South Dakota legislature
Limits, application of South Dakota ‘stand your ground’ law debated before Supreme Court
BROOKINGS — In 2019, Minnesota native Ramon Deron Smith killed a man and wounded two others in a Sioux Falls parking lot during his first visit to the city. He kept shooting as his targets fled across a busy urban thoroughfare. After doing so, he drove back to Minneapolis, shaved his head, ditched the vehicle […]
Noem budget sets aside $3.5 million for state fingerprint, criminal history database
Lawmakers in Pierre will soon be asked to send $3.5 million to the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to update the software that catalogs arrest and fingerprint records that date back to 1937. The ask is among the one-time line items tucked into Gov. Kristi Noem’s 360-page proposed budget. The software upgrades to the DCI’s […]
Judge rules against widow in COVID-19 worker’s comp case
The widow of a slaughterhouse worker who died of COVID-19 is not entitled to a worker’s compensation hearing, a Minnehaha County judge ruled Monday. Second Circuit Judge Jon Sogn sided with Smithfield Foods in the case, which originated as a claim for death benefits through the South Dakota Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL denied […]
Widow of former Smithfield employee challenges COVID-19 liability law
The widow of a slaughterhouse worker who died after contracting COVID-19 is challenging the constitutionality of a South Dakota law that preemptively absolves employers of liability for exposing workers to the virus. The South Dakota Department of Labor (DOL) used the law this summer to justify denying the worker’s compensation claim to Karen Franken, whose […]
Leadership teams lean moderate in South Dakota House, Senate
The South Dakota House of Representatives elected its leadership team for the 2023 legislative session over the weekend, a week after their counterparts in the Senate did the same. Members of the 94-member GOP supermajority’s more moderate faction came out ahead in both chambers. Speaker of the House Hugh Bartels, Watertown, was elected to replace […]
Lawmakers look to restrict expansion of medical cannabis conditions
Lawmakers want to make it more difficult to expand the list of conditions that might qualify a citizen for a medical marijuana card. South Dakota’s voter-backed medical marijuana statute includes a clause that allows patients to petition the state Department of Health (DOH) to add “debilitating” medical conditions to the list of ailments treatable by […]
Calls to 211 Helpline Center rising again after post-pandemic lull
Mental health calls to South Dakota’s 211 Helpline declined as the COVID-19 pandemic tapered off, but calls for all needs – especially for housing help – are on the rise again. That was among the major takeaways from a Department of Social Services (DSS) presentation on the operations of the statewide assistance call center on […]
‘Three strikes’ rule for young offenders endorsed by legislative panel
A legislative panel wants to make it easier for judges to detain juveniles, require school resource officers to report suspected drug use to school officials, fund community response teams to deal with low-level offenders and offer a new path to graduation for troubled youth. Those were among the proposals that emerged during the final meeting […]
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 […]