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Lawmakers reject plans to increase admission to the South Dakota State Fair

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Lawmakers reject plans to increase admission to the South Dakota State Fair


(The Middle Sq.) – South Dakota’s Interim Guidelines Evaluation Committee voted down a proposed rule Tuesday that will have elevated admission prices to the South Dakota State Truthful. 

The change would have elevated gate admission for adults from $6 to $10 and $4 to $5 for kids aged 6-15. Tenting charges for each electrical and non-electric websites would enhance by $50. The worth for a weekly household worth pack would rise from $80 to $130.

The elevated prices would generate $196,690 within the first yr and $286,690 yearly within the following years, based on a fiscal notice filed with the committee. The speed will increase are wanted to offset rising prices and had been thought of earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic, stated Peggy Besch, South Dakota state fairgrounds supervisor. 

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Sen. Jean Hunhoff, D-Yankton, stated the elevated prices weren’t talked about when lawmakers appropriated $721,582 to the honest for fiscal yr 2023. She stated she was not against growing admission costs however thought the request ought to have gone earlier than the Legislature. 

“Should you knew it, you need to have put it in your price range after which come again and ask for it,” Hunhoff stated. “I feel the state of South Dakota has put loads of {dollars} into our state honest. And it is necessary to us. However I feel you must relook at the way you do this.” 

Rep. Kevin Jensen, R-Canton, referred to as the proposal “extraordinarily troubling.”

“It simply looks as if a lot of this enhance if going to fall on households which might be already having a tough time,” Jensen stated. “I perceive your prices are going to go up. I perceive all people’s value, gasoline, every little thing goes to go up. Yearly when there is a rise it is the 4-H households that take the brunt of it and it has been a frustration for a very long time.”

Hunhoff made a movement to disclaim the request. Her movement was authorised by a vote of 4-1 with Sen. Timothy Johns, R-Lead, casting the one dissenting vote.

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South Dakota

Iowa court suspends license of former South Dakota attorney general • South Dakota Searchlight

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Iowa court suspends license of former South Dakota attorney general • South Dakota Searchlight


The Iowa Supreme Court has suspended for two months the law license of South Dakota’s former attorney general due to his involvement in a 2020 traffic fatality.

In September 2024, the South Dakota Supreme Court suspended for six months the South Dakota law license of Jason Ravnsborg, who served as that state’s attorney general from 2019 until his impeachment and removal from office in 2022.

Because Ravnsborg is also licensed to practice law in Iowa, he was notified last year that his Iowa license may be subject to a six-month suspension based on South Dakota’s actions.

Ravnsborg argued against such a suspension, citing the fact that he was born on an Iowa farm in Cherokee County and later served three military deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He told the court he believed he should “be given no more than a private reprimand” so he could move forward after four years of dealing with the matter.

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At a recent hearing on the matter, the Iowa Attorney Disciplinary Board cited the six-month suspension of Ravnsborg’s South Dakota license and asked the Iowa justices to impose identical, reciprocal discipline.

The court instead issued an order stating, without explanation, that it “finds that a 60-day suspension of Ravnsborg’s license to practice law in Iowa is the appropriate discipline.”

Question raised after fatality

Court records indicate that on 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 12, 2020, Ravnsborg was driving from a political event in Redfield, South Dakota, to his home in Pierre, South Dakota, when he struck and killed 55-year-old Joe Boever, who was walking on the shoulder of the road near the town of Highmore.

According to court records, Ravnsborg slowly brought his vehicle to a stop and called 911, telling the operator, “I’m the attorney general. And I am — I don’t know — I hit something.” The operator asked whether he had hit “a deer or something,” and he allegedly replied, “I have no idea, yeah, it could be, I mean it was right in the roadway.”

State Supreme Court suspends law license of former attorney general for six months

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Hyde County Sheriff Mike Volek was dispatched to the scene but couldn’t locate anything Ravnsborg struck. The next day, Ravnsborg returned to Highmore with his chief of staff to return the sheriff’s vehicle. On the way, they stopped at the site of the crash and found Boever’s body lying just off the side of the road and informed Volek of their discovery.

When he was interviewed by investigators, Ravnsborg denied having consumed any drugs or alcohol on the night of the accident — which, according to court records, was confirmed by a blood test. Ultimately, investigators concluded Ravnsborg had been driving outside the lane of travel, just off the roadway, when the accident occurred.

Ravnsborg pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor offenses — operating a vehicle while using a cell phone and improper lane driving — and a charge of careless driving was dismissed.

Ravnsborg then entered into a confidential civil settlement with Boever’s estate. In June 2022, he was impeached by the South Dakota Senate, removed from office and barred from ever holding public office again in South Dakota.

The Disciplinary Board of the State Bar of South Dakota subsequently investigated the matter and recommended a 26-month suspension of Ravnsborg’s law license.

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The board alleged that when responding to questions by accident investigators, Ravnsborg “did not appear to be forthright, and (was) only willing to acknowledge certain conduct after being confronted with evidence by the investigators.”

The board also alleged that Ravnsborg frequently identified himself as “the attorney general” when encountering law enforcement for minor traffic violations. The board also noted that from the night of the accident and continuing throughout his service as attorney general, Ravnsborg made no public or private apology, never expressed his condolences to the Boever family, and he never acknowledged any culpability.

Q&A: The long road to ‘Short Walk,’ a new podcast on the Ravnsborg accident and impeachment

Ravnsborg, the board concluded, was more concerned with the “impact of the incident on his political and military careers than the victim, the victim’s family and the public he served.”

