RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – As the summer tourist season kicked off this past week, Black Hills residents and visitors are feeling the pinch at the gas pump.

Gas prices in Rapid City have jumped ten cents within the last week, likely because of the influx of tourists after Memorial Day and the corresponding increase in demand. Right now, Rapid City is sitting at an average of three dollars and fifty cents per gallon. Overall, South Dakota’s average gas price is $3.29 per gallon, which, compared to the national average, is still relatively cheap.

“South Dakota’s price is quite a bit less than the national average, about .27 cents less than the national average, and that puts us at about the 13th lowest gas price in the nation, so overall, not a too bad situation to experience when you go to fill up your tank right now,” said Shawn Steward, the spokesman for AAA South Dakota.

Despite election season coming up, Steward says he doesn’t believe anything geopolitical is affecting national gas prices.

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The North Dakota Supreme Court has ruled in favor of pipeline company Summit Carbon Solutions in a dispute with landowners over the right to access properties to survey the land.

The ruling released Thursday affirms a lower court ruling that the pipeline company did not need permission from landowners before accessing property to determine a possible route.

Some landowners have refused to grant Summit access to survey their property as Summit attempts to site its carbon capture pipeline.

Several cases regarding survey access were grouped together in the case SCS Carbon Transport v. Malloy.

Howard Malloy of Bismarck owns land in Morton County where Summit wants to site its pipeline. Malloy contends the property is a prime housing development area.

Iowa-based Summit is trying to obtain property easements for its five-state carbon capture pipeline.

Summit says it has secured more than 80% of the North Dakota route through voluntary easements but some landowners, such as Malloy, have refused to grant survey access.

In December, attorneys for the landowners argued that the state law granting survey access is unconstitutional.

North Dakota law does not require written notice to landowners for survey access and allows survey crews access for projects that would benefit the public to show up at any time. Attorney Brian Jorde argued in December that written notice should be required and landowners should be compensated up front. They also should have a right to challenge access requests in court, he argued.

Without those protections, a pipeline or utility company effectively has an easement on the property, he argued.

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a district court ruling, saying that court’s order “did not grant the functional equivalent of an easement, either temporary or permanent.”

Jorde said Thursday that for the courts to deem the statute constitutional, it needed to determine that there were already limits on the survey access. He contends the court incorrectly applied the statute’s limits on the use of the property, in this case a pipeline, and applied it to survey access, where the statute provides no limits.

The ruling did add that landowners could take legal action if Summit damages the land “and unreasonably interferes with its ordinary use, or continues to occupy the land beyond the time reasonably needed to complete its examinations, surveys, and maps.”

Bismarck attorney Derrick Braaten also represented landowners in the case.

“The good thing for landowners is that it appears the Supreme Court is going to narrow the scope of what is allowed in precondemnation surveys and has left open the issue of compensation for any damages,” Braaten said in an email. “We disagree that these kinds of surveys are a background restriction on our property rights.”

Summit issued this statement:

“Summit Carbon Solutions respects the North Dakota Supreme Court’s decision. We are committed to conducting our surveys responsibly, respecting landowners’ rights, and ensuring minimal impact. We will continue to adhere to legal requirements and compensate for any damages during our activities.”

Jorde said he would continue to analyze the ruling and determine next steps in the coming weeks.

Jorde’s Domina Law firm represents landowners across the footprint of the Summit pipeline project, which aims to connect 57 ethanol plants to an underground carbon storage site northwest of Bismarck.

There was a similar survey access case argued before the South Dakota Supreme Court, which has yet to rule. A date for oral arguments in another case before the Iowa Supreme Court has yet to be set.

Jorde said North Dakota’s law would be the most difficult for landowners to overcome.

Meanwhile, the North Dakota Public Service Commission is holding hearings on Summit’s pipeline route permit application. The PSC denied Summit a permit last year but has allowed Summit to address the PSC’s concerns and reconsider the case.

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RAPID CITY, S.D. — A South Dakota man pushed a police officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and was among those who shoved a large metal “Trump” sign into a police line, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

William George Knight, 37, of Rapid City, was arrested by the FBI on May 26. He was charged with two felonies: obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder; and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers. He also was charged with five misdemeanors. The Justice Department announced the arrest and charges on Wednesday.

Knight was released to home detention following a brief court hearing on Wednesday. Knight’s attorney, federal public defender Jennifer Albertson, declined comment on Thursday.

The Justice Department alleges in a court document that Knight was among the first rioters to breach a restricted area near the Capitol. After police set up a barrier using bike racks, Knight grabbed one of the racks and pulled it away so hard that he fell backward, the Justice Department alleged.

Later, Knight and others pushed a large metal-framed sign that read “Trump” toward the police line, and Knight shoved a police officer before grabbing one of the protective bike racks away from the police line, the court document states.

Knight and other rioters pushed against the line of officers, causing the line to collapse, the Justice Department said. Knight then went into the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace, where he stayed for at least two hours, the agency said.

All told, more than 1,400 people have been charged in connection with the riot, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.