arthur rusch
District 17 Senator, Rusch, set to retire
Sen. Arthur Rusch is currently attending his last South Dakota legislative session. He has hit his term limit and is set to retire as the senator for District 17. Rusch retired from his position as Presiding Judge of the First Judicial Circuit in 2011. Prior to being a judge, Rusch was the Clay County State’s […]
The VCDC hosts a Legislative Cracker Barrel at Vermillion City Hall
On Feb. 12, The Vermillion Area Chamber and Development Company (VCDC) held a Legislative Cracker Barrel at City Hall. This included South Dakota State Senate District 17 representative Sen. Arthur Rusch, and House of Representatives Sydney Davis and Richard Vasgaard. USD’s professor in political science Michael Card served as the question reader. Card said the […]
South Dakota legislature redistricts Clay County
Every 10 years, legislators redraw the legislative districts of South Dakota. This year, the State House and Senate differed on their approaches. The State House’s draft plan, along with other differences from the final plan, included splitting the city Vermillion into three separate districts. Lee Schoenbeck, District 5 legislator and president pro tempore of South […]
Legalization of medicinal marijuana in South Dakota moves forward despite lawmakers’ objections
Recently, the South Dakota state legislature failed to pass House Bill 1100, which would delay medicinal marijuana. Because of this, Initiated Measure 26 will go into effect on July 1, 2021, which will allow medicinal marijuana to be legal in South Dakota. People can visit site if they need options of medical marijuana. Associate professor of political science and […]
New Freedom Scholarship is state’s first need-based scholarship
During South Dakota’s 2021 legislative session, the South Dakota legislature passed and Gov. Noem signed Senate Bill 171, which appropriated $50 million to contribute to the Freedom Scholarship fund. With the state’s funds in addition to other donors, the Freedom Scholarship endowment currently has $175 million of its $200 million goal. The Freedom Scholarship is […]
South Dakota legislators weigh impeachment for attorney general
South Dakota’s Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg has received calls for his resignation from both law enforcement groups and Gov. Kristi Noem since he struck and killed a man with his car in September. While Ravnsborg has refused so far to resign, some in the state legislature have made moves towards impeaching him. Impeachment at the […]
Federal stimulus bill: How will the American Rescue Plan impact South Dakota?
President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion stimulus and economic relief bill, into law March 11. The bill has a number of wide-ranging impacts, including short-term expansions of unemployment benefits, money for state and local governments, changes to health insurance exchanges, a modification of the Child Tax Credit […]
SD passes weed, wagering bills
In statewide races, incumbent Republican Senator Mike Rounds leads democratic nominee Dan Ahlers with 69% of the reported vote, while incumbent Republican Representative Dusty Johnson leads libertarian Randy “Uriah” Luallin with 83% of the reported vote. In the race for the public utility commissionership, Republican nominee Gary Hanson leads with 70% of the reported vote, […]