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SD Supreme Court upholds decision barring polygraph test

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SD Supreme Court upholds decision barring polygraph test


The South Dakota Supreme Court had ruled to uphold a circuit court’s decision to disregard polygraph test evidence in the sentencing of a manslaughter case.

In 2020, Raymond Banks and Jahennessy Bryant were charged with killing a Sioux Falls pizza delivery driver during a botched robbery attempt.

Throughout the trials, Banks and Bryant maintained contrasting accounts of the night’s events. Both men claimed they were not the one responsible for firing the killing shot. Banks and Bryant each stated they were lookouts while the other person handled the gun.

Eventually, Bryant entered a plea deal, agreeing to plead guilty to first-degree manslaughter in exchange for a reduced sentence. He also agreed to testify against Banks.

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Banks later pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter as well. While he admitted his guilt, he maintained the roles were reversed with Bryant being the shooter. Banks still admitted to being aware the robbery was happening and willingly standing as a lookout. The court accepted his plea for first-degree manslaughter.

Right before his sentencing, Banks provided the court with polygraph test results supporting his statement that he was telling the truth when claiming to have not fired the gun, hoping for a reduced sentence.

However, the court refused to accept the test into evidence, saying that polygraph evidence required an agreement between the parties. Further, officials stated even simply aiding in the robbery made Banks responsible for the delivery driver’s death.

Banks appealed that decision.

The South Dakota Supreme Court backed the lower court citing concerns over the reliability of polygraph tests.

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South Dakota

Canaries drop Father's Day rubber game with Fargo/Moorhead

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Canaries drop Father's Day rubber game with Fargo/Moorhead


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The Sioux Falls Canaries were unable to overcome 17 runners left on base during an 11-7 loss at the hands of Fargo-Moorhead on Sunday.

The RedHawks scored three runs in the first inning but the Birds answered with two in the second as Wyatt Ulrich delivered an RBI single and Mike Hart drew a bases loaded walk. Sioux Falls tied the game on an RBI sacrifice fly from Liam Spence an inning later.

Fargo-Moorhead added two more runs in the fifth before Spence Sarringar responded with an RBI double in home half. The RedHawks, though, struck for four runs in the sixth inning to build their largest lead at 9-4.

The Canaries got back into the game with three runs in the bottom half. Hunter Clanin drove in two with a double and Spence added an RBI single. But Fargo-Moorhead held Sioux Falls scoreless the rest of the way while adding two more runs in the ninth to clinch the three-game divisional series.

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Clanin finished with three hits while Sarringar, Josh Rehwaldt and Kendall Foster each added two. The Canaries are now 19-13 and welcome Chicago for a three-game series that begins Tuesday at 6:35pm.



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South Dakota

Black Hills Renaissance Festival moves to new location, doubles in attendance

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Black Hills Renaissance Festival moves to new location, doubles in attendance


RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Thousands arrived at Recreational Springs Resort Saturday to celebrate the fourth annual Black Hills Renaissance Festival.

This is the festival’s first year at the resort, and Lead Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jami Grangaard said the relocation was necessary due to the festival’s popularity.

“As much as we wanted to keep this event in the city of Lead, we basically outgrew the locations that we were able to have it,” Grangaard said. She also mentioned ticket sales on Eventbrite doubled last year’s totals.

Most attendees were dressed in medieval clothing and moved from attraction to attraction. The festival was originally supposed to debut in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic made Shareece Tatum, the festival’s executive director, need to change plans. When the Lead Area Chamber of Commerce members reached out to her the following year about creating an event, Tatum took her chance.

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“I was like, ‘Well, I have a half-baked ren fair that was supposed to happen in 2020, you want me to give it a shot?’ And they’re like, ‘Let’s do it,’” Tatum said.

While Grangaard had received lots of positive feedback about the festival, she said some attendees had been frustrated by limited parking space. Grangaard explained attendees can ride a free shuttle bus to the festival from Lead, and they should not park alongside U.S. Highway 85, where they risk parking tickets and their cars being towed.

More information and a link to purchase tickets can be found on the Black Hills Renaissance Festival’s website.

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Council to consider special event permit for July disc golf tournament at Dry Run Creek

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Council to consider special event permit for July disc golf tournament at Dry Run Creek


MITCHELL – The Mitchell City Council will consider approving a special event permit on Monday for a future disc golf tournament.

The council is expected to consider the event at its next meeting Monday, June 17 at Mitchell City Hall. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m.

The tournament is planned to be held on July 20 at Dry Run Creek Disc Golf Course. Event organizers estimate between 30 to 90 disc golfers will compete.

According to the details in the special event permit application, the one-day tournament would begin at 8 a.m. and wrap up by 4 p.m.

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Local disc golfer, Cary Muilenburg, is the applicant for the permit. Muilenburg has organized multiple successful disc golf tournaments at the Dry Run Creek course. Last year, the course played host to South Dakota’s State Disc Golf Tournament.

The July 20 tournament would require the course to be reserved from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The one-day tournament would mark this summer’s first major event held at the course.

Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Nelson noted in his memo to the council that the Dry Run Creek trail, which stretches around the 18-hole disc golf course, would remain open throughout the tournament. Signs warning trail-users of flying discs would be posted along the trail.

Vendors are also expected to be set up throughout the course during the tournament.

The Dry Run Creek Disc Golf Course is Mitchell’s lone 18-hole course. The course has undergone major improvements over the past few years, which have helped attract more major disc golf events.

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Sam Fosness joined the Mitchell Republic in May 2018. He was raised in Mitchell, S.D., and graduated from Mitchell High School. He continued his education at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, where he graduated in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in English. During his time in college, Fosness worked as a news and sports reporter for The Volante newspaper.





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