criticism and concern from nearby landowners, however, who worry that the project could damage the environment and impact recreational opportunities in south-central South Dakota. Project […]
USDA invests $10.5 million into South Dakota meat processing
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $10.5 million in two South Dakota loan associations that aim to expand meat processing capacity in the state. The funds are part of the department’s Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program. The South Central South Dakota loan association known as Planning & Development District III will receive […]
Hats off to a determined woman who scored a win for Native Americans
Elouise Cobell Day will be celebrated on Nov. 5 in Montana, but many people in the West may not recognize her name. They may not know the story of her almost 20-year struggle to win justice for Native Americans from the U.S. government, which for decades botched the management of natural resources owned by individual […]
All eyes again on the Peach State: Georgia voters asked to decide U.S. Senate control
ALBANY, Ga.—Shayla Jackson knocks three times before slipping a card with voting information under the blue-painted doors of apartments at Wild Pines, a complex tucked behind Albany State University. As a canvasser for the nonpartisan New Georgia Project, a group dedicated to registering Black, brown and young voters and getting them to the polls, she’ll […]
Control of U.S. Senate still a guess ahead of midterm elections
WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans have just a handful of frantic days left to convince voters who should control Congress before voting in the Nov. 8 midterm elections ends. The two political parties are spending millions on campaign ads and mailers in the dozens of toss-up races that will determine control of Congress, while President […]
Analysis: Over one-third of state legislative races already decided
Election day is a week away, but more than a third of South Dakota’s state legislative races are already decided. Of 105 seats up for grabs in the South Dakota Senate or House of Representatives, 38% are unopposed races. A clear majority of Senate seats — exactly 60% — are unopposed. Every unopposed candidate is […]
Circuit court bench in SD struggles to diversify
Just under half the people in state prisons in South Dakota are people of color, but none of the judges who sent them there are. The general election on Nov. 8 won’t change that. Circuit judges in South Dakota, who preside over the felony criminal cases that can send a defendant to prison, come up […]
Five aim to fill West River judicial post Nov. 8
Contested circuit judge elections are a rarity in South Dakota. Just one sitting judge, Robert Spears in central South Dakota’s Third Circuit, faces a challenge this year. Another open seat in the Sioux Falls area has two candidates. The Fourth Circuit, however, will make history on Nov. 8, when voters will choose from five judicial […]
The key words and missing definition in the Noem airplane controversy
When authorities announced the conclusion of a recent investigation into Gov. Kristi Noem’s use of a state airplane, their news release included a potentially key phrase. The news release said, in part, “there were no facts to support a criminal prosecution under current law.” Those last three words – “under current law” – leave some […]