Category Archives: State

Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that South Dakota has joined a Multi-State Amicus Curiae or friend of the court brief filed in the United States District Court of Texas against the federal government in support of the Keystone Pipeline. “President Obama’s rejection of the pipeline infringes on the authority of Congress and the sovereignty of the States imposing significant economic harm to the affected States, including future jobs, and lost revenue to state and local governments,” said Jackley. The amicus brief argues that the President has unlawfully infringed on Congress’s exclusive authority to regulate interstate and international commerce. The brief also emphasizes that the Keystone XL Pipeline will promote interstate commerce and economic development. The brief sets forth that “In South Dakota, state regulators have approved several times the construction of the Pipeline, the Governor Dennis Daugaard has expressed his support of the Pipeline. All of South Dakota’s representatives in Congress supported construction of the Pipeline.” The states included in this amicus brief are Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas. The Keystone XL Pipeline will carry oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico through these states. There is no cost to South Dakota for joining the litigation.

By Katie Hunhoff

Grasshoppers swarmed our fields and towns, devouring everything in their path in the 1870s. Farmers were ruined and entire communities suffered. Kampeska City, the precursor to Watertown, became a ghost town after the plague.

Father Pierre Boucher took action to protect Jefferson in the very southeast corner of today’s South Dakota. He planned a spiritual procession to ward off the hated insects. He announced his plan in Mass on a Sunday in the spring of 1876. The next morning, both Protestants and Catholics convened south of Jefferson and Boucher led them on an 11-mile procession. They ceremoniously placed crosses at four points, and another in the Jefferson cemetery. Soon after, throngs of dead grasshoppers were found nearby at the Big Sioux and Missouri Rivers.

The crosses later became spiritual relics to Jefferson residents. One, outside St. Peter’s Catholic Church, was replaced in 1967. Others can be found 4 miles northwest of town on County Road 1B near the Southeast Farmers Coop Elevator and another near the corner of 330th Street and 480th Avenue west of Jefferson. The wooden crosses are just one of many spiritual places that we recommend exploring in the May/June issue of South Dakota Magazine. South Dakota residents have always been spiritual; currently we are listed as the 16th most religious state according to a Pew Research study based on time spent in prayer, church attendance, belief and “self-described importance” of religion. Early residents relied on their faith to endure the many challenges of life on the prairie — natural woes like drought and floods and storms and more personal challenges such as the mental strains of carving out a new life on the lonesome prairie.

South Dakotans have built beautiful churches as the focuses of our faith. But our story also explores some lesser-known spiritual sites. Reynold’s Prairie, located high in the Black Hills, is one of five mountain places considered sacred to the Sioux. Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Interior declared the meadow is once again Indian trust land and will be managed as a sacred site.

Our story on spirituality also references the gravesites of two brothers, Michael and Joseph Hofer, in the cemetery at Rockport Hutterite Colony in Hanson County. The Hofers, who adhered to the Hutterite tenet of pacifism, refused to serve in World War I after being drafted. They were sentenced to military prisons and were tortured. Eventually both died of pneumonia. Hutterites throughout North America make a pilgrimage to pay their respects at their gravesites.

Many of the spiritual sites we selected are obvious — the Cathedral on the Prairie at Hoven, the Wounded Knee cemetery and Stavkirke in the Hills. But others may surprise you, including Black Elk’s log cabin, Wind Cave and the five Medicine Buttes in South Dakota.

A South Dakota summer is the perfect season to seek out some of these spiritual spots for reflection and contemplation. Lakota scholar Vine Deloria, Jr. once wrote, “The plains of the Dakotas are both hospitable and hostile to people. You must welcome their bounty but ensure that they do not sweep you up, taking your life and making you a part of their restless spirit.” We think Mr. Deloria, who died in 2005, would have liked our spiritual tour. We hope you do as well.

The South Dakota Bankers Association (SDBA), the professional and trade association for South Dakota’s financial services industry since 1884, recently held elections for two of the nine seats on its Board of Directors.

Elected to serve on the SDBA Board of Directors were:
· Kristina Schaefer, General Counsel & Director of Risk Management, First Bank & Trust, Sioux Falls
· David D. Nelson, Sr. Vice President & Branch Manager, First Fidelity Bank, Platte

Nelson is formerly of Winner.

Schaefer and Nelson began their three-year directorships on May 1. This is their first term on the SDBA Board of Directors

A state health official is warning South Dakotans to be aware of tick-borne illness as they head outdoors this spring.

“Every year we see cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia and other tick-borne diseases in South Dakota. Last year was a particularly bad year for tularemia with 25 total cases when we typically see seven cases a year,” said Dr. Lon Kightlinger, state epidemiologist for the Department of Health. “The best way to protect yourself when you’re outdoors is to check for ticks often and remove them right away. Tucking pants into your socks and spraying clothes and exposed skin with repellent can also reduce your risk.”

