PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) – South Dakota lawmakers are wrestling with “mailbox voters”…and there are a lot of them. Thousands of people establish mailboxes here because South Dakota doesn’t have an income tax. Representative Jon Hanson of Dell Rapids doesn’t like the idea that allows them to vote in the state… Despite those objections, the bill… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) – Senator Mike rounds says Democrats are trying to tip the scales of power in Congress…and cheating legal immigrants in the process. Senator Mike Rounds says the flood of illegal immigrants across the southern border is harmful to small states like South Dakota… Rounds has introduced the “Equal Representation Act”, to make… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) — Gov. Kristi Noem will address a joint session of the legislature at 2 p.m. Wednesday to discuss what she calls “the war zone at the border.”   Last week, Noem visited the Texas-Mexico border.    Republican House Speaker Hugh Bartels reading from Noem’s letter to legislative leadership. Noem told CNN Sunday that… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D.(KXLG)- Currently, in South Dakota law, if you have a notarized statement of consent to marry from one parent or legal guardian, you can marry at 16 years old. South Dakota Representative Democrat Kayden Whittman introduced a bill Monday to increase the age to 18. However, House Bill 1154 was deferred to the 41st… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) – She calls it a poison pill… Governor Kristi Noem says Congress shouldn’t pass the latest border bill agreement, because it would make way for more illegal immigration. She appeared on CNN after visiting the border again… Governor Noem also says Texas should stand its ground in its use of razor wire at… Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C.(KELO)- Parents and future college students are frustrated…and Congress wants some answers. Senator Mike Rounds is among a group of more than two dozen senators who want to know what’s going on with the FAFSA Program. That’s the program that determines eligibility for student aid for college. Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act three… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) — The Joint Appropriations Committee hearing this Monday on the Department of Corrections wasn’t explicitly about the location of the proposed new men’s prison–but the $700 million project did get some attention from legislators and citizens. Department of Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko talked about how dangerous it is for the night staff… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) – South Dakota legislators are in the middle of a tug-of-war…being pulled both ways. There’s a lot of volume coming from both sides of the carbon capture pipeline debate. Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree says lawmakers are looking for some middle ground… Crabtree says debate on pipeline bills will probably come later… Read more »

WATERTOWN, S.D.(KWAT) –“Politics got in the way.” That’s how South Dakota U.S. Senator Mike Rounds describes the inability of Congress to get a new Farm Bill passed and signed into law. Rounds says there are philosophical differences over what should be prioritized in the bill. And that’s where talks stalled. Rounds says with Election Year… Read more »

AMES, I.A. AND SIOUX FALLS, S.D.(Press Release) — In a major step forward for the future of agriculture and biofuels, POET and Summit Carbon Solutions (Summit) announced a groundbreaking partnership connecting the world’s largest biofuel producer with the world’s largest carbon capture and storage project. This collaboration brings together two entities—both founded upon creating new… Read more »