South Dakota
Legislative committee supports ‘conscience exemption’ vaccine bill
A legislative committee endorsed a bill Thursday at the state Capitol in Pierre that would allow South Dakotans to sue their employer, church or even family or neighbor if they’re barred entrance to a building, lose their job or are demoted because they refuse vaccinations during a public health emergency.
House Bill 1223
, introduced by Sioux Falls Republican Rep. Bobbi Andera, would not apply “conscience exemptions” to required school immunizations or health care facilities, or to the South Dakota National Guard if the vaccination is required for federal activation.
Andera was motivated by restrictions enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic tied to a person’s vaccination status.
“I am supporting this bill because I support the people of South Dakota and science,” Andera said. “Science is not quick. It never has and it never will be.”
The other supporter of the bill to testify was a representative with South Dakota Citizens for Liberty, a conservative political advocacy group. The legislation faced a wave of opposition from business and medical organizations.
Justin Smith, a lobbyist representing the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce, told lawmakers the bill attacks South Dakota’s “employment at will” laws, because it would prioritize an employee’s “inner conviction” over business owners’ rights to protect themselves, customers, employees and private property.
Smith said the bill could empower employees to sue over something as mundane as being put on a different shift or being moved to a different building, which he said could constitute a “loss of employment status” under the language in the bill.
The bill also allows people who sue to collect three times their actual damages and attorney fees from the defendant if a court rules in the plaintiff’s favor. The suing party would not be responsible for the defendant’s attorney fees if they lose.
“Heads I win, tails you lose,” Smith said.
Seth Tupper / South Dakota Searchlight
Sioux Falls Republican Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt — a nurse anesthetist — was the most vocal critic of the bill. She said it gave her “angst” from both a business and public health perspective because a person could walk into another person’s home despite that homeowner’s personal health or wishes.
Passage of the bill would result in “extreme ramifications damaging as a whole to public health,” Rehfeldt said.
“Where does somebody’s personal freedom get to override somebody else’s right to personal freedom?” Rehfeldt said.
Clear Lake Republican Dylan Jordan said he stands for the “freedom of everyday workers” in his support.
“You shouldn’t be forced by your employer to get any shot you don’t want,” Jordan said.
The bill passed 7-6 out of the House Health and Human Services Committee. It’ll head to the House of Representatives next.
This story was originally published on SouthDakotaSearchlight.com.
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The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 12, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 12 drawing
12-21-39-46-48, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
- Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
- Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.
When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.
RAAPID CITY, S.D. — Incarcerated women will start moving into a new $87 million prison in Rapid City next month, a South Dakota Department of Corrections spokesperson confirmed this week.
The medium-security prison will be the state’s second for women. The South Dakota Women’s Prison in Pierre has operated beyond its capacity for years, with dozens of people serving their sentences at the Hughes County Jail or in halfway house facilities.
The new prison in Rapid City, which was approved by state lawmakers
in 2023
, will add 288 beds to the state’s capacity. The Department of Corrections will begin transferring women there next month, according to spokesperson Michael Winder, who said the exact date of full operations won’t be released for security reasons
The prison includes a work release area, a mother-infant building that lets new moms stay in a home-like environment with their babies, a vocational training facility to be staffed by instructors from Western Dakota Technical Institute and 96 beds for chemical dependency treatment.
The majority of the women held in South Dakota prisons are incarcerated on nonviolent drug charges, and 97% have a substance use disorder diagnosis.
“Drug addiction is a disease that must be treated,” Corrections Secretary Nick Lamb said at Friday’s ribbon cutting, adding that “Through dedicated treatment space and the therapeutic community, women will receive the counseling support and skills that they need to break the cycle of addiction and successfully return to their families and communities.”
The mother-infant program
mirrors one launched a few years ago in Pierre
.
Mothers who qualify under security guidelines stay in a group home separate from the main prison facility with other women and children for the first few years of their child’s life. The program was launched by former Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko and was championed by Lamb in his first public conversations with lawmakers on the state’s budget committee during the 2026 legislative session.
Photo courtesy Gov. Larry Rhoden’s office
At Friday’s event, Gov. Larry Rhoden said family connections and parenting skills are key factors in rehabilitation. He framed the program as an extension of a commitment to the well-being of South Dakota families.
“This program gives mothers and their children the opportunity to build that foundation from the very beginning,” Rhoden said.
Rhoden also called out the vocational training, drug treatment and work release programs as vital to rehabilitation — and to public safety by extension. The state recently broke ground on a new $650 million men’s prison in Sioux Falls, which is set to replace the state penitentiary and is also designed to expand programming and rehabilitation.
When combined with pending policy recommendations from the state’s correctional rehabilitation task force, Rhoden said, the new prisons will help improve public safety statewide by reducing the number of people who return to prison within a few years of their release.
“At the end of the day, every person in our corrections system is a human being,” Rhoden said. “They are sons and daughters. They are mothers and fathers. People who’ve made mistakes but also have the capacity to change.”
Winder, the corrections spokesman, told South Dakota Searchlight that staff will spend the next few weeks training at the new facility in preparation for the arrival of inmates in August.
The state hired Eric Aldridge
to serve as warden in March
. Aldridge, who came to South Dakota after a stint as warden of a medium-security women’s prison in Troy, Virginia, said Friday his goal is to “to facilitate an environment, an atmosphere, a culture where people learn, they grow, they heal, and where people develop through dignity and respect.”
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