News
Lawmaker seeks $5 million to expand adult day centers
South Dakota had 30 state-registered adult day centers scattered across the state at one point. The services provided low cost programming, care and supervision during the day for people who were elderly or disabled, and let them return to their homes and families at night. Now, there are only three left: one in Rapid City, […]
Lengthy timeline for DACA legal fight puts lives on hold for years
WASHINGTON — Karen Judith Briseno Ortiz mailed in her application for a program meant to protect undocumented children from deportation, one day after her twin sister’s application. Her sister was accepted into the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but Briseno Ortiz, who grew up in Dallas, was not. Now her application is in limbo […]
How did renewables fare during Winter Storm Elliott
A day after Christmas, as parts of the country were still digging out from Winter Storm Elliott, the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, undeterred by the absence of much concrete data, already knew where to cast the blame for rolling blackouts implemented in parts of the South to keep the grid from collapsing. “While there […]
Senate leaders appoint committee for Frye-Mueller complaint, release more details
South Dakota Senate leaders have appointed a committee to hear a complaint against Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller, R-Rapid City, and have released further details of allegations that led to her suspension. The new committee could ultimately make a recommendation leading to a Senate vote to expel, censure, discipline or exonerate Frye-Mueller. A news release Friday afternoon […]
White House launches new push to help states remove lead pipes that carry drinking water
WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday announced plans to speed up the use of infrastructure law funds to replace lead pipes in underserved communities, with a focus on Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin beginning this year. The four states, each led by Democratic governors, will be part of what’s called the Lead Service […]
From prison to a payroll: Program trains inmates as machinists
Kimberlee Browne thought she’d die on the streets. The 40-year-old mother of six and former educator has been in and out of the South Dakota prison system twice since 2012. Each time she was released, something would happen to make her lose her confidence and faith; she’d fall back into bad habits and be arrested, […]
558 people and groups now have legal standing in two carbon pipeline applications
More than 500 people and organizations now have standing to participate in the regulatory review of two proposed carbon-capture pipelines that would go through South Dakota. The latest is Lesley Pedde of Texas, who received late notice of the application process. The Public Utilities Commission granted him “party status” Friday in the review of the […]
Legislative roundup: Taxes and tribes, feedlots and lithium
PIERRE — Things really picked up at the Capitol this week, and deadlines had something to do with that. Lawmakers had free reign to submit as many bills as they pleased until 11 a.m. on Thursday, which meant dozens of bills dropped just before lunch that day. Check the list here. Each lawmaker can file […]
GOP U.S. House passes bill opening more public land to development if reserve oil is tapped
U.S. House Republicans passed a bill Friday to force the White House to make more federal land and waters available for oil and gas development if the president orders the withdrawal of more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The bill, passed 221-205, mostly along party lines, would strip the president’s power to remove oil […]
National Dems ready to OK new 2024 primary voting calendar, despite uncertainty in two states
WASHINGTON — The full Democratic National Committee is set to vote in just days about a decision to ratify a new lineup of five states that would lead the nation in primary voting for Democratic presidential candidates in 2024. But approval of the new calendar at a meeting scheduled for Feb. 4 in Philadelphia won’t […]
Public lands near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters withdrawn from federal mining leases
WASHINGTON — After more than a year of assessment and debate, the U.S. Department of the Interior on Thursday announced the withdrawal of more than 225,000 acres of public lands near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota from federal mine leasing programs. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland signed Public Land Order 7917, […]
Offshore wind will need major investments in transmission, supply chain, reports say
Achieving the aggressive offshore wind power goals of the federal government and individual states will require billions of dollars in spending on transmission infrastructure, “unprecedented” cooperation between grid operators and federal and state agencies, and would be aided by major buildout of a domestic supply chain, per a pair of reports released this week. Coastal […]