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Republicans sweep statewide elections
Lieutenant Governor Matt Michels waved a broom above his head at the beginning of his victory speech. “Republican clean sweep,” he yelled. The Republicans certainly did sweep Tuesday night, winning control of all 13 statewide political offices. All state federal officials now belong to the Republican party. Senator John Thune said state politics is South […]
District 17 elects Ring, Rasmussen, Rusch
Democrat Ray Ring and Republican Nancy Rasmussen defeated Marion Sorlien (D), and Sheri Kaufman (R), for the two open House of Representatives District 17 seats. In the South Dakota Senate race, Republican Arthur Rusch overcame Democrat Michelle Maloney for the open seat, with 58 percent of the vote. Although Ring, who received 28 percent majority, […]
Candidate Profiles: State Senate District 17
Voters in District 17 will have two options for the Senate race heading into the Nov. 4 election. Democrat Michelle Maloney and Republican Arthur Rusch are running for the open South Dakota Senate seat. Democratic incumbent Tom Jones is not running for re-election. Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order. Michelle Maloney, Democrat When Michelle […]
Candidate Profiles: District 17 Representatives
In the District 17 race for the state House of Representatives, voters may expect a mix of familiar and new faces. Democrats Ray Ring and Marion Sorlien, and Republicans Sheri Kaufman and Nancy Rasmussen are running for two seats in the South Dakota House of Representatives. Ring and Rasmussen are the incumbent candidates. Candidates are […]
South Dakota Legislature passes texting and driving ban
Drivers in South Dakota will now be cited tickets for texting and driving after the State Legislature passed a bill making it a secondary offense. After weeks of negotiation, Senate Bill 142, banning texting while driving in the state, passed March 14 with a 52-18 vote in the House and a 28-7 vote in the […]
Bill would nullify texting while driving ban in city
A bill examining local government control over banning texting while driving was introduced by South Dakota Speaker of the House Brian Gosch during the 86th S.D. Legislative session. If passed, House Bill 1177 would invalidate any city ordinance illegalizing any form of inattentive driving. Seven cities in South Dakota — including Vermillion — currently have […]
Senate Bill No. 85
In Other Words… Each year, a numerous amount of bills is proposed in the legislative session. And each year, these bills are hard to comprehend. Here’s hoping this clears some confusion and gives an update of a few bills a work keeping up with: Senate Bill No. 85 Public records will be available to anyone […]
Reports fault some procedure in SD economic agency
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Reports released Thursday from two accounting firms found flaws in some procedures used by the state economic development agency but no misconduct beyond earlier reports that a former official had double-billed the state for travel and part of a grant had been improperly diverted. Gov. Dennis Daugaard ordered the reviews after […]
PHOTO: Dusty Johnson speaks to South Dakota Newspaper Association
Governor Dennis Daugaard’s Chief of Staff. Michael Geheren/THE VOLANTE
“There has been…
“There has been a gap in the access to the administrative rules process.” -Dusty Johnson, S.D. Chief of Staff In front of a room full of journalists from across South Dakota, the state Governor’s Chief of Staff Dusty Johnson credited the work of the state’s media for their work in helping the state improve in […]