SOUTH DAKOTA STATE FAIR PLANS TO HONOR VETERANS
HURON, S.D. – The South Dakota State Fair is preparing to honor veterans, military personnel, and their families with a series of special weekly events.
A highlight of the fair will be the “Salute to Veterans” program, scheduled for Thursday, August 29th, at 10:30 AM on the Northwestern Energy Freedom Stage. Colonel Stacy Kooistra, a distinguished military officer with over 26 years of service, will be the keynote speaker. Governor Kristi Noem and Lieutenant Governor Larry Rhoden are also expected to attend.
Colonel Kooistra’s military career spans the U.S. Army, South Dakota Army National Guard, and South Dakota Air National Guard. He has served in various roles, including Military Intelligence Officer and Judge Advocate General Officer. Colonel Kooistra serves as the State Staff Judge Advocate for the South Dakota Air National Guard.
In addition to his military service, Colonel Kooistra is also the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for the Dakota State University Applied Research Corporation (DARC), a public-private partnership dedicated to advancing the cyber industry in South Dakota.
The South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs will be present at the fair throughout the week to further support veterans and their families. Staff members will be available at booth #5A in the Expo Building to provide information on state and federal benefits, programs, and services. The booth will be open from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Wednesday through Sunday and from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Monday.
SCIENTISTS AT SANFORD UNDERGROUND RESEARCH FACILITY WORKING TO UNDERSTAND DARM MATTER
LEAD, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – Scientists at a deep underground lab in South Dakota say they’ve made an advancement in their quest to understand dark matter.
The invisible substance is estimated to make up 85% of the mass in the universe, but it’s never been directly detected. A leading dark matter candidate is weakly interacting massive particles, known as WIMPs.
Scientists conducting an experiment in the Sanford Underground Research Facility said Monday in a news release that they have results limiting what WIMPs could be.
“If you think of the search for dark matter like looking for buried treasure, we’ve dug almost five times deeper than anyone else has in the past,” said Scott Kravitz, the deputy physics coordinator for the experiment and a professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
The Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory leads the experiment. The project is in a cavern nearly a mile underground at the former Homestake Gold Mine in Lead.
The centerpiece of the experiment is the world’s most sensitive dark matter detector, the LUX-ZEPLIN, which is a tank filled with 10 metric tons of liquid xenon. Scientists hope to detect light produced from a WIMP colliding with a xenon nucleus in the tank. Deep underground, the detector is shielded from cosmic rays coming from space.
Scientists participating in the experiment say they’ve found no evidence of WIMPs above a mass of 9 gigaelectronvolts/c2 (for comparison, the mass of a proton is slightly less than 1 GeV/c2.) The experiment’s sensitivity to faint interactions helps researchers reject potential WIMP dark matter models that don’t fit the data, leaving fewer places for WIMPs to hide.
“If WIMPs had been within the region we searched, we’d have been able to robustly say something about them,” said Chamkaur Ghag, spokesperson for the detector project and a professor at University College London.
The new results were presented at two physics conferences Monday: TeV Particle Astrophysics 2024 in Chicago, and LIDINE 2024 in São Paulo, Brazil. A scientific paper will be published in the coming weeks.
The detector is a collaboration of roughly 250 scientists from 38 institutions in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Switzerland, South Korea and Australia.
Earlier this month, a separate project also located in the Sanford Underground Research Facility celebrated a milestone of its own. Excavation was completed in a cavern that will house massive argon detectors for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. Studying neutrinos could help scientists learn why matter exists, how black holes form, and if neutrinos are connected to dark matter or other undiscovered particles.
WHY ISN’T SOUTH DAKOTA TAKING PART IN GOVERNMENT FUNDS AVAILABLE TO ALL STATES?
PIERRE, S.D. (Joshua Haiar / South Dakota Searchlight) – Governor Kristi Noem’s administration recently turned down more than $70 million of federal funds from energy efficiency and environmental programs, according to her top budget official.
The Home Energy Rebates program would have provided the state with $69 million to give South Dakotans rebates for energy-efficient home retrofits and high-efficiency electric appliances. The deadline for indicating intent to participate was last week. Earlier this year, the state passed up $1.8 million to help administer and set up the program.
