SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Kathleen Shannon / Greater Dakota News Service) – As South Dakotans approach a vote on recreational cannabis, a new paper makes recommendations to policymakers on implementing its legality.
The American College of Physicians suggests lawmakers take a public health approach to cannabis control in places where recreational use is legal. It could soon include South Dakota, if voters approve a ballot measure in November.
Dr. David Hilden, chair of the Health and Public Policy Committee for the American College of Physicians, said the approach considers not just the effects of legalization on people who use cannabis but on communities at large.
“States that legalize cannabis should consider: What framework are you giving for marketing? For advertising? What safeguards are in place for the content of your cannabis? What about the effects on our roadways?” Hilden outlined.
South Dakota voters approved medical and recreational cannabis use in 2020. But in a case reaching the state’s Supreme Court, the recreational-use vote was overturned on a technicality over how changes are made to the state’s constitution.
Hilden acknowledged people both for and against cannabis legalization tend to have “fairly firm beliefs” it is either a safe or dangerous substance. The safety of its use likely lands more in the middle, he said, and he wants governments to support research around what is still unknown.
“Voters don’t have all of that information at their fingertips,” Hilden pointed out. “It is up to state governments, public health agencies, the federal government, to do that scientific inquiry into the benefits and the harms, and then put some safeguards in place.”
This Election Day will be the third time recreational cannabis use has gone to voters in South Dakota.
LINCOLN, NE ( Deborah Van Fleet / Nebraska News Connection) – Nebraska legislators are in the first full week of the special session focused on Gov. Jim Pillen’s goal of decreasing property taxes by as much as 50%.
Among the groups keeping a close eye on the session and the governor’s proposal is the Nebraska nonpartisan fiscal research organization OpenSky Policy Institute.
Rebecca Firestone, executive director of the institute, acknowledged they are still analyzing Pillen’s plan and modeling its potential effects. She said it appears it would provide “substantial property cuts for large landowners,” many of whom don’t live in Nebraska.
“For the large portion of Nebraskans who do not own property, what we’re looking at is a tax increase for them,” Firestone argued. “It’s a tax increase on some core aspects of daily living that for many Nebraskans of modest means will be hard.”
Firestone cites sales taxes on automotive repair services as an example of a necessary service likely to become more expensive under this plan. A few of the other services to add sales taxes are veterinary services, hair cutting and legal services.
A document on the governor’s website maintains with sales taxes, people are “in control,” because they can decide what to purchase, when to purchase it and how much they are willing to pay.
In addition to new sales taxes, funding for the governor’s plan would come from budget cuts, including to behavioral health, developmental disabilities and other health and human services programs. Firestone called the cuts unsustainable, potentially harmful and lacking in transparency.
“The methodology driving those cuts, which is from this contractor Epiphany and Associates, has not been made public to the people of Nebraska,” Firestone pointed out. “Which is what the legislative process is for, and that needs to be a part of any rationale for budget cuts.”
Firestone noted while OpenSky “appreciates the scope and ambition” of Pillen’s plan, such a “major overhaul” of the state’s revenue system warrants more than a special session.
“The Legislature must have the ability to exercise its oversight over how the state spends its money,” Firestone contended. “To sort of redo that in a special session doesn’t allow the kind of deliberation and careful scrutiny that our state budget deserves.”
Pillen’s website document states at the current rate of increase, property taxes in Nebraska will be increasing by $6 billion annually by 2026.
MADISON, S.D. (South Dakota News Watch) – A seed planted by South Dakota legislative and higher education leaders four decades ago has blossomed into one of the nation’s top high-tech universities located in a small city in the rural midsection of the state.
The story of how Dakota State University rose to become a powerhouse in cyber technology academics, job creation and research is one of ingenuity, strong leadership and a bit of fortuitous timing.
Those factors have combined to build DSU into a university that has received well over $140 million in public and private donations over the past decade. The university has developed numerous working partnerships with government and private industry, and it’s expanding its campus with a massive research and development facility in Sioux Falls. Soon, DSU could become a leader in research into the world’s next major technology breakthrough in quantum computers.
And it all began at a time when the future of the entire university itself was in question.
In 1984, the South Dakota Board of Regents, under pressure to cut its budget, closed its Springfield campus and the state turned it into a women’s prison. The late Gov. Bill Janklow that spring also signed a law that changed DSU’s mission to focus on technology in all academic programs, a hopeful effort called, “A Brand New Day.”
The decision to reinvent a teacher’s college founded in 1881 into a technology-focused university in a somewhat isolated rural city of 6,000 people may, in retrospect, seem like a risky move.
But as told by current DSU President Jose-Marie Griffiths, the new focus on tech dovetailed with the decision by financial giant Citibank to move its credit card operation to Sioux Falls, an hour’s drive from Madison.
