News

A bill aimed at protecting a woman’s right to breastfeed in public is making its way through the Legislature. Members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee amended the measure before passing it on to the full Senate.

Democrat lawmakers are discussing new legislation to expand Medicaid in the state. Last year lawmakers rejected a proposal to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act. 

Around 48,000 South Dakota citizens are eligible to receive Medicaid if it is expanded. Democrat Billie Sutton says the cost of expanding Medicaid is around 100 million dollars through the year 2020 but the state would receive around 2 billion dollars of federal funds in return.

The late 1960s were a golden age for what today is called sunshine pop. This was a time when vocal groups like the Association, the Mamas and Papas, Fifth Dimension and others hit the top of the charts with cheerful songs about riding in beautiful balloons and winsome girls handing out rainbows.

The middle of the 20th century was the heyday of the pin-up girl, when colorful, illustrated images of playful, attractive young women were created for calendars, magazines and print ads. Pin-up girls were morale boosters during World War Two keeping servicemen company. Some illustrations were reproduced and painted on the noses of military aircraft.

The U.S Senate has approved a measure approving the Keystone XL Pipeline, but the project still faces a snag in South Dakota. TransCanada lost its certification for a building permit last year because it failed to complete the project within four years. Now it has to certify to the Public Utilities Commission that the project as it now stands meets the standards outlined in the permit issued in 2010. PUC’s staff attorney tells Victoria Wicks the Senate vote doesn’t change that.

Members of the House Education Committee passed a bill allowing a reduced minimum fall enrollment for Big Stone School District. The school is k-8, and most of the students attend class in Minnesota when they reach high school. School districts are supposed to have at least 100 students enrolled, but House Bill 1097 recalculates the minimum enrollment number for Big Stone, based on its reduced number of grades.
 
Secretary of Education Melody Schopp spoke in favor of the measure.

Members of the state House of Representatives passed a resolution asking the US Supreme Court to reconsider and overturn the Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade. Authors of the resolution lay out several grievances they have with the 1973 decision and those that came after. They say the Supreme Court made errors such as failure to acknowledge that the unborn child is a whole, separate, unique, living human being. They say the verdict was based on false assumptions, such as presuming the woman’s consent would be informed and voluntary.

South Dakota lawmakers killed a bill that revises certain requirements for reporting motor vehicle accidents.

A proposed license fee increase for food service, lodging, and campground establishments failed to make it past a Senate committee.

Musicians, actors and artists from the University of South Dakota are being showcased  in Sioux Falls on Saturday. The talents of both students and faculty are featured on stage and in the lobby for “USD Night at the Washington Pavilion.”

The event begins with a 5 pm reception hosted by the USD admissions office with work by art students and faculty in the lobby. Performances begin at 7:30.

The Hill City Slickers first met in church choir and were brought together by their mutual interests in singing, playing music and telling bad jokes. Their music is perfect entertainment for sitting around a campfire. During summer months they frequently perform at campgrounds in the Black Hills.

A measure allowing terminally ill patients the right to try experimental drugs has passed a South Dakota legislative committee. 

Weighing up to 80 pounds and growing up to a length of six feet, the pallid sturgeon is one of the largest fresh water fish species in North America. It can also live 50 years or more. But even though pallid sturgeon come from a genetic line going back tens of millions of years, it’s been decades since there has been documentation of the large fish successfully producing young that survive into adulthood on the upper Missouri River basin. The pallid sturgeon was placed on the endangered species list 25 years ago.

The death certificate for a Lakota girl found dead on the Pine Ridge Reservation last November has been released by the South Dakota Department of Health. But the document leaves as many questions unresolved as it answers about a tragic incident.

Jayla Rodriguez was found dead at the bottom of a hill on the Pine Ridge Reservation on the evening of November 18, 2014. The 8-year old Lakota girl had been playing in the snow and sledding down that same hill.

An incident at Saturday night’s Rush hockey game in Rapid City may result in hate crime and assault charges.

57 students from American Horse School were on a trip from Pine Ridge to attend the game as reward for good behavior and academic achievement.  
 
But in the third period a group of white men in a rented suite above the children’s seating area allegedly poured beer down on to the students and shouted racial slurs.   

The school group left the game early out of concern for student safety.

You can hear the rest of the story by clicking play below.

A bill aimed at better preparing the state of South Dakota for an economic collapse of the federal government failed in the House State Affairs Committee.
 
Those backing the legislation testified that they believe a collapse of the federal financial system causing a crisis worse than the Great Depression is possible in the coming years.
 
But not everyone in state government agrees.  State Economist Jim Terwilliger asked committee members to oppose the bill.
 

