South Dakota

IM-28 Opponents close out South Dakota Municipal League Conference

Published

1 year ago

October 11, 2024

IM-28 Opponents close out South Dakota Municipal League Conference

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The South Dakota Municipal League wrapped up its annual conference with another forum, where speakers warned about IM-28.

Opponents denounced the measure, saying that the ballot measure is written very poorly and that if judicial review is what’s being relied on, then that would be chaos for the state of South Dakota.

In his statement to Secretary of State Monae Johnson, Attorney General Marty Jackley said judicial or legislative clarification of the measure will be necessary.

Senator Tim Reed said the confusion of the measure’s language needed review like they have in the legislature.

“Those committee meetings are where we really work through and look for those unintended consequences and we make sure the wording is correct in a bill, and so this bill here does not have correct wording, and it would’ve failed in the legislature,” Reed said.

Those who spoke are also worried about their relationship with the Department of Revenue when it will no longer be able to collect and administer the sales taxes on the cities’ behalf

“So, cities, even if they can collect these taxes that portion of the law will go away, and we’ll be left to fend for ourselves on how we administer sales tax or perhaps contract with the Department of Revenue, and this will make a substantial negative impact on city budgets and our finance offices,” Sam Nelson, General Counsel for the South Dakota Municipal League said.

On the ballot, the fiscal note will say that this measure will cost the state $123.9 million, but opponents said at the very least it will cost $133 million and could be up to over $600 million depending on what items end up falling under the consumable items umbrella.

They said any cost will hurt cities in the state and that it’s important citizens think about their tax burden.

“If you’re not interested in an income tax, and you’re not interested in higher property taxes, where are the funds going to come from in order to do the normal basic operations of both state and municipal government,” Nathan Sanderson said.

According to WalletHub, South Dakota is 44th in the country in total tax burden at 6.44%.

Harrisburg Mayor Derick Wenck said that he’s concerned that if this passes, his city will not be able to pave roads and that citizens will continue to have to park on the same muddy gravel roads that they have before.

Source link

Related Topics:28 ballot Featured I&M sales tax

Click to comment

South Dakota

Sheridan Lake rescue prompts winter ice safety warning

Published

9 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Sheridan Lake rescue prompts winter ice safety warning

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – A harrowing scene at Sheridan Lake ended without serious injury Tuesday after a man, a woman and their dog fell through thin ice near the swimming beach, authorities said.

Keep pets on a leash and never attempt a risky rescue if someone falls through the ice, officials said. Call 911 immediately.

The South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks agency advises that ice three inches or less is unsafe. Four inches is generally considered the minimum for walking, ice fishing or skating.

Lt. Casey Kenrick of the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said the incident is a reminder to take extra precautions this winter.

“Usually at this time the ice is significantly thick on the lakes around the area, well, some aren’t even frozen all the way at this point. The temperatures have been up and down so much that the ice isn’t solid even though it may look like it is, so make sure you know the ice depth that you’re getting onto,” Kenrick said.

Kenrick said those precautions could mean the difference between a close call and a tragedy.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Source link

South Dakota

A day in South Dakota history

Published

21 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – On Jan. 7, 1995, William Janklow began his third of four terms as governor. From statehood until 1972, governors served two-year terms. Voters then approved a constitutional amendment in 1972 allowing governors to serve two consecutive four-year terms.

Janklow served from 1979 to 1987 and again from 1995 to 2003. His 16 years are the longest stint of any governor in South Dakota history

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Source link

South Dakota

As South Dakota’s student population shrinks, more choose homeschools

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

As South Dakota’s student population shrinks, more choose homeschools

South Dakota’s K-12 population dropped slightly this year, along with public and private school enrollment, but enrollment in alternative instruction grew once again.

That’s according to headcount numbers taken Sept. 26, 2025, and released by the South Dakota Department of Education by Dec. 31.

All totaled, there are 163,053 K-12 students across the state, with 83% of those students attending public schools, 9% enrolled in nonpublic schools and 8% in alternative instruction.

There are 934 fewer K-12 students across the state than last year’s count of 163,987, a 0.5% decrease.

Public school enrollment decreased by 1,736 students statewide. Across 147 public school districts, there were 135,577 K-12 students this fall, down from 137,313 in last year’s fall count, a decrease of slightly more than 1%.

