WASHINGTON, D.C. (WNAX) – South Dakota Congressman Dusty Johnson says work is getting done in Congress, despite what people may think. Johnson says the bill is significant. Johnson says many members are quietly going about their jobs. Johnson says the House is also working on another version of a disaster relief bill.

PIERRE, S.D. (WNAX) – U.S. District Judge Charles Kornmann has ruled IM-24, passed by South Dakota voters last November is unconstitutional. The measure would have banned out of state contributions to ballot question campaigns. Former Attorney General Marty Jackley led the legal challenge. Jackley says the challenge was brought by a coalition of business and… Read more »

YANKTON, S.D. (WNAX) – While public universities in South Dakota have wrapped up the academic year, the Board of Regents is planning for the next year and beyond. Board President Keven Schieffer says they continue to focus on rapidly rising costs. Schieffer says they are looking for efficiencies across the system. Schieffer says they also… Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KELO.com) – Senator Mike Rounds fully supports President Trump’s tougher approach on trade talks with China. Trump has called out Beijing for reneging on earlier commitments. Rounds says its going to be better in the long wrong for suffering producers in South Dakota if the President can get a FAIR trade deal with… Read more »

ABERDEEN, S.D. (HubCityRadio.com) – NCAA Division II National Swimming Champion Hannah Kastigar will be the guest speaker at this year’s Salvation Army Annual Civic Banquet. The event takes place Tuesday, May 14, at the Ramkota Convention Center. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with a meal around 6 p.m. Cost is $40 per person with a… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D. (KCCR) – SkyWest Airlines has been operating United Express flights out of the Pierre Regional Airport now for a little over a month and the numbers of travelers moving through the airport is beginning to show how much the service is being used. Commissioner Jamie Huizenga presented a slide to the Pierre City… Read more »

ABERDEEN, S.D. (South Dakota Broadcasters Association) – In his written decision, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Kornmann agrees with plaintiff’s arguments that IM24 violated First Amendment rights writing, “The total ban on certain out of state contributions cannot withstand scrutiny unless the defendants can articulate a compelling reason for the ban. As a matter of law,… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D. (Press Release) – Gov. Kristi Noem announced that Shawnie Rechtenbaugh has been appointed as the permanent Secretary of the Department of Human Services (DHS). Rechtenbaugh has been serving as the interim secretary since January 2019. “I’m pleased that Shawnie as agreed to serve in this role on a permanent basis,” said Noem. “Shawnie… Read more »

ABERDEEN, S.D. (Press Release) – The Confucius Institute at Northern State University will close effective June 21, 2020. The decision was made after a thorough review of Northern’s international programs and activities. The university seeks to shift resources strategically toward services more aligned with its mission, including study abroad programs. “This was a difficult decision,… Read more »

ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) — The latest federal census of agriculture finds the number of farms in South Dakota has dropped. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2017 census, South Dakota’s farmland was worked by fewer farming operations from 2012 to 2017. The census is conducted every five years. Statewide, more than 43 million acres… Read more »

  LAKE POINSETT, S.D. (KXLG) – Water levels have begun to recede at Lake Poinsett in eastern South Dakota, however lake levels remain more than six foot over full this week. Hamlin County Emergency Management Director Dave Schaefer says the lake level has gone down about four inches, but that new rains near an inch… Read more »

YANKTON, S.D. (WNAX) – Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be in South Dakota the next couple of weeks, looking at damages from storms and flooding earlier this year. FEMA Spokesman Daniel Breen says they are getting a first look at the damages. Breen says they are looking at individual damage in a… Read more »

ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) — An official of the South Dakota attorney general’s office says a Brown County Jail inmate apparently killed himself. Twenty-eight-year-old Mitchell Morrison of Aberdeen was found unresponsive in the jail in Aberdeen with a noose around his neck Thursday night. Morrison died three days later at a Sioux Falls hospital. Tim Bormann,… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D. (KCCR) – Officials with the Sixth Circuit DUI/Drug Court celebrated the 70th person to graduate from the program Wednesday. The keynote speaker for the event was Governor Kristi Noem, who was attending her first drug court graduation. Mary Kay Schad is one of three participants scheduled to graduate from the program, however two… Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WNAX) – U.S. and Chinese trade talks are supposed to start again today in Washington facing a Friday deadline of higher tariffs imposed by President Trump. South Dakota Congressman Dusty Johnson says this is a critical time. Johnson says these continue to be difficult negotiations. Johnson says he is concerned that even a… Read more »