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The South Dakota House Judiciary Committee has passed two bills, HB 1024 and HB 1036, sponsored by Republican Rep. Kevin Jensen. HB 1024 requires medical marijuana card applications to include an acknowledgment that users may [Read More…]

South Dakota Representatives Scott Moore and Karla Lems have introduced House Bill 1079, aiming to change property access laws for pipeline projects like Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed multi-state network. The bill mandates written consent from [Read More…]

In 2023, Sioux Falls experienced its second-highest year for building permit valuation, totaling over $1.1 billion. Despite a decrease from the previous year’s $1.9 billion, Mayor Paul TenHaken highlighted the diverse mix of permits, signaling [Read More…]

Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight – A bill beginning its journey through the Legislature would create more private school scholarships funded by insurance companies in exchange for tax relief. The legislation would raise the annual tax-credit cap [Read More…]

An altercation occurred in an apartment near 18th Street and Blaine Avenue in southeastern Sioux Falls around 1 a.m. on Friday morning. Multiple men were involved in an argument that concluded with one man being [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight – A bill that would require high school juniors to take the ACT college entrance exam instead of a separate state assessment was tabled by the state House Education Committee on [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber /South Dakota Searchlight – A bill to permanently set South Dakota’s state sales tax rate at a reduced 4.2% passed through the House of Representatives on a 54-12 vote Friday at the Capitol, [Read More…]

An incident of vandalism accompanied by a written threat specific to a future date occurred at Brookings High School on Thursday, prompting an investigation by the Brookings Police Department. The suspect, who is underage, was [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight – A bill to permanently set South Dakota’s state sales tax rate at a reduced 4.2% sailed through its first committee hearing Thursday at the Capitol in Pierre with an 11-1 [Read More…]

John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight – Concerns about staffing, costs and local control combined Thursday morning to spell defeat for a bill that aimed to force schools to employ armed guards. The 4-2 vote in the [Read More…]

State prison offender Benjamin Block has died of a suspected suicide. Block, age 30, was transported January 9th from the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls to an area hospital. He passed away January [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight – South Dakota’s population will continue to grow, but at a slower rate, while continuing to become more diverse and elderly in the next couple of decades, according to state demographer [Read More…]

Jonathan Alexander Warren received a life sentence without parole for his involvement in the death and disappearance of Morgan Bauer, a 19-year-old missing since 2016. Warren, who pleaded guilty to charges including malice murder and [Read More…]

Amelia Schafer/Rapid City Journal/ICT RAPID CITY — More than 150 recently repatriated artifacts from the Wounded Knee Massacre were set to be burned. Instead, tribal leaders from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and later the Standing [Read More…]

A program meant to help low-income families pay for child care changed this month to better support providers. The change to the South Dakota Department of Social Services’ Child Care Assistance Program moved from an [Read More…]

Governor Kristi Noem delivers her State of the State speech at the Capitol in Pierre on Jan. 9, 2024. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight PIERRE — Governor Kristi Noem recounted her administration’s [Read More…]

Supporters of the gymnastics program are urging the dismissal of an amicus brief filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation and American Sports Council on December 21. The gymnastics advocates argue that the assertions made in [Read More…]

PIERRE, SD – The Governor’s Office of Economic Development Board of Economic Development approved multiple loans totaling more than $5.6 million at their monthly meeting. These projects will reflect a capital investment total of over $15.1 [Read More…]

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission approved a rate increase for NorthWestern Energy’s electric customers in South Dakota at the commission’s regularly scheduled meeting in Pierre today, Jan. 9, 2024. The rate [Read More…]