Kelly Moore is a consumer advocate from Piedmont who planned to use the rebate to offset the bill for a new heat pump.
“South Dakotans will see no direct return on their federal taxes,” Moore said. “Other states will benefit from our contributions.”
During a July 30 legislative budget committee meeting, Noem’s Bureau of Finance and Management Commissioner Jim Terwilliger explained the decisions, citing administrative burdens, limited staff capacity and policy disagreements as factors for turning down the funding.
“These are federal taxpayer dollars. We know the situation of the federal budget right now. I don’t think I need to go down that path,” Terwilliger said. “And so, with good faith, we did look into this. We just don’t believe that it’s the right thing for South Dakota.”
The funding comes from the 2022 federal Inflation Reduction Act, which the Biden administration described as the most significant action ever taken by Congress to address climate change. The legislation includes provisions to raise revenue through increased taxes on corporations and high-income individuals.
Some lawmakers on the legislative budget committee disagreed with the decision to pass up the money.
“We’re missing out on some funds that could help our people,” said Sen. Larry Zikmund, R-Sioux Falls.
Other programs declined
Terwilliger said the administration also turned down money from the federal Fenceline Monitoring program. He said it would have provided $406,000 to monitor air quality around industrial areas.
And the state passed up its potential share of $1 billion allocated for states to adopt the latest optional building energy codes.
Over the course of 30 years, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, that program could have reduced South Dakota’s carbon dioxide emissions by about 42 million metric tons and resulted in estimated consumer cost savings of $9,027 per South Dakota home.
The federal government would have provided funding to cover administrative costs. There was no requirement for the state to contribute.
“This is something that we did not apply for,” Terwilliger said. “I think the application period may have come and gone for that already.”
Additionally, Terwilliger mentioned how the administration passed up on the Climate Pollution Reduction grants program. The program allocated a total of $5 billion for states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Sioux Falls also passed up the funding. Rapid City applied and received a $1 million planning grant but was not awarded an implementation grant.
Policy differences
Terwilliger said the one-time dollars associated with the programs would create long-term funding commitments for the state after the federal dollars run out. The state’s Energy Management Office currently has one full-time employee.
“Secondly, what’s the underlying policy that is kind of being encouraged, or pushed through with some of these programs?” Terwilliger said. “And I think, generally, we just kind of disagree with some of those policies as well.”
Some Republican state lawmakers on the budget committee support the state’s decision.
“It’s not manna from heaven,” said Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls. “These are taxpayer dollars that somebody paid in.”
ome lawmakers expressed concerns that declining the federal dollars would negatively impact South Dakota residents, particularly those struggling with rising energy costs and the impacts of recent severe weather events. They said if staffing is the issue, the state should use some of the funds for contractors to help run the programs. Terwilliger told lawmakers about 20% of the funds could be used to run the programs.
One of the lawmakers making those criticisms was Rep. Linda Duba, D-Sioux Falls.
“I think it’s extremely unfortunate that we made the decision for the people of South Dakota not to apply for this opportunity,” Duba said, referring to the $69 million in energy efficiency rebates.
Not all Inflation Reduction Act funding opportunities were dismissed. Terwilliger said the state has participated in the Forest Legacy Program, securing $1.5 million in funding to purchase a 250-acre parcel in collaboration with the Game, Fish and Parks Department. The land preserves some forested areas along the Big Sioux River near Newton Hills State Park.
Plus, Sioux Falls successfully applied for $3 million in funding under the Urban and Community Forestry Program, with another $600,000 allocated to other communities across the state, according to Terwilliger. The $3 million will help mitigate damage caused by emerald ash borer in an area spanning 25 square miles.
Noem has often said ‘no’
There are several prior examples of the Noem administration declining federal funding.
Duba was a vocal critic of the administration passing up $7.5 million to feed low-income kids while school is out for the summer.
Noem is one of six governors who did not apply for a federal grant program to support solar energy projects around the nation. She also passed on a share of $1 billion in nationwide cybersecurity grants for county and city governments.
