YANKTON, S.D. – There has been a resolution in a manhunt that started last month as authorities searched for an Iowa man wanted for violating his parole.
The Yankton County Sheriff’s Office learned that 48-year old Jason Sitzman was in a home in Lesterville, SD and, after a nearly four-hour standoff Monday night, he was arrested.
Sitzman was wanted on warrants for violating his parole in Iowa, as well as, for failure to appear in court in Yankton County and for aggravated eluding of law enforcement. When deputies attempted to make contact with Sitzman he, and another woman who was with him inside the residence in Lesterville, refused to leave the house. That was at around 7:00pm. Around 10:45pm authorities used chemical agents inside the home to get Sitzman and the woman outside. The woman is identified as 23-year-old Kendra Kirrman.
Both were taken into custody and charged with obstructing law enforcement.
Law enforcement have been looking for Sitzman for more than a month. Back on June 19th… he reportedly fled South Dakota authorities on a motorcycle… riding into Nebraska before ditching the bike at the Chalkrock Wildlife Management Area in Cedar County. Authorities searched the area using drones and a helicopter but weren’t able to find Sitzman.
PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Government Operations and Audit Committee is likely to address the $1.78 million stolen from the Department of Social Services in its upcoming meetings. That’s according to two state senators on the committee who are responding to last week’s announcement of Attorney General Marty Jackley.
Members of the GOAC reacted by indicating they would be taking a closer look into how the Department of Social Services audits itself, as well as how the external audits the department faces work.
Those calling for a review include Sen. David Wheeler (R-Huron), who said Tuesday that they need to get to the bottom of how that much money could be stolen over more than 13 years.
“Anytime you have a theft of that magnitude of state funds raises serious issues regarding the controls that were in place, how did it happen, how’s it allowed to go on for that amount,” Wheeler said.
Joining him in that sentiment is Sen. Tim Reed (R-Brookings), who said in a post on X Friday, “As a member of Government Operations and Audit Committee I will be asking that we investigate this specific issue and review auditing procedures.”
Department of Social Services Cabinet Secretary Matt Althoff meanwhile said they’re working through their own guardrails.
“We need to review this. This is something that GOAC is supposed to be looking at, should be looking at to ensure that we are providing proper legislative oversight for the executive branch,” Wheeler said.
As the Attorney General said, employees at the Department of Social Services discovered suspicious financial activity and reported it to the Division of Criminal Investigation. DSS staff cooperated completely with the investigation.
DSS utilizes both internal and external audits, reconciliations, and internal controls to safeguard public funds – additional safeguards have already been implemented, and we continue working to identify further prevention and detection methods.
As this is an ongoing criminal case, DSS cannot comment further.
Department of Social Services Cabinet Secretary Matt Althoff
Wheeler said they’re going to be looking at all of the procedures that were in place, see if they were being followed, and if the right restraints were there at all.
“So it’s going to be an important issue for the legislature to take up to ensure that the appropriate controls are in place. We don’t want something like this happening again,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler also added that it’s one of the duties of the Legislature to act as oversight for the executive branch, and this is within their scope of operation.
“We need to review this. This is something that GOAC is supposed to be looking at, should be looking at to ensure that we are providing proper legislative oversight for the Executive branch,” Wheeler said.
The GOAC next meets July 31 in Pierre.
DES MOINES, IA – In a new report from Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand he has called out the Iowa Department of Education for its lack of oversight and transparency in regard to the school voucher program, or ESA.
Sand reported that Odyssey, which the state hired to manage its ESA program, had originally agreed to a $100,000 fee to administer the program. That fee was then changed, without public documentation, to an additional percentage fee of the funds approved. The administrative fee of Odyssey rose to an additional $267,250 in FY 2024, and is reportedly set to increase to $390,750 in FY 2025, $784,750 in FY 2026, and $852,750 in FY 2027.
The amendment also allows Odyssey to collect an additional 25 cents for every $100 in qualified educational expenses processed on its platform.
The State Auditor says that while a request for modifying the previous agreement was made on December 20th, 2023, his office did not receive notification of that amendment until July 12th, 2024. He says that the Iowa Department of Education did not include reasoning in its amendment as to why modifying the previous agreement was necessary, nor did it send that modification to the Bureau of Accounting in a timely manner.
