PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – The longstanding official social media accounts belonging to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem appear to have been deleted without explanation.
The accounts on Facebook, Instagram and X, the site formerly known as Twitter, had hundreds of thousands of followers and as of Monday, links to them on the governor’s official website led to pages that said the accounts were no longer active.
A fourth link from the governor’s website to her official YouTube page remained active, as did Noem’s personal accounts on Facebook, Instagram and X.
A new X account for the governor’s office was created this month and had just over 300 followers as of Monday morning, far fewer than the roughly half-million of her old account.
Noem spokesperson Ian Fury pointed The Associated Press to that account as the source for official updates from the governor’s office but declined to answer questions about her old accounts, including whether they were deleted by Noem or her office.
The governor, who was once thought to be a vice presidential contender for former Republican President Donald Trump ‘s 2024 ticket, has been the target of a steady stream of hateful messages for killing a rambunctious puppy since The Guardian in April revealed the details she wrote in her new book.
She tried to reframe the story from two decades ago as an example of her willingness to make tough decisions. She wrote on social media that the 14-month-old wirehaired pointer named Cricket had shown aggressive behavior by biting.
Noem also has faced backlash from within South Dakota for comments she made earlier this year about tribal leaders benefitting from drug cartels. Several tribes have banned Noem from their reservations.
DEUEL COUNTY, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – An energy company has applied to construct another wind farm in northeastern South Dakota.
The company is Chicago-based Invenergy. It wants to build up to 68 turbines through its South Dakota subsidiary, Deuel Harvest Wind Energy South. The turbines would be spread across 54 square miles of privately owned land near the small town of Brandt in Deuel County. The project’s estimated cost is $621 million.
The “south” in the project’s name distinguishes it from the 109-turbine Deuel Harvest Wind Farm, which Invenergy completed in 2021 and sold to Atlanta-based Southern Power.
The new project would be located about six miles south of the existing Deuel Harvest wind farm. Another wind farm, Tatanka Ridge, is adjacent to the southwest edge of the proposed project area. If the new project is approved and built, it would raise the number of wind turbines in Deuel County to 233.
The new project could deliver up to 250 megawatts of electricity. South Dakota ranks 13th in the nation with 3,462 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity, according to the American Wind Power Association.
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission issued a public notice Wednesday about Invenergy’s application. People with a direct interest in the project have until Aug. 27 to apply for “intervenor” status, which would allow them to participate in hearings, file motions, request facts or documents, and engage in other aspects of the permitting process.
The new application says Invenergy will not use eminent domain, which is a legal procedure to obtain land from unwilling landowners.
“South Deuel Wind has entered into long-term, voluntary lease and easement agreements for the placement of Project Facilities with private landowners within the Project Area,” the application says.
Invenergy estimates the project will generate payments to landowners totaling $78 million over the next 30 years, and property tax revenue generated for local governments will total $38 million during the same period. The project is expected to create 243 jobs during construction and eight long-term operational jobs.
While Invenergy was working on its previous project, some local residents challenged special exception permits issued to the company by Deuel County. The permits were ultimately upheld by the state Supreme Court.
Over the project’s lifespan, it will provide substantial property tax revenue:
– Total school district revenue: $13.0 million
– County property taxes (Deuel County): $9.1 million
– State property taxes (South Dakota): $11.9 million
– Total property taxes across all taxing districts: $38.0 million
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Patrick Lalley / Sioux Falls Live)– The Argus Leader is taking the City of Sioux Falls to court over a decision to end a decades-long business relationship to publish legal notices, which could influence tens of thousands of dollars in local government spending for at least a year.
The City Council voted unanimously on June 5 to move the required posting of the information to The Dakota Scout, a nearly two-year-old news operation that publishes online and through a weekly, freely-distributed newspaper.
That vote was the culmination of an effort by the co-founders of The Dakota Scout, both former Argus Leader reporters, to convince the State Legislature to make alterations to the law that made the organization eligible to publish legals. That law went into effect on July 1.
During the discussion leading up to the June vote, councilors said they were inclined to make the switch because The Dakota Scout is locally owned and the rates were lower than the Argus Leader, which is part of Gannett, a publicly traded company that operates more than 200 daily news outlets.
But on Monday, lawyers representing the Argus Leader filed documents claiming that The Dakota Scout doesn’t qualify as a legal newspaper because it didn’t file the necessary paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office. State law requires that newspapers file a sworn statement of ownership before Jan. 1, and freely-distributed newspapers submit to a circulation audit to be eligible.
The Dakota Scout did not file the ownership document on time so the court should require the city to place the legals in the Argus Leader until at least July 1, 2025, the newspaper argues.
Jonathan Ellis and Joe Sneve, who launched The Dakota Scout in 2022, don’t dispute the fact they didn’t file the paperwork before Jan. 1. That’s because the Legislature didn’t change the law until earlier this year.
The documents in question were filed on June 27.
The point of contention then is whether The Dakota Scout must wait until next year to be eligible, thereby making the City Council’s vote invalid.
On July 1, the Secretary of State’s Office forwarded the paperwork to David Bordewyk, executive director of the South Dakota NewsMedia Association, to confirm the status of The Dakota Scout.
“Yes, this is in compliance with the new legal newspaper law requirements implemented per (the new law). Most newspapers will continue to file their annual statements of ownership late in the year,” Bordewyk wrote in the email obtained by Sioux Falls Live.
Both news organizations are members of the SDNA, which Bordewyk leads and lobbies on behalf of at the Legislature. He declined to comment further when contacted by Sioux Falls Live.
