Tag Archives: South Dakota

The Daily Beast reports: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem used a state airplane to shuttle her around the country to right-wing political events, racking up huge bills on the taxpayer dime as the GOP darling traveled to events hosted by, among others, the NRA, Turning Point USA, and a Las Vegas confab put on by the Republican Jewish Coalition. Noem …

Newsweek reports: A South Dakota judge overturned a voter-approved constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana on Monday. Amendment A would have legalized marijuana for recreational use and was approved by over 54 percent of South Dakota voters last November. Republican Governor Kristi Noem, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, opposed the legalization effort and moved to reject the amendment …

The Rapid City Journal reports: Gov. Kristi Noem said in an executive order Friday that she directed the Highway Patrol superintendent to bring a lawsuit against the voter-approved amendment legalizing marijuana after her spokesman previously told the Journal she hadn’t. “On Nov. 20, 2020, I directed Colonel Rick Miller to commence the Amendment A litigation on my behalf in his …

The Argus Leader reports: President Donald Trump is calling on South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to challenge fellow Republican Sen. John Thune in his 2022 primary election, despite the governor already saying she will seek re-election of her governorship instead. Noem’s been an ardent supporter of Trump’s during the presidential campaign, making several speaking appearances and fundraising stops for him …

The Argus Leader reports: A federal judge says a state court can’t use the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to delay a Codington County trial and in the same breath criticized South Dakota’s response to the pandemic, saying it has done “little, if anything,” to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann ordered that unless the …

Sioux Falls’ CBS News affiliate reports: Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) said today that she “expects the road could be a little bit rough under the Biden administration with some of the policies that they’ve embraced.” Noem’s comments came during her fiscal year 2022 budget presentation in Pierre. “We can expect that they may try to raise taxes, they have said …

The Rapid City Journal reports: The Rapid City Council voted 9-1 on Monday night to move a mask-optional ordinance to a second reading with council member John Roberts voting no. The majority of the public attending the meeting did not wear masks despite a mask requirement while in city buildings. There were also three police officers present as well as …

The Hill reports: North Dakota’s coronavirus mortality rate is the highest of any U.S. state or country, according to an analysis of data from last week conducted by the Federation of American Scientists. The analysis shows that North Dakota has a rate of 18.2 deaths per 1 million people. South Dakota, meanwhile, has 17.4 deaths per million, the third-worst rate …

The Hill reports: ABC’s George Stephanopoulos pressed South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) on Sunday when she suggested that President-elect Joe Biden was the beneficiary of “illegal activities” in the election. Noem during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” said “people have signed legal documents stating that they saw illegal activities” and cited New York Times reports of “clerical errors.” …

CBS News reports: South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was “distracted” before he drove onto a highway shoulder where he struck and killed a pedestrian in September, state Secretary of Safety Craig Price said Monday. Price said 55-year-old Joseph Boever was walking on the side of the road and displaying some type of light on the night of Sept. 12 …

The Associated Press reports: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Tuesday blamed South Dakota’s recent surge in coronavirus cases on an increase in testing, even as the state saw a new high in the number of people hospitalized by the virus. There are currently no open general-care hospital beds in the southeastern part of the state, which contains the two …

The Mitchell Republic reports: A grand jury has indicted a Mitchell man on charges of obstructing a law enforcement officer for his actions during a Mitchell School District Board of Education meeting last month. Reed Bender, 39, faces a Class 1 misdemeanor for “using or threatening to use violence, force or physical interference or obstacle, intentionally obstruct, impair or hinder …

Reuters reports: The number of tests coming back positive for COVID-19 is topping 25% in several states in the U.S. Midwest as cases and hospitalizations also surge in the region, according to a Reuters analysis. North Dakota’s positive test rate has averaged 30% over the past seven days compared with 6% the prior week. The positivity rate has risen to …

The Mitchell Republic reports: A member of the public was escorted out of the Mitchell Board of Education Monday night by Mitchell Police after he refused to don a mask as per district policy that mandates mask wearing on school property. The man, whom Mitchell School District Superintendent Joe Graves identified as Reed Bender, appeared at the meeting and sat …

The Rapid City Journal reports: The attorney general said in a statement today that he and the local sheriff searched a crash scene after he thought he hit a deer Saturday night but they both missed spotting the pedestrian he had hit and killed. Jason Ravnsborg said he used Hyde County Sheriff Mike Volek’s personal vehicle to drive home to …

The Rapid City Journal reports: South Dakota’s attorney general reported hitting a deer Saturday night but actually hit and killed a man whose body wasn’t discovered until the next morning, the Department of Public Safety said Monday morning. The release does not say if Ravnsborg stopped to confirm that he hit a deer or inspect his vehicle for damage. It …

The Daily Beast reports: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem called a surprise press conference on Sunday evening to announce that the state attorney general, Jason Ravnsborg, had been involved in a fatal car crash the night before. Details were scant but Ravnsborg released a statement saying, “I am shocked and filled with sorrow following the events of last night. As …

The Associated Press reports: Over 400,000 motorcycle enthusiasts gathered for the annual rally from Aug. 7-16, and it was reported that social distancing and mask wearing at some of the events was not observed. The rally was officially linked to hundreds of coronavirus cases across more than 10 states and at least one death. But the study that relied on …

ABC News reports: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) on Wednesday lauded first lady Melania Trump’s keynote speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC), adding “no mother in this country” wants to raise children in Democratic-led cities. Noem told Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom” host Sandra Smith that the president’s wife delivered a “powerful” speech showcasing “her mother’s heart” Tuesday night …

New Music Express reports: Thousands of fans gathered in Sturgis, South Dakota at the weekend to watch Smash Mouth in concert despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The show on Sunday (August 9) was part of this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, a 10-day festival estimated to attract 250,000 motorcycle enthusiasts. Footage from the concert showed little in the way of social …