South Dakota
Judge faults Corps for outcome of DAPL protests as trial wraps up third week • South Dakota Searchlight
A federal judge admonished U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials for allowing Dakota Access Pipeline protesters to camp on Corps land without a permit, arguing that the agency could have prevented significant costs to North Dakota had it followed its own regulations properly.
“Permits are required for a reason,” U.S. District Court Judge Dan Traynor said in a Friday hearing in Bismarck.
The comments came as North Dakota concluded three weeks of witness testimony in a bench trial examining the United States’ actions during the 2016 and 2017 protests against the pipeline, commonly referred to as DAPL.
Dakota Access Pipeline protest costs debated during federal trial
The protests were organized in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which opposed the project over concerns it intruded on tribal land and threatened its water supply.
The state of North Dakota seeks to recoup $38 million from the United States for costs it claims resulted from the demonstrations. The state says the federal government not only withheld necessary assistance from North Dakota during the protests, but also acted in ways that encouraged protesters.
Immediately after North Dakota rested its case, attorneys for the United States made a motion for a directed judgment — a request for a ruling in favor of the defense on the grounds that the evidence presented by the state is insufficient to continue the trial.
Timothy Jafek, special attorney to the United States, argued Friday that North Dakota has not demonstrated that the Corps was at fault for most of the damages caused by protesters.
Jafek also claimed that during the protests, Corps officials and North Dakota law enforcement both favored allowing campers to remain on Corps land rather than trying to evict them.
North Dakota never asked the Army Corps of Engineers to remove the protesters because the state “knew it was a request they couldn’t fulfill,” he said.
200,000 comments submitted on Dakota Access Pipeline environmental review
Traynor denied the motion, arguing that the Corps should have never allowed protesters to remain on its land without a permit — not only because its own regulations appear to require it, but also because Corps officials knew the demonstrations posed a significant risk.
A permit would have given the Corps an opportunity to secure compensation for any damage by protesters, as well as leverage to require demonstrators to comply with safety and sanitation regulations, he said.
“The failure to require a permit is unreasonable under the circumstances,” Traynor said.
The largest protest camp was located on Army Corps of Engineers land in Morton County. Thousands were estimated to be living in the camps at the protest’s peak.
Early on in the demonstrations, former Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault sought a special use permit from the Corps so protesters could demonstrate on Corps property legally, according to witness testimony.
Archambault is not expected to appear as a witness in the trial. He declined a request for comment through an attorney.
While the Army Corps of Engineers supported the idea of a permit, state officials — including former Gov. Jack Dalrymple — urged the Corps to deny it for fear a permit would prolong the protests.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe never completed its application for the permit, Corps witnesses testified in court.
Nonetheless, the Corps allowed protesters to remain on Corps land for several months. The Corps also went on to issue a press release that falsely stated the tribe had successfully obtained a permit.
“The Corps needed to be on the record saying we do support constitutional rights to protest,” Col. John Henderson, who served as commander of the Corps’ Omaha District during the protests, testified Feb. 27.
Federal agencies had an unusual level of involvement with the permit and other decisions related to the pipeline, Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, Henderson’s immediate superior during the protests, told the court on Wednesday.
In September 2016, the Department of Justice, Department of the Interior and Department of the Army published a statement asking pipeline company Energy Transfer Partners to voluntarily halt construction of the pipeline for additional regulatory review. The Corps has authority over a segment of the pipeline that crosses under the Missouri River north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
Henderson and Spellmon both said they were not aware of the statement before its release.
“Normally guidance and direction of this nature, we would have input,” Spellmon, who now serves as the Corps’ chief engineer and commanding general, said in court on Wednesday.
The Department of Army required the Corps to answer a series of additional technical questions about its assessment, which Spellmon said took three to four months.
Spellmon said he wasn’t aware of any other time the department had asked the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct additional analysis of this depth after the Corps had already reached a final decision on an easement.
The pipeline has been operating since June 2017. A judge in 2020 revoked the easement for the pipeline crossing north of Standing Rock, requiring a full environmental impact statement. The Corps is reviewing public comments submitted on the project and is on track to issue a final environmental impact statement this fall, a Corps official said last week during a hearing in Washington, D.C.
The trial is expected to continue for another week.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The governor’s Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force, which aims to determine the best path forward for expanding services, will hold its second meeting on Wednesday.
The meeting will continue the dive into what programming should look like for the new prison. Officials in the Department of Corrections say they appreciate the attention to the issue shown over the year.
