HARTINGTON, NE – The Nebraska State Patrol is seeking information on the whereabouts of a Yankton man who fled from law enforcement in South Dakota and Nebraska Wednesday.
The NSP says that around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, they were informed that the South Dakota Highway Patrol was in pursuit of a motorcycle that was traveling southbound toward Nebraska.
The rider, identified as 47-year old Jason Sitzman of Yankton had an Iowa warrant out for his arrest. According to NSP, the warrant was for violating parole and was connected to a charge of possession with the intent to deliver meth.
The South Dakota trooper discontinued the pursuit at the Nebraska border and hours later, the NSP learned that the subject may be located at the Chalkrock Wildlife Management Area in northern Cedar County.
Law enforcement searched the area and found the motorcycle, but not the suspect.
Anyone with information regarding Sitzman’s whereabouts is asked to call the Nebraska State Patrol at 402-370-3456.
PIERRE, S.D. – Travel South Dakota’s Tourism Advertising Promotion (TAP) Grant program has awarded $163,110 to 19 groups. The grants aim to assist South Dakota’s tourism industry and increase visitation to tourism-related events.
James Hagen, Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Tourism, expressed his excitement about the initiative. “From local events to large celebrations, South Dakota events of all kinds will be able to use these funds to celebrate the unique parts of our state,” he said.
The TAP Grant program funds assist in marketing tourism-related events such as festivals, concerts, rodeos, and powwows. While the program primarily targets events in smaller towns, cities, and rural areas of the state, entities, and events of all sizes were encouraged to apply. The grants range from $1,000 to $10,000.
Grants include:
Arlington Days, 2024 – Arlington Area Chamber of Commerce – $5,291
Rally Event in Belle Fourche, 2024 – Center of the Nation Business Association – $10,000
Deadwood Mardi Gras, 2025 – Deadwood Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau – $10,000
Eurekafest, 2024 – Eureka German-Russian Schmeckfest, LLC – $3,500
South Dakota Chislic Festival, 2024 – South Dakota Chislic Festival – $10,000
Jesse James Days, 2025 – Garretson Commercial Club – $10,000
Geddes 125th Anniversary/Geddes Fur Trader Days, 2025 – Geddes Historical Society – $10,000
Sunflower Festival, 2025 – Highmore Area Council of the Arts – $2,500
1880 Train Holiday Express, 2024 – 1880 Train/Black Hills Central Railroad – $10,000
Irene Rodeo, 2025 – Irene Rodeo Association – $7,300
The Haunting of Keystone, 2024 – Holy Terror Days, Inc./The Haunting of Keystone – $10,000
Neutrino Day, 2024 – SURF Foundation – $9,869
Sitting Bull Stampede, 2025 – Mobridge Rodeo, Inc. – $10,000
Back Forty Beef and Adventure Farm, 2024 – Back Forty Beef and Adventure Farm – $10,000
Oahe Winter Festival, 2024 – Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce – $10,000
Chinook Days, 2025 – Chinook Days, LLC – $10,000
Sturgis Art Festival & Legendary Sturgis Battle of the Bands, 2025 – Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce – $9,800
Pumpkin Fest, 2024 – Webster Area Chamber of Commerce – $4,850
Mazing Acres’ Fall Festival, 2024 – Mazing Acres Pumpkin Patch – $10,000
The South Dakota Department of Tourism comprises Travel South Dakota and the South Dakota Arts Council. Secretary James D. Hagen leads the Department
CUSTER, S.D. (Joshua Haiar / SD Searchlight) – The U.S. Forest Service has given the go-ahead for a Minnesota company to drill holes in search of gold near Custer.
Minneapolis-based F3 Gold received approval for its Newark Exploration Drilling Project in the Black Hills National Forest. The 36 drilling sites are scattered across national forest land about 4 miles west of Custer. The exploration would take up to one year.
The project will use a diamond-tipped drill to obtain core samples from depths reaching 3,000 feet. All drill holes are required to be plugged afterward.
The project has sparked significant public opposition. Many residents voiced their concerns at a 2023 public meeting in Custer, and the Forest Service received 485 written comments.
Residents and environmental groups wanted the Forest Service to complete an environmental impact study (EIS), according to the agency’s summary of public comments and its responses.
“Commenters are concerned that the proposed project will have significant effects on water quality, water use, recreation and tourism, wildlife, and cultural sites,” the summary says. “Commenters also assert that an EIS will allow for greater tribal consultation and public involvement in the decision-making process.”
But the Forest Service determined that “no extraordinary circumstances exist” that “would warrant further analysis” in an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement. The project would not interfere with any known historical sites, and no adverse effects to local hydrologic features or water supplies are expected, the Forest Service said in its decision memo.
The agency also emphasized its obligation under the General Mining Law of 1872 to permit mineral exploration on federal lands that haven’t been closed to exploration or mining.
The decision requires F3 Gold to restore the drilling sites to a natural-looking condition after drilling is complete. The company plans to start drilling later this year.
The project is one of several mineral exploration initiatives in the Black Hills, an area with a history of mining dating to the 19th century. There is currently one active, large-scale gold mine in the Black Hills — the Wharf Mine near Lead.
