ACTION OF FORMER GOVERNOR NOEM MOTIVATE STATE SENATOR’S ATTEMPT TO LIMIT EXECUTIVE POWER
PIERRE, S.D. (Joshua Haiar / South Dakota Searchlight) – State Sen. Chris Karr didn’t like the way former Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration spent money without legislative approval or oversight.
Neither did his colleagues, judging by the support he’s received for a legislative package he dubbed “three big, beautiful bills.” The package, which is headed to the House after its unanimous approval by the Senate, would establish new restrictions on the kind of state government spending, leasing and fund transfers that Karr said the Noem administration abused.
“There was a pattern of saying, ‘We don’t need to get permission — we’ll just do it,’” Karr said. “These bills make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
The Sioux Falls Republican has served in the Legislature since 2017. He spent much of that time on the main budget committee, sometimes butting heads with fellow Republicans in the Noem administration over spending. He was elevated to the position of Senate president pro tempore this legislative session.
Large GF&P expenditures
The first bill would mandate that any Department of Game, Fish & Parks projects over $2.5 million receive legislative approval.
Karr said the department’s $20 million shooting range complex north of Rapid City proceeded despite lawmakers rejecting funding requests. He said the department is building the shooting range using a mix of its own budget, donations and a discretionary fund controlled by the governor, thereby bypassing legislative approval.
“We have to strike a balance,” Karr said. “Nobody wants to call a special session to approve picnic shelters or boat ramps, but when taxpayer dollars are going toward multi-million-dollar projects, the Legislature should be involved.”
Oversight on long-term leases
The second bill would require any lease exceeding 15 years and $5 million – or costing more than $50,000 per month – to receive legislative approval.
Karr highlighted the controversial One Stop government service centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City as examples of why the measure is needed. The Noem administration entered into 30-year lease agreements that will ultimately cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars to consolidate state offices and employees in the buildings, without legislative approval.
Skirting legislative approval, not owning the building despite the large investment, and the long-term spending obligation have some lawmakers upset.
“Not a good process,” Karr said. “I don’t think anyone thinks that’s a good process.”
Blocking budget transfers
The final bill would tighten restrictions on budget transfers within state agencies. Currently, agencies have the authority to shift funds between budget units in the same fund, with approval from the Bureau of Finance and Management – which is part of the executive branch. The bill would additionally require legislative approval.
Karr referenced an instance when the Department of Corrections transferred funding and staff positions between prisons without informing lawmakers. Under the legislation, such transfers would have to receive approval from the Legislature’s main budget committee.
“This ensures that the budget we pass is the same one we come back to next year,” Karr said. “It prevents agencies from shifting money around after the fact and fundamentally altering the budget we approved.”
The Future Fund
Karr has also been a vocal critic of Noem’s use of the Future Fund, which is under the governor’s exclusive control.
South Dakota employers pay a fee to the Future Fund when they submit payroll taxes to the unemployment benefits program. State law says the Future Fund must be used “for purposes related to research and economic development for the state.” Unlike other funds administered by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Future Fund expenses don’t go through a board of citizen appointees for vetting or approval.
Noem’s uses of the Future Fund included $13 million to help construct the Rapid City-area shooting range, $2.5 million to promote and conduct a Governor’s Cup rodeo, and up to $9 million on a workforce recruitment campaign starring herself.
Frustrations with Noem’s controversial uses of the fund motivated the Legislature to pass a bill last year requiring the administration to present twice-a-year reports on the fund to the Legislature.
This year, Rep. Liz May, R-Kyle, introduced a bill to do away with the Future Fund altogether. She and others, including Rep. Marty Overweg, R-New Holland, said the fund undermines the Legislature’s power of the purse.
“This is taxpayers’ money,” Overweg said. “This isn’t some magic money.”
The bill failed 32-36 in the state House of Representatives.
Opponents of the bill said the state’s new governor, Larry Rhoden, should be given a chance to use the fund appropriately.
