Grace Powell, a senior at Dakota Valley High School in North Sioux City, SD, won the South Dakota Poetry Out Loud state contest. She will compete in the national finals in Washington, D.C., with the chance to win a top prize of $20,000. The competition aims to promote poetry education and public speaking skills among high school students. Continue reading Dakota Valley student to compete in Poetry Out Loud national finals
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office in South Dakota responded to various incidents, including car accidents, inmate transfers, and mental health crises. Deputies also handled vandalism, theft, and traffic violations. They assisted with medical emergencies, investigated suspicious activity, and provided support for truant students. Inmates were transported between jails for court appearances and medical appointments. Continue reading Clay County Sheriff’s Office Incident Report for 3/19 – 4/13/2024
Below are the charges for the month of March. You may notice that there may be more charges than arrests. This is due to individuals facing multiple charges.
You will notice that the information provided is only a numeric total, unlike that provided from what we get from Clay County which gives call incident detail.
We have asked the Union County Sheriff to provide more call detail, similar to that of Clay County. Continue reading Union County Sheriff’s Report for March, 2024
I was astounded Tuesday evening when I turned on CNN and saw anchors and analysts revealing details about the seven jurors picked so far in the first criminal trial of Donald Trump.
There weren’t any names or faces revealed, but many other facts were. At the risk of compounding the error, but citing one example to make the point, here’s how CNN described a juror.
“The third seated juror is a corporate lawyer. He’s originally from Oregon. He gets his news from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Google. He’s a younger man who’s never been married and doesn’t have kids.” Continue reading The media should shut up about the Trump jurors
As the band Emerson, Lake and Palmer sang in their 1973 classic tune, Karn Evil 9:
“Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We’re so glad you could attend,
Come inside, come inside . . . ”
So too, the words might be said about the regular case dispositions by our county/state judiciary system. Following are three weeks’ worth of cases that have been disposed of in the Union County courts. They include everything from traffic to trucking/transportation to criminal cases to fishing without a license. Continue reading Union County Court: 3/25 – 4/12/2024
I’m back with another installment of To Whom It May Concern, my multi-topic opinion column about the goings-on in Siouxland, South Dakota, the nation and the world. I’d been meaning to write this earlier – like last month – but things kept getting in the way. Like my health. I had a cold which turned into a bad sinus infection that kept me in bed for most of a week with a fever. Now that I’m almost 71, stuff like that seems to hit me particularly hard. It sucks getting old. But don’t cry for me Argentina, I’ve rebounded, for the most part. Continue reading To whom it may concern
My folks floated over the pond with the cattle down below in steerage. One was an indentured servant, another a prison guard, others were among an army of Irish who helped drive the Native people off the Mississippi River near Dubuque to claim the lead mines. Still another branch settled the sloughs around Emmetsburg about the time the last Dakota were being driven out.
Immigrants. Good and not so good. The Mulroney brothers were not a welcome sight to the existing indigenous people when Fort Dodge was still a fort.
It cannot be avoided. It’s who we are, a nation of immigrants determined to write a new story for ourselves: That we came by it all fair and square; we did not. That we earned it; we stole it. And now that we are in control, we would rather keep others out. Until we need the cheap labor. Continue reading Immigrants are not the problem. Don’t believe the propaganda.
Most mountain and plains states have seen reductions in pollutants released to the air, water and soil since 2013 at a rate of decline more than double the national average.
In South Dakota, though, toxic releases increased by 16%.
That’s according to recently published 2022 data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory. Continue reading EPA data: South Dakota industrial chemical releases rise amid national decline
Average first-time homebuyers can expect to spend about two-fifths of their pre-tax income on a monthly payment for a house in South Dakota.
“This situation is unheard of,” said Dakota Institute CEO Jared McEntaffer.
He addressed the Governor’s Conference on Economic Development on Wednesday at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.
McEntaffer called home prices one of the biggest economic issues the state faces. His analysis highlighted the decoupling of housing costs from incomes, posing a challenge for attracting new workers. Continue reading Rapid rise in South Dakota home prices is ‘not sustainable,’ economist says
The homes built by inmates and sold to income-eligible South Dakotans will cost more come Friday, but the price hike is lower than it has been for the last three years.
The South Dakota Housing Development Authority Board voted Tuesday to increase the prices for Governor’s Houses, which are constructed at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield and shipped across the state to eligible buyers.
There are two- and three-bedroom homes, as well as “DakotaPlex” options for more than one family in towns with 5,000 people or fewer, and day care models. Continue reading Price goes up for Governor’s House program, but less than recent years
The Siouxland Observer 