Local News
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House Dumps Revenue-Sharing
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The South Dakota House defeated a bill to give townships a slice of the wind energy tax that now goes to counties for wind farms located within their borders. Rep. Steve Street (D-Revillo) says townships should get some of the money to take care of their roads that might be damaged during the construction process or used later to get to the wind farm. He proposed dividing the tax revenue based on the ratio of township roads to county roads. The bill was approved by the Senate but failed in the House by a single vote and then by an even wider margin on reconsideration. (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Guilty Plea Expected
ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) - A Mobridge woman is scheduled to plead guilty to robbing a bank in the Walworth County town. Court documents show that Sonja Mae Brown is due in federal court in Aberdeen on March 26 to change her plea. Brown was arrested shortly after a reported robbery at the Mobridge Dacotah Bank last Nov. 10. Authorities say she was captured when she tried to leave the bank with an undisclosed amount of money. She later was indicted and pleaded not guilty to a federal bank robbery charge that carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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GF&P Seeking Public Comment
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The Game, Fish and Parks Department will hold public meetings around South Dakota in preparation for developing a new management plan for mountain lions in the Black Hills. Wildlife Director Tony Leif says public comments will be used to write the plan, a draft of which also will be available for public comment before it goes to the Game, Fish and Parks Commission for approval. A hunting season is part of the agency's current plan to control the lion population. Eleven meetings are planned around the state, beginning March 22 in Spearfish and ending April 14 in Pierre. (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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3-Tiered System Wins Approval
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A measure allowing some people to get their names removed from the state sex offender registry has been approved by the South Dakota Legislature. The Senate on Wednesday approved some minor changes made by the House. The bill will become law if it's signed by Gov. Mike Rounds. The measure creates three levels of sex crimes. Those convicted of the most serious sex offenses, including crimes against children, could never get off the offender list. Those convicted of midlevel sex crimes could ask to be removed after 25 years. And those convicted of less serious crimes, such as statutory rape when the offender is no older than 21, could seek to be removed from the list after 10 years. (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Disaster Declared in State
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - Twenty-nine counties and three American Indian reservations in South Dakota that were hit by a late January ice storm will get recovery help from the federal government. Gov. Mike Rounds says President Barack Obama has issued a disaster declaration, clearing the way for financial assistance. The federal aid will be available to help with repairs to public infrastructure. Rounds says a state request for individual assistance was denied. The storm left thousands of people without power and caused an estimated $22.5 million in damages. A presidential disaster declaration also was issued this week to help 12 South Dakota counties and two reservations recover from a Christmas blizzard. (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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SD Jobless Rate Among the Lowest
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government says unemployment rose in 30 states in January, evidence that jobs remain scarce in most regions of the country. The data is somewhat better than December, when 43 states reported higher unemployment rates, but worse than November, when rates fell in most states. Still, five states reported record-high joblessness in January. They are California, at 12.5 percent; South Carolina, 12.6 percent; Florida, 11.9 percent; North Carolina, 11.1 percent; and Georgia, 10.4 percent. Michigan's unemployment rate is still the nation's highest, at 14.3 percent. The lowest unemployment rates are still found in upper Plains states, with North Dakota's jobless rate of 4.2 percent the lowest in the nation. Nebraska and South Dakota had the next-lowest rates, at 4.6 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively. (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
