Minnehaha County Commission

Brian Jorde, at right, and Ryan Cwach, attorneys for opponent landowners, participate in a Public Utilities Commission hearing July 25, 2023, in Fort Pierre on the permit application for the proposed Heartland Greenway carbon dioxide pipeline. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Navigator asks Public Utilities Commission to shoot down county pipeline rules

BY: - August 24, 2023

South Dakota counties have taken extraordinary steps to interfere with state-level permitting for two carbon dioxide pipelines, a pipeline representative told the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on Thursday. The assertion was part of a PUC hearing at which the commission is being asked to preempt and overrule pipeline-related rules enacted by several South Dakota […]

Navigator CO2 Ventures Vice President of Government and Public Affairs Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, left, speaks with opponents of carbon pipelines following a meeting of the Minnehaha County Commission on June 6, 2023, in Sioux Falls (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Minnehaha County passes rules for carbon pipelines despite opposition from both sides

BY: - June 6, 2023

SIOUX FALLS – Officials in South Dakota’s largest county dealt a blow to opponents of two carbon pipeline companies with a vote to set shorter-than-requested spaces between homes and pipelines in their first-ever set of rules for such projects.  Minnehaha County commissioners convened Tuesday to take up the issue of setbacks in a long-debated pipeline […]

People raise their hands to signal their intent to speak in support of an ordinance that would restrict carbon pipelines at a Minnehaha County Commission meeting on May 23, 2023, in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Tie vote delays decision on carbon pipeline policy in Minnehaha County

BY: - May 23, 2023

SIOUX FALLS — Minnehaha County commissioners gridlocked Tuesday on setbacks from rural homes and postponed a vote on an ordinance with the potential to scuttle two carbon capture pipelines. The absence of Commission Chair Jean Bender set the stage for a 2-2 vote and a return to the issue at the June 6 meeting. Plenty […]

An equal justice statue sits outside the doors of the Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Minnehaha County’s new petition rules already blocked by judge

BY: and - May 12, 2023

The free speech zones designated for political petitioning on Minnehaha County property survived nine days before being halted by a federal judge. A temporary restraining order inked late Thursday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Roberto Lange blocked the county’s rules for petitioners the day after a nonprofit group filed a lawsuit challenging their constitutionality. Dakotans […]

The Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls, pictured on Nov. 1, 2022. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Ballot question group sues Minnehaha County, alleges new policy undermines First Amendment

BY: - May 10, 2023

Dakotans for Health, a health care advocacy network and ballot question committee, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Minnehaha County officials over new restrictions on petition circulators.  The Minnehaha County Courthouse and Administration Building in Sioux Falls are popular locations for collecting signatures to place a measure on the ballot. County officials enacted new regulations on […]

The Humbolt Fire Department, as seen on Nov. 18, 2022. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

County commissioner: Carbon pipelines should outfit volunteer fire departments

BY: - March 30, 2023

A Minnehaha County commissioner wants volunteer firefighters in the state’s most populous county to ask for safety equipment from two carbon pipeline companies for use in the event of a pipeline failure — something the companies say they’re willing to do. The suggestion from Commissioner Joe Kippley came last week on the heels of a […]

An equal justice statue sits outside the doors of the Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Minnehaha County votes to bolster prosecutors, public defense

BY: - March 21, 2023

SIOUX FALLS – Federal grant funding from the Violence Against Women Act could soon bring a domestic violence specialist to the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office to help shepherd victims through the criminal justice system. The Minnehaha County Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar to apply for a Services, Training, […]

The sign for the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds, as pictured on Dec. 12, 2022, in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Consultant: $100 million Expo building replacement would secure fairgrounds future

BY: - December 12, 2022

A $100 million investment in the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds Expo building would translate into another 100 days of use each year and another half-million dollars in economic impact for the Sioux Falls area. Those figures represented just a few of the conclusions from a consultant who presented to a Monday meeting of the Minnehaha County […]

Southeastern Behavioral Health's downtown Sioux Falls facility, pictured on Nov. 25, 2022. Southeastern is the partner for the mobile crisis team, whose counselors assist law enforcement with certain mental health calls.

Declining use of mobile crisis team is good and bad news for Sioux Falls area

BY: - November 25, 2022

Just over a decade ago, police in Sioux Falls began a partnership with Southeastern Behavioral Health that allowed counselors to take over for officers during mental health crisis calls. The goal of that mobile crisis team (MCT) was to de-escalate situations where a caller had expressed thoughts of suicide or self-harm by working through the […]