ELK POINT, S.D. – A man and woman are in custody after an officer-involved shooting and pursuit over the weekend.

One of the suspects was shot by a law enforcement officer early on in the incident in South Sioux City.

The incident began near a gas station while authorities were investigating a stolen Budget Rental truck from Kansas.

Officials say Brian Leroy Church was in the passenger seat, but moved to the driver’s seat and drove the truck toward an officer which led to the shooting.

After hitting a parked car, the truck took off and officials pursued it into Iowa before ending the chase near Elk Point South Dakota after law enforcement deployed stop sticks.

Church was taken into custody and found to have suffered gunshot wounds.  Police rendered medical aid until he was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening wounds.  He has been discharged.

Church has been arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest and felony attempted assault on an officer using a motor vehicle.  He was also arrested on a felony theft warrant out of Kansas.

Gwenn Homan, who was initially driving the stolen truck, was also arrested for theft by receiving stolen property worth $5,000 or more.

 

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) is pleased to announce the launch of the South Dakota Airport Terminal Program (SDATP) following the successful passage of Senate Bill 144 in the 2024 legislative session. This bill allocated $10 million in funding to support airport terminal projects across the state, representing a significant investment in enhancing South Dakota’s aviation infrastructure.

“The SDATP funds will play pivotal role in strengthening the aviation infrastructure and enhancing economic development in our state,” said Joel Jundt, Transportation Secretary. “The SDATP will help our South Dakota airports meet growing demands and improve services for residents and visitors alike.”

The SDATP funds are unique, as they are one-time appropriations distinct from the traditional Aeronautics Commission policies. Applicants must choose between utilizing State Aeronautics Trust Funds or SDATP funds for their terminal projects. Applicants will not only need to meet eligibility requirements, but also present their grant requests to the Aeronautic Commission who will ultimately decide which projects to fund and the amount of funding to be allocated to each project.

Eligible projects for SDATP funding must meet stringent criteria:

Projects must be part of the Airport Capital Improvement Plan or included in the National Plan of Integrated Airports (NPIAS) submitted yearly to the state.

Projects must receive federal funding through at least one year of Airport Improvement Program (AIP) federal entitlements and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG) allocation. This includes having submitted an application, awarded a grant, or committed to applying in the next federal funding round.

Projects must not have been completed by the application deadline and must be scheduled to receive federal grants by Monday, Sept. 30, 2025, to retain eligibility.

SDATP funds are designated strictly for construction reimbursement and exclude costs related to project planning, design, and administration. Local community effort and funding are critical components for consideration, with priority given to projects demonstrating the following requirements:

A funding plan that includes two or more years of federal entitlements.

Receipt of federal funding beyond entitlement funding, or attempts to secure such funding.

A funding plan where state contributions do not exceed 60% of the non-federal costs.

SDATP applications are available on the SDDOT website at https://dot.sd.gov/transportation/aviation/office-of-aeronautics-services. Applications must be submitted to the SDDOT by Monday, June 10, 2024. Applicants are required to demonstrate how local funding will supplement state contributions based on federal eligibility criteria.

 

PIERRE, S.D. (Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight) – About 91% of South Dakota has access to broadband service, putting the statewide ConnectSD high-speed internet initiative in its final stretch.

“That’s a lot of work, look at that,” said Mike Waldner, the state’s broadband project manager, to attendees at the recent 2024 Broadband Summit in Sioux Falls.

About half of South Dakota had access to high-speed internet before the initiative began in 2019.

The effort now totals over $300 million, connecting over 31,000 locations that previously had slow or no internet. Setting aside projects already planned and funded, the number of locations yet to be connected is about 11,000.

Funding for ConnectSD has included $85 million from the state, $89 million of federal funds, and $127 million of private investment from broadband providers.

Waldner’s summit presentation was a status update on the initiative, launched by Governor Kristi Noem when she took office.

Waldner said the last stretch of the project focuses primarily on the Black Hills, which will be expensive. That’s because of costs associated with cutting through rock and reaching remote residents who have “6-mile driveways,” Waldner said, making the infrastructure per customer expensive.

