Justice
South Dakota joins 14 other states challenging health insurance for DACA recipients
TOPEKA, Kansas — Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit Thursday on behalf of 15 states, including South Dakota, in an attempt to stop President Joe Biden from expanding health care access to DACA recipients by making them eligible for participation in the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplace. Kobach, a Republican who built a […]
Johnson denies trying to help company shield itself from existing Roundup cancer lawsuits
U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, denies allegations that a provision he helped insert into a draft of the federal farm bill would protect the maker of Roundup from pending lawsuits claiming that frequent use of the herbicide causes cancer. “Our legislation doesn’t do anything in the courts,” Johnson said Wednesday in an interview with […]
Abortion rights measure likely to appear on ballot, but lawsuit could affect election results
South Dakotans will likely get to vote on abortion rights in November, but the recent reinstatement of a legal challenge by abortion opponents could upend the results – either before or after the election. Life Defense Fund sued Dakotans for Health earlier this year. The former is accusing the latter’s petition circulators of a range […]
Former Democratic operative settles $1.2 million debt with South Dakota cannabis growers
Former Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party political operative Will Hailer paid $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit brought by two South Dakota cannabis companies and their investors accusing him of fraud. The case ends a two-year saga that began when Hailer approached 605 Cannabis founder Ned Horsted with an attractive business opportunity for him and the two […]
State should confront Indigenous foster care and prison numbers
The Indian Child Welfare Act is a federal policy that seeks to keep Indigenous families and communities intact by regulating the removal of Native American children from their homes and the placement of children in foster care or adoptive homes. The goal of ICWA is the preservation of Indigenous communities and the safety and health […]
Regents change political activity policy to allow employees to run for Legislature
The South Dakota Board of Regents changed its political activity policy at its Thursday meeting in Madison to allow public university employees to run for state legislative office. The change comes six months after the state Supreme Court reversed its decision on whether state employees can run for elected office. For decades, state employees were […]
Former prison employees, current inmates indicted on drug, arson, assault allegations
Two former Department of Corrections employees, three inmates and another person were indicted Tuesday for a series of incidents at the South Dakota State Penitentiary. DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko told lawmakers during a committee meeting Wednesday that some “bad apples” had been indicted, during a discussion on staffing. Attorney General Marty Jackley, whose office prosecutes […]
Head of state prison system wants to ‘close the doors’ to public scrutiny of security incidents
The leader of the South Dakota Department of Corrections told lawmakers she doesn’t want to answer to the state’s Corrections Commission, a body that exists to provide oversight and guidance to prison officials. Some commission members told South Dakota Searchlight in recent weeks that they’ve felt uninformed and uninvolved lately, noting that they’ve heard no […]
Lawmakers plan October hearing on alleged $1.8 million theft by former state employee
South Dakota lawmakers will hold a hearing in October on a former state employee’s alleged theft of $1.8 million from Child Protection Services. The Legislature’s Government Operations and Audit Committee met Wednesday in Pierre and discussed plans for the hearing. “We find out what went on, and how do we stop it,” said Committee Chair […]
Appeals court blocks Title IX rule protecting LGBTQ kids, reversing Alabama federal judge
Just a day after a federal judge struck down an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX, a federal appeals court granted the states’ request for an administrative injunction Wednesday — temporarily blocking the updated regulations from taking effect in those Southern […]
State officials peppered with questions on price tag for new men’s prison
Lawmakers expressed frustration Tuesday in Pierre over the uncertain price tag for construction and operations of a proposed men’s prison in Lincoln County. Members of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee also had pointed questions for Department of Corrections officials on alternative sites for the project, which has sparked a lawsuit from nearby neighbors and represents the […]
Career prosecutors, magistrate judge appointed to circuit bench in Sioux Falls area
Gov. Kristi Noem has appointed two prosecutors and a serving magistrate judge to the circuit court bench in the Sioux Falls area. Noem announced the appointments to the Second Judicial Circuit in a Tuesday news release. The Second Circuit encompasses Minnehaha and Lincoln counties, making it one of the smallest geographically but the largest in […]