Quoting Sand, “Just three months after signing the contract to administer the ESA program, the Department of Education agreed to amend it for no good reason. And in doing so, the Department violated its own policies and procedures. Most Iowans believe a deal is a deal and can recognize a bait and switch when they see one.”
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, NE – Two months after a fatal crash in South Sioux City, Nebraska, police have arrested a man for motor vehicle homicide.
According to the South Sioux City Police Department, 26-year-old Bradley Gatzemeyer has been arrested and charged in connection with the three-vehicle crash on May 4, 2024, that resulted in a 64-year-old woman dying. His full list of charges includes motor vehicle homicide-prior DUI, transporting a child while intoxicated and driving under the influence.
The crash happened at about 6:27 p.m. at the College Way and Highway 77 intersection in South Sioux City. Police say when first responders got to the scene, they transported two adults and one child to the hospital. Shortly after 7:23 p.m. that day, authorities learned a 64-year-old woman involved in the crash died from her injuries. She’s been identified as Debora L. James, a Sioux City resident.
In court documents, police say James was turning onto the highway from College Way when her vehicle was struck by a Chevrolet Silverado pickup. According to police that pickup was being driven by Gatzemeyer.
James was still in her Volkswagen Passat when first responders got to the scene, and police say she was alert and talking.
When police checked on Gatzemeyer, he was walking around the scene and told police he was worried about his 4-year-old son who had been in the back seat of the pickup.
A short time later, police say they found empty bottles of alcohol and smelled alcohol coming from Gatzemeyer. Police had Gatzemeyer take a breath test and it came back with a blood alcohol content of .217. Court documents show that authorities had Gatzemeyer take a blood test as well, and the results for that test came back with a blood alcohol content of .155. The legal limit is .08.
Court documents show in 2018 Gatzemeyer was convicted of DUI and careless driving, and in 2020 he was convicted of leaving the scene of an accident. All these convictions were in Iowa.
Gatzemeyer was arrested for the fatal crash in early July and he is being held on a $500,000 bond. He is scheduled to be in court on July 31 for his preliminary hearing.
PIERRE, S.D. (Joshus Haiar / South Dakota Searchlight) – A scholarship program that incentivizes graduates to stay and work in South Dakota has awarded 2,785 scholarships to 1,995 students in its first two years.
“Most all of them are going straight into the South Dakota workforce,” said Freedom Scholarship Coordinator Elli Haerter.
The board that oversees the program revealed data from its first two years during a Monday meeting at First Premier Bank in Sioux Falls.
The scholarship was established by the South Dakota Legislature and supported by donations from entities like First Premier Bank, Avera, and Sanford Health. It offers scholarships based on financial need to students who attend South Dakota colleges and commit to remaining in the state for at least three years post-graduation.
Students must maintain a 2.0 grade point average to keep the $1,000 to $5,000 scholarships, which students can earn across multiple school years.
With exceptions, the program converts the scholarships into loans with a fixed interest rate of 4% for students who do not meet the program’s grade, graduation or post-graduation residency requirements.
In the program’s first two years, 182 scholarship recipients have graduated and found work in the state, Haerter told the Freedom Scholarship Board on Monday. Fifty-five of them found work in healthcare;40 are in the education sector.
The data shared Monday also included information on students who’ve failed to adhere to the scholarship requirements.
As of July, there were 143 scholarship recipients in that category. Specifically, 101 have been referred to a debt servicer for repayment, 15 have paid off the loans, five have had their debts forgiven and 22 have had their loans deferred. That’s typically because the student is pursuing tech school or an apprenticeship instead of college, Haerter noted.
Board Chair Dana Dykhouse said the state should not convert scholarships to loans for awardees who leave college to pursue a technical degree.
“I don’t think it should matter because, at the end of the day, we’re still getting a South Dakota worker,” he said. “And the state has a big need for workers.”
About $260,000 in scholarship dollars is now loans. Comparatively, around $10 million in scholarships has been awarded, according to Haerter. She and Dykhouse said those numbers are good, and will only improve as the program gets better at identifying students in need who are likely to succeed with the scholarship.
