Veterans
With reorganization plans squashed for now, VA celebrates new Rapid City clinic
RAPID CITY — The long-debated, evolving plans for veterans’ health care in the Black Hills took a step forward Thursday with the grand opening of a new outpatient clinic. The 49,000-square-foot Rapid City facility is triple the size of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ previous clinic in the city. That’s a welcome development for Ricky […]
Congressional Roundup: Rounds seeks solutions for classified document mess
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, is a cosponsor of a new bill proposing solutions to high-profile problems with the handling of classified information. The sponsor of the bill is Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia. Four Democrats, three Republicans, including Rounds, and an independent are cosponsors. Rounds said in a news release the bill would “increase accountability […]
First tiny homes for vets ready in Sioux Falls
SIOUX FALLS – Project managers and advocates threw open the doors of the first five tiny homes for veterans in Sioux Falls on Tuesday morning. The homes are the first in a planned village of transitional housing for homeless veterans in southeast South Dakota. The village is about a mile from downtown Sioux Falls, tucked […]
Abortion services to remain available at the VA after close U.S. Senate vote
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs can continue providing service members with access to abortion in cases of life-threatening complications, rape or incest, after the U.S. Senate narrowly blocked a measure Wednesday that would have scrapped a new Biden administration rule. The VA policy, which also includes abortion counseling, was established after the U.S. […]
Thousands of veterans deluge VA with claims for toxic exposure benefits, health care
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is processing claims at the fastest rate in its history, hoping to avoid a significant backlog as hundreds of thousands of veterans apply for health care and benefits under the landmark toxic exposure law Congress passed earlier this year. The day after President Joe Biden signed the […]
New lifetime pass for veterans provides free entrance to national parks and other public lands
Starting today, on Veterans Day, military veterans and Gold Star families can get a free lifetime pass to the nation’s 400 million acres of public lands, national parks, wildlife refuges, and forests. Lifetime access for veterans was part of the Alexander Lofgren Veterans in Parks Act, which passed in December 2021. The bill authorized free […]
Millions in housing help on the way for abuse victims, veterans and others
Victims of domestic violence, veterans, and those who’ve struggled with housing insecurity in South Dakota will soon have more options for temporary shelter thanks to federal COVID relief money. More than $7.5 million in federal funding will be split between six nonprofits with plans to refurbish or expand living spaces in Sioux Falls, Watertown, Pierre, […]