South Dakota

Noem signs Indian Child Welfare Council and other bills into law • South Dakota Searchlight

Published

2 years ago

March 9, 2024

Noem signs Indian Child Welfare Council and other bills into law • South Dakota Searchlight

South Dakota will soon have a council devoted to the welfare of Native American children.

Gov. Kristi Noem signed House Bill 1232 this week, which creates the Indian Child Welfare Advisory Council. It will bring together people from the Department of Social Services, South Dakota’s nine tribes, the Legislature, and the field of child welfare for annual conversations.

The group’s work will include finding solutions to the disproportionate number of Native American children in the foster care system. A South Dakota Searchlight and Argus Leader investigation last year found that Native children accounted for nearly 74% of the foster care system, despite accounting for only 13% of the state’s overall child population.

Following are summaries of some other bills Noem signed into law recently as she continues to consider measures passed by the Legislature. The 2024 legislative session ended Thursday, except for one day on March 25 to consider vetoes. Noem had not vetoed any bills as of Friday afternoon.

Prison funding

Senate Bill 50 helps fund the planned construction of a women’s prison in Rapid City by appropriating $2.42 million of remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for water and sewer infrastructure at the site. It also moves $20.89 million into a fund for construction, to pair with $60 million set aside last year toward an estimated cost of $87 million.

“We are saving taxpayer dollars by avoiding future debt and funding this important project now,” Noem said in a news release.

The new prison will ease overcrowding at the existing women’s facility in Pierre. Noem has a similar bill under consideration that would provide funds for the construction of a men’s prison in rural Lincoln County.

Medical marijuana

SB 10 says if a person obtains certification for a medical marijuana card from a practitioner who’s not their primary care provider, that practitioner must notify the patient’s primary care provider or referring practitioner.

Sexual assault allegations

SB 98 establishes the admissibility of suspects’ previous sexual assault allegations in prosecutions of child sexual assaults. Lawmakers rejected a similar bill addressing suspects in adult sexual assault cases.

During testimony on the bills, supporters pointed to federal rules allowing such evidence, written in the 1990s but never adopted in South Dakota.

Guaranteed income ban

SB 115 prevents a county, township or municipality from authorizing a guaranteed basic income program, such as those that have been offered to low-income people in some U.S. cities.

The bill defines a guaranteed income program as “a plan funded or administered by the government under which an individual is provided with regular, unconditional cash payments to be used for any purpose by the individual.” The bill says the term does not include unemployment benefits.

Feral cats

SB 172 allows a person to temporarily take responsibility of a feral cat for the purpose of spaying or neutering the animal.

Carbon pipeline bills

Following through on a pledge she made immediately after the bills’ passage, Noem signed three bills intended to strengthen landowner protections while maintaining a regulatory path forward for a multi-state carbon dioxide pipeline proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions.

The bills are HB 1185, HB 1186 and SB 201. Among other things, they require pipeline companies to pay landowners $500 for access to survey land; allow counties to impose a pipeline surcharge of up to $1 per linear foot, with half of the proceeds going to affected landowners as property tax relief; restrict pipeline easements to five years if a project isn’t permitted and to 99 years otherwise; give landowners rights to contest surveys and request survey results; and stipulate that a pipeline permit from the state Public Utilities Commission overrules local pipeline regulations, unless the commission decides to require compliance with local rules.

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South Dakota

Retired Air Force four-star general Maryanne Miller speaks at South Dakota Mines

Published

3 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Retired Air Force four-star general Maryanne Miller speaks at South Dakota Mines

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Students at South Dakota Mines heard Wednesday from retired four-star general Maryanne Miller about her journey to the highest ranks of the U.S. military.

Miller is a retired four-star U.S. Air Force general. She is the only member of the Air Force Reserve ever to be promoted to this level.

She spoke about finding greatness and living a life of fulfillment. Her stories came from her time in the Air Force and as a volunteer for Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity.

“We so much get focused on what is our next step in life, what’s the next career move, how do we make ourselves better in our career, and we forget about how do we make ourselves better as a human being,” Miller said. “Because they have to go tandem. If it’s not tandem, you’re going to get off track.”

Miller was commissioned in 1981 and rose through the ranks before becoming a four-star general in 2018. She was the only woman serving as a four-star officer in the military at the time. She retired in 2020 after serving for almost 40 years.

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South Dakota

USDA to offer distaster assistance to South Dakota agriculture producers impacted by winter storms

Published

15 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

USDA to offer distaster assistance to South Dakota agriculture producers impacted by winter storms

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering financial and technical assistance to South Dakota farmers and livestock producers who may have been impacted by the recent winter storms.

“I encourage impacted producers to contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure, and livestock losses and damages.” said Richard Fordyce, Production and Conservation Under Secretary.

FSA’s Emergency Conservation Program and Emergency Forest Restoration Program can assist landowners with financial assistance to restore damaged land and conservation structures or forests.

“Our staff will work one-on-one with landowners to make assessments of the damages and develop methods that focus on effective recovery of the land.” said Jessica Michalski, Acting NRCS State Conservationist in South Dakota.

For more information about the disaster assistance program, click here.

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South Dakota

Plaque unveiled at South Dakota Capitol for 100-year-old Medal of Honor recipient

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Plaque unveiled at South Dakota Capitol for 100-year-old Medal of Honor recipient

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, left, and Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen unveil a plaque for retired U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams in the Hall of Honor at the Capitol in Pierre on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight)

By:Meghan O’Brien

PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) — There’s a new name in the South Dakota Hall of Honor at the state Capitol building.

One-hundred-year-old South Dakota native and retired U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams was celebrated at a Wednesday ceremony where a plaque honoring him was unveiled, although Williams did not attend.

“In spite of being outnumbered and facing incredible danger, Captain Williams engaged the enemy with courage and skill,” said Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden. “Our state has always had a strong tradition of service, and Captain Williams is the very best of that tradition.”

President Donald Trump awarded Williams the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest military honor, at the State of the Union address earlier this year. The medal honors actions by Williams that had been classified for decades.

“His story was secret for over 50 years, he didn’t even want to tell his wife, but the legend grew and grew,” Trump said during the speech in February. “But tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves.”

On Nov. 18, 1952, over Korean coastal waters during the Korean War, then-Lt. Williams, from Wilmot, South Dakota, led three F9F Panthers against seven Soviet MiG-15s. He disabled three enemy jets and damaged a fourth.

The Soviet jets, according to the U.S. Naval Institute, were “superior to the F9F in almost every fashion.” The mission was the only direct overwater combat between U.S. Navy fighters and Soviet fighters during the Cold War.

Williams, one of 11 Medal of Honor recipients from South Dakota, now lives in California. The Hall of Honor at the South Dakota Capitol is located in the hallway that visitors enter immediately after going through security.

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