SOUTH SIOUX CITY, NE – Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has called for a special session of the Nebraska legislature to look at property tax reform.

Pillen said property tax relief is critical for keeping Nebraska competitive and vital and he believes special interest groups are the reasons why the property tax reform bill didn’t pass during the last legislative session.

To pay for property tax relief Pillen hopes lawmakers will vote to remove sales tax exemptions and broaden the state sales tax. One example is moving the sales tax exemption on bottled soda. Right now, it’s not taxed but Pillen says fountain soda is. Another example is increasing the sales tax on tobacco. Right now, Nebraska has a a $0.64 cigarette tax, which is the tenth-lowest in the country according to the American Lung Association.

Pillen wants to address preliminary property tax valuations, which have increased state-wide. Nearly two-thirds of Nebraska’s counties had double-digit valuation increases.

The special session is scheduled to start July 26 and could last through Aug. 15.  Pillen said the session will last as long as it needs to get done.

 

FLANDREAU, S.D. – The capital murder trial of Joseph Hoek, accused of killing Moody County Deputy Sheriff Ken Prorok in a hit-and-run incident, is set to proceed in Moody County.

The next hearing is scheduled for June 20 at 11 a.m.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley is leading the prosecution, seeking the death penalty.

Hoek faces charges of first-degree murder and aggravated eluding after allegedly swerving to hit Prorok, who was laying down a spike strip during a high-speed chase on February 2.

The prosecution argues that Hoek’s actions warrant the death penalty as the murder occurred while Prorok was performing his official duties and to avoid lawful arrest. Hoek has pleaded not guilty.

The courtroom is expected to be filled with emotional supporters from both sides, including Prorok’s family, colleagues, and fellow law enforcement officers.

 

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) – The top election official in South Dakota’s most-populated county continued to cast doubt Tuesday on past election results reported by the county, while explaining plans to recount the results of two elections by hand and saying 132 ballots rejected during the June 4 primary will remain omitted from the official count.

Dozens of people crowded into a Minnehaha County Commission meeting in downtown Sioux Falls to hear County Auditor Leah Anderson’s comments.

Anderson, a Republican elected in 2022, has associated with people who refuse to accept the results of the 2020 election. Last week, Anderson appeared in an online interview with election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell, the CEO of the MyPillow company.

Anderson announced in a news release last week that she reviewed digital data from the 2020 presidential election in Minnehaha County, saying there were “alarming” discrepancies between the official canvassing results and audit logs. Anderson alleged there were over 24,000 ballots unaccounted for by tabulator machines, based on the data she reviewed. She presented a screenshot of a spreadsheet of her findings to the county commission Tuesday morning.

Anderson told reporters after the meeting she plans to open the sealed ballots cast during the 2020 election, review them all by hand and check them against the canvassed results from the election. She told commissioners the full audit will take more than a couple of weeks.

She told South Dakota Searchlight she will confer with the Minnehaha County state’s attorney about the process, since it’s “not clearly covered in South Dakota codified law,” and that any audit would be public and conducted by an auditing board.

“I will move forward with it until someone tells me legally I can’t,” Anderson said.

County Commissioner Joe Kippley told Anderson it’s “irresponsible” to release her findings when the county has just finished its primary election and is planning to recount three close races and conduct a 100% post-election hand recount in the next week.

“To release this and a screenshot of a spreadsheet that’s supposed to be some smoking gun, there’s just no ‘there’ there. And to release that halfway through? That would be my critique of the conduct here,” Kippley said. “If we’re looking for faith and credibility and integrity in a process, we should follow that process.”

Rachel Soulek, director of the Division of Elections for the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office, said in an emailed statement that Anderson is making “some big claims she never brought forward to our office.”

Soulek added that no discrepancies were found when the 2020 election results were canvassed days after the election. Soulek also suggested that the data Anderson reviewed might not be complete, since counties are only required to keep election materials for 22 months after the election.

“They were able to start ridding and recycling materials well before Ms. Anderson took office,” Soulek said, in part. “… Ms. Anderson’s claims are mostly taken out of context of what is fact, and used to run her own narrative.”

Minnehaha County Commissioner Dean Karsky said he supports Anderson’s plans.

“I, for one, am looking forward to an explanation of the 24,508 ballot difference,” Anderson said. “It’s the auditor’s job to find that, and if something is there I’d like to know about it, what it is.”

