YANKTON, SD – A Yankton man has been arrested and charged with possession of an explosive or device with intent to injure; intimidate, or destroy property.

Yankton Police Chief, Jason Foote, says that Jared Herbert Nichols, 30, was arrested Monday after he threatened to burn a business down and mentioned that he had a pipe bomb.

Foote says that officers later learned that Nichols had also made a purchase of materials that could be used to make a homemade explosive device.

In addition to the possession of an explosive charge, Nichols has been charged with threatening a law enforcement officer.

 

MADISON, SD – Madison Police are sending out a warning to residents after a mountain lion was seen in town Tuesday night.

Authorities say it was seen in the 200 block of Northeast 1st Street around 11:30 p.m. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office was able to get a video of the animal.

It was seen pausing by a building before running off between cars. The mountain lion was believed to be traveling north.

There have been no more reported sightings of the animal. Police are encouraging Madison residents to keep their pets inside.

 

WATERTOWN, SD – Two Watertown residents have been criminally charged after forcing a man into a vehicle and threatening him with weapons.

The Codington County Sheriff’s Office said officers were dispatched a little after 3 p.m. to a rural area of the county on a report of a man being forced into a vehicle against his will.

Authorities identified the vehicle driven by the suspects, located it and initialized a traffic stop.

According to reports, law enforcement determined 41 year-old Amanda Raml forced the victim into the vehicle in Watertown, then drove him into the country, stopped the vehicle, and told him to “get out.”

While Raml and the victim were standing outside the vehicle, Raml allegedly produced several weapons and made threatening statements to the victim.

A passenger in the vehicle, 18 year-old Colton Vig, produced a shotgun and fired one round into the air to “intimidate” the victim.

Raml is charged with Second Degree Kidnapping and Aggravated Assault.

Vig is charged with Aggravated Assault and Reckless Discharge of a Firearm.

Both were booked into jail on $10,000 cash only bond.

The victim’s name was not released.

 

PIERRE, SD – South Dakotans are the fourth largest recipients this year from a federal program that pays agricultural landowners to keep environmentally sensitive land out of production, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Conservation Reserve Program has sent $129.5 million to South Dakotans. That trails Iowa ($402.5 million), Illinois ($172.7 million) and Minnesota ($150.8 million).

The program, known by the abbreviation CRP, pays landowners to maintain grass, trees and other plant species on enrolled acres, which helps prevent soil erosion, filters runoff that enters waterways, and establishes habitat for wildlife.

The program also helps fight climate change. Some farming practices can release plant and soil carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, where it acts as a heat-trapping greenhouse gas. Consistent plant cover pulls carbon dioxide out of the air and stores it in the soil.

“We’re grateful to all CRP participants who are making a tremendous difference by proactively addressing climate change and conserving natural resources now and for future generations,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in the news release.

Nationally, the program has paid $1.77 billion this year to 667,000 participants for 23 million acres, which equates to about 36,000 square miles. Nationwide program enrollments are up 21% since 2021.

The news release credited numerous program improvements during the past few years for driving the growth in enrolled acres. Among those are several efforts targeting South Dakota, including a first-ever agreement to enroll acres associated with the Cheyenne River, Rosebud and Oglala Sioux tribes.

Last year, the Ag Department entered into a special agreement with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks focusing on the Big Sioux River Watershed to help farmers, ranchers and landowners in that area improve water quality, reduce soil erosion, enhance wildlife habitat and create public hunting and fishing access.