PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) — South Dakota’s judicial system has successfully used specialty courts to divert at-risk individuals from prison into productive lives. That’s according to South Dakota Supreme Court Justice Steven R. Jensen, who gave the annual State of the Judiciary Address to a joint session of the legislature Wednesday. Jensen says the drug, DUI,… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) — Some South Dakota population trends are increasing while others are decreasing. That’s according to state demographer and South Dakota State University Professor Weiwei Zhang, who testified before the South Dakota Legislature’s House State Affairs Committee Wednesday. On the one hand, some South Dakota counties have seen considerable growth, including Minnehaha, Lincoln,… Read more »

WATERTOWN, S.D.(KWAT)–In recent months there have been multiple reports of employees at the South Dakota Penitentiary being assaulted by inmates. Attorney General Marty Jackley says when it comes to those crimes, his stance is clear. Jackley says these assaults can oftentimes be traced back to drug use that landed an inmate in prison in the… Read more »

ABERDEEN, S.D.(HubCityRadio)- Northern State’s Innovation & Startup Center will be hosting some event coming up in the month of January. Director Bea Smith explains the role of the center. Smith talks about upcoming events in January beginning with the one on January 11th. Smith talks about the event on January 18th. You can learn more… Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C.(KMIT)- Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia’s Center for Effective Lawmaking recently named South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds as the second most effective Republican on defense issues.  Rounds says it is an honor to be recognized and says he has a great team in place. Rounds authored more than 30 provisions in the… Read more »

WATERTOWN, S.D.(KWAT)–Construction crews are wrapping up work on the $36.5 million Prairie Lakes Ice Arena on Watertown’s east side, and it’ll be ready to host the Girl’s State Hockey Tournament in early March. City Manager Amanda Mack says the contractors will turn over ownership of the building to the city in just a few weeks.… Read more »

WATERTOWN, S.D.(KWAT)–The Watertown City Council appears ready to take another run at getting a satisfactory bid to renovate the former Wells Fargo Bank building in the downtown area into a new City Hall. That’s been the plan since the city bought the building more than three years ago for $1.3 million. But the initial renovation… Read more »