Sioux Falls City Attorney Dave Pfeifle declined comment as the city had not been served the paperwork as of mid-day Monday, as did city councilors.
Ellis and Sneve said Monday they believe because the new law didn’t exist on Jan. 1, they wouldn’t qualify and couldn’t file the paperwork.
“In an era in which conglomerate media companies continue to lay off employees, downsize operations and transfer basic functions out of state, the Legislature chose to expand the types of publications that qualify as legal newspapers of record for the communities they serve,” Ellis and Sneve said in a statement to Sioux Falls Live. “The Dakota Scout complies with these new requirements, and on July 1 became the newspaper of record for Sioux Falls. We look forward to doing the same for other local governments as we continue to serve our readers with local and state news. Gannett would be better off spending its money on hiring local reporters than filing frivolous lawsuits.”
The decision could mean an estimated $70,000 – the current annual average spent with the Argus Leader – could move to The Dakota Scout. That’s just the City of Sioux Falls. Other local governments could also make the switch.
In fact, the Sioux Falls School Board on Monday voted unanimously, without discussion, to designate The Dakota Scout as its legal newspaper.
The district spends between $30,000 and $40,000 a year on legal notices, said Business Manager Todd Vik, who estimates that will be about 30 percent less with The Dakota Scout.
Susan Patterson Plank, vice president of public notice strategic transformation for Gannett, who spoke to the City Council in June, declined to comment when contacted by Sioux Falls Live on Monday.
The company’s corporate communications and public relations department forwarded a statement, 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. We strongly encourage the Sioux Falls City Council to continue relying on The Argus Leader as the premier source for these important advertisements,” the statement reads.
The debate and legal action come as the Argus Leader, as well as Gannett-owned newspapers in Aberdeen and Watertown, are experiencing ever-shrinking circulation and criticism from local officials about coverage. While the Sioux Falls paper employs a handful of local reporters and photographers, Watertown and Aberdeen have had periods of time with no local news staff.
That, in part, fueled the move to change the state law and allow alternative outlets for legal notice publication, such as The Dakota Scout.
A key element was the support of the SDNA – formerly the South Dakota Newspaper Association – which began admitting a wider array of outlets, including digital-only, such as Sioux Falls Live, South Dakota Searchlight and South Dakota News Watch.
The SDNA had previously opposed altering state law, but this year cooperated with The Dakota Scout and others to support the change. With that formidable opposition removed, which included the state’s many weekly newspapers, the law sailed through.
It’s a significant opportunity for some start-up publications to access a reliable source of revenue while fulfilling a core public mission of community journalism.
“The part that gets lost is that it is a valuable service to the community,” said Jon Hunter, the publisher emeritus of the Madison Daily Leader and former president and board member of the SDNA.
Hunter pointed out that the legals are still a good deal for local governments to communicate directly with citizens, versus trying to buy advertising directly. The information is printed in the paper but it’s also distributed locally through a trusted source on the internet, all for the same price.
These news outlets are getting paid for a service like any other vendor in a community. The local governments – cities, counties, school boards – are given the opportunity to speak directly to the voters.
Absent the truth, people will make up their own,” said Hunter, who also is a member of the South Dakota Newspaper Hall of Fame. “Go ahead and tell what you did and don’t make it a conspiracy or set yourself up for people saying that it’s all happening behind closed doors. This is your chance to set the record straight and a chance to create public trust. If you don’t do that people will create distrust.”
A hearing on the Argus Leader request has not yet been scheduled.
RAPID CITY, S.D. – Rapid City Police say an app-based food delivery driver called the police after discovering her vehicle had been stolen with her young child inside while making a delivery.
The incident happened Saturday morning on 7th Street.
Police spotted the suspected stolen car while en-route to the call traveling westbound at a high rate of speed along Anamosa Street. The suspect then reportedly struck another car while traveling through the intersection of Anamosa Street and Haines Avenue. The car continued through the intersection and turned north onto Atlas Street before at 1325 Atlas Street.
The juvenile driver allegedly fled on foot into the building. Police pursued him on foot and watched him reportedly jump from a third-story window. In checking the surrounding area, the juvenile was located and stopped in the area of 1207 N. 7th Street.
Police reported a strong smell of alcohol coming from the juvenile. He was detained and entered into the appropriate channels of the juvenile justice system.
The young child, who had been in the passenger seat of the car, sustained only minor injuries and was taken to the hospital for assessment.
The case is being transferred to the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office.
SIOUX CITY, IA – A pursuit Sunday in Sioux City ended in the parking of a local candy store and resulted in a teenager being arrested.
According to court documents, 18-year-old Ktwo Moses is facing several charges including eluding, operating without owner’s consent and operating while under the influence.
Court documents show at about 4:40 a.m. Sunday an officer saw an SUV running a stop sign at W. 18th Street and Geneva Street in Sioux City.
Sioux City Police say, in court documents, an officer tried to pull over the SUV and it did stop momentarily before taking off, driving recklessly away from officers.
The SUV was seen again by Sioux City Police when it was being pursued from South Sioux City, Nebraska. Police say the SUV was going 70 mph on Wesley Parkway in Sioux City, where the speed limit is 35 mph. At one point, police say the SUV crossed the median and went in the opposing lane, nearly striking an officer who was on foot trying to deploy stop sticks.
The SUV’s driver, who police later identified as Moses, struck a curb by Palmer’s Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe, and the SUV was disabled by the damage. The SUV ended up in the parking lot of the store.
When police took Moses into custody, they saw he had signs of being intoxicated. A test determined he had a blood alcohol content of .130.
