South Dakota
Federal judge declines to intervene ‘at this time’ in fight over abortion ballot measure • South Dakota Searchlight
![Federal judge declines to intervene ‘at this time’ in fight over abortion ballot measure • South Dakota Searchlight Federal judge declines to intervene ‘at this time’ in fight over abortion ballot measure • South Dakota Searchlight](https://southdakotasearchlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/abortion-1-e1701877154793.jpg)
A federal judge is declining, for now, to stop a lawsuit in state court against South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure.
Judge Karen Schreier signed her order Friday. She said a state court should rule on a key issue in the lawsuit before she considers intervening.
But she added, “If the state court ruling contradicts a federal court order, this court will consider the issue at that time.”
Explaining the lawsuit against South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure
The anti-abortion Life Defense Fund filed its lawsuit in state court last month. The group wants to disqualify the abortion-rights measure from the Nov. 5 election.
Dakotans for Health gathered the thousands of petition signatures necessary to place the measure on the ballot. The group is defending the measure in state court, but also asked a federal judge to intervene and stop the litigation from proceeding.
One of the Life Defense Fund’s allegations is that Dakotans for Health failed to abide by the requirements of a 2018 state law. The Republican-dominated Legislature adopted the law to prevent out-of-state residents from circulating ballot petitions in South Dakota. Among other things, the law required petition circulators to file a sworn statement with various pieces of information proving their residency.
The Legislature replaced that law with new restrictions in 2019 and 2020. Those laws sparked federal lawsuits from plaintiffs who successfully argued that the restrictions infringed on their First Amendment rights to political speech.
The Life Defense Fund is now arguing that while the 2019 and 2020 laws were invalidated, the 2018 law was not invalidated and is still in force. The group is arguing that because Dakotans for Health’s petition circulators did not submit the sworn statements required by the 2018 law, the abortions rights measure should not be placed on the ballot.
Dakotans for Health is arguing that the lawsuits against the 2019 and 2020 laws invalidated the previous restrictions on petition circulators, and that the Life Defense Fund is trying to “flout” the federal court decisions.
Judge Schreier wrote in her order that she’s not issuing an injunction against the state-court lawsuit “at this time,” and that she’ll wait to see how the state court rules on the enforceability of the 2018 law before she decides whether to intervene. A motions hearing in the state-court lawsuit is scheduled for next week.
Abortions are currently banned in South Dakota, except to “preserve the life of the pregnant female.” The ballot measure would legalize abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy but allow the state to impose limited regulations in the second trimester and a ban in the third trimester, with exceptions for the life and health of the mother.
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South Dakota
2024 State A Legion Baseball Region Series Matchups
![2024 State A Legion Baseball Region Series Matchups 2024 State A Legion Baseball Region Series Matchups](https://gray-ksfy-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/STEC2PGVLBD2TC74OPJS5JJAL4.jpg?auth=abf9eae40c4ae441cdf50574a5bd7e0680cad1d29f64ea9e665b86a070bf6c44&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Now that the regular season for Legion Baseball has concluded it’s time to find out who will play for the 2024 State A Championship at Bob Shelden Field in Brookings July 30-August 3.
With the final games played on Monday power points standings in South Dakota and seeding for Class A were finalized and the seven regional series matchups were set.
All of these series will be best-of-three games and played between July 24 and 27th. High seeds will host all games. This story will be updated as times and dates are released.
The seven winners will advance to the State A Tournament. The Brookings Post 74 Bandits get an automatic qualifier into the State Tournament as the host team and do not have to participate in a regional.
#15 RAPID CITY POST 320 @ #1 HARRISBURG GOLD
*Games 1-3 date and start times TBA
#14 HURON @ RAPID CITY POST 22
*Games 1-3 date and start times TBA
#13 SPEARFISH @ RENNER ROYALS
*Games 1-3 date and start times TBA
#12 HARRISBURG MAROON @ SIOUX FALLS EAST
*Games 1-3 date and start times TBA
#11 PIERRE @ #5 WATERTOWN
*Games 1-3 date and start times TBA
#10 SIOUX FALLS WEST @ #6 YANKTON
*Games 1-3 date and start times TBA
#9 BRANDON VALLEY @ #7 ABERDEEN SMITTYS
*Games 1-3 date and start times TBA
#8 BROOKINGS BANDITS
*Bye (Automatic bid to State as Tournament Host)
Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
South Dakota
The perfect blend: Coffee and Cat adoption
![The perfect blend: Coffee and Cat adoption The perfect blend: Coffee and Cat adoption](https://gray-kota-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/T6WQOWYL4VDOHBZQMFLJTIWZ7Q.jpg?auth=502469b5f549ed5de75f82829eaf24f68fe4d8481ad3979f7207794a0085d00a&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Coffee and cats may not sound like a usual combination, but the two are a perfect blend at a Rapid City coffee shop, Coffee and the Cats.
The shop opened in April and has a successful partnership with the Humane Society of the Black Hills. To date, they have helped 26 cats find forever homes.
“The process has been pretty smooth with the Humane Society, we basically follow the same protocol they use with the pet stores but there’s just that added experience of people getting to meet the cats. So, we have these little packets, we run people through it and we have about one adoption per week,” co-owner of Coffee and the Cats Lukas Linn said.
Linn added he and his sister volunteered at the humane society since they were young where they had the chance to take care of the cats, walk the dogs, and more. So, when the idea of the cat cafe came up it made sense to reach out and partner with the organization.
“Any cat that you see there has originally come here as a stray or surrendered and gets a second chance and a second life at their beautiful kitty land that they have there. It’s done well and we’re really glad to have them as a partner.” marketing and volunteer coordinator of the Humane Society of the Black Hills Cassie Sloan said.
Customers can sit down and enjoy various drinks, sweets, breakfast, or lunch items at any time, but to meet the cats and see if any would be a good fit for your home, you need to reserve a spot in the “Kitty Cove.”
“Not everybody gets the opportunity to really sit down and get to know a cat before they adopt it, and I think it really helps people with returning cats where they’re like ‘Oh, I didn’t know this cat’s personality before I got it’. I think it helps smooth out that adoption process for everybody,” Linn said.
Coffee and the Cats is located on East Saint Patrick St. and is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 6 pm, Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Copyright 2024 KOTA. All rights reserved.
South Dakota
Le Mars, IA man involved in fatal Southeast South Dakota crash
![Le Mars, IA man involved in fatal Southeast South Dakota crash Le Mars, IA man involved in fatal Southeast South Dakota crash](https://gray-ktiv-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/R7QLPKO7AZGR3NDGQVMUWDFFVY.jpg?auth=3cb45a0d85c3b2953cefc1de5b852da98e8f85b20c2e2eec4336a82e302ad6d0&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
BERESFORD, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – A 28-year-old man who suffered fatal injuries Friday morning in a two-vehicle crash five miles northeast of Beresford has been identified.
Preliminary crash information indicates Darrian O’Neal Cline, the driver of a 2019 Jeep Cherokee, was traveling eastbound on 294th Street near 474th Avenue. At the same time, the driver of a Volvo semi was traveling westbound on 294th Street.
For an unknown reason, the Jeep crossed the center line into the westbound lanes and struck the semi head-on.
Cline was not wearing a seatbelt and suffered fatal injuries. The driver of the Volvo semi, identified as 74-year-old Michael Dennis Stinto of Le Mars, Iowa, sustained minor injuries.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. All information released so far is only preliminary.
Copyright 2024 KTIV. All rights reserved.
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