“The focus is in the right place. I think people are asking the right questions. I think that it’s being noticed that reentry in totality is a group effort,” Justin Elkins, DOC Chief of Behavioral Health, said.
Sitting at 43%, lawmakers and the Rhoden administration have dedicated a substantial amount of time to addressing recidivism in the state.
“I think people are starting to see that reentry is something our department needs help within terms of collaboration and relationships. Because we only determine part of the equation when it comes to reentry,” Elkins said.
Corrections Reentry Program Manager Scott Day says this change in perspective regarding inmates is needed.
“95% of these individuals are going to come back into your community. They’re going to be your neighbors. They’re going to work at your local fast-food restaurant or at your local store. You’re going to see them walk down the street. We just need to see as a culture that these aren’t bad people; these are just people who need an opportunity to show that they can succeed.”
The prison reset task force, which focused on the structure of the new prison, ensured that programming space increased from what is currently available, even when the location changed from Lincoln County to Sioux Falls.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t constantly think about what we could do more. And the new prison is needed. We need the space, we need the opportunity to get more programming in there,” Day said.
Day says the investment into programming space is not a matter of being soft on crime but rather smart on public safety.
Copyright 2025 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
Link to the listing: https://www.frrmail.com/…
For more information, contact: Cory Busse, Farm & Ranch Realty, Inc., at 785-332-8345 or frr@frrmail.com
KENTUCKY, Hopkins County. Five tracts of river-bottom cropland totaling 597.9 acres sold at auction for $5.39 million, or $9,015 per acre. Tracts ranged from 16 to 255 acres, with much containing drainage tile. Soil types were primarily Karnak silty clay and loam with some Belknap and Robbs silty loam. Structures included a tool shed and a 5,000-bushel grain bin. Tracts ranged in price from $7,800 to $11,500 per acre.
Link to the listing: https://www.kurtzauction.com/…
For more information, contact: Joseph Mills, Kurtz Auction & Realty Co., at 800-262-1204 or jmills@kurtzauction.com.
SOUTH DAKOTA, Dewey County. A contiguous, 1,529-acre farm sold to a single bidder at auction for $2,600 per acre, or $3.98 million. The property was offered in four parcels, two of which were historically in crop production (wheat, oats, corn and sunflowers) and boasted Soil Productivity Indexes of 70 or higher. Another highly productive parcel was planted in grass and alfalfa but could be converted to row crops. The remaining parcel included a blend of cropland, pasture and an updated home with a steel barn, shop, two Quonset-style buildings, continuous panel corrals and water tank.
Link to the listing: https://glcland.com/…
For more information, contact: Kristen Gill, Gill Land Company, at 701.934.2732 or 605.848.4502 or kristen@glcland.com.
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— These sales figures are provided by the sources and may not be exact because of rounding.
— Submit recent land sales to landwatch@dtn.com
Katie Dehlinger can be reached at katie.dehlinger@dtn.com
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(c) Copyright 2025 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.
South Dakota
Former South Dakota National Guard adjutant general announces bid for state house of representatives
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) -The former top official of the South Dakota national guard under former Governor Kristi Noem has announced his campaign to become a state representative for district 33.
Jeff Marlett’s bid makes him a contender in the Republican primary for the district.
Marlett served for 36 years in the South Dakota National Guard which included combat service in Iraq and most recently spending three years as the commanding general of the national guard from 2019 to 2023.
“I’ve always considered that job, it’s not about me, it’s about the great men and women who served in the South Dakota national guard, and I got the opportunity to serve with them so, it was an honor to serve with them,” said Marlette.
Marlette also worked as the west river director under Senator Mike Rounds and served for numerous years as a superintendent of schools for districts in South Dakota. Now Marlette wants to spend his next chapter as a state representative. He explained that he thinks people are “tired of the noise” with politics. He blamed that exhaustion on people stepping away the two major parties.
“They want people that are willing to go, and, and not think they have all the answers and not be wrapped up about, well I’m more Republican thank you are or you’re a dem o.. no, it’s not about that. It’s about looking at meaningful policy, laws if needed, but governing by what’s really truly necessary and best for South Dakota,” said Marlette.
According to a press release for Marlette, he says he will support sensible restructuring of the property tax system, a strong education system and a vibrant environment for business. Marlette said during our interview that he has mixed reviews on the 19 property tax relief proposals out of the property tax task force.
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Copyright 2025 KOTA. All rights reserved.
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