South Dakota

Report: Kristi Noem secretly took a cut of political donations

PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight-ProPublica) — In 2023, while Kristi Noem was governor of South Dakota, she supplemented her income by secretly accepting a cut of the money she raised for a nonprofit that promotes her political career, tax records show. In what experts described as a highly unusual arrangement, the nonprofit routed funds to a personal company of Noem’s that…

Ortonville, MN man sentenced in South Dakota for production of child porn

ABERDEEN, S.D. (KVRR) — A federal judge has sentenced an Ortonville, Minnesota man for production of child porn. 45-year-old Jason Honetschlager was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023. The investigation discovered that throughout 2023, Honetschlager targeted teens in the Milbank, South Dakota area. He enticed minors through Snapchat…

Homeland Security Secretary Noem rushed to hospital after allergic reaction

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNN) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Washington, DC, after an allergic reaction. A Department of Homeland Security spokewoman says it was out of an abundance of caution and that Noem is alert and recovering. CNN observed Secret Service agents posted at several entrances outside the emergency room at the…

What concealed carry on campus means for South Dakota schools

The boards that oversee South Dakota’s 10 public colleges are drafting policies in accordance with a new state law that will allow students to carry concealed weapons on campus. Starting July 1, the four-year and technical institutions will no longer be able to restrict the lawful concealed carry of firearms and weapons on campuses. Senate Bill 100 (SB 100), which Gov….

$25 million tax credits to North Dakota, South Dakota Xcel Energy customers

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (KVRR) — Xcel Energy is moving forward with plans to deliver $25 million back to North Dakota and South Dakota customers on their bills. This is the first time customers will see savings from the federal tax credit on nuclear energy generation, which the company advocated for in recent law. Starting this month, the average residential customer in…

AP: Kristi Noem refused to say who financed some of her travel. It was taxpayers who were on the hook

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — As then-Gov. Kristi Noem crisscrossed the country — stumping for President Donald Trump and boosting her political profile beyond her home state — she refused to reveal what her extensive travel was costing taxpayers. In the weeks since Noem became Trump’s Homeland Security secretary, that mystery has been solved: South Dakota repeatedly picked up the tab for expenses…

LendingTree Survey Data Reveals North Dakota As Top State Vulnerable To Retaliatory Tariffs

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — A new LendingTree survey puts North Dakota and South Dakota in the top 10 of states that would be most vulnerable to President Trump’s tariffs. The analysis finds North Dakota would rank at number one as the most vulnerable to “retaliatory” tariffs and South Dakota third. The data comes from trades made in 2023 with nearly…

Trio Arrested For Credit Card Fraud in Watertown, SD Tied To Similar Scams in Fargo

WATERTOWN, S.D. (KVRR) — Three people arrested for credit card fraud in Watertown, South Dakota are accused of pulling the same scams earlier in Fargo. Police arrested 19-year-old Joseph Rivers, 20-year-old Labriah Vincent and 18-year-old Hezekiah Vincent, all of Flint, Michigan, for fraudulent use of credit cards, organized retail crime and other charges. The trio were caught after using fraudulent…

Sisters Filled With Joy After Joe Biden Commutes Leonard Peltier’s Sentence

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — “I’m going to start crying again.” As word was just starting to get around about their brother’s upcoming release from prison, Sheila Peltier was on the phone with her sister in Fargo. “Never been so happy in my whole life you know because my brothers, my big brothers, coming home,” said, Betty Ann Peltier Solano. Leonard…

North Dakota DOC Introduce Bill To Allow Mothers And Children To Live Together In Prison

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) — The bill, presented by the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, would allow children from newborns to 18 months of age to reside with their mothers in a separate housing unit the DOC considers their ‘apartments.’ “Women are often the main caregivers for their children as most incarcerated women are parents to children under the…