“Citibank was in need of mainframe programmers. And as a result of that, somebody came up with the idea that, well, we could turn this college that’s fumbling a little bit into a computer school with software development and engineering,” Griffiths told News Watch. “That way, we could supply the needed programmers to the Sioux Falls workforce for Citibank and ultimately for others, and I guess the advantage of proximity was in favor of Madison.”
In 1984, while still known as Dakota State College, a name used until 1989, the initial jump into technology came with the creation of a bachelor’s degree in computer science using a curriculum from IBM. With a mix of private and public funding, the university was able to slowly but consistently expand its facilities and academic offerings, she said.
In the early 2000s, a further step forward came when DSU began to focus on cyber security.
Enrollment has risen steadily, from 867 in 1985 to 1,801 in 2000 and to 3,509 in 2023. The number of female students enrolled in technology programs has jumped about 300% in recent years, according to DSU data.
DSU now offers 44 degrees, including seven master’s degrees and four doctoral programs. Upon graduation, 99.7% of students in 2022 got jobs or went further in their educational journey, the university said.
In her time at the helm, Griffiths has pushed for funding and infrastructure to conduct research and develop doctoral programs..
In 2017, DSU launched the Madison Cyber Labs, or MadLabs, facility on campus. An $18 million research building is at the heart of what overall was a $40 million program to expand research into cyber security, digital forensics, machine learning and artificial intelligence, among others.
Up next for DSU is an expansion into Sioux Falls, where thanks to roughly $100 million in combined public and private funds, DSU will build an off-campus Applied Research Lab on the city’s northwest side.
DSU’s next big venture will be to lead a multi-campus effort to expand research in South Dakota into quantum computers, which are far faster and more capable than any of the largest, most complex supercomputers.
“Obviously, there’s a sense of excitement around innovation because it doesn’t just happen everywhere,” said Griffiths, 72, who told News Watch her job as DSU president will be her last before retirement.
Alexis Kulm of Sioux Falls said she had several employment options upon graduation from DSU in December 2022 with a degree in cyber operations.
Kulm, 23, took a job at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, where she works at the secure operations center, helping keep computer systems and information safe from errors or outside cyber attacks.
“What I heard a lot during the interview process was, ‘Oh, you’re from DSU, I know about them,’” she said. “It’s a small school, but it’s very well known.”
The growing influence of DSU in the cyber security realm was highlighted when the university attracted Jen Easterly, director of the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, as the keynote speaker at its DakotaCon event in March.
“The ideas generated at forums like this are just further proof that it doesn’t matter the size of the university. It’s really about the power of innovation and the focus on collaboration and the cutting edge of emerging technology that really makes this place something truly miraculous,” Easterly said.
After graduating from DSU with a master’s degree in 2006, Jon Waldman and fellow graduate Chad Knutson started an information security company.
Over the past 20 years, SBS CyberSecurity, headquartered in Madison has grown to include 90 employees with clients in 49 states that include the nation’s largest turkey farm and the Graceland Mansion tourist attraction.
“DSU might be smaller in size, but what they do for their students is so powerful,” Waldman said. “They’ve been on the forefront of what the cyber industry really needs for the last 25 years or more.”
This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization. Read more in-depth stories at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they’re published. Contact Bart Pfankuch at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.
LINCOLN, NE – A lawsuit was filed on Monday challenging the Nebraska Secretary of State’s order to stop felons from registering to vote.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska and national law firm Faegre Drinker brought the challenge on behalf of three individual plaintiffs and Civic Nebraska, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group.
The legal team wants the Nebraska Supreme Court to compel Secretary of State Robert Evnen to issue voter registration applications according to voter restoration laws and to stop disqualifying voters with past felony convictions. They also want local election commissioners to allow felons who have completed their sentences to register to vote. They asked the court to bypass lower courts to speed up the process.
This lawsuit responds to Evnen’s recent directive, following Attorney General Mike Hilgers’ opinion, to halt registering felons who haven’t been pardoned. Hilgers said only the Nebraska Board of Pardons can restore voting rights.
Since 2005, Nebraska allowed felons to vote two years after completing their sentences. This year, state lawmakers removed the two-year wait.
“It is hard to overstate how much is at stake. Unless the courts step in, our state’s top elections official will stop our clients and thousands of other Nebraskans from having a say in this November’s election. These are Nebraskans who have done their time, who by state law have a right to vote, and who are working, paying taxes and contributing to our communities. We are confident in the constitutionality of the laws that these officials want to ignore, and we are ready to make our case to make sure that every eligible voter can participate in our democracy.”
The plaintiffs include T.J. King, Gregory Spung and Jeremy Jonak, Nebraskans who want to vote in the upcoming November election. Civic Nebraska also hopes to register newly eligible voters but is hindered by Evnen’s order.
