SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – On Tuesday morning, staff at a recycling center in Sioux Falls found a full-term, deceased infant on the property.
According to Sioux Falls Police, the call for an unattended death came in around 6:40 a.m. on August 6.
Staff at the recycling center, located on the 300 block of East 50th Street North, found the infant and called police.
Public Information Officer Sam Clemens said the infant was full-term, but an age had not been determined yet.
Clemens said an autopsy will be performed, but it could be weeks before the results are available. He said at this time, information on the circumstances is limited.
PINE RIDGE, S.D. – The man shot Friday, August 2, 2024 at the Pine Ridge Pow Wow, or Oglala Lakota Nation Wacipi, died Sunday morning.
Francis Thomas “Tom” Thunder Hawk Jr, 56, died at Monument Health in Rapid City, S.D.
Tom Thunder Hawk was shot several times while attending the Oglala Lakota Nation Wacipi and Fair and was life-flighted to Monument Health.
A shooting suspect was detained by authorities on Friday night, the Oglala Sioux Tribal Police said in a social media post on Saturday.
The tribal police said the shooting happened at 10:15 p.m. during a confrontation between several males late Friday night.
The incident was an isolated one between two individuals and not a mass shooting, Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out said in a social media post.
The Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety issued a statement saying the shooting occurred during a confrontation between several males.
“On August 2, 2024, at about 10:20 PM, a confrontation between several males took place at the pow wow grounds in Pine Ridge. During the altercation, a 57-year-old male was shot multiple times. The suspect fled the scene on foot but was later apprehended while attempting to leave the area in a vehicle. The victim was transported to the Pine Ridge emergency room and subsequently airlifted to Monument Health in Rapid City for further treatment. The incident is still under investigation, and there is no danger to the public at this time.”
Law enforcement and tribal officials have not released any additional information.
STURGIS, S.D. – Sturgis officials say after lagging behind all week, the number of temporary vending licenses for this year’s Rally exceeded last year’s numbers today.
The city reported as of Wednesday morning, they had issued 714 temporary vending licenses for the 84th Rally. That compares to 709 in 2023 on this date.
Ambulance calls are running ahead of last year with 133 calls since Monday, July 29th. That compares to 112 that had been reported as of last year on this date.
And garbage hauled totals 201.89 tons so far. That compares to 214.55 tons hauled last year on this date.
Traffic into Sturgis this year is trending 7.3-percent ahead of last year. So far, 268,910 vehicles have entered Sturgis since Friday, August 2nd.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol has also reported the Rally’s third fatality following an accident Tuesday on I-90.
The patrol says the 2007 Harley Davidson was traveling eastbound near mile marker 161 when it exited the roadway and entered the median. The motorcycle traveled a short distance in the median before overturning. The driver separated from the motorcycle and received fatal injuries. The fatality is the third related to this year’s rally this week.
There were five injury crashes reported in the past 24 hours in the patrol’s latest report.
There have now been 23 injury crashes during this year’s reporting period along with 22 non-injury accidents.
In other numbers, misdemeanor drug arrests total 171 – well ahead of last year’s 118 on this date. Felony drug arrests are at 101, also ahead of last year’s 68.
D.U.I. arrests total 83, also ahead of last year’s 71 on this date.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – FEMA approved $61 million for Iowa residents affected by the recent flooding, severe storms and tornadoes.
According to FEMA, the program provided $56 million in Individual Assistance for home repairs, temporary housing costs and other needs that insurance does not cover. The program says more than 5,000 households have been approved for assistance.
Additionally, the program says it has paid more than $5 million in flood claims to policyholders in Iowa.
The Individual Assistance Program is approved for the following 13 Iowa counties:
Buena Vista
Cherokee
Clay
Dickinson
Emmet
Lyon
Monona
O’Brien
Osceola
Palo Alto
Plymouth
Sioux
Woodbury
How to Apply for FEMA
Visit DisasterAssistance.gov
Call FEMA at 800-621-FEMA (3362)
Download the FEMA App
FEMA will work on a case-by-case basis with every household.
