SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced yesterday that a former state Department of Social Services employee has been indicted for stealing an estimated $1.8 million in state and federal funds from the department’s Child Protection Services.
Lonna Carroll, 68, of Algona, IA is charged with two felony counts of Aggravated Grand Theft. She was arrested Wednesday in Iowa and is awaiting extradition to South Dakota. Bond has been set at $50,000.
Carroll is accused of taking the money while an employee for the department’s Child Protection Services program, where she had control of the funds. The thefts occurred between 2010 and 2023.
Attorney General Jackley said the thefts were discovered by the Department of Social Services. The state Division of Criminal Investigation and Legislative Audit led the investigation.
An initial court appearance for Carroll has not yet been scheduled in Hughes County Circuit Court in Pierre. The maximum sentence for Count One is 25 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Patrick Lalley / SiouxFallsLive.com) – The Argus Leader failed to convince a judge on Thursday to immediately stop the City of Sioux Falls from placing legal notices in The Dakota Scout, a two-year-old news operation.
Judge Douglas Hoffman heard oral arguments from the city and news organizations after reviewing briefs on the Argus Leader’s request, filed in Minnehaha County District Court on July 8.
Hoffman then declined to order a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that would have required the city to publish legal notices in the Argus Leader until a trial can be held to decide the issue.
Joe Sneve, who co-founded The Dakota Scout with Jonathan Ellis in 2022, said he was happy with the judge’s decision
“The public doesn’t have to wonder where to find legal notices,” Sneve said in an interview with Sioux Falls Live. “They’ll be in The Dakota Scout.”
Local governments and school districts are required by state law to publish various announcements, agendas and minutes in a legal newspaper. One of the requirements to qualify was that the newspaper had paid circulation. But the Legislature changed the law earlier this year, allowing freely distributed publications to qualify.
That law went into effect on July 1.
The City Council agreed unanimously on June 5 to designate The Dakota Scout as the legal newspaper. The city on average spends about $70,000 a year on legal notices, though that amount is likely to go down because The Dakota Scout’s fees are expected to be less than the Argus Leader.
The Argus Leader and its parent company, Gannett, had argued that The Dakota Scout did not qualify as a legal newspaper because it failed to file the necessary paperwork before Jan. 1, which is required under the law, including a statement of ownership.
Sneve and Ellis filed the paperwork in June, just before the new law passed during the 2024 legislative session took effect. They maintain that it was impossible to file before the law was changed because their publication, at that time, couldn’t qualify.
Tyler Haigh, a Sioux Falls lawyer representing the Argus Leader, said during the hearing on Thursday that the newspaper wasn’t taking the action because of the money involved. Rather, he said it was in the public interest.
The judge should act now, Haigh argued, rather than wait for an eventual trial which could determine that The Dakota Scout did not qualify as a legal newspaper. If that were to happen, the city would have to republish the notices and the public would not have been properly informed of, for instance, changes in regulations that could affect businesses.
That could cause irreparable harm to the public and the Argus Leader, which would have to retroactively publish the notices, he contended.
“The motivation is not money,” Haigh said. “The motivation is to make sure the city is publishing valid legal notices.”
Representing the city, Sioux Falls lawyer Bill Garry said the purpose of a temporary injunction is to preserve the status quo until the issue is resolved. In this case, the status quo is that The Dakota Scout is the legal newspaper for the City of Sioux Falls, he said.
“The status quo has no meaning at this point,” Garry said.
The Argus Leader failed to present any evidence that it would suffer irreparable harm and The Dakota Scout filed the paperwork properly, he argued.
“There’s no way The Dakota Scout could have qualified as a legal newspaper until July,” he said. “The position of the Argus Leader is somewhat nonsensical.”
The Dakota Scout also intervened in the case on the side of the city. The newspaper was represented by former U.S. Attorney and current Sioux Falls lawyer Jim McMahon.
“They weren’t under obligation to file that report until they were a legal newspaper,” McMahon said.
Without commenting further, Judge Hoffman said he agreed with the position of McMahon and Garry and denied the injunction and restraining order.
Following the hearing, Haigh told Sioux Falls Live that he would be consulting with Gannett officials about possible next steps.
The case could still go to a trial at an undetermined date in the future.
The company’s corporate communications and public relations department forwarded a statement to Sioux Falls Live, attributed to an Argus Leader spokesperson.
“For decades, readers have trusted The Argus Leader for news and important information including public notices. Citizens expect this information to be where it can be seen by a broad, informed audience. This decision by The Sioux Falls City Council will cause confusion and result in notices being missed by citizens, and should be reconsidered,” the statement read.
