SIOUX FALLS, SD – The ACLU of South Dakota has filed a federal lawsuit challenging South Dakota’s personalized license plate law. The group alleges that the Motor Vehicle Division’s policy infringes on the free speech rights of all South Dakotans.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Lyndon Hart, whose claims his free speech was stifled when his application for a plate that read “REZWEED” was initially denied as being allegedly “in poor taste.” Hart runs a business called Rez Weed Indeed that supports and promotes the legal selling and use of medical and recreational marijuana on Native American reservations.
In the past five years, the Motor Vehicle Division has rejected hundreds of personalized plate requests because they allegedly carried “connotations offensive to good taste and decency” – a standard the ACLU asserts is overly broad, vague and subjective and that is in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, including the rights of free speech and due process.
Even though the Motor Vehicle Division implemented an update to its policy in September to “clarify the approval process for personalized plates,” it doesn’t change or repeal any parts of the codified law in question. In addition, if a personalized plate has been issued but later determined to carry connotations offensive to good taste and decency, the Motor Vehicle Division can recall it.
The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that license plates are a legitimate place for personal and political expression, and courts throughout the country have struck down laws similar to South Dakota’s.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in the District of South Dakota.
SAC CITY, IA – The Iowa Division of Banking closed the Citizens Bank in Sac City last Friday after examiners discovered “significant” loan losses not previously reported by the bank.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, in a separate release, estimated that covering the losses will cost the Deposit Insurance Fund $14.8 million. The FDIC said that covering the bank’s losses with money from the fund is the “least costly resolution.”
Citizens Bank was established in 1929. The main office, along with a drive-up facility was in Sac City at the time of its closure. The two bank offices reopened Monday as branches of Emmetsburg-based Iowa Trust & Savings Bank.
Iowa Trust & Savings Bank bought all of Citizens Banks’ consumer, business and public deposits, according to news releases. Iowa Trust also purchased all of the former Sac City bank’s available loans.
According to the superintendent of banking for the state none of Citizens Bank’s consumer, business or public entity customers lost any money.
Citizens Bank is the fifth bank in the United States to fail this year. It is the first bank failure in Iowa since 2011.
PIERRE, SD – The National Transportation Safety Board has released it’s preliminary report into the October 23rd crash of a Piper Malibu Mirage aircraft in the bluffs west of Pierre Regional Airport.
The report shows pilot, 59 year-old Dr. Eric Meyer, put 10 gallons of fuel in before takeoff, giving the plane a total load of 100 gallons before taking off for Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Meyer reported no problems until reaching 11-thousand feet when the engine abruptly stopped and rolled back.
Meyer noted no warning signals from the cockpit before the loss of power.
Meyer declared an emergency and attempted to return to Pierre Regional Airport.
Meyer could not restart the engine during the emergency descent and the plane also lost electrical power during the attempted return.
The plane landed upright in the rolling terrain west of state highway 1806.
Meyer noticed passenger 76 year-old Hugh Alexander was barely conscious and started giving Alexander C-P-R until first responders arrived. Alexander died as a result of the crash.
The plane was retained by authorities for further examination. In 2003 the original engine was replaced with a turboprop engine.
ONIDA, SD – The South Dakota state Christmas tree is on its way to becoming the centerpiece of the State Capitol Rotunda.
Residents submit potential candidates for the honor, and this year, a 40-foot Blue Spruce was harvested near Onida Monday morning.
State Forest Health Specialist John Ball oversaw the process of cutting the tree down and getting it loaded to a flatbed for transport to the Capitol Building
If you’re thinking of harvesting your own Christmas Tree this year, Ball’s top recommendation is a Frazier Fir.
They’re known for staying fresh for a long period of time, and for having soft needles and a great pine aroma.
DES MOINES, IA – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsed Ron DeSantis Monday night at a rally in downtown Des Moines.
The endorsement was suspected. DeSantis and Reynolds are friends and have spoken well of each other in public, but Reynolds acknowledged Monday the decision was difficult.
“I thought long and hard about making this decision, about telling Iowans and telling you where I stand…but I believe that as a mom and as a grandma and as an American, I could not and cannot sit on the sidelines any longer,” end quote.
DeSantis praised the Iowa governor as “one of the greatest governors in the United States” with “a great head on her shoulders.”
The timing of the endorsement is good for DeSantis. Coming out of a week that saw him slide into a second place tie with Nikki Haley according to a NBC/Des Moines Register Iowa poll along with quite a few defections of lawmakers in his home state of Florida to former President Donald Trump the endorsement gives DeSantis something new to brag about in the upcoming Republican debate Wednesday night in Miami.