NORTH SIOUX CITY, SD – There are now more details on how crews will remove the collapsed rail bridge over the Big Sioux River.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe operates the bridge and they say there will be two separate controlled blasts. One is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 16, and will happen on the South Dakota side of the bridge. The other one is set for Friday, Sept. 6 and will happen on the Iowa side.
According to BNSF, they have secured local permits for using charges to dismantle the bridge. BNSF says they are still trying to get a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that’ll allow them to make changes to the levee, and only once they have that permit will the demolition occur.
“For several weeks we have been consulting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and local levee sponsors on the removal plan for the BNSF bridge in the Big Sioux River at North Sioux City, SD, and Sioux City,” stated BNSF in an official statement.
BNSF says they plan to go door-to-door starting this week, informing residents and businesses within 1,000 feet of the bridge of the demolition.
From the official statement received from BNSF:
“BNSF has begun conversations with local law enforcement and first responders to communicate the demolition plan and ensure public safety. We will communicate more specifics on the timing of the blast operations and any other local impacts following additional conversations with the cities,” stated BNSF in a statement.
As part of the bridge’s removal, BNSF says they are going to construct a temporary levee, known as a ring levee, to protect the community during the process. This levee, according to BNSF, is designed to provide the same level of protection as the permanent levee.
Once the Army Corp of Engineers permit is received, BNSF plans to shave off a small portion of the existing levee to allow the necessary equipment to access the river and remove the bridge spans.
Crews plan to conduct a controlled blast for demolition of the span on the South Dakota side of the river on August 16th, and on September 6th for the span on the Iowa side. Local permits are secured for using charges to help dismantle the structure, but demolition will not occur until after the USACE permit is secured. In addition to door-to-door contacts beginning this week with residents and businesses within a 1,000-foot perimeter of the project area, BNSF has begun conversations with local law enforcement and first responders to communicate the demolition plan and ensure public safety. We will communicate more specifics on timing of the blast operations and any other local impacts following additional conversations with the cities.
Additional steps that are underway in preparation for the bridge span removals include the construction of a temporary levee, known as a ring levee, to provide protection to the community while the recovery process occurs. This levee is designed to provide the same level of protection as the permanent levee. Once the USACE permit is received, the plan is to shave off a small portion of the existing levee to allow the necessary equipment to access down to the river and remove the bridge spans.”
The bridge first collapsed back in June 2024 when the Big Sioux River flooded. The river rose high enough that it collapsed the bridge that had spanned the river for years. At its peak, the Big Sioux rose to over 44 feet in Sioux City.
Since the collapse, the bridge has slowly sunk further into the river.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The upcoming election is not the only big deal going on in DC…many in the region are watching legislative changes and the Farm Bill, which is the main policy governing agriculture and food, and which seems to be stalled.
Farmers are concerned as to why the bill hasn’t passed yet, and on Wednesday at the Sioux Empire Fair, a couple members of South Dakota’s congressional delegation were in town to field questions.
Representative Dusty Johnson discussed the changes with the farm bill, who it impacts and why it’s important.
“Obviously, we all eat. We all want to make sure that we’ve got food available for purchase and having great American farmers and ranchers who have the predictability of knowing what the rules of the road are gonna be, makes sure that America is growing a powerful amount of food to feed us and the rest of the world,” Rep. Johnson explained.
Overall the bill affects everyone, especially the farmers according to Senator Mike Rounds. “This really does affect them on a day-to-day basis because it identifies what the price support is for those commodities, and so for them, it means affecting their daily lives. It means it’s affecting their income. So they watch it carefully and they know a lot more about it than some people realize. They’d like to know what the future’s gonna look like for farming operations and what to plan for,”
Officials said that they hope to see a change in the congress by the first of the year and they remain optimistic that some progress will be seen during the lame duck session of Congress following the November election.
