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South Dakota Searchlight
Legislature’s unsung role: Protecting us from bad bills
The end of the legislative session is usually a time for congratulations, much of it well-deserved. The 2024 Legislature balanced a $7.3 billion budget. That budget included 4% raises for state employees, education and health care providers; more than $220 million for new prisons; the creation of a statewide public defender office; and a freeze […] The post Legislature’s unsung role: Protecting us from bad bills appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
With yes votes from Thune and Rounds, U.S. Senate passes spending package overnight
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate took a broadly bipartisan vote early Saturday to approve a $1.2 trillion spending package, sending the measure to President Joe Biden for his signature with no time to spare after missing a midnight deadline. The 74-24 vote wraps up the government funding process for fiscal year 2024, which began back […] The post With yes votes from Thune and Rounds, U.S. Senate passes spending package overnight appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
U.S. Senate debates spending package overnight as funding lapse begins
WASHINGTON — Dozens of federal departments and agencies began a funding lapse early Saturday after the U.S. Senate failed to approve a $1.2 trillion government spending package ahead of a Friday midnight deadline. The stalemate affected major federal departments — Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Labor, State and Treasury. It also included […] The post U.S. Senate debates spending package overnight as funding lapse begins appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
U.S. Supreme Court to hear oral arguments Tuesday on abortion pill limits
WASHINGTON — The same U.S. Supreme Court that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion will hear oral arguments Tuesday over access to mifepristone, a pharmaceutical used in both medication abortion and miscarriage care. The nine justices will then decide whether to leave access to the drug intact or require the U.S. Food and Drug […] The post U.S. Supreme Court to hear oral arguments Tuesday on abortion pill limits appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
Johnson votes yes as Congress rushes to approve $1.2 trillion spending package
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House approved a broadly bipartisan $1.2 trillion spending package Friday, sending the legislation to the Senate ahead of a midnight deadline. Senators have just hours to clear the measure for President Joe Biden’s signature, otherwise parts of the federal government will begin a funding lapse early Saturday. Meeting that benchmark will […] The post Johnson votes yes as Congress rushes to approve $1.2 trillion spending package appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
Brutal era can be overcome by returning to core values, Times columnist tells SD audience
SIOUX FALLS — The United States is living in a “brutal era,” New York Times columnist David Brooks told about 2,000 people Tuesday at Augustana University, but there is hope today’s ugly politics and social turmoil will lead to a better world. Brooks, who also is a PBS NewsHour commentator and book author, was the […] The post Brutal era can be overcome by returning to core values, Times columnist tells SD audience appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
U.S. House panel debates boost for WIC in Agriculture funding bill
WASHINGTON — A U.S. House appropriations panel reviewed the Biden administration’s request to increase the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s budget for fiscal 2025 Thursday, with Republicans asking pointed questions about a proposal to boost a popular low-income nutrition program. The hearing came less than two weeks after Congress passed a months-delayed appropriations bill for the […] The post U.S. House panel debates boost for WIC in Agriculture funding bill appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
Investigation shuts down texting, email, tablet-based phone calls for inmates and families
The South Dakota Department of Corrections has suspended tablet-based phone calls, texting and email services for inmates and their families due to what the DOC has described as “an investigation pending resolution” tied to inmate tablet computers. The tablets are provided at no cost to the state by the private company GTL, which also contracts […] The post Investigation shuts down texting, email, tablet-based phone calls for inmates and families appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
U.S. Senate passes Rounds-Tester measure to block Paraguayan beef imports
The U.S. Senate easily passed a resolution Thursday to repeal a Biden administration rule allowing beef imports from Paraguay. The measure, introduced by Democrat Jon Tester of Montana and Republican Mike Rounds of South Dakota, passed on a bipartisan 70-25 vote. The resolution was made under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to undo […] The post U.S. Senate passes Rounds-Tester measure to block Paraguayan beef imports appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
Massive $1.2 trillion spending package that would avert a shutdown released by Congress
WASHINGTON — Congress released the final six government funding bills early Thursday, starting off a sprint toward the Friday midnight deadline to wrap up work that was supposed to be finished nearly six months ago. The bipartisan agreement on the $1.2 trillion spending package, which emerged just before 3 a.m., came less than two weeks […] The post Massive $1.2 trillion spending package that would avert a shutdown released by Congress appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
Alleged assault victim’s diary creates Supreme Court test of voter-backed victims’ rights law