“We have paid our debt in full, and we should be fully included in our democracy. Being a productive member of society comes with many responsibilities, including jobs, bills and taxes. Those are essential, and so is having a say in who represents us and how tax dollars are spent.”
T.J. King, plaintiff
“To me, this is about being fully part of society now that I have made up for a past mistake. There is an important election ahead of us, and I was excited that I could be part of it. All we are asking is for officials to follow the law and let us vote.”
Gregory Sprung, plaintiff
“Once someone has done their time, they deserve a second chance. I firmly believe that. I hope I can help make a difference — not just for my sake — but everyone else who has earned their second chance and has a right to vote.”
Jeremy Jonak, plaintiff
According to Nebraska’s Voting Rights Restoration Coalition, at least 7,000 Nebraskans should be newly eligible to vote this year due to the law change.
SIOUX CITY, IA – A second data processing center, better known as a Bitcoin mine, could be on the way to Woodbury County if approved by county officials next week.
Bitcoin mines have proved controversial across the United States. They’re big customers for electric companies, and they add to the tax base. But they can be loud and bothersome to rural residents looking for peace and quiet.
The Woodbury County Board of Adjustment will vote on a permit for the project at 6 p.m. next Monday, Aug. 5 in the basement of the county courthouse.
Right now in the county, off a quiet gravel road outside Salix, Iowa, there is a Bitcoin mine that hums behind an electrical substation.
Soon, a second mine could be on the way and this one could be closer to rural homes.
“It appears, at least with these two in Woodbury County, that they tend to like to locate them near those utility substations,” said Daniel Priestley, Woodbury County’s zoning coordinator.
The second Bitcoin mine would be located at 170th Street and Kossuth Avenue, west of Correctionville and south of Highway 20. Priestley says the nearest home would be about 1,100 feet away from the site. However, under county rules, only landowners within 500 feet are notified by mail of a conditional use request.
Over in Stanton County, Nebraska, some homeowners there live farther away from a larger mine, and they complain of nearly non-stop frustration from the noise.
“And we encourage all concerned citizens to come forward and offer input, anybody that’s experienced these before,” said Priestley.
Woodbury County doesn’t have a specific ordinance when it comes to Bitcoin mines, so the applicants, AUR Correctionville, and the landowners, Ashley Acres Family Limited Partnership, will need to request a conditional use permit.
If a mining company just needs a conditional use permit then the final say goes to the appointed members of the Board of Adjustment but if a mining company needs to actually rezone the land the mine sits on then the final say is given to the elected Woodbury County Board of Supervisors.
The mine already passed through the advisory Woodbury County Zoning Commission. According to commission documents, county staff said “it will be essential” to minimize noises coming from the facility. The commission is the first step in receiving a conditional use permit, though the board of adjustment is free to vote down the permit even after it’s approved by the commission.
In other words, the commission gives a recommendation to the board of adjustment.
Other than noise, county staff didn’t find any other factors that would impact the neighborhood, traffic, parking or utilities. Staff did recommend the use of security fencing and lighting to protect the project.
The applicants wrote the site will employ two full-time technicians earning $26 per hour, with housing and healthcare provided by AUR Correctionville. The company will also offer internships to students at local colleges and use local contractors to build the site.
“There will not be disruption to the land, neighborhood or surrounding property,” AUR Correctionville wrote in its application. “The location of the site is directly beside the substation, (and) the land is not utilized in farming culture.”
AUR Correctionville noted the land is currently zoned as agricultural, meaning it has no neighborhood or historic features. The company does not need to re-zone the land, just earn a conditional use permit.
Priestley said Woodbury County’s elected officials could choose to make a specific Bitcoin mine ordinance if enough interest was generated.
The Bitcoin mine in Stanton County, which has generated complaints, is larger than the current mine near Salix and the proposed mine near Correctionville. While the decibels in Salix registered between 50-70 on Monday, the decibels reached as high as 88 at the site in Stanton County earlier this year.
Two storage containers would be placed at the site near Correctionville, and two appear on site near Salix, while roughly 10 are on site in Stanton.
According to Carnegie Mellon University, Bitcoin miners solve difficult math problems to create blocks, which are just groups of transactions. Once the miner solves the math problems first, the transactions inside of those blocks are now cemented in time, verifying the transactions as valid.
For their efforts, miners are awarded Bitcoin which can be traded for U.S. dollars, or other currency.
According to the conditional use application, the mine would even the supply and demand of power near the adjacent electrical substation.
Priestley encourages all Woodbury County residents to monitor the zoning commission and adjustment board to remain aware of changes to their neighborhood because while the elected supervisors are the most public face of county government, they aren’t the only part.