Anderson plans to conduct a full hand recount of the county’s June 4 primary results at 10 a.m. on June 25 in the Minnehaha County Administration Building. The ballots were originally tabulated by machines.

Anderson will direct 51 workers to audit all 13,058 primary ballots, which she estimates will take three hours to complete. State statute requires a post-election audit of only 5% of ballots, but Anderson said that isn’t “adequate.”

At $18 an hour and including breaks and training, she said that’ll cost the county about $4,500 — though she added that some workers have elected to volunteer or not accept payment for their time.

“For anyone who says they’d like to volunteer that time, we’re going to make sure we have that documented ahead of time,” Anderson told commissioners.

Moody County, north of Minnehaha County, conducted its post-election audit on June 13. Auditor Tawny Heinemann said it took her counting board of five people about an hour to audit 104 ballots for two races.

“It was very similar to our mock post-election audit time,” Heinemann said. “Seeing and hearing from other auditors who’ve wrapped up their post-election audits, it seems pretty consistent: An hour for a hundred votes is kind of what I’m seeing, with most doing two races.”

Heinemann added that “everything checked out and balanced” for Moody County’s post-election audit. Counties have 15 days after the state canvass to conduct their post-election audit.

Minnehaha County’s 100% post-election audit will follow a recount of three close local races on June 24 at 9 a.m.

Kevin and Carol Alishouse don’t have a brick and mortar residence. They drive an RV and use the DakotaPost mail forwarding service when they’re out of state.

Since they list the mail forwarding service as their voter registration address, they are placed in a “voting reservation,” Kevin said. Precinct 4-16 in Minnehaha County consists only of DakotaPost clients. Your Best Address mail forwarding service is Precinct 5-16.

A precinct board rejected 132 absentee ballots in Precinct 4-16 during the primary election after the president of the South Dakota Canvassing Group, Jessica Pollema, challenged the ballots. Pollema also challenged ballots cast in Precinct 5-16, but those ballots were not thrown out.

The challenges were based on a South Dakota law that requires voters to live within the state for at least 30 days before registering to vote.

Now the Alishouses are worried their votes in the presidential election in November will be challenged and thrown out, Carol told commissioners. The Alishouses’ ballots were one of the 41 accepted in Precinct 4-16 during the primary.

“We are now discriminating against a group of people who South Dakota welcomed and wanted their money. You take my taxes very willingly — thousands and thousands of dollars we pay here. We have concealed-carry licenses, we have hunting licenses,” Carol said.

Auditor Leah Anderson said the rejected ballots will not be included in recounted races.

Meanwhile, Pennington County Auditor Cindy Mohler told South Dakota Searchlight that ballots cast in the primary election through mail forwarding services in the western South Dakota county were also challenged. The county’s absentee board dismissed the challenge.

Amber Hobert, president of DakotaPost, said 173 of the company’s 5,400 customers voted in the June primary — 132 of the ballots were rejected, and 41 were accepted.

Customers who list DakotaPost on their voter registration forms are legal South Dakota residents, Hobert said. They have to provide a copy of their South Dakota driver’s license when they register to vote (or the last four digits of their Social Security number), and the business ensures that customers are present in-person when they sign up and provide two forms of ID approved through the U.S. Postal Service.

“These people are United States citizens. They’re citizens of South Dakota, and the Constitution protects the right to vote,” Hobert said. “I don’t think the 30-day law is very well crafted, and there are some serious legal concerns around the law.”

 

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Cyber threats and challenges are a normal part of today’s digital landscape. Addressing them requires a dedicated effort from everyone in society, including governmental agencies and academic institutions.

A new consortium between Dakota State University (DSU), the South Dakota Fusion Center (SDFC), and the state Bureau of Information and Telecommunications (BIT) will blend their capabilities to effect cybercrime prevention, intelligence, digital forensics, and open-source intelligence (OSINT) operations.

“As cybercriminals increasingly target our local governments and essential services, the South Dakota Cybercrime Prevention Consortium is critical for South Dakota,” said Dr. Ashley Podhradsky, Vice President for Research & Economic Development. “This partnership strengthens our defense against those who threaten our security and daily life. Together, we are building a safer, more secure future for every citizen in our state.”

The South Dakota Cybercrime Prevention Consortium will capitalize on the purpose and strengths of each entity. DSU brings its academic and research capabilities, particularly with cybersecurity and digital forensics. The SDFC will serve as a sentinel to guard against cyber threats and ensure the digital safety of the region, with a focus on intelligence and cyber intelligence.

