RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Following the election, President-elect Donald Trump and other politicians in Washington D.C. made last week a big one for South Dakota leaders.
It all started when Trump announced Governor Kristi Noem would be appointed to serve as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, then on Wednesday Senator John Thune was elected to be the Senate majority leader.
South Dakota Representative Dusty Johnson said he spoke with the President-elect on Wednesday morning and had a chance to discuss Noem and her appointment.
“The President seemed pumped to have her on board and he has a pretty bold vision for this country,” Johnson said.
Advertisement
Johnson added that he believed Noem would be a great Secretary of Homeland Security. Johnson also said he believes Thune will do well in his new position.
“John Thune works hard, he is trusted by his Republican colleagues. It is a major accomplishment to be selected to be the leader of the United States Senate. This is the second time in just a generation that South Dakota has had the Senate majority leader. I think it says a lot about how our hardy prairie, and mountain folks are able to go out to Washington D.C. and make a difference,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he believes it will be an exciting next few months in Washington.
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.
A committee of South Dakota legislators advanced a bill Tuesday at the Capitol in Pierre that would define lab-grown meat and require it to be clearly labeled.
The state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources proposed the legislation. Cheyenne Tant, a policy adviser for the department, explained it to legislators.
“South Dakota consumers deserve transparency when deciding whether to purchase a product grown in a lab versus products grown by our hardworking farmers and ranchers,” Tant said.
The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee voted 13-0 to send the bill to the full House of Representatives.
Advertisement
Was that chicken cutlet grown in a lab? These states (including SD) want you to know.
The legislation describes lab-grown meat as “cell-cultured protein” and defines it as “a product that is produced for use as human food, made wholly or in part from any cell culture or the DNA of a host animal, and grown or cultivated outside a live animal.”
The bill also says any product that contains cell-cultured protein without being clearly labeled as “cell-cultured” or “lab-grown” would be considered misbranded. That provision builds on a state law adopted in 2019 that prohibits the mislabeling of meat. Enforcement would fall to the state Animal Industry Board, Tant said, which could work with companies to change their labels or take steps to remove noncompliant products from South Dakota shelves.
Nobody testified against the bill, and supporters represented diverse interests.
Hunter Roberts, secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, called lab-grown meat “gross.” Several groups representing farmers and ranchers said they want transparency in labeling to differentiate their traditionally raised meat from lab-grown versions.
Advertisement
Good Food Institute, a group that works to advance innovation in alternative proteins, also supported the bill. The nonpartisan, nonprofit organization was represented at the committee meeting by Erin Rees Clayton, a Pierre-based senior scientific adviser for the institute.
She said producers of alternative proteins also want to differentiate their products.
“Just as South Dakota farmers and ranchers are proud of their products, cultivated meat producers are proud of their products, too,” Rees Clayton said. “They want to celebrate the innovation and production processes behind the meat they produce.”
She said lab-cultivated meat has existed for a little more than a decade. It starts from a small sample of animal cells that are fed the sugars, water, proteins and vitamins needed to grow into muscle and fat.
“Cultivated meat is meat at the cellular level, offering similar taste, texture and safety profiles,” Rees Clayton said. “It’s just produced in a different way.”
Advertisement
She said the fledgling industry may someday be able to help satisfy the rising global population’s demand for protein. It could also add resiliency to food supply chains, she said, because it’s less vulnerable to natural disasters and other unpredictable events that can affect traditional meat production.
For now, Rees Clayton said, federal regulators have approved only two U.S. companies to produce and sell cultivated meat, and neither company has brought a product to the market yet.
Rees Clayton failed to convince legislators to consider what she described as a “minor” amendment. It would add terms such as “cell-cultivated” or “cultivated” to the bill’s definition of lab-grown meat, which she said would better align the legislation with industry standards.
Some other states, including Florida and Alabama, have banned lab-grown meat. Nebraska is considering a ban.
BROOKINGS, S.D. — South Dakota State University announces Katelyn Engel of Hays has been named to the dean’s list for the fall 2024 semester.
Engel is a student in SDSU’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
To earn dean’s list distinctions in SDSU’s colleges, students must have completed a minimum of 12 credits and must have earned at least a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Overall, 3,901 students from 40 states and 32 foreign nations are on the list. More than 1,600 students received a 4.0 GPA.
Advertisement
About South Dakota State University
Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education.
MARSHALL— The National Weather Service has issued an Extreme Cold Warning in effect until noon CST Tuesday for portions of southwest Minnesota and east-central South Dakota.
The affected area includes cities such as Hendricks, Ivanhoe, Madison, Pipestone, Arlington, Lake Preston, Orland, Flandreau, Brookings, De Smet, Marshall, Tyler, Slayton, Lake Benton, and Fulda.
Wind chills may plunge as low as -40°F, creating life-threatening conditions. Frostbite can occur on exposed skin within 10 minutes.
Limit outdoor exposure. If you must go outside, dress in layers, including a hat, face mask, and gloves. Keep pets indoors and check on vulnerable individuals, including older adults and neighbors. Use portable heaters safely and avoid indoor use of generators or grills.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23935558/acastro_STK103__01.jpg "Amazon Prime will shut down its clothing try-on program")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25826211/lorealcellbioprint.jpg "L’Oréal’s new skincare gadget told me I should try retinol")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25832751/2192581677.jpg "Super Bowl LIX will stream for free on Tubi")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25835602/Switch_DonkeyKongCountryReturnsHD_scrn_19.png "Nintendo omits original Donkey Kong Country Returns team from the remaster’s credits")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24774110/STK156_Instagram_threads_1.jpg "Meta is already working on Community Notes for Threads")
