SOUTH DAKOTA LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING ACADEMY WILL BE ADDING EXTRA ETHICS SESSIONS
PIERRE, S.D. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) – Officers in South Dakota’s Basic Law Enforcement Certification course will have an extra lesson on ethics and the role of the state’s police commission, starting with the current course.
Hank Prim, director of law enforcement training for the state Division of Criminal Investigation, told the South Dakota Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training Commission about the change at the start of the group’s Wednesday meeting in Pierre.
The new four and a half hour ethics session, Prim told the commission, will “talk a little bit about the conditions that are important to you, the things that you all look for, and the expectations you have with new officers as they go out in the field.”
“I think especially with the publicity of the commission’s work over the last couple years, there’s a new emphasis and interest by the officers in the basic class to understand what the commission does,” Prim said.
The commission’s activities have received more media coverage recently. South Dakota Searchlight regularly covers the meetings, as does Bob Mercer of the KELO Capital News Bureau. Austin Goss of The Dakota Scout has also written about contested case hearings.
The commission reviews training program changes, applications for renewed certification for officers who step away from the profession for a while, approves grant requests for training by local departments, works with technical colleges on their criminal justice programs, and reviews complaints of misconduct against officers.
Many complaints are resolved informally, with officers voluntarily ceding their certification or the commission imposing remedial training and reprimands for poor performance. The commission also acts as a jury of sorts in contested hearings, when officers accused of misbehavior defend themselves in proceedings similar to those in a courtroom.
RAPID CITY AND BELLE FOURCHE POLICE LOOKING INTO SCHOOL THREATS
SOUTH DAKOTA Undated – Rapid City Police are investigating a social media threat aimed at students of Rapid City Central High School Tuesday.
The Rapid City Police Department and Pennington County Sheriff’s Office traced the felony-level terroristic threat to a local student. The student was detained before reaching school grounds. It was later discovered that the post was made at the request of another student, and both juveniles are now in the juvenile justice system.
Authorities found no evidence to substantiate the threat, which is believed to have been a hoax intended to avoid school attendance.
At the same time the Belle Fourche Middle School was put in lockdown Tuesday after an anonymous threat on social media.
The Belle Fourche Police Departments said in a Facebook post that officers were notified of an unverified threat made through an anonymous account on Snapchat.
Police searched every building in the school and determined there was no credible threat to the school.
Police will continue to monitor the situation and encourage citizens to report any suspicious behavior.
CONSTRUCTION WORKER KILLED IN BEADLE COUNTY VEHICLE CRASH
WESSINGTON, S.D. – The South Dakota Highway Patrol says a construction zone worker died Tuesday from injuries sustained in a two-vehicle crash two miles east of Wessington, SD.
The names of the persons involved have not been released pending notification of family members.
Preliminary crash information indicates the driver of a 2022 Dodge Ram was traveling westbound on US Highway 14 near mile marker 319 and entered a construction zone.
A construction worker ‘Flagger’ was on on-scene directing westbound traffic to slow down and stop.
The driver of the Dodge had stopped as directed. As the driver of a 2023 International MV607 traveling the same direction approached, he collided with the Dodge, and then struck the Flagger.
The Flagger, a 44-year-old female, suffered fatal injuries. The two drivers sustained minor injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
TRIAL DATE FOR ABORTION BALLOT MEASURE NOT SET, COURT STAFF UNAWARE OF PLANNED START DATE
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (John Hult and Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) – The trial date for a lawsuit against South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure was not added to a court calendar, despite a signed order from a judge saying the trial would begin next week.
That leaves the date of the trial in limbo even as early and absentee voting will begin Friday.
Judge John Pekas signed a scheduling order on Aug. 9 saying the trial would take place during the week of Sept. 23 in Sioux Falls.
This week, Pekas emailed the parties in the case and said, without further explanation, “this matter must be scheduled through court administration” and “my schedule is filling up quickly.”
Minnehaha County Deputy Court Clerk Bryce Kummer was among the email recipients. He replied by asking how much time is needed for the trial and said if the parties could give him an idea, he could offer the next available options on the judge’s calendar.
Jim Leach, the lawyer for the abortion-rights side, responded with confusion, saying it was his understanding the trial would start Monday, Sept. 23. “Am I mistaken?” he wrote.
Kummer replied that he was “not aware of any trial being scheduled in this case.”
The lawyer for the anti-abortion side, Sara Frankenstein, filed a formal objection to moving the trial date. She also requested that if the trial date is moved, it should be scheduled in time to conclude before Election Day on Nov. 5.
Leslee Unruh is co-chair of the Life Defense Fund, which filed the lawsuit. She had no further information from the court as of Wednesday afternoon.
