Latest South Dakota state government News
Felony for brokering unlicensed grain buyers clears Senate
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a proposal to make it a felony for anyone who brokers a grain purchase with an unlicensed buyer. The state requires grain buyers to have a license as part of a way to protect payments for farmers....
Senate passes funding boost for private school scholarships
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Senate on Thursday passed a $1.5 million funding boost for a private school scholarship program that is funded through tax credits. The bill's proponents argued the program allows low-income students to go to the school of their choice,...
Tourism has record-breaking year in South Dakota
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota had a record number of visitors in 2021, making it the first state to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels, according the tourism officials. The state Department of Tourism says visitors spent more than $4.4 billion last year, generating $160...
Investigators say South Dakota AG was untruthful about crash
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Criminal investigators on Wednesday told South Dakota lawmakers that they didn’t believe the state’s attorney general when he told them he never saw the body of the man he fatally struck on the night of the 2020 crash. Investigators said they doubted...
Planned Parenthood sues to stop South Dakota abortion rule
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by Planned Parenthood aims to prevent the state of South Dakota from implementing a new rule for medical abortions that would make the state one of the hardest places in the nation to get abortion pills. The rule approved...
Trans athlete ban pushed by Noem clears South Dakota Senate
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Senate on Wednesday passed a bill proposed by Republican Gov. Kristi Noem that would ban transgender women and girls from participating in school sports leagues that match their gender identity. The bill cleared the Senate with wide support from...
Plan to add campsites at Custer State Park draws opposition
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A significant increase in the number of tourists in the Black Hills since the start of the coronavirus pandemic prompted Gov. Kristi Noem to push for spending nearly $10 million to add campsites to Custer State Park. But former park officials, some lawmakers...
South Dakota AG impeachment probe questions investigators
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota lawmakers weighing impeachment charges for the state's attorney general on Tuesday drilled into the investigation of his fatal car crash in 2020, spending hours questioning the law enforcement officers and a specialist who analyzed the crash. Nearly...
Transgender athlete ban, backed by Noem, clears committee
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota legislative committee on Friday approved a bill championed by Gov. Kristi Noem to ban transgender women and girls from participating in school sports leagues that match their gender identity. With the Republican governor's full-fledged lobbying,...
Tribal chairman gives South Dakota lawmakers history lesson
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The chairman of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate offered South Dakota's Legislature a history lesson on Thursday during the annual State of the Tribes address, as he emphasized tribal sovereignty and government-to-government relations. Chairman Delbert Hopkins Jr....
