Consumer Protection

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 22, 2023, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Courtesy of Attorney General's Office)

South Dakotans can now sign up for consumer alerts, attorney general says

BY: - August 30, 2023

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced Wednesday that the public can now receive consumer alerts via email from the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. The alert system will provide subscribers with information about consumer scams and tips on how to protect against scams, Jackley said in a news release. People can register for the […]

Workers with East Bay Municipal Utility District install new water pipe on April 22, 2021, in Oakland, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

White House launches new push to help states remove lead pipes that carry drinking water

BY: - January 27, 2023

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 […]

A sign displays the names of the state's three elected public utilities commissioners outside of their Pierre office in January 2023. (South Dakota Searchlight/Joshua Haiar)

Some utilities charge customers for donations and events, with regulator approval

BY: - January 25, 2023

Last October, hundreds of politicians and business leaders from all over the country gathered to be wined, dined and guided into eastern South Dakota grasslands for a pheasant hunt with the governor.  “There’s a lot of schmoozing that goes on,” said John Cooper, a former secretary of Game, Fish and Parks who’s attended 15 of […]

Blurred hands are typing on a laptop computer in the dark with illuminated keyboard and illegible mystic program code visible on the screen.

State spends over $100,000 each year bolstering local governments’ cybersecurity

BY: - January 17, 2023

One employee clicked a scam link in an email, causing Brown County — the state’s fourth largest county — to shut down most of its computer network for over a week during the summer of 2021. While 911 services were able to continue operating, offices were stalled for months because the county’s computer network had to […]