Meanwhile, F3 Gold’s additional plan to drill in the Pactola Reservoir area remains in limbo. The Forest Service is considering a ban on new mining activities, including exploratory drilling, in a 32-square-mile area around the Pactola Reservoir and its upstream public lands, to protect the watershed and its status as a water source for Rapid City.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Five people are accused of stealing from businesses in at least 11 states and two countries…that’s already an interesting story, but it gets better…Sioux Falls Police helped the FBI track them down and at least two of the suspects may be linked to international crimes.
According to records that have been discovered by KELO news the crimes run from California to Iowa, Texas and Florida.
Police arrested the five people on Wednesday afternoon in downtown Sioux Falls.
One of them is 33-year-old Victor Aparashivei. Police in Friendswood, Texas released a picture of him inside a jewelry store in 2022, saying he’s a member of a Romanian criminal enterprise and has been linked to crimes in Texas, California, Colorado, Kansas and the United Kingdom.
In 2023, police arrested him in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He was released two days later.
Sioux Falls Police also arrested 30-year-old Lacatus Steluta. Surveillance video from a California store shows where she and another woman allegedly got away with $100,000 worth of jewelry. Federal court documents say she’s also accused of helping steal more than $37,000 worth of jewelry from two different stores in 2023.
Documents also say she’s been Iinked to an “organized crime network made up of allied Roma clans that originate in central Romania.”
The other suspects are 43-year-old Mario-ara Anghel, who is wanted for crimes in 7 states,
46-year-old Ivan Anghel is wanted in Utah and 37-year-old Romeo Sava of Dell Rapids is wanted in Missouri. According to court records, he’s the only suspect with a South Dakota address.
The FBI was unable to comment on the arrests, because it’s an active investigation.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – South Dakota Representative Dusty Johnson has been named to the Fentanyl Policy Working Group within the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“China is the ultimate source of fentanyl coming into our country, and this fentanyl crisis is fueling crime around the country,” said Johnson. “The drug and its related crime are destroying lives, families, and communities. I look forward to working with my colleagues to crack down on the CCP’s influence on drugs and criminal activity in the U.S.”
The Policy Working Group will be charged with raising awareness of the CCP’s role in the fentanyl crisis through Committee events and producing legislation to combat the threat. Its work will start immediately and will build upon the Select Committee’s April report which revealed, among other things, that the CCP is undeniably subsidizing the export of deadly fentanyl into the United States.
The Fentanyl Policy Working Group will be led by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA). Johnson is joined by Reps. Neal Dunn (R-FL), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Michelle Steel (R-CA), and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on the Fentanyl Policy Working Group.
Specifically, the Fentanyl Policy Working Group will work to:
Codify, strengthen, and impose sanctions on entities involved in the fentanyl trade.
Enact and employ trade and customs enforcement measures to restrict fentanyl trafficking.
Close regulatory and enforcement gaps exploited by PRC money launderers and fentanyl traders.
Johnson highlighted the CCP’s crime and influence on the fentanyl crisis in America in an op-ed in Federal Newswire.
“Earlier this spring, the Select Committee uncovered new evidence showing how the Chinese Communist Party directly fuels America’s fentanyl crisis. China has programs in place to reward companies with subsidies for exporting fentanyl and other drugs illegal under Chinese law to the United States. It is now abundantly clear that the CCP is not just turning a blind eye to the fentanyl crisis, it is causing it. That is why I am establishing a bipartisan Select Committee fentanyl working group to determine what must be done to seek justice for the hundreds of thousands of victims and hold the CCP responsible for funneling this poison into American communities. Congressmen Newhouse and Auchincloss bring valuable experience on this issue, and I am thankful for their leadership of our new working group,” said Chairman Moolenaar.
“Combating our nation’s synthetic opioid crisis must be a top priority not only for the Members of our Select Committee, but for every Member of Congress. Our new working group will double down on our efforts to stop the flow of fentanyl and its precursors into the U.S. from the PRC while saving American lives. It’s time to get to work,” said Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi.
“Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for people ages 18-45 in the United States, and we now know the Chinese Communist Party is the force behind that crisis,” said Newhouse. “From funding the manufacturing and export of illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals to holding ownership interest in companies tied to drug trafficking, the CCP is not only an active participant in the drug trade—they are directly incentivizing it. While the CCP continues to economically enrich themselves at the expense of the health and safety of millions of Americans, it is imperative that the United States sends a clear message: the buck stops here. I applaud Chairman Moolenaar for his leadership on this issue and look forward to leading my fellow working group members in cracking down on the CCP’s influence here at home.”
“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Mexican drug cartels are poisoning Americans to death through fentanyl exports. Families are devastated and first responders are demoralized. The U.S. government must respond forcefully at every link of the supply chain, beginning with China. The CCP has been subsidizing and facilitating the export of fentanyl precursors, while stiff-arming American requests for law enforcement. This must end. The China Select Committee’s fentanyl working group will drive policy to interdict fentanyl at its source,” said Auchincloss.
