RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – South Dakota Mines is making it a priority to take care of their student veterans.

The school held a ceremony Monday to unveil its newly renovated Rich and Trudy Wells Veterans Resource Center.

The renovations are part of the Surbeck Center’s expansion project, providing students access to needed facilities and resources.

Trudy and Rich Wells made a generous donation of $1 million towards the center.

The center will serve as a resource for veterans who will have access to math and writing tutoring, help in writing cover letters, and resumes and scholarship search assistance.

”Veterans have a unique experience, and this will provide a place for them to get together with, you know, with people that kind of understand what they’re going through and have been through,” said the Director of the Veteran Resources Center for the South Dakota School of Mines Derek Flom.

Flom added the school is thrilled to open the center right at the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

Deanna Lien also donated to help with facility upgrades.

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The South Dakota 911 Coordination Board commissioned a study Monday into the feasibility of consolidation among the 32 separately managed dispatch centers in the state. 

Some state senators pressed the issue of consolidation during the 2024 legislative session, hoping to encourage regionalization in exchange for an increase in the phone-customer surcharge that funds 911 operations. The Legislature and Gov. Kristi Noem approved a 911 surcharge increase of 75 cents, from $1.25 to $2, with a 2026 sunset clause in order to review the increase.

The projected annual revenue from the $2 per line monthly surcharge is about $19.95 million, which public safety officials said was needed to sustain adequate 911 responses statewide. The surcharge is collected by phone companies, which then give the revenue to the state, which keeps some to fund its statewide 911 coordination efforts and gives the rest to local governments for their 911 call centers. 

The study will be conducted by 911 Authority, which has worked with the state for years on South Dakota’s “Next Generation 911” system, which is meant to keep redundancies in place in case 911 systems are disrupted. 911 outages have happened twice in 2024.

Jim Lockard, senior project consultant for 911 Authority, told 911 board members the study would be completed by the end of this year. The company will charge the state $70,000 for the study, according to a written proposal.

The study will analyze call data and volume, technology use, staffing and facility needs, as well as costs. Lockard said 911 Authority would suggest another model to increase efficiency if its findings suggest consolidation is not the best option.

“Some could be factors for consolidation, some could be reasons not to consolidate,” Lockard said. “Sitting here today, I can’t tell you that it’s going to be a necessary and a good thing for South Dakota.”

Board member Duane Sutton, a Brown County commissioner, said the study would be a “valuable tool” when presenting needs and proposing legislation to make the $2 surcharge permanent next session.

House Speaker Hugh Bartels, R-Watertown, introduced the surcharge legislation last winter.

“I think this study might help,” Bartels said. “I think there are some areas of the state that should consolidate.”

While some dispatch centers cover several counties (Bartels’ local dispatch center in Watertown spans five counties), some dispatch centers cover one county.

Although the 911 board authorized the study, the board does not have the authority to consolidate dispatch centers. That’ll likely take legislative action, said Bartels, who is not seeking reelection in November.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, with 21 other attorneys general are demanding answers from online retailer Temu regarding its alleged ties with the Chinese Communist Party.

This includes data collection and sharing practices, and possible violations of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).

The attorney general sent a letter to the president of Temu and the CEO of PPD Holdings Inc., Temu’s parent company, asking for answers to several questions within 30 days.

The questions cover issues such as whether Temu or PPD Holdings, Inc. collects and sells U.S. consumer data; whether former Chinse Communist Party members who are reported to be on the executive leadership team have access to U.S. consumer data; and, whether Temu can certify the products sold on their platform are not produced by slave labor.

“There have been concerns expressed about possible ties Temu may have to the Chinese Communist Party, and whether the company has failed to comply with American laws prohibiting the use of forced labor,” said Jackley. “We need better answers from the company than Congress has received in the past.”

Other attorneys general signing the letter are from Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

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