The department investigated two cases of Lyme disease and two of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in addition to the 25 cases of tularemia in 2015, the most tularemia cases in over 30 years. Kightlinger said most areas of South Dakota are not suitable habitat for the Ioxdes deer tick that carries Lyme disease, as it prefers more heavily forested areas such as those in Wisconsin and Minnesota. South Dakota Lyme disease cases have typically had deer tick bites out of state.

A tick bite is a small, painless red bump with a bright red halo. If a tick is attached, remove it with tweezers or tissue, pulling slowly and steadily, being careful not to crush it. Then apply antiseptic to prevent infection. If you use bare hands wash thoroughly with warm, soapy water and avoid touching your eyes before washing.

Symptoms of tick-borne illness include sudden onset of a moderate-to-high fever, stiff neck, deep muscle pain, arthritis, fatigue, severe headache, chills, a rash on the arms and legs or around the site of the bite, and swollen lymph nodes, particularly in the neck. If you develop any of these symptoms after a tick bite, see your doctor.

Other precautions include:
Check small children thoroughly for ticks when they’ve been outside or had contact with pets or livestock that may have ticks.
Use insecticides and collars to protect pets from ticks and limit the number they carry into the home. Apply insecticides and tick repellents to pet bedding.
Check your animals frequently for ticks. Remove ticks from animals using forceps or tweezers to apply constant traction. If you must use your fingers, wear disposable gloves then wash hands thoroughly with soap and water.

PIERRE, S.D –The South Dakota Department of Transportation reminds the public that political campaign and ballot-issue signs cannot be placed on state highway rights of way.

“With the primary election coming up in June, election signs are showing up along the state’s roadways,” says Jason Humphrey, construction engineer for the DOT. “We’re asking everyone to pay attention to where they put the signs and make sure they are outside of the rights of way and in locations that will not create safety hazards or distract motorists.”

The use of right of way is reserved for official highway signage. All signs in the right of way that are not required for traffic control, as authorized by law (SDCL 31-28-14), are prohibited and will be removed. That includes both candidate and ballot-issue signs.

Municipal ordinances regulating placement and removal of campaign signs within towns and cities do not have precedence over state jurisdiction and supervision of state highway rights of way within municipalities.

Following the footsteps of Class AA and Class A, Class B boys and girls basketball will implement a 35 second shot clock for all games starting in the 2017-18 season.

The South Dakota High School Activities Association board of control passed the motion at its meeting April 19 in Pierre.

The proposal passed the basketball advisory committee with a 7-0 vote and was approved by the Class B athletic directors with a 41-28 vote.

Attorney General Marty Jackley announced April 21 that the South Dakota Supreme Court has upheld the second-degree murder and aggravated assault convictions of Braiden McCahren. A Tripp County jury convicted McCahren of second-degree murder for the shooting death of Dalton Williams, as well as aggravated assault committed against Tyus Youngberg. McCahren was sentenced to 25 years in the state penitentiary, with 15 years suspended, for the murder conviction. He received a 15- year penitentiary sentence for the aggravated assault conviction, which is being served at the same time as the sentence for murder.

The trial was moved to Winner following a change of venue.

Absentee voting for registered South Dakota voters began on April 22 for the June 7 primary election. This is 46 days prior to the primary election.

Travis Swartz, Rapid City, formerly of Winner, was named the Region 4 assistant basketball coach of the year.  Swartz coaches at Rapid City Stevens High School where he is the assistant girls basketball coach.  Swartz is a graduate of Winner High School.

The Dakota Wesleyan University Tiger-of-the-Week is senior baseball outfielder Austin Calhoon, it was announced by the DWU athletic department on Wednesday.

After starting the season with seven straight losses, DWU has won 13 of 16 heading into Great Plains Athletic Conference play and the bat of Calhoon has played a large role in the recent success. His week was highlighted by a two-home-run, five-RBI performance in a win over rival Dakota State University to preserve a split with the Trojans on March 22.

In a nonconference doubleheader with Northwestern College March 25, Calhoon added two more hits and two RBIs to help DWU sweep the Red Raiders. He even took the mound for four innings in game one against Northwestern, marking the first pitching appearance of the season for the slugger. Calhoon allowed two runs on four hits, while striking out three, keeping the Tigers in the game and allowing a late-inning rally for DWU.

Calhoon is batting .355 with a .437 on-base percentage, while slugging a career-best .592 in 2016. He has 27 hits, four doubles, four triples and 22 RBIs to go along with 10 walks and two stolen bases.