SDPB’s podcast “Short Walk” recounts the events leading to the impeachment of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg. Following an incident where he struck and killed pedestrian Joseph Boever, Ravnsborg was impeached, removed from office, and barred from holding elected office in the future. Continue reading SDPB To Release 9-Part Podcast 2/20
I dropped my lovely passenger off behind the Baxter Building at the corner of 5th and Jones Streets in downtown Sioux City — a city that’s not as bad as it sometimes smells. My wife waved goodbye as I let our 2021 Hyundai Venue coast down the driveway to the alley where I turned right and half a block later, I dodged a homeless fellow looking for cans then I turned left onto Jones. I drove to 3rd Street and hung a right going by the post office, a parking ramp, the cancer center, Milwaukee Weiners, and the Hard Rock Hotel. I caught Wesley Parkway to the service road which brought me to the I-29 north entrance ramp.
In six minutes I was free of Sioux City, out of Iowa, and back into the Land of Infinite Variety, South Dakota. Tourism folks call South Dakota the Rushmore State now, but I prefer to call it by its old nickname. I think it’s far more accurate.
But I digress.
It was 8:07 a.m. Tuesday, December 12th and I was headed for Elk Point, the County Seat of Union County, South Dakota for the regular meeting of the County Board of Commissioners. Continue reading Courthouse Chronicles: ‘Now Where the Hell Is That State’s Attorney?’
Below is the call log of the Lincoln County, S.D. Sheriff’s Office for Jan. 21 through Jan. 27, 2024. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office serves nearly 60,000 citizens spread across Lincoln County’s 579 square miles. Per capita, Lincoln County is the third largest county in South Dakota. Canton is the county seat, and it houses their office, 911 communications and the courthouse. Lincoln County is comprised of several small, medium and large-sized communities that include Harrisburg, Tea, Lennox, Canton, Worthing, Fairview, Hudson, Beresford and the southern portion of Sioux Falls. Continue reading Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office activity report: Jan. 21 – Jan. 27, 2024
The following are summaries of incidents reported to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office between Jan. 20 and Jan. 31, 2024. Certain incidents may be listed individually. Continue reading Clay County Sheriff’s Office activity report
Below are the charges for the month stated above. You may notice that there may be more charges than arrests. This is due to individuals facing multiple charges. Continue reading Union County Sheriff’s Office Report – January, 2024
South Dakota educators have pointed to dramatic literacy successes in the state of Mississippi as evidence for lawmakers to support a proposed $6 million investment into expanded phonics-based reading curriculum and teacher training.
But as the appropriation supported by Gov. Kristi Noem moves forward in the Legislature, a top literacy official in Mississippi said that while South Dakota’s plan is a good place to start, a one-time investment is unlikely to reverse falling reading rates in the Rushmore State.
House Bill 1022 would provide the South Dakota Department of Education with $6 million for a four-year statewide teacher training effort in the science of reading (SOR), an intensive approach to reading instruction at the elementary level that relies in part on phonics, or using sounds within words rather than letters to help children read. Continue reading South Dakota literacy improvements likely to cost more than $6 million
The South Dakota Senate shot down an effort Thursday to cap property tax valuation increases at 3% a year for homeowners and rental properties.
Senate Bill 167 would have capped increases in response to the heavy hikes in property valuations that followed the COVID-19 pandemic’s start in 2020.
Sen. Jack Kolbeck, R-Sioux Falls, said his goal was to offer some relief to long-term homeowners whose new neighbors from other states helped push home values beyond what local incomes can absorb. Continue reading State Senate shoots down property tax valuation cap
The following disposed cases were provided to the Siouxland Observer by the South Dakota Unified Judicial System on 1/30/24 and 1/24/24. They are reprinted in the same order as they appear on the Unified Judicial System’s report. Continue reading Union County Court: January
The information below covers activities of the Clay County, S.D. Sheriff’s Officers from the morning of Dec. 23, 2023, until the morning of Jan. 20, 2024. The details of incidents and activities were provided by the Clay County Sheriff’s Department on their website. Continue reading Clay County Sheriff’s Office activity report
Following is the Vermillion, S.D. Police Department activity log. This information is for Dec. 23, 2023, through the afternoon of Jan. 22, 2024. More information about individual incidents can be found at the Vermillion Police Department web page.
The Siouxland Observer 