Private school enrollment decreased by 142 students statewide, totaling 15,043 students in nonpublic schools accredited by the SDDOE across the state, down from last year’s count of 15,185, a decrease of 1%.

Nonpublic school enrollment includes 9,462 students in private schools, 5,072 in tribal/BIE schools, 268 in special population schools, 175 in coop/multi-districts, 26 in community-based service providers, 21 in the South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and 19 in alternative schools.

Alternative instruction enrollment increased by 944 students statewide, totaling 12,433 students in alternative instruction or homeschooling this fall, up from 11,489 in last year’s count, an increase of 8%.

In the Sioux Falls metro area, there are 52,325 K-12 students, with 85% attending public schools, 9% enrolled in nonpublic schools and 6% in alternative instruction.

Sioux Falls area public schools

The state’s largest public school district, the Sioux Falls School District, shrunk by 171 students this fall, down from last year’s count of 24,221 K-12 students to this year’s count of 24,050.

Sioux Falls’ neighboring public K-12 school districts saw the following enrollment changes this year:

Harrisburg, the state’s third-largest district, grew by 173 students, from 6,182 last year to 6,355 this year.
Brandon Valley, the state’s fourth-largest district, grew by 82 students, from 5,073 last year to 5,155 this year.
Tea Area grew by five students, from 2,509 last year to 2,514 this year.
West Central shrunk by 32 students, from 1,418 last year to 1,386 this year.
Lennox grew by 14 students, from 1,119 last year to 1,133 this year.
Tri-Valley grew by 41 students, from 952 last year to 993 this year.
Dell Rapids shrunk by 32 students, from 965 last year to 933 this year.
Canton shrunk by 23 students, from 888 last year to 865 this year.
Baltic grew by three students, from 539 last year to 542 this year.
Garretson shrunk by 10 students, from 468 last year to 458 this year.

All totaled, there are 44,384 K-12 students in Sioux Falls area public schools, a growth of 50 students or 0.1% from last fall’s count of 44,334.

Sioux Falls area private schools

Sioux Falls’ three largest private K-12 school systems saw the following enrollment changes this year:

Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools, the largest private school system in the state, shrunk by two students, from 2,224 last year to 2,222 this year.
Sioux Falls Christian School shrunk by nine students, from 1,447 last year to 1,438 this year.
Sioux Falls Lutheran School grew by 41 students, from 336 last year to 377 this year.

Other local nonpublic K-12 school enrollments include:

221 students at St. Mary’s School in Dell Rapids;
130 students at Children’s Home Society of South Dakota;
125 at East Dakota Educational Cooperative;
119 at LifeScape;
49 at McCrossan Boys Ranch;
45 at Good Shepherd Lutheran School,
43 at Westside Christian School,
23 at Bethel Lutheran School;
Four at Southeastern;
Three at Baan Dek Montessori;
One at 605 Prep;
One at DakotAbilities.

All totaled, there are 4,801 K-12 students in Sioux Falls area nonpublic schools, a growth of 24 students or 0.5% from last fall’s count of 4,777.

Sioux Falls area alternative instruction

Though it’s the second-largest public school district in the state, Rapid City Area Schools saw the largest number of students opt out of public school and into alternative instruction and homeschooling once again this year, with 1,839 students, followed by the largest district, Sioux Falls, with 1,793 students.

Sioux Falls-area schools had the following alternative instruction enrollment shifts this year:

1,793 in Sioux Falls, an increase of 131 from last year’s count of 1,662;
379 in Harrisburg, an increase of 78 from last year’s count of 301;
350 in Brandon Valley, an increase of 67 from last year’s count of 283;
111 in Tea, a decrease of four from last year’s count of 115;
105 in Lennox, an increase of two from last year’s count of 103;
97 in West Central, an increase of six from last year’s count of 91;
87 in Dell Rapids, an increase of 11 from last year’s count of 76;
79 in Canton, a decrease of two from last year’s count of 81;
73 in Tri-Valley, an increase of seven from last year’s count of 66;
42 in Garretson, an increase of 10 from last year’s count of 32;
24 in Baltic, a decrease of one from last year’s count of 25.

All totaled, there are 3,140 students in alternative instruction in the Sioux Falls metro area, an increase of 305 students or 10.7% from last year’s count of 2,835.

Source link