South Dakota News

U.S. inflation reaches new 40-year high

WASHINGTON – The prices of gas, food and most other goods and services jumped in May, raising inflation to a new four-decade high and giving American households no respite from rising costs. Consumer prices surged 8.6% last month from 12 months earlier, faster than April’s year-over-year increase of 8.3%. The new inflation figure, the biggest yearly increase since December 1981,…

IRS says tax preparer filed fraudulent returns in North Dakota, several states

FARGO (KVRR) – The Internal Revenue Service is investigating a tax preparer from Houston, Texas in connection with allegedly filing fraudulent tax returns for clients in at least 15 states, most of them in North Dakota. A newly unsealed search warrant affidavit in U.S. District Court in Fargo identifies the man as Casper Akoto. The affidavit says Akoto is under…

Biden to sign police order on Floyd anniversary

WASHINGTON – With Congress deadlocked over how to address racism and excessive use of force, President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order on policing Wednesday, the second anniversary of George Floyd’s death, according to three people familiar with the matter. The decision reflects Biden’s struggle to use the limited powers of his office to advance his campaign promises,…

Report: Trump officials, meat companies knew workers at risk

OMAHA, Neb. – During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the meat processing industry worked closely with political appointees in the Trump administration to stave off health restrictions and keep slaughterhouses open even as the virus spread rapidly among workers, according to a congressional report released Thursday. The report by the House’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis said…

Abortion rights activists to rally in Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot

FARGO (KVRR) – Abortion rights activists are planning demonstrations across North Dakota on Saturday. The “Bans Off Our Bodies” rallies will be held in Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck and Minot. Similar events are scheduled across the country. Organizers say the rallies are part of what they call a “national day of action to demonstrate deep support for access to safe,…

Update: 500 Native American boarding school deaths so far

Interior Secretary Deb HaalandFLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – A new federal study shows the U.S. government supported more than 400 Native American boarding schools aimed at assimilating Native children. The Interior Department’s findings released Wednesday expanded the number of schools known to have operated. It also said nearly 20 of the schools accounted for over 500 child deaths. So far, more than…

Musk says he would reverse Twitter’s ban of Donald Trump

Elon Musk (Fox News)LONDON – Elon Musk said he will reverse Twitter’s permanent ban of former President Donald Trump if the Tesla CEO follows through with his plan to buy the social media company. Musk, speaking virtually at a Future of the Car summit hosted by the Financial Times, said Twitter’s Trump ban was a “morally bad decision” and “foolish…

Child killed in drive-by shooting on Pine Ridge Reservation

PINE RIDGE, S.D. (KVRR/KFGO) – Authorities are investigating a drive-by shooting that killed a child on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Tribal officers say the shooting occurred at 9 p.m. Thursday on U.S. Highway 18 in Pine Ridge. Witnesses say the vehicle shot at the home and left before officers arrived. Law information officials are asking for information…

Next battle over access to abortion will focus on pills

(Fox News)SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – More than half of abortions in America are now done with pills, rather than surgery. The battle over access to medication abortions will only grow in importance if the Supreme Court follows through with its leaked draft opinion that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision and allow individual states to ban the…