“We expected the trial to be held next week in accordance with the court’s scheduling order,” Unruh said in a statement. “We are waiting for further direction on how the court will proceed with our trial in recent light of the court’s scheduling conflicts.”
The lawsuit centers around allegations from the Life Defense Fund that petition circulators violated laws while gathering signatures to put the abortion-rights measure on the ballot. Life Defense Fund hopes to invalidate the measure, even though it’s too late to remove it from ballots.
The petition circulators worked for a group called Dakotans for Health, led by Rick Weiland.
“We are now just waiting to see what the court does next,” Weiland said.
Current state law bans abortions except when necessary to “preserve the life of the pregnant female.”
The ballot measure, Amendment G, would prohibit regulation of abortion during the first trimester. In the second trimester, regulations would be allowed if they are reasonably related to the pregnant woman’s physical health. During the third trimester, abortion could be regulated or prohibited, except when necessary to preserve the life or health of the woman, as determined by her physician’s medical judgment.
ADVOCATES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND FARMWORKERS CALLING FOR FEDERAL BAN OF HERBICIDE LINKED TO PARKINSON’S DISEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom) – Public health advocates and farmworkers called for a federal ban on a toxic herbicide they say led to their Parkinson’s disease during a Tuesday briefing for congressional staffers.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will determine next year if the herbicide, paraquat dichloride, should have its license renewed for another 15 years. The herbicide is used for controlling weeds in agriculture settings. It’s currently banned in more than 70 countries and has several serious health conditions it’s linked to, such as cancer and increases the likelihood of developing Parkinson’s disease.
Nora Jackson, a former farmworker of Indiana, said that her cousin, whose job it was to spray paraquat on farms, developed Parkinson’s at 55 years old. Signs of Parkinson’s usually appear around 60 years old.
“Farmworkers often have to do extremely risky jobs … but it doesn’t have to be that way,” Jackson said. “It is possible to have an agriculture system that does not depend so heavily on paraquat and it does not have to be a pesticide that puts so many people’s lives at risk.”
The disease has drastically affected his life, Jackson added.
“He now relies heavily on medication and uses a walking stick to be able to walk every day,” she said.
The briefing on the health risks of paraquat was hosted by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, which is an alliance for farmworker women, and the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that produces research and advocates for public health.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research was established by the actor who starred in blockbusters Back to the Future, Doc Hollywood and Teen Wolf. Fox was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s at the age of 29.
Ban necessary
The EPA has until Jan. 17 to make a decision on paraquat’s future availability.
Advocates at Tuesday’s event called for the agency to deny paraquat’s license renewal, saying other regulations to reduce exposure to the herbicide have come up short.
“Keep in mind that people have been using this chemical as directed, and are still developing Parkinson’s disease,” Scott Faber, Environmental Working Group’s senior vice president of government affairs, said. “So putting more restrictions on how it’s used, when it’s used, what equipment you use, and so on, is not the answer.”
Parkinson’s disease affects the nervous system and causes unintended shakiness, trouble with balance and stiffness. There is no cure.
The California Legislature is moving to ban the herbicide.
David Jilbert, of Valley City, Ohio, a former farmworker with a background in engineering, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2021.
“As a longtime environmental engineer, I understood the importance of personal protection equipment, and I particularly followed all safety protocols,” he said.
He sold his vineyard in 2019 because he wasn’t feeling well and his hands were beginning to move slowly.
“My diagnosis changed everything, affecting every aspect of my life, from physical capabilities to emotional wellbeing, financial stability,” he said. “There is no cure for Parkinson’s. It is degenerative and it will only get worse, not better.”
Charlene Tenbrink of Winters, California, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2020. She worked on her family farm from 1993 to 2000 where she would mix, load and spray paraquat.
Tenbrink said she felt let down by the federal government because she was unaware of the health risks that paraquat could pose.
“We’ve been trying to change this for a long time,” she said.
MITCHELL BASEBALL ORGANIZATION SILENT FOLLOWING SENTENCING OF FORMER PLAYERS
MITCHELL, S.D. – The Mitchell Baseball Association has declined to comment following the sentencing of six former Mitchell Legion baseball players.
These players, who were charged with raping a teammate at a Rapid City hotel during a tournament, received probation, community service, and fines as part of plea deals.
The players also received suspended sentences, avoiding jail time if they remain trouble-free.
Meanwhile, South Dakota American Legion Baseball is discussing the potential reinstatement of Mitchell’s Post 18 team, which remains banned from competition in 2024.
Officials are focused on ensuring a safer, more respectful culture within the program.
