April 2015

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — U.S. Sen. John Thune says the National Park Service should change its prescribed burn policies and accept full liability for damages and expenses related to the wildfire at Wind Cave National Park. Thune made the comments in a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Department of Interior Sally Jewell after […]

WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, S.D. (AP) — A wildfire in Wind Cave National Park is expected to be fully contained by noon on Friday. Authorities say the Cold Brook Fire remains at 10 square miles and is still 90 percent contained. Park Chief Interpreter Tom Farrell says the fire has scorched 6,500 acres in the […]

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The CEO of a South Dakota company owned by 17 independent telephone companies in the state has picked up an international honor. The telecommunications trade magazine OSP named Mark Shlanta of SDN Communications a progressive rural network evolutionary. He and other honorees are featured on the cover of the print […]

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Republican Sen. John Thune and Rep. Kristi Noem reported successful fundraising hauls over the last three months, but South Dakota’s Democratic leader said Thursday that she hopes neither will get a “free pass” next year in their bids for another term in Washington. Noem brought in roughly $367,000 from January through […]

WALL, S.D. (AP) — Emergency crews in western South Dakota are fighting a wildfire that has consumed more than 200 acres north of Wall. The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called to the “Denke Fire” around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. Fire units and first responders from several Pennington County agencies are on […]

ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) — A preliminary agreement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by more than 250 former employees of Aberdeen’s idled beef plant who claim they weren’t properly notified before they were laid off. Federal bankruptcy Judge Charles Nail approved the tentative settlement that would pay less than $400 on average to former […]

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem’s $1 million campaign bank account puts her in a strong position for her fourth congressional bid with more than a year-and-a-half before Election Day, but observers say she’ll be an easier target for South Dakota’s struggling Democratic Party than U.S. Sen. John Thune. First-quarter federal fundraising […]

WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, S.D. (AP) — A wildfire in Wind Cave National Park remains at 10 square miles but is now 90 percent contained. Authorities say the Cold Brook Fire has scorched 6,500 acres in the southwestern South Dakota park. That’s about 20 percent of the park’s surface area. Park Chief Interpreter Tom Farrell […]

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The economic outlook for rural areas of 10 states in the Plains and the West remained negative in April even though it improved slightly from the previous month. Creighton University’s Rural Mainstreet index grew to 46 in April from March’s 43.6, but any score below 50 suggests a decline. The indexes […]

YANKTON, S.D. (AP) — A state prison inmate has died after what state corrections officials say was a lengthy illness. Seventy-three-year-old Ronald Rodden died Wednesday at a Yankton hospital. Rodden was serving three consecutive 15-year sentences for second-degree rape in Pennington County. An autopsy is being conducted.