SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – On Wednesday evening, around 8:30 pm, Secretary of Corrections, Kellie Wasko issued a statement confirming that order had been restored at the Penitentiary which read…

“Order has been restored at the South Dakota State Penitentiary. After a disturbance, which included a staff assault, the response followed established protocol and was conducted professionally, swiftly, and thoroughly. Thank you to our corrections officers for doing an outstanding job to safely resolve the situation.”

According to reports, around 3 in the afternoon the disturbance started with an assault on a guard, that guard was taken for medical attention. The prison also called in extra staff to assist with the developing situation.

Tensions in the penitentiary have been running high since March 8 when it is alleged that communication features on the tablets provided to inmates were turned off due to an ongoing investigation.

The disturbance took place in what is called the East Hall of the pen, an area that houses about 500 inmates. It was reported that both water and electricity were shut off as authorities worked to calm the situation. Video footage taken from outside the building in the afternoon by a videographer with Dakota News Now out of Sioux Falls clearly picked up the chants of inmates saying “We want phones.”

 

PARKER, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that a Parker, S.D., man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison with 14 years suspended after earlier pleading guilty to one count of First Degree Manslaughter in the 2022 death of an infant.

Phillip Delaney, 26, was sentenced Wednesday in Turner County Circuit Court. He had earlier pled guilty to the manslaughter charge. As part of a plea bargain, a second count of First Degree Manslaughter, and separate charges of Second Degree Murder and Aggravated Battery of an Infant were dismissed.

The infant died of injuries received at a home in Parker in September, 2022.

Investigation of the case was done by South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and the Turner County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office and the Turner County State’s Attorney’s Office.

 

DES MOINES, IA – A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops.

Excess nitrates can wind up in ground and surface water, and cause health problems.

Practical Farmers of Iowa is encouraging farmers to find just the right amount of nitrogen they need for their crops – while avoiding applying too much, which the group says is common.

PFI’s Field Crops Viability Coordinator – Chelsea Ferrie – said thanks to federal grants and private funding, the group will pay farmers up to $35 for every acre that has a lower than normal yield if they didn’t apply enough nitrogen.

“No cost to the farmer, either,” said Ferrie. “We’re trying to help incentivize them. This is something that farmers want to do – I mean, they want to be good stewards of the land – but also, that they need to have a profitable farm.”

The application period for the program is open through the end of April.

To help them reach the right nitrogen balance, Ferrie said PFI will help farmers on the front end of the process, too – so they aren’t left guessing how much to apply.
“Talk through what your typical fertilizer plan is, and what your reduction plan would be,” said Ferrie. “Then you would implement this year, going into the spring and into the season.”

Farmers have relied on nitrogen-based fertilizers for generations – but when applied in excess, nitrates run off into ground and surface water, posing health concerns for animals and people.

 

ST PAUL, MN – A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are prioritizing coordination so potential cases do not fall through the cracks.
Since Minnesota adopted a wage theft law in 2019, it has seen a handful of high profile examples of state and local officials going after companies accused of shortchanging workers.

John Choi, Ramsey County Attorney, feels Minnesota is starting to come around to the idea such matters should not just be resolved through civil penalties. He said there are some keys to taking the next step in seeing a wave of additional cases.
“It’s really doing the investigations,” Choi explained. “Then also making sure that we get referrals from other agencies that might be doing that civil enforcement.”

Choi’s office has hired a wage theft investigator, though stakeholders acknowledged not all county prosecutors and sheriff’s departments around the state have such resources.

Choi co-chairs the Labor Advisory Council in the Twin Cities, which leads discussions with key partners and labor leaders about working more closely on the issue, including knowing when it is appropriate to pursue a criminal investigation.

Minnesota’s Attorney General has been aggressive in combating wage theft but is only allowed to file civil lawsuits. The decision on criminal charges is up to county prosecutors. Choi emphasized the good news is the Attorney General can lend support to under-resourced offices. He suggested community members can spur more interest, too.

“I also think, just locally around the state, a lot of local sheriffs would be interested in undertaking some of these investigations once they start hearing from the public,” Choi noted.

Under Minnesota’s wage theft law, an employer can now be charged with a felony.

Choi added there are other legal tools, such as charges sought by the revenue department, and said it is a matter of ensuring agencies are not working in silos.

The Labor Advisory Council said wage theft is rampant among nonunion construction activity. It estimates in the Twin Cities, employers steal more than $3 million in wages each year.

 

LINCOLN, NE – A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has probably increased over the pre-pandemic level of 20%. It also observed 88 of Nebraska’s 93 counties have a shortage of behavioral health professionals.

Nonetheless, the state budget now awaiting Gov. Jim Pillen’s signature cuts $15 million from the Division of Behavioral Health’s funding for the state’s six Behavioral Health Regions, which distribute those funds to providers. Many advocates believe the cut is based on an incorrect conclusion.

Annette Dubas, executive director of the Nebraska Association of Behavioral Health Organizations, said because $15 million remained in the budget for the Regions, it was concluded the money was not needed. In fact, she said much of it was for projects and proposals awaiting Department of Health and Human Services approval.

“The problem is not that it’s not needed; there’s a problem with getting it out the door and into services quickly,” Dubas explained. “Because we know the demand is there. And if it’s not being spent, let’s figure out why. That’s what we want the governor to sit down and talk to us about, so we can figure out where the holdups are.”

The $15 million will be shifted to the Lincoln Regional Center for hiring nurses and other staff. Dubas questioned how realistic it is for the center to spend this amount of money on staffing, especially when the state is facing a nursing shortage of more than 5,000 by 2025. She also questioned what will happen to any money left unspent.

Dubas stressed the Division of Behavioral Health is not the only agency losing money through this budget process.

“This administration has gone into a lot of different funds, cash funds, etc., and kind of swept out money that they perceive is not being used or is not being spent, to use to help with their property tax relief,” Dubas asserted.

The Pillen administration is paying Epiphany Associates from Utah $2.5 million annually for up to four years, to find savings of up to 25% across state agency budgets.

Chase Francl, CEO of the Mid-Plains Center for Behavioral Health, which receives about 40% of its funding from Region III, said cutting programs that save the state money cannot be considered cutting “waste.”

“Mental health and substance use treatment really is a prevention service,” Francl contended. “If we can get this right, then people are going back to work and maybe aren’t ending up in corrections. And you start restricting here, you usually are just going to be creating a greater need for more costly services down the road.”

Mid-Plains served 3,200 people in Grand Island, Kearney and Lincoln last year. Francl added they currently have about 60 people on a waitlist for therapy services.