ARREST MADE IN YANKTON MURDER

YANKTON, S.D. – 32-year-old Craig Allen Nichols Jr. man has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder, First-degree manslaughter, and two counts of contempt of court…all in connection to a death in Yankton.

The incident occurred in the 1000 block of Memory Lane in Yankton.

According to court documents, Yankton Police were called to the area around 3 p.m. on January 2 for the report of a deceased person.  Three women informed police they had arrived at the apartment to check on their friend. When they entered the apartment, they found the victim’s decapitated body.

One of the women at the scene told investigators that the victim had messaged her stating that the victim’s boyfriend threatened the victim with a weapon the day before. The woman had not heard from the victim in over 24 hours.

Nichols was identified as the victim’s boyfriend. Video surveillance shows Nichols exiting and entering the apartment multiple times that morning with trash bags.

When officers went to execute a search warrant on Nichols’ residence, they found the door barricaded and made forced entry. Nichols was then taken into custody.

During the investigation, the victim’s head was located in a trash bag inside the victim’s apartment. Bloody clothes with Nichols’ name on the label and three weapons wrapped in a floor mat were also found in bags in the apartment.

The Division of Criminal Investigation is assisting the Yankton Police with the investigation and the Office of the Attorney General will be assisting with the prosecution.

Nichols is being held on a $500,000 cash bond.

 

PUC RULES THAT LAWMAKERS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO INTERVENE IN CARBON PIPELINE HEARING

PIERRE, S.D. (The Dakota Scout)– State lawmakers opposed to Summit Carbon Solution’s proposed carbon capture pipeline are ineligible to file opposition to the project in their official capacities.

That’s according to an official opinion released by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) staff — the entity tasked with moderating and providing input to the three-member commission about matters that appear before them — after a trio of incoming and current lawmakers filed petitions to receive party status in the matter. Summit has applied with the PUC for a permit to construct the pipeline to capture carbon from ethanol facilities.

Rep. Ben Krohmer of Mitchell and Sen. Brent Hoffman of Sioux Falls, both outgoing lawmakers with terms that expire in January, attempted to file opposition documents to the pipeline, in their official capacities as representatives of their districts. Impacted parties on either side of the carbon pipeline issue, such as advocacy groups and nearby landowners, have the ability to apply to be impacted parties, thus earning a seat at the table during the PUC’s proceedings.

While government entities such as counties or cities can file to oppose the pipeline, individual lawmakers cannot, wrote PUC attorney Logan Schaefbauer.

“It is staff’s interpretation that SDCL 49-41B-17(3) provides for intervention by the governmental entity, rather than specific elected members of the body,” Schaefbauer wrote in a three-page opinion. “Therefore, in order to qualify for intervention, an elected official would need to qualify in their individual capacity as a resident in the area where the facility is proposed to be sited or directly interested person.”

Since Krohmer and Hoffman both live outside of the two-mile radius for the proposed route, they’re ineligible to enter themselves as officially opposed to the project on the PUC’s docket.

Summit concurred in the PUC staff’s opinion in a written response of their own.

“Applicant (Summit) objects to interventions based on holding a political office,” attorneys representing Summit responded. “There is no provision in law or rule for state legislators, county commissioners, township supervisors or city commissioners to intervene in this contested case hearing based on their political status.”

Lawmakers can, however, file as intervenors in the case if they are within a two-mile radius of the proposed route. Incoming lawmaker Kaley Nolz, also of Mitchell, was granted party status based on this precondition.

Hoffman told The Dakota Scout that he first signed up to be considered as an interested party because he thought that the distance from the pipeline to apply was 10 miles. He owns a farmhouse within that distance of the proposed route.

He added that he wanted to make sure someone was watching out for the people of his legislative district.

“I also encouraged the Hartford City Council and mayor to request party status,” Hoffman added.

Originally, the PUC did apply a presumptive 10-mile distance as the standard for considering direct interest in the project. However, the commission has since narrowed its focus on those within a two-mile radius as having a stake in the process.

“The presumptive distance is not a strict rule, so the applicant for party status has the ability to explain their direct interest if their distance from the project is greater than two miles,” a spokeswoman for the commission said.

Despite the denial, Krohmer argues that state lawmakers are uniquely positioned to represent the concerns of their constituents, even if the law does not explicitly allow them to do so in this case.

“I have been contacted by many concerned constituents that live in the effected counties in my district,” Krohmer said. “(And) legislators are elected officials that represent their constituents. If Summit doesn’t believe elected officials should be able to represent their constituents, and they want people to file on their own, then perhaps we should take them up on that.”

 

RESOURCE GAPS SLOW DOWN EFFORTS ON CASES OF MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS PERSONS

SOUTH DAKOTA (News Connection / Mike Moen) – January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. In South Dakota, the push to secure justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women remains a priority, but some call for more resources.

