PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – A South Dakota lawmaker who is running for governor is facing backlash after he used a derogatory term for a woman during a speech on the House floor. Republican Rep. Steve Haugaard described a woman whom he did not name but said was addicted to methamphetamine as a “wrung-out whore.” Haugaard, a former House speaker, is…
RAPID CITY, S.D. – A Rapid City man indicted in an undercover sex trafficking sting during the 2020 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. Christopher Truax was found guilty last November of attempted enticement of a minor using the internet, a federal charge that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. According to prosecutors,…
South Dakota CapitolPIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Republican senators advanced a proposal from Gov. Kristi Noem that would make the state one of the most difficult to get abortion pills. A vote on the Senate floor has not been scheduled. But its actual enactment depends on a federal court ruling. Every Republican on the Senate Health and Human Services committee…
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota House Republicans have dismissed a proposal to legalize recreational pot for adults. The bill that was tossed Monday narrowly passed the Republican-controlled Senate last week. Lawmakers reasoned they should try to stay ahead of a campaign to get recreational marijuana back on the ballot this November. But lawmakers on the House State Affairs committee dismissed…
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…
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…
South Dakota CapitolPIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota lawmakers are recommending that the state bar universities from requiring students and employees to attend trainings that teach “divisive” concepts about race, religion and national origin. Gov. Kristi Noem has says the proposal would “protect” students from critical race theory. But Republican lawmakers on the House Education committee made significant revisions Wednesday to…
MILLER, S.D. – Fire officials say they have pinpointed the cause of an explosion and fire at the school campus in Miller, S.D. Fire Chief Steve Resel says some equipment being used in the high school’s agriculture shop ignited a barrel of waste oil on Feb. 2. Students and staff have not been allowed to return to the school building,…
Gov. Kristi NoemPIERRE, S.D. (AP) – South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has signed a bill that will ban transgender girls and college-age women from playing in school sports leagues that match their gender identity. South Dakota is the 10th state to enact such a law. The bill is set to take effect July 1 but could face legal challenges….
South Dakota CapitolPIERRE, S.D. – A Republican-controlled South Dakota House committee has declined to consider a bill from Republican Gov. Kristi Noem that would ban nearly all abortions. It deals a major blow to a top item on the governor’s agenda. Noem’s proposal would have mimicked the private enforcement of a Texas law and prohibited abortions once medical professionals can…
