February 2015
Attorney Asks SD Judge To Allow Gay Marriages Immediately
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A lawyer representing six South Dakota couples challenging the state’s ban on same-sex marriage has asked a judge to let her ruling take effect immediately and allow weddings in the state. U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier declared the ban unconstitutional last month but also put legal same-sex marriages on hold. […]
Ranchers Buy Bison At Rapid City Auction As Business Booms
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Larry Byrd has enough heifers on his Presho buffalo ranch. He needed a stud. “I’m a little short on bull-power,” Byrd said recently as he surveyed a gang of 2-year-old breeding bulls during the Black Hills Buffalo Classic at the Central States Fairgrounds as part of the Black Hills Stock […]
Group Tries To Save Spearfish Land For Sale From Development
SPEARFISH, S.D. (AP) — When Spearfish was settled in the late 1800s it quickly became the bread basket for the area, with farmers and ranchers providing vegetables, fruits, beef and milk for local settlers and miners of local gold camps. Robert Evans, one of Spearfish’s earliest settlers, journeyed to the Black Hills in hopes of […]
Elvis Guitar Donor Blames Attorney For Not Answering Lawsuit
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A man who donated to a South Dakota museum a guitar played by Elvis Presley blames his attorney for not responding to a federal lawsuit addressing a custody dispute over the instrument. Robert A. Johnson portrayed himself as the guitar’s owner when he gave it to the National Music Museum […]
STD rise plagues S.D., provides research opportunity at USD
The amount of sexually transmitted diseases has risen in South Dakota, but local professors and students are trying to get a better understanding of how these diseases work. The South Dakota Department of Health’s December 2014 Health and Disease Summary reported a 25 percent increase in chlamydia, a 41 percent increase in gonorrhea, a 7 percent […]
5 Former Rapid City Mayors Oppose $180M Civic Center Project
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Five former mayors of Rapid City are opposing a proposed $180 million expansion of the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. Group spokesman Richard Wahlstrom says every mayor between 1987 and 2011 has concluded that the proposal is not the best thing for the city. Former mayors Keith Carlyle, Ed McLaughlin, Jim […]
Man Gets 15 Years In Sturgis Underage Sex Trafficking Sting
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A Belle Fourche man convicted of trying to pay for sex with underage girls at the 2013 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Thirty-two-year-old Jerry Golliher was among nine men federally indicted for commercial sex trafficking after responding to online ads offering sex with young […]
Mitchell School Marketing Naming Rights For Fine Arts Center
MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) — The Mitchell School District is considering selling naming rights to various parts of a proposed $13.5 million fine arts center. The Daily Republic newspaper reports ( ) naming rights for the building will go for $3 million. The school also might sell naming rights to the auditorium for $1 million, to […]
Delegation Wants Hot Springs VA Proposal Out Of Obama Budget
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota’s congressional delegation is urging Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald to withdraw plans to reconfigure the VA Black Hills Health Care System from President Barack Obama’s budget proposal. Sens. John Thune and Mike Rounds and Rep. Kristi Noem say the administration’s budget request proposes measures to close the Hot […]
Parts Of Dakotas Get Freezing Rain, Other Parts Get Snow
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Freezing rain coated roads in some parts of the Dakotas, making for a slippery commute. The National Weather Service early Tuesday issued freezing rain advisories for south central North Dakota and for a large portion of eastern South Dakota. Forecasters said ice accumulations up to a tenth of an inch were […]