He said the state has been awarded another $207 million from the federal government, which will help complete the effort.

Waldner said the initiative is an essential infrastructure investment for the state, given that rural areas with few internet customers are rarely a profitable private investment.

“If the free market could handle it, it already would have,” he told South Dakota Searchlight.

Waldner said connectivity is critical for education, work and health care. He said today’s average home has 17 devices connected to the internet.

Waldner’s presentation was followed by testimonies from people who have received new or improved service since the initiative’s inception. Roni Daale, who runs Roni Daale & Co. Greenhouse in Fairview, said her shop and home had terrible internet before the broadband initiative improved it.

Now, her business relies on it “every minute of the day,” she said, for online transactions, orders and more.

 

OMAHA, NE (Deborah Van Fleet / Nebraska News Connection) – Food insecurity is up in Nebraska and most parts of the country, according to the nonprofit Feeding America but the U.S. House Agriculture Committee’s 2024 Farm Bill includes significant cuts to the Supplemental Food Assistance Program.

The House proposal would remove a 2018 Farm Bill requirement for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reassess the cost for a frugal, healthy meal every five years to update its Thrifty Food Plan , which is used to determine benefit levels.

Eric Savaiano, food and nutrition access program manager for Nebraska Appleseed, said it would prevent the USDA from considering market forces, what foods people actually buy and how much time they have to prepare them.

“If they remove the ability of USDA to make these changes, we will lose more and more touch with the actual habits and patterns of buying things in American society,” Savaiano contended. “SNAP will not keep up with that, and likely result in people having fewer benefits.”

Before the 2018 Farm Bill, the USDA had not updated the actual cost of meals in its Thrifty Food Plan since 1975 and SNAP recipients received only inflation-related cost-of-living increases. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the House proposal would amount to a $30 billion cut to SNAP over the next 10 years. Nebraska could lose as much as $110 million in SNAP benefits between 2027 and 2033.

Savaiano stressed the effect of the House’s recommended changes would worsen over time. He pointed out with food insecurity up 37% in Nebraska — and even more for children and Black and Hispanic families — it is a good thing they would not feel the changes immediately. He added for those with children, there are helpful programs available this summer.

“The summer nutrition programs that were just authorized,” Savaiano noted. “Nebraska is going to be hosting Summer EBT this year, which gives families a small boost to spend on groceries; opportunities to get food boxes and things like that.”

Savaiano added the Senate version of the 2024 Farm Bill does not include cuts to the SNAP program, so there’s a chance the House cuts will not make it into the final bill.

 

ST. PAUL, MN (Mike Moen / Minnesota News Connection) – Human services leaders say Minnesota is in a mental-health crisis, complicating efforts to manage behavioral health facilities.

Closure plans for certain locations have been avoided, but staff want comprehensive improvements to the care system.

The Department of Human Services recently floated plans to close two addiction treatment centers, and repurpose one of them for more patients with serious mental-health needs.

New funding will keep one building open, but the other will still be revamped for patients who are there by court order.

Lynn Butcher, who works for one of the DHS programs as a quality officer for forensic mental health services out of St. Peter, said she feels there are solutions that aren’t being emphasized.

“What’s happening right now is, people are not getting an early intervention,” said Butcher, “they’re not getting the support that they need, and they end up into our jail system.”

She said those patient needs are putting more pressure on the broader system, creating these facility debates, along with safety and quality of care concerns for staff.

Butcher said bolstering early intervention programs, such as school counseling, could help.

DHS officials say they understand these concerns, but must to respond to an urgent need with limited options.

Butcher, who is also a member of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, said she worries about worsening staff turnover if some workers are shifted from their current roles.

“People go into this work because it’s the work they want to do,” said Butcher. “And it’s one thing to provide substance use treatment to folks who need it – it’s another to, you know, work with mentally ill and dangerous people.”

The department describes the current approach as a short-term solution to a long-term problem, noting the Legislature is calling on the agency to explore how it can strengthen addiction care down the road.

A report is due by mid-January of next year.