Senate lawmakers have approved the continuation of the Jolene’s Law Task Force for another year. The task force was commissioned to study the impact of child sexual abuse and make recommendations to the legislature. 

Senator Deb Soholt of Sioux Falls was one of the lawmakers on the Jolene’s Law Task Force. She says child sex abuse is a complex issue. Soholt says as the task force explored the problem further members found that child sex abuse is costly to the entire state.  

In his book, South Dakota's Challenges Since 1960, Charles Rogers explores nearly a half-century of South Dakota’s most recent history. Rogers taught American history at Scotland High School, Washington High School and Kilian Community College in Sioux Falls. His book focuses on energy development, population, well-known South Dakotans, and the state’s economic ups and downs. He’s giving a presentation about the book on Tuesday, February 3 at the History Club of Sioux Falls.

Sean Chen won the won the Crystal Award at the 2013 Cliburn International Piano Competition, becoming the first American to reach the finals since 1997. His repertoire ranges from Bach and Beethoven to Scriabin and Elliot Carter. He’s also a proponent of contemporary music, performing new works by today’s composers. Last year International Piano magazine named Chen "One To Watch."

Sioux Falls Argus Leader reporter and columnist Jonathan Ellis and Black Knowledge Network editor Denise Ross joined the Dakota Political Junkies this week. They discussed a house proposal that would change a provision in the minimum wage law passed by voters last fall; a bike safety measure under consideration by a house committee; the debate over teacher salaries; and the reactions to reports of racism against Lakota students attending a hockey game at the Civic Center in Rapid City.

A bill that restricts the use of fireworks that frighten livestock or leaves debris on private property failed to gain support in a Senate committee.

Members of the Senate Local Government Committee passed a bill that aims to make it simpler for counties to receive payment for inmates’ medical expenses. Currently, if an inmate of a county jail needs care, the county pays the bill and then seeks reimbursement from the inmate’s insurance company. Senate Bill 78 allows officials to bill the insurance company first. Dick Tieszen represents the South Dakota Sherriff’s Association. He says it the legislation helps insure that taxpayers aren’t unnecessarily paying for medical care.

House lawmakers have narrowed the scope of a bill which allows health officials to enforce contagious disease procedures. Under House Bill 1058 the State Department of Health may quarantine or isolate individuals who refuse to follow state procedures when they are infected with a contagious disease. The original measure applied to all Category 1 reportable diseases. Lawmakers modified the legislation to only apply to tuberculosis, MERS, SARS, smallpox and Ebola. Despite the changes the measure received strong opposition.

South Dakotans may soon be able to buy wine from small wineries outside the state and have the product shipped to their home. Lawmakers have passed a bill which allows direct shipment of wine into the state. 

Christopher Kimball says the reason many people don’t cook or cook well is because they’re scared of failing. But the host of America’s Test Kitchen and the founder of Cook’s Illustrated magazine says that good cooking starts with failure. Kimball believes that finding the best way to cook takes practice and time.

Lawmakers on the State House Transportation Committee have not yet come to an agreement on a bicycle passing bill.  

The proposed legislation creates a buffer zone for cars overtaking a bicycle on roads and highways.

Proponents of the bill want to set a minimum distance between a passing car and a bicycle.  

Currently there is no minimum requirement, rather the law states a driver must give a cyclist a “safe distance.”   

On October 6th, 1998, Matthew Shepard was beaten, pistol-whipped, and tied to a fencepost outside Laramie, Wyoming. He died six days later in a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. During those six days and for 16 years afterward, the Matthew Shepard story became a guidepost for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.

On January 27th, 1945, the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland was liberated by Soviet troops. Some 1.1 million people were killed there between 1940 and 1945. More people died at Auschwitz than at any other Nazi concentration camp. Soviet soldiers found about 7 thousand starving prisoners alive in the camp.

About 300 survivors returned to the site for ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary. Most were children at the time of the liberation, but are now elderly and this may be the last significant Auschwitz remembrance of their lifetimes.

Lawmakers have passed a bill allowing small artisan distillers in South Dakota to sell directly to retailers. Currently, producers of distilled spirits have to sell through a distributor to get their product to market. House Bill 1004 is similar to a provision which currently allows small South Dakota wineries direct access to retailers. Patrick Rounds owns Dakota Spirits Distillery in Pierre. He says the goal is not to replace distributors.

A bill moving through the Senate allows spouses and children of active duty military personnel and qualifying veterans to receive resident tuition at the state’s universities. Senate Bill 33 waives the requirement that they live in South Dakota for one year before being considered a resident. Board of Regents Executive Director Jack Warner spoke in favor of the bill. He says the legislature passed a bill allowing for immediate residency for veterans in the 2012 session.