In 2020, the administration rejected extra unemployment benefits, provided by then-President Trump during the pandemic. The measure provided an additional $300 in unemployment benefits per week, but required states to kick in another $100.
AUTHORITIES CONTINUE INVESTIGATION INTO TWO SEPERATE FATAL PLANE CRASHES IN NORTHEAST NEBRASKA,
NEBRASKA Undated – The investigation is ongoing into two plane crashes in Northeast Nebraska. According to information on the FAA website, the pilot who crashed in Wayne County outside of Wayne Nebraska was killed.
Wayne County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation into the incident and has not released any information on the pilot of the plane that crashed.
The FAA reporting site for crashes, Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing, shows that there was a fatality in the Wayne County Crash but there has been no identification of the pilot. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is continuing to investigate.
According to the registry information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the Piper PA-28-140 that crashed near Wayne, Nebraska was owned by Charles Finck of Elk River MN.
The crash in Wayne County, was one of two on the morning of Aug. 27. The other crash happened near Crofton, Nebraska in Knox County. The pilot in that crash was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified Tuesday Morning as 73-year-old Joseph Rudolf of Norfolk, Nebraska.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been contacted and will investigate both crashes.
CHEROKEE MAN SENTENCED IN 2022 HIT AND RUN FATALITY
CHEROKEE, IA – A northwest Iowa man is going to be spending time behind bars nearly two years after a fatal hit and run in Cherokee, Iowa.
That incident happened back on December 26, 2022 when authorities got a call of a a bicyclist lying in the roadway at the intersection of N 6th Street and West Willow in Cherokee.
An investigation determined that 30-year-old Casey Herwig was the one who hit the bicyclist while driving a pickup. When authorities found Herwig’s pickup, they allegedly found damage on the front of the vehicle that matched parts found at the scene of the hit-and-run.
According to court documents, Herwig told officers that he knew he hit something, but he wasn’t sure what it was. When asked by officers if he might have hit a person, Herwig reportedly said that it “could’ve been.”
Court documents show Herwig was sentenced to five years in prison. Herwig had initially pleaded not guilty to hitting a bicyclist, Phillip Watterson.
In July, Herwig changed his plea to guilty.
In addition to prison time, a fine of $1,025 and restitution to the family of the victim, in the amount of $50,000. The State mandates an amount of $150,000 in restitution, $100,000 of which was paid by Herwig’s insurance.
REPORT URGES MORE STRINGENT LOOK AT HEALTH RISKS OF PESTICIDES
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Kathleen Shannon / Greater Dakota News Service) – A new report warned about adverse health, wildlife and environmental impacts of toxic chemicals known as PFAS in states such as South Dakota.
Sometimes called “forever chemicals,” they can be found in a variety of applications and industries, including pest-control products. A new regulation under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act will impose limits on the levels of PFAS allowed.
Early testing shows levels in Mount Rushmore National Memorial’s drinking water are more than twice the soon-to-be federal limit. Advocacy groups are asking the Environmental Protection Agency for tougher regulations on pesticides.
Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity, argued many of the pesticides are too easy to obtain and use.
“These are just regular products that you would buy in your local hardware store,” Donley explained. “They’re also products that you could use in agriculture, that many farmers use. These ingredients are in a lot of different products that many people can buy.”
Public water systems have until 2029 to reduce high levels before they are considered in violation. The report recommended more industry transparency for all pesticide ingredients, as well as stricter federal testing and monitoring of PFAS. A coalition of chemical trade groups has called the EPA’s rules under the Safe Drinking Water Act a regulatory overreach.
Donley pointed out the exposure pathways for PFAS are very similar between people and wildlife and animals are drinking from water sources where the exposure is greatest. He noted agencies such as the EPA are in place to make sure shortsighted actions by a few do not have long-term consequences for everyone.
“This really isn’t the failing of individuals, it’s the failing of our institutions,” Donley contended. “We need to put pressure on representatives that have been elected to really put in place the protections that most of the public thinks should be in place.”
Donley called PFAS a multigenerational threat, saying the true harm may only be felt in future generations. He added environmental groups have been fighting the use of persistent pollutants for a half-century but the nation is still dealing with many of them.
