As results from the midterm elections continue to trickle in, this week our team has a roundup on how some major criminal justice candidates and issues fared, and what the fallout from these races and ballot measures may look like moving forward.
Continue reading “7 Key Criminal Justice Takeaways From the Midterms”
A land surveyor for Summit Carbon Solutions faces a criminal trial in December for allegedly trespassing on land in northwest Iowa that is part of the company’s proposed carbon dioxide pipeline route, according to court records.
State law allows the land surveys — without the threat of a trespassing charge — after hazardous liquid pipeline companies hold informational meetings about the projects and send notice to landowners.
The surveys are meant to help determine the path and depth of the potential pipelines.
Continue reading “Trespassing case might test state’s pipeline survey law”
Iowa Law Professor Mihailis Diamantis and Will Thomas of the Michigan Ross Business School recently asked readers:
Can you name ten corporate criminals?
Bernie Madoff, Martha Stewart and Jeff Skilling don’t count – they are individuals, not businesses.
How about just five? Three?
With today’s gas prices it might seem like hitching a ride could be a good alternative to forking out a bunch of cash to fill your vehicle’s gas tank. But is hitchhiking even legal in Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota?
There was a time in the midwest when hitchhiking was commonplace and mostly safe.
Continue reading “Is Hitchhiking Legal In Minnesota, Iowa, Or South Dakota?”
The estimated number of people who can’t vote in the United States because of a felony conviction has declined by 24% since 2016, but the total is still large, according to a report released Tuesday by the Sentencing Project.
At estimated 4.6 million Americans won’t be able to vote in the 2022 midterm elections because of current or past felonies, which amounts to one out of 50 adults, according to the report, Locked Out 2022: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction. An overview is here.
A sheriff in western Iowa says local, state and federal authorities are “actively investigating” in a rural area where a woman claimed her late father disposed of dozens of bodies of people he killed decades ago.
“We are actively investigating this, and who wouldn’t?” Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope told CNN Affiliate KETV.
“We have a scene, but we don’t know whether it’s a crime scene,” the sheriff told KETV. “We don’t have victims, bodies. Nothing.”
Halloween came early for some in the Cedar Valley as Angels Memorial Park in Evansdale welcomed guests for a safety day on Saturday afternoon.
It featured trick or treating, free food, a Kids Zone and face painting stations. They went through over 300 pounds of candy. Event board member Dona Klein estimated between 1500 and 2000 people showed up at Angels Park.
Continue reading “Event at Angels Park raises awareness for children’s safety around Halloween”
Led by their professor, a group of law students at the University of South Dakota (USD) seeks to get hands-on experience practicing law while aiding lower-income families and individuals with federal tax disputes.
Students taking the Low-Income Tax Clinic (LITC) class at USD represent clients below the poverty level, established by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), who need help dealing with tax issues including, assessments, collections and compliance.
Continue reading “Through USD Tax Clinic, Law Students Offer Free Tax Representation”
People who shield their wealth through financial trusts in South Dakota aren’t tax evaders, according to a Sioux Falls lawyer.
Terry Prendergast told the South Dakota Trust Association conference on Friday trusts are “nothing more” than a way to defer paying taxes until some future date. The federal IRS has complex regulations on how trust income must be reported each year.
Continue reading “Lawyer says South Dakota trusts defer taxes but don’t avoid them”
South Dakota, one of a dozen states that has strict limits on who can qualify for Medicaid, could vote in November to expand health care coverage to thousands more people. A new state poll finds that supporters currently outweigh the opposition, but a large percentage have not made up their minds.
Roughly half – 54 percent – of registered voters in South Dakota support Medicaid expansion less than a month before the public decides the midterm referendum, according to final results from the SDSU Poll.