A defense attorney request for the diary of an alleged rape victim was the focus on Wednesday in a South Dakota Supreme Court case that tackles the limits of a billionaire-backed, voter-approved victims’ rights amendment to the state constitution. Marsy’s Law passed in 2016, enshrining a host of victims’ rights into South Dakota’s founding document, […] The post Alleged assault victim’s diary creates Supreme Court test of voter-backed victims’ rights law appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
Fed declines to cut interest rates, saying it’s not clear inflation has slowed enough yet
The Federal Reserve declined Wednesday to cut interest rates, saying it remains uncertain inflation is slowing enough, but some economists warned the financial regulators risk waiting too long to make cuts. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed has a lack of sufficient data that inflation is slowing enough to justify taking the pressure off […] The post Fed declines to cut interest rates, saying it’s not clear inflation has slowed enough yet appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
Watch out for China buying U.S. farmland, Noem tells U.S. House panel
WASHINGTON — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem told the U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday to be vigilant about Chinese ownership of farmland in the U.S. Noem appeared at the hearing about foreign entities – specifically those from China – buying farmland as concerns have grown in Congress and in dozens of state capitals about […] The post Watch out for China buying U.S. farmland, Noem tells U.S. House panel appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
Congress struggles to finish work on spending bills as another Friday deadline nears
WASHINGTON — Congressional staff were scrambling Wednesday to finalize sweeping legislation that would fund much of the federal government, but time was running short ahead of a Friday midnight deadline. Leaders of the House and Senate and the Biden administration announced Tuesday they’d reached consensus on the final six government funding bills for the fiscal […] The post Congress struggles to finish work on spending bills as another Friday deadline nears appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
We know now that free land wasn’t free
There’s a place in South Dakota, about 25 miles north of Wall Drug, that some locals still call “Jew Flats.” More than 100 years ago, the United States gave my great-great grandparents and their children, cousins and friends, around 30 Jewish families, free land in the West under the Homestead Act. All of the recently […] The post We know now that free land wasn’t free appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
Pipeline survey law, carbon as a public commodity argued at state Supreme Court
Summit Carbons Solutions would move something of value from one place to another for a fee, and as such is entitled to survey private land and use eminent domain for its proposed pipeline. Either that, or Summit would merely move its own product to be buried underground, thereby making it ineligible to conduct surveys and […] The post Pipeline survey law, carbon as a public commodity argued at state Supreme Court appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
Trump, GOP-led states argue presidential immunity claim to Supreme Court
Former President Donald Trump renewed his call to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to dismiss charges against him, asserting that presidents enjoy near-total immunity from criminal prosecution. In addition, as a deadline loomed for briefs in the case, 18 Republican-led states filed an amicus brief Tuesday urging the Supreme Court to reverse the lower […] The post Trump, GOP-led states argue presidential immunity claim to Supreme Court appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
A ‘deeply divided’ Congress took no major action on civil rights in 2023, report finds
WASHINGTON — Last year, neither chamber in Congress passed any meaningful civil rights legislation, according to an analysis of legislative and voting records of the first session of the 118th Congress by a coalition of civil rights groups. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Voting Record report found the lack of congressional action on […] The post A ‘deeply divided’ Congress took no major action on civil rights in 2023, report finds appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
Rapid City moves forward with climate funding that state shunned, seeking up to $50 million
After the state declined to seek federal grant money to reduce greenhouse gases and other air pollution last year, Rapid City was the only city in South Dakota to apply for the money. Now, the second largest city in the state has worked through its $1 million planning grant and will apply for an implementation […] The post Rapid City moves forward with climate funding that state shunned, seeking up to $50 million appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
State Supreme Court considers whether local boards have to explain their decisions
When Turner County commissioners refused to allow a developer to rezone land from ag to lakefront residential in the summer of 2022, they did so without saying why. There was no recording of the meetings at which two separate votes took place, and commissioners later told the developer they needn’t say why. When Circuit Judge […] The post State Supreme Court considers whether local boards have to explain their decisions appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.
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We use our journalistic searchlight to illuminate critical issues facing South Dakota, dissect the decisions made by state leaders, and explain the consequences of their policies and the role of politics on South Dakotans. We publish news and commentary that prioritizes accuracy, fairness, insight and civility. There is no charge to access our content, or to subscribe to our email newsletter. We invite and publish guest commentary that contributes to productive public discourse and adheres to our editorial policies. South Dakota Searchlight launched in 2022. We’re an affiliate of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers. The staff of the Searchlight retains full editorial independence.
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