South Dakota News

South Dakota pot legalization bill cleared for Senate vote

PIERRE, S.D. – A bipartisan proposal to legalize recreational marijuana in South Dakota survived its first test in the Legislature. A Senate committee on Thursday recommended the proposal for a vote in the full Senate next week. Voters approved recreational marijuana legalization through a ballot measure in 2020. However, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem challenged its constitutionality and the state Supreme…

South Dakota House votes to shield students from racial ‘discomfort’

South Dakota CapitolPIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota House has approved a pair of proposals initiated by Gov. Kristi Noem that would ban university trainings and public K-12 school lessons that make students feel “discomfort” on account of their race. Republicans overwhelmingly supported the bills, which would apply separately to higher education and K-12 public schools, though a few joined…

Private grant funds missing Indigenous coordinator

PIERRE, S.D. – An office in the South Dakota attorney general’s office to coordinate investigations into the disappearance and murder of Indigenous people will be started through a private donation from an organization connected to St. Joseph’s Indian School. Native American lawmakers who have been pushing for the funding in the state budget say they hoped the three-year grant of…

Biden orders 3,000 additional troops to Poland

U.S. soldiers arrive in Poland (Fox News)WASHINGTON (AP) – A senior defense official says President Joe Biden has approved the deployment of 3,000 more U.S. troops to Poland. They will join 1,700 other members of the 82nd Airborne Division who have been heading to Poland in recent days. Combined, the 4,700 soldiers comprise an infantry brigade intended to reassure fellow…

Man pleads guilty after residents fed marijuana brownies

TYNDALL, S.D. (AP) – A South Dakota man has pleaded guilty to a felony drug charge after his mother unknowingly served his marijuana-laced brownies to a group of residents at the Tabor Community Center. Forty-six-year-old Michael Koranda appeared at the Bon Homme County Courthouse Tuesday where he waived his preliminary hearing and entered the plea. As part of a plea…

CIA has secret program that collects American data

WASHINGTON (AP) – The CIA has a secret, undisclosed data repository that includes information collected about Americans, two Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee said. While neither the agency nor lawmakers would disclose specifics about the data, the senators alleged the CIA had long hidden details about the program from the public and Congress. Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and…

Judge restores protections for gray wolves across much of U.S.

BILLINGS, Mont. – A judge has restored federal protections for gray wolves across much of the U.S. after they were removed in the waning days of the Trump administration. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said in Thursday’s ruling that the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to show wolf populations could be sustained in the Midwest and portions of the West…

Blockade shuts down Emerson Port of Entry, just north of Pembina, North Dakota

(Winnipeg Alternative Media)EMERSON, Manitoba (KVRR) – Truck drivers have set up a blockade just north of Pembina, North Dakota, at the Emerson, Manitoba Port of Entry. A Canada Border Services employee at the Emerson Port of Entry tells KVRR news that travelers heading into Canada are still able to cross the border, but will not be able to get beyond…