Garry said he’s confident the issue is settled.
“I doubt there’ll be any further proceedings. But it’ll be the Argus Leader’s decision on that,” Garry said. “But if it would go any further, it could be months in the process, so I think time is on The Dakota Scout’s side as well as the city’s side.”
Sneve said The Dakota Scout would prevail.
“Hail Mary’s usually hit the ground.”
STURGIS, S.D. – The Wyoming man involved in a shoot-out with law enforcement at last year’s Motorcycle Rally was sentenced to 55 years in prison Wednesday.
Wyatt James Fluty, 29, of Saratoga, Wyoming, was sentenced by Judge John Fitzgerald in Meade County Court.
Fluty pleaded guilty to Attempted First Degree Murder involving a Law Enforcement officer and Commission of a Felony While Armed with a Firearm in May.
The incident occurred on August 9, 2023, after Fluty, suspected of vehicle theft and possessing stolen firearms, was spotted by a South Dakota highway patrol trooper near Exit 32 in Sturgis. Fluty fired at the trooper, who returned fire, and then tried to steal the patrol vehicle. He was apprehended after being shot. None of the officers were hurt.
At sentencing, the trooper who was involved in the shoot-out told the court he has relived that day over and over and it took an emotional toll on his mental health.
An off-duty law enforcement officer from Minnesota who came to the aid of the trooper also testified that he’s thankful to be alive and the aftermath of that day has brought him anxiety. He says Fluty had been living rent free in his head and welcomed today’s sentencing for closure.
Fluty told the court he takes accountability for what he did and apologized to the victims and community for putting them in danger. He also apologized to his family and his mother, who was in court for his sentencing.
The prosecution asked for 40 years on the attempted first degree murder charge and 25 for the commission of a felony while armed charge.
Judge Fitzgerald says he was troubled by Fluty’s past and his actions created a ripple effect on those he hurt. He handed down a sentence of 50 years on the attempted murder charge and 5 years for commission of a felony charge. The two sentences run consecutively meaning Fluty will serve 55 years.
DEADWOOD, S.D. – The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office says a man has been arrested on second-degree murder and drug charges in connection to the death of a man from drug toxicity in June.
In a release, the sheriff’s office says on June 10, emergency services received a request for assistance from a remote cabin in the Richmond Hill Road area of Lawrence County. The call claimed that a man was in a state of medical emergency. When first responders arrived, the 30-year-old Spearfish man was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been released.
Lawrence County’s Coroner and Pathologist determined that the man died from heroin and fentanyl toxicity. The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Dan Snyder on the following charges:
Homicide as Murder in the Second Degree
Unauthorized Distribution of Schedule I or Schedule II Substances
Unauthorized Possession of a Controlled Substance
Unauthorized Ingestion of a Controlled Substance
Possession of Marijuana
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
Snyder is currently held without bond in the Lawrence County Jail.
PIERRE, S.D. – The Department of Health is reporting a case of measles in a South Dakota resident. An adult Pennington County resident developed a measles infection after traveling internationally. They visited Monument Health in Rapid City and tested positive for measles.
“Measles is a highly contagious viral disease and spreads through the air when an infected individual coughs or sneezes,” said Dr. Joshua Clayton, state epidemiologist. “Individuals who have not been fully immunized with two doses of measles vaccine have an increased risk of infection if they have contact with an infected person.”
The time periods and locations where other community members may have been exposed to the case are the Black Hills Urgent Care on 741 Mountain View Rd. from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. MT on July 9, 2024, and the Monument Health Rapid City Emergency Department waiting room from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. MT on July 12, 2024.
Measles symptoms appear in two stages. In the first stage, the individual may have a runny nose, cough, and a slight fever. The eyes may become reddened and sensitive to light while the fever consistently rises each day. The second stage begins on the third to seventh day and consists of a temperature of 103-105°F, and a red blotchy rash lasting four to seven days. The rash usually begins on the face and then spreads over the entire body. Koplik spots (little white spots with a red background) may also appear on the gums and inside of the cheeks.
Maintaining the highest level of immunization against measles is the best preventive measure, especially if individuals are planning to travel internationally. Measles vaccine (MMR) is typically given at 12-15 months of age. The second dose of MMR is given at 4-6 years of age. The vaccine is highly effective, and two MMR shots usually produce lifelong immunity. If you are planning to travel internationally with children, MMR vaccines can be given to children starting at six months of age. People born before 1957 are likely to have been infected naturally and are presumed to be protected against measles.
Learn more about measles on the Department of Health website doh.sd.gov/diseases