“The South Dakota Fusion Center is excited to join a partnership of experts in the field of cyber security to protect and provide leadership for the entire state in cyber security,” said Paul Niedringhaus, director of the SDFC, which is an agency of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.

BIT brings its expertise at protecting the state against cyber threats and ensuring its digital safety, with a focus on cyber threat prevention.

“South Dakota State Government prioritizes efficient and secure services to our citizens through technology, and as such, we are not immune to the evolving cyber threats that plague our interconnected world. Joining this Cybercrime Prevention Consortium amplifies our capabilities by pooling knowledge, resources, and expertise from across sectors,” said Miguel Penaranda, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer. “This collaboration is essential for staying ahead of sophisticated cybercriminals, safeguarding our state’s digital assets, and ensuring the resilience of our critical infrastructure. By working together, we can create a stronger, more secure digital environment for all South Dakotans.”

The Consortium’s objectives are to work together on proactive measures like research that will prevent cyber threats, collaborate on investigations by optimizing resources and expertise. The group will also work to gather and analyze OSINT, and mitigate the risk of cyber threats by engaging in security assessments and analyzing cyberattacks against government resources.

The DSU Applied Research building, currently under construction in Sioux Falls, will house the consortium.

 

ST. PAUL, MN (Mike Moen / Minnesota News Connection) – Minnesota is sorting out details ahead of trying to meet its 100% carbon-free electricity goal by 2040.

Some environmental advocates feel energy sources being floated to regulators would defeat the purpose of the new law. The state’s Public Utilities Commission is accepting public comment until July 10 on which technologies should make the list of energy options defined under the law. Utilities, advocacy organizations and others are lining up with their input.

Hudson Kingston, legal director for the group Clean Up the River Environment, worried certain recommendations he feels are dubious will make the final cut.

“Comments suggesting that burning wood, burning biomass, burning trash are all — in some people’s way of thinking — carbon free, even though when you burn things like trash or wood, you are emitting quite a lot of carbon,” Kingston pointed out.

The Minnesota Forest Resources Partnership contended burning limbs from harvested trees, or wood left over from fires or disease restoration projects, is a viable substitute for fossil-fuel production. The group said there would also be reductions in harmful sulfur and mercury going into the air. Initial public comments will be accepted by June 28. The deadline for reply comments is July 10.

Kingston noted bringing the definition into focus has a lot to do with what is considered a renewable energy source versus green technology emitting no carbon at all.

“It was a political decision a while ago that burning certain things could be considered a renewable,” Kingston explained. “But under the carbon-free standard, there is no such list from the Legislature that gives burning things an out.”

Even with regulators seeking clarity through public comment, Kingston feels the new law is clear in only leaning on proven carbon-free sources. In adopting the landmark policy last year, Minnesota leaders allowed for other exceptions, namely “offramps” for utilities struggling to meet the standard if clean-energy technologies are too costly or hinder grid reliability.

 

IOWA Undated (Mark Moran / Iowa News Service) – Researchers in Iowa say changes in an Alzheimer’s patients’ brain can occur at least 20 years before they are diagnosed with the disease and they are calling for more education about early warning signs of dementia during Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month.

There are at least 7 million people age 65 and older in the U.S. living with Alzheimer’s and 62,000 of them are in Iowa.

Abby Miesner, development manager for the Alzheimer’s Association of Iowa, said despite time and money being spent on research, the risk is going up at a younger age and the numbers are discouraging.

“The lifetime risk for Alzheimer’s at age 45 is one in five for women, and one in 10 for men,” Miesner pointed out.

Miesner noted the numbers hold true across the board for Blacks and Latinos as well. She adds as doctors have learned signs and symptoms could start to occur at an earlier age, they are paying attention to signs sooner.

Miesner explained occasionally misplacing your keys or forgetting why you went into a room are not always cause for concern but repeatedly forgetting things as part of your everyday life could be.

Meisner added earlier detection gives doctors a chance to intervene sooner in a patient’s life.

“As many as 40% of dementia cases may be attributed to modifiable risk factors,” Meisner emphasized. “Things like having too high of blood pressure or not enough physical activity, lack of exercise. Things like that, getting good sleep. All of those things are so important.”

All can be controlled by developing healthy habits. A 2022 report from the Alzheimer’s Association showed 60% of people will put off seeing a doctor if they develop symptoms early on, waiting until the symptoms worsen, or family and friends encourage them to seek treatment.

The Association is holding educational events statewide all month.