South Dakota Legislature

Rising tax collections mean the state can afford to boost spending on schools and health care while giving state employees a long overdue pay raise next year, Gov. Dennis Daugaard said today as he proposed a $4 billion state budget to the South Dakota...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — No laws were broken when the South Dakota Legislature's executive committee voted in June to pay $95,000 in dues to the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, Attorney General Marty Jackley said. The compact enables...

RAPID CITY — Former Rep. Gordon Pederson, who served Wall for 30 years, has died. He was 84. Betty Pederson told The Associated Press that her husband of more than 55 years died Saturday morning at a Sioux Falls hospital. She says he had suffered...

PIERRE - Seven producers from seven conservation districts were nominated to receive the 2011 Soil Conservation Award. The winners include: Janousek Farms of Gregory County; Daniel Gillespie of Lincoln County; James and Sandy Peters of Marshall County;...

Today's question: Looking ahead: What do you think should be the top priorities for the South Dakota Legislature in 2012? Build roads, repair schools, build schools, build and repair bridges, build good low income homes, and put people to work. Sister...

 PIERRE  (AP) - Dozens of ranchers asked the South Dakota Supreme Court on Monday to reinstate their lawsuit seeking state compensation for damage from prairie dogs. Ranchers in an area near Badlands National Park claim they lost money when prairie...

It seems that being an advocate for your occupation is becoming a lost art. At the college and university level, we have the South Dakota Council of Higher Education that “exists to continually improve the quality and integrity of higher education...

 The young men attending South Dakota Boys State showed a strong awareness of Missouri River flooding at the Governor’s Banquet on Thursday evening. Gov. Dennis Daugaard was unable to attend the banquet, which was at Northern State University&...

 Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s plan to shift millions of dollars annually from the state treasury to a new fund for grants to large economic development projects received final approval Thursday from the South Dakota Legislature.  State senators voted 28-4...

The tough new abortion law passed by the South Dakota Legislature and signed last week by Gov. Dennis Daugaard has ignited debate across the country. The 72-hour wait for an abortion in South Dakota, along with mandatory counseling at a state-approved...

The rape suspect in custody lamely tries to justify his behavior by asserting in a bold voice “she really didn't mean 'No' - she really wanted it.'” We shudder to think that such perverted thinking helps a criminal minimize his guilt after having...

PIERRE - The South Dakota Legislature has given final approval to a measure that softens the effects of budget cuts on nursing homes and other health care operations that provide services to low-income people in the Medicaid program. Gov. Dennis...