YANKTON, S.D.(WNAX)- Voters in Clay County earlier this month approved a thirty-nine-million-dollar bond issue for a new law enforcement center and jail. Sheriff Andy Howe says they are moving quickly on the location. Howe says using city owned land would help control some costs. Howe says once a site is defined, they can then move… Read more »

WAGNER, S.D.(WNAX)- Voters in the City of Wagner will be back to the polls on Tuesday. City Attorney Ken Cotton says it stems back to a resolution of support for changes to Highway 46 passed by the city council this summer. Cotton says there was a lot of public input before the council voted. The… Read more »

YANKTON, S.D.(WNAX)- Bob Rowe, C.E.O. of Northwestern Energy for the past fourteen years will be retiring from that position at the end of the year. He and his successor, current Chief Operating Officer Brian Bird are touring company locations in Nebraska, South Dakota and Montana. During a stop in Yankton, Rowe said he feels good… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D.(Press Release) – On Wednesday, proponents of open primary elections filed a proposed constitutional amendment with the South Dakota Legislative Research Council. This is the first step towards placing an open primaries initiative on the November 2024 ballot. “We believe that primary elections in South Dakota should be open to all voters regardless of… Read more »

SISSETON, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – According to the Roberts County Deputies’ Facebook post, deputies conducted another large drug bust, the second big bust in the area this week. On Monday, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate and Roberts County Deputies conducted the largest drug bust in South Dakota, seizing 12.4 lbs of fentanyl pills and 3.6 lbs of… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D.(KCCR)- State Representative Roger Chase of Huron was the guest speaker Tuesday for the board meeting of the Pierre Economic Development Corporation.  Chase chaired the 2021 summer study on workforce housing  where most of the proposed legislation passed.  There were hang-ups with the most important bill to appropriate 200-million dollars for housing. Chase says… Read more »

ABERDEEN, S.D.(HubCityRadio) – The Aberdeen Community Theatre presents the show “Tales From the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log”.  The show was written by MPR(Minnesota Public Radio)’s Kevin Kling. Kling talks about growing up with a disability. Kling talked about how he got into writing. Kling discussed what the show is about. Managing Director for… Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C.(WNAX)- President Biden has asked Congress to get involved and help head off a threatened nationwide rail strike next week. South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds says there has been a commission working on agreements with rail unions. Rounds says they haven’t seen any details yet. Rounds says a rail strike would have a noticeable… Read more »

MARION, S.D.(WNAX)- With about a month to go, Southeastern Electric, based in Marion, has added a record number of new service connections. Manager Brad Schardin says the growth has been across their service area. Schardin says more users are adding more equipment that needs electricity. Schardin says they are working on some long range growth… Read more »

VERMILLION, S.D.(WNAX)- Members of an interim South Dakota legislative committee that studied county jails will bring recommendations to the 2023 session. Committee member, Senator Art Rusch of Vermillion says there should be funding available for the construction of regional jails. Rusch says some counties are in dire need of jail space. The committee talked about… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D.(WNAX)- South Dakota K – Twelve students lost academic ground during the pandemic but not as bad as other states. Education Department Secretary Tiffany Sanderson told the Educational Standards Board last week that they are now getting new information on student success. The statewide report card showed fifty one percent of tested students met… Read more »

YANKTON, S.D.(WNAX)- Differences of opinion between the South Dakota Attorney General and the Legislative Research Council is delaying a ballot initiative petition drive that would eliminate the state sales tax on groceries. “Dakotans for Health” Co-founder Rick Weiland says they can’t get a clear explanation. Weiland says starting with new language makes their petition drive… Read more »

PIERRE, S.D.(Press Release) – On Tuesday, Governor Kristi Noem signed Executive Order 2022-10, which bans the Chinese social media platform TikTok for state government agencies, employees, and contractors using state devices. This order is in response to the growing national security threat posed by TikTok due to its data gathering operations on behalf of the… Read more »

MADISON, S.D.(WNAX)- Issues for the 2023 South Dakota legislature are starting to line up. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree of Madison says they will have to work with counties on their jail issues. Crabtree says inflation will be a big factor in spending for schools, health care providers and state employees. Crabtree says abortion… Read more »