This crisis has garnered more attention at the national level in recent years, including the 2023 launch of an outreach program led by federal authorities.

South Dakota is a host district for one of the handful of U.S. attorneys assigned to this effort.

While that extra leadership might be helpful, Tanya Grassel-Kreitlow – a coordinator with the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault – said there still isn’t enough funding to accelerate meaningful progress.

“We are desperate for funding,” said Grassel-Kreitlow, “and without funding, we are not able to provide advocacy to work with the families of the missing, and to work with the potential victims – who we’ve identified through a lot of factors who have the potential to become missing.”

She spoke during a forum last week hosted by the South Dakota Humanities Council. Panel members also said agencies still don’t share enough intelligence to prevent crimes.

Funding came up during a Congressional hearing last fall, and a key lawmaker pledged a bigger level of support moving forward.

But it’s unclear what that will look like when budget negotiations resume in the spring.

Lily Mendoza is a 2024 Bush Fellow and is the founder of the Red Ribbon Skirt Society out of Rapid City.

She said federal officials have improved their listening efforts when grassroots groups speak out on this issue.

And the Society reports good relationships with local law enforcement – but Mendoza said her team still has to fill in gaps to ensure accountability.

“You know, ‘I got a call from a parent. They’re concerned about their child. Can you check into this?” said Mendoza. “So, those systems that the Not Invisible Act is supposed to be putting in place, the grassroots organizations are taking that on.”

Mendoza said she does applaud a specialized federal unit, that launched in 2021, that can more freely navigate the country to help look into these cases.

According to federal data, 40% of all victims of sex trafficking are identified as American Indian and Alaska Native women.

 

IOWA’S ATTORNEY GENERAL AND DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY WARNING IOWANS OF A RISE IN ‘GRANDPARENT SCAMS’

DES MOINES, IA – Iowa’s Attorney General and public safety officials are warning residents of a scam that is aimed at older people.

On Friday, Jan. 3, Attorney General Brenna Bird and the Iowa Department of Public Safety began to urge Iowans to be aware of a new wave of so called Grandparent Scams.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety says during a grandparent scam, a caller would contact the victim, posing as a grandchild, and claim they had been in one of the following situations:

In an accident

In the hospital or jail

In a foreign country

The caller would then ask for money to help them. The department says the scammer would also go as far as to send an alleged courier to the victim’s house to retrieve the money.

The department says a caller will often trick the victim by using details about their loved one, obtained by using social media accounts.

Officials say this scam is not a new one and the Attorney General’s Office has warned residents of the grandparent scam since 2008.

To protect older citizens against the grandparent scam; Attorney General Bird and the Department of Public Safety urge residents to follow the following tips:

• Hang up, end the call, and verify the caller’s information
• Contact a trusted member of your family – Residents are urged to contact a verified phone number for their grandchild, another family member, or a friend to check out the caller’s story- even if the caller told them to keep it a secret.
• Verify the caller’s identity – Ask questions about the loved one that a caller would not know.
• Do not act quickly or secretly – if the caller is asking for money immediately and using fear excitement or sympathy – it’s a scam.
• Report the scam to area law enforcement – Residents should file a complaint with area law enforcement to not only help themselves but help others avoid the same scam in the future.

Iowans who are suspicious of being scammed are urged to call local law enforcement for help and report the scam to the Attorney General’s office at 1-888-777-4590 or online.

Reports may also be filed online with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.

 

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY NAMES LATEST VESSEL AFTER FORMER NEBRASKA POLITICIAN

WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro has announced that the Navy’s latest Missile Destroyer will be named after a former Nebraska politician.

In a statement released Saturday, the Secretary of the Navy announced that the newest Arliegh Burke-class Guided Missile Destroyer will be named the USS Robert Kerrey.

Kerrey, the former Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987, and a Senator representing Nebraska from 1989 to 2001, was also the recipient of the Medal of Honor for his time as a Navy SEAL in the Vietnam War.

“One of the great privileges I have as Secretary of the Navy is to name ships, and it is my honor to name the future USS Robert Kerrey (DDG 146),” said Secretary Del Toro. “This will be the first Navy vessel named in his honor, and it is most appropriate we do so, for his actions in Vietnam and his continued service to this country well beyond his Naval service.”

According to the release, Secretary Del Toro and former Senator Kerrey met in New York City on Friday, after Del Toro named the vessel in a ceremony at the Intrepid Museum.

“My sincere thanks to President Biden, Secretary of the Navy Del Toro, and the United States Navy that gave me the opportunity to serve my country for three of the best years of my life,” said Senator Kerrey. “I am very grateful for this recognition.”