Rhoden, the former lieutenant governor, was elevated earlier this year when Noem left to serve under President Donald Trump as his secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
$621 MILLION, 68 TURBINE WIND PROJECT APPROVED IN NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA
PIERRE, S.D. (Makenzie Huber / South Dakota Searchlight) – South Dakota regulators awarded a permit Friday for a 68-turbine wind energy project in northeastern South Dakota.
Chicago-based Invenergy applied to build the project through its South Dakota subsidiary, Deuel Harvest Wind Energy South. The turbines will be spread across 46 square miles of privately owned land near the small town of Brandt in Deuel County. According to the company’s application last year, 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 site is 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. The new project would raise the number of wind turbines in Deuel County to 233.
The project will deliver up to 260 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.
More than 50 conditions are included with the permit, according to the Public Utilities Commission, addressing cooperation with local agricultural operations, daily time limits on construction, protection of threatened or endangered species, noise levels and more. In a news release, the commission said the Federal Aviation Administration is studying the potential aeronautical hazards at the site.
“How many of the turbine locations are actually constructed will be determined by additional FAA evaluation and noise modeling based on turbine type,” Commission Vice Chairman Chris Nelson said in the release.
In its application, Invenergy estimated 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.
LAKE ANDES MAN SENTENCED FOR FIRST-DEGREE MANSLAUGHTER
LAKE ANDES, S.D. – An eighteen year old man from Lake Andes has been sentenced to 85 years in prison after earlier pleading guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter in the stabbing death of another man in May 2024.
Mackenzie Antelope was sentenced Friday in Charles Mix County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to 85 years in prison, with 35 years suspended.
“This lengthy sentence is justified for such a heinous crime” said Attorney General Jackley. “Law enforcement and prosecutors are to be commended for their work on this case, and the victim and the victim’s family remain in our thoughts and prayers.”
Quinlan Ream was killed in the May 21 2024 stabbing in a Lake Andes motel. A second person also was injured in the same incident.
South Dakota’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Charles Mix County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. The prosecution was handled by the Attorney General’s Office and the Charles Mix County State’s Attorney’s Office.
SURVIVOR ADVOCATES SAY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON THE RISE IN NEBRASKA
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Three women died from what authorities linked to domestic violence in Nebraska this February alone.
Jamie Hagen was killed in Seward one day after her ex-fiancé bonded out of jail in a domestic assault case. Heather Gray was killed in Clay County the day after she filed for divorce.
And Lincoln Police said 28-year-old Ibrahim Alhamadani ran over, chased and gunned down 21-year-old Michelle Gonzalez just hours after she filed a protection order against him on Wednesday.
“It feels fearful,” Leah Droge, the executive director of Friendship Home, said. “It feels very, almost unprecedented that we’re seeing these happen so close together. What we’ve seen is a response from survivors when that happened, that it’s in many ways a moment of clarity for survivors. A moment of fear.”
Friendship Home is dedicated to getting domestic abuse survivors somewhere safe to stay and live. Natalie Roberts-Day heads up Voices of Hope, which helps survivors navigate and heal.
”We work to walk alongside the survivor and connect them with the supports that they need and empower them to make decisions in there life,” Roberts-Day said. “We know that abusers often thrive on taking power and control away from a victim, and it’s our job to give that voice and choice back to survivors.”
They both said they’ve seen an uptick in domestic violence cases. Roberts-Day said Voices of Hope averaged about 70 law enforcement and hospital response calls a month, but this January, that number rose to 90.
“Unfortunately, this happens every day and much more frequently than we realize,” Roberts-Day said.
Droge said Friendship Home is serving about 34% more people a year than in 2021. They said the causes are hard to pin down, but they say increased isolation, the decline of community activity and the ending of COVID-era assistance funds that helped survivors find their own homes contribute.
“Abuse thrives in isolation,” Roberts-Day said. “I think there has broadly been a trend toward a more individualistic sort of nature and less of a feeling of community responsibility. You know, a little bit of ‘That’s not my problem. That’s a private matter.’”
Droge and Roberts-Day said help is a phone call away. They urge survivors or witnesses to call Friendship Home or Voices of Hope.
There are also national services, like the Domestic Violence Hotline. That number is 1-800-700-7233.