In opting for a six-month law license suspension, the South Dakota Supreme Court stated that “several of Ravnsborg’s statements after the accident raise questions about his honesty and truthfulness.” The court noted that Ravnsborg had repeatedly denied using his phones during his drive from Redfield to Highmore.

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According to the court, the metadata on one of Ravnsborg’s phones showed that “minutes before” he called 911, he had unlocked his phone, checked his Yahoo email account, accessed the Dakota Free Press website, and clicked on a political news article.

It was only after investigators informed him of that evidence, the court said, that “Ravnsborg’s story took another turn” and he admitted “looking at stuff” on his phone before the accident.

“Ravnsborg’s responses demonstrated a concerted effort to avoid criminal liability through dishonesty and misrepresentations,” the court concluded.

Ravnsborg now lives in Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, according to court records.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: [email protected].
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South Dakota State visits Eaglestaff and North Dakota

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South Dakota State visits Eaglestaff and North Dakota


Associated Press

South Dakota State Jackrabbits (15-8, 6-2 Summit League) at North Dakota Fightin’ Hawks (8-15, 2-6 Summit League)

Grand Forks, North Dakota; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

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BOTTOM LINE: North Dakota hosts South Dakota State after Treysen Eaglestaff scored 22 points in North Dakota’s 87-82 loss to the North Dakota State Bison.

The Fightin’ Hawks are 5-5 on their home court. North Dakota has a 4-8 record in games decided by at least 10 points.

The Jackrabbits are 6-2 in Summit League play. South Dakota State is third in the Summit League scoring 36.1 points per game in the paint led by Oscar Cluff averaging 11.3.

North Dakota’s average of 8.3 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.7 fewer made shots on average than the 9.0 per game South Dakota State allows. South Dakota State averages 79.6 points per game, 0.2 fewer than the 79.8 North Dakota allows to opponents.

TOP PERFORMERS: Amar Kuljuhovic is averaging 10.6 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Fightin’ Hawks. Mier Panoam is averaging 17.5 points over the last 10 games.

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Cluff is averaging 17.6 points and 12.5 rebounds for the Jackrabbits. Kalen Garry is averaging 13.9 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Fightin’ Hawks: 4-6, averaging 84.0 points, 35.6 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 44.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 81.1 points per game.

Jackrabbits: 7-3, averaging 83.2 points, 37.5 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 4.9 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.7 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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South Dakota House fails to pass bill requiring cash for school events. But it could come back

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South Dakota House fails to pass bill requiring cash for school events. But it could come back


House Bill 1017, which would require school districts to accept cash payments for admission to school events, failed Thursday despite receiving 34 supporting votes and 32 dissenting votes on the House floor.

Two representatives — Republicans Jessica Bahmuller from Alexandria and Spencer Gosch from Glenham — were excused from the vote. There’s also two fewer legislators in the House after Tony Venhuizen became lieutenant governor and Herman Otten from District 6 declined to serve the term for which he was elected.

So, 34 wasn’t a high enough threshold to pass the bill on Thursday, even though it was the majority at the time.

Speaker of the House Jon Hansen said shortly after the vote that “the intent to reconsider is hereby noted,” so lawmakers may reconsider the bill per joint rule 5-11 on the next legislative day, Feb. 3.

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That’s after Rep. John Sjaarda, R-Valley Springs, brought an amendment to limit HB 1017 to apply to events that aren’t sold out, remove the Board of Regents and Board of Technical Education from the legislation, and put a $200 maximum in the bill. That amendment passed in the House.

Sjaarda said he brought HB 1017 after seven large schools in his area stopped accepting cash, which he said impacts accessibility and fairness at local schools.

He did not specify which local schools opted for that policy but in the House Education committee hearing for the bill Monday, testifiers discussed it was related to Brandon Valley, Harrisburg, Sioux Falls and Tea Area school districts’ partnerships with Iowa-based company Bound that provides mostly digital and cashless ticketing.

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But those schools have testified that they work ahead of events and with athletic directors to accept cash for those who wish to use it to pay for events. Brandon Valley Superintendent Jarod Larson said that his schools still take cash for events.

Sioux Falls School Board of Education president Carly Reiter said Monday that the concerns brought by a very small number of people who spoke in favor of HB 1017, and against the district’s policy in August, weren’t “great enough” considering the benefits the district’s change to cashless ticketing gained for hundreds of other people.

She said athletic directors at schools have gone “above and beyond” to accommodate requests for paper tickets or to pay for tickets with cash.

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What did local legislators say?

Rep. Erik Muckey, D-Sioux Falls, said the intent of the bill is good but agreed that the House shouldn’t override local control and didn’t want to enforce something statewide that is a local issue.

Rep. Brian Mulder, R-Sioux Falls, said the bill was a “knee-jerk” reaction to something new. He suggested the Legislature let local schools fix their policy before implementing a statewide law.

Rep. John Hughes, R-Sioux Falls, said a mandatory cashless policy takes more money from families and schools and gives more money to banks.

Rep. Keri Weems, R-Sioux Falls, said the Legislature is part-time because it gives a lot of control to local entities and urged parents with problems getting their children into local activities and events to contact their local school boards to change their policy.

Legislators across state differed on local control

Rep. Terri Jorgenson, R-Rapid City, said she supported the bill because she felt it was a privacy issue and that use of credit cards and digital means is tracked as opposed to cash.

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Rep. Roger DeGroot, R-Brookings, said he agrees people should accept cash, but said the House shouldn’t tell districts what to do.

Rep. Josephine Garcia, R-Watertown, said board members failed to help the people who said they couldn’t use cash.

Rep. Tony Randolph, R-Rapid City, said cash has been part of the economy “forever,” that he didn’t understand the objections to the bill, and said he didn’t see it as a local control issue.



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