South Dakota will expand a specialty program for people facing drug charges, a move spurred by a decision last year to lessen the penalties for drug use.
The state will also pilot a program meant to keep a closer eye on people serving probation sentences, South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Jensen said Wednesday during his State of the Judiciary message to lawmakers.
South Dakota’s top law enforcement official wants lawmakers to stiffen penalties for selling drugs in prison and making deepfake pornography, to create consumer protections for DNA data, and to give internet crime investigators swifter access to suspects’ user data.
Those bills are among the 10 proposed by Attorney General Marty Jackley for the 2026 legislative session that begins Tuesday at the Capitol in Pierre.
State and county officials vowed to investigate after an ICE officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis Wednesday, but the FBI says it is handling the investigation and won’t share evidence with Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during an immigration enforcement operation has sparked widespread protests and calls for ICE to leave the city, while the Trump administration continues to defend the officer amid its “largest immigration enforcement operation ever” in Minneapolis. Continue reading “Can Minnesota prosecute ICE agents? What the law says”
Iowa House Republicans say they want to move early in the 2026 legislative session on a “tough on crime” package aimed at repeat offenders — a push Speaker Pat Grassley framed as a proactive effort to keep Iowa from developing the kinds of public safety problems that have drawn national attention in larger Midwestern cities.
Early outlines include a “three strikes” approach tied to longer mandatory prison sentences for people who have previously been convicted of violent crimes and some form of bail reform, though GOP leaders say the specifics are still being developed and no bill language has been released.
Continue reading “Iowa House Republicans eye ‘tough on crime’ package for 2026”
As the calendar turns to 2026, a new set of laws approved by North Dakota lawmakers will officially take effect on January 1, bringing changes that touch healthcare, taxation, vehicle ownership, education, public safety, and state governance. While some of these measures have been discussed for months, their implementation marks a significant shift in how state policy will affect the everyday lives of residents, businesses, and public institutions.
Continue reading “North Dakota Laws Taking Effect January 1, 2026”
Five months after Operation: Prairie Thunder officially began, the South Dakota Highway Patrol’s collaborative anti-crime and immigration enforcement effort will continue into the new year, the governor’s office has confirmed.
The program was originally announced by Gov. Larry Rhoden to take place from July 28 through December.
Continue reading “ICE’s year in SD, from small towns to Operation: Prairie Thunder”
A South Dakota law that prevents drug companies from restricting federal drug discounts for hospitals and other providers will remain in effect for now, a judge has decided.
Chicago-based AbbVie Inc., whose products include the wrinkle-remover Botox and the arthritis drug Humira, sued the state earlier this year in the U.S. District Court of South Dakota. The lawsuit challenges the legality of Senate Bill 154, which lawmakers and Gov. Larry Rhoden approved in March. It blocks drugmakers from deciding which pharmacies hospitals can use to access discounted medication.
In 2020, a bill was filed in South Dakota that would have spelled out extensive rules for how police body camera footage can be obtained, maintained, used and shared.
Then-Sen. Reynold Nesiba, a Sioux Falls Democrat and primary sponsor of the bill, said that without a state law, police agencies across the state are on their own to decide how and when to use cameras, what happens to the footage and who should have access to the videos.
Continue reading “Improving open records law in SD an uphill battle for advocates”
Below, we’ve curated virtually all of the research about the various economic factors of incarceration.
How much does the criminal justice system cost, and who pays for it? How well-funded are prisons and jails? What are the economic impacts and origins of mass incarceration? Do certain programs in prison affect people’s economic well-being after release? See the reports below to explore these questions and more.
South Dakota’s success rate for keeping truancy cases out of court is the lowest it’s been in a decade, according to an annual report presented to a state committee.
The Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Oversight Council is a group of representatives from law enforcement, schools, the Legislature, social services and the court system. It is responsible for tracking South Dakota’s efforts to reduce the number of children in custody.
Continue reading “South Dakota having less success keeping truancy cases out of court”