A new state government video intended to clarify South Dakota’s only abortion exception has not settled disputes over whether the exception’s legal language is clear enough.

Nancy Turbak Berry chairs the Freedom Amendment Coalition. The group supports Amendment G, a question on the Nov. 5 general election ballot that would legalize abortion in the state. She said the new video is not enough to help physicians, because the video is “ambiguous” and includes disclaimers that the information presented is “not legal advice” and “not legally binding.”

Continue reading “Divide remains on clarity of abortion exception after state releases video” →

A gunman opened fire at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, on Wednesday morning and killed four people, including two students and two teachers.

Authorities were first notified of an active incident when Apalachee High School faculty and staff deployed Centegix CrisisAlert ID technology, equipped with an unobtrusive panic button, to alert officials by pressing down on the badge.

Continue reading “What is Centegix? The safety solution panic button used to notify police of Georgia school shooter” →

State investigators are looking into a third possible crime that took place within a South Dakota government agency.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley confirmed in a Friday press release the state Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating a “criminal matter” in the Department of Revenue.

Continue reading “Another South Dakota government agency is being investigated by the DCI. Which one?” →

More violent crimes are going unsolved in Minnesota today than a decade ago, according to FBI data analyzed by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, a nonprofit working on criminal justice issues.

“In 2022, the year for which we have the most recent data, Minnesota saw 57% of violent crimes go unsolved, 5 percentage points higher than 2012,” the group said in a statement. “This trend contributes to decreased trust in the justice system and retaliatory violence that perpetuates a crisis that many communities face.”

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Governor Kristi Noem has approved the commutation of Renee Eckes’ life sentence. Eckes, now 43, was involved in the murder of David Bauman over 25 years ago. She appeared before the South Dakota Pardons and Paroles Board in July and is set to be released from the South Dakota Women’s Prison in Pierre in late 2026 or 2027.

Continue reading “A Fresh Start: Renee Eckes’ Commutation” →

A new state law to address chronic absenteeism requires notifying parents by certified letter if a student misses school for eight days in a semester. After additional absences, there must be an in-person meeting with a parent or guardian.

The most recent data shows absenteeism is remarkably widespread in Iowa schools. “The levels of chronic absence tend to be highest in the high school level and then middle school and then elementary,” said Common Good Iowa executive director Anne Discher, “but there’s no doubt that even at the elementary level we’re seeing high levels of chronic absence.”

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South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has taken a significant step in addressing alleged monopolistic practices in the live concert industry. Jackley recently announced that he has joined a civil antitrust lawsuit alongside the U.S. Justice Department and 40 other Attorneys General against Live Nation-Ticketmaster.

Continue reading “South Dakota Attorney General Joins Lawsuit Against Live Nation-Ticketmaster” →

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland gave a news conference in Sioux Falls Wednesday and met with local law enforcement.

During his visit, he’ll meet with federal, state and tribal law enforcement leaders throughout the state. KELOLAND’s Tom Hanson will have a full report on what Garland discussed.

Continue reading “Attorney General Merrick Garland talks crimes, drugs in Sioux Falls” →

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will be the country’s next vice president if the Democrats win the upcoming election, but what is his state’s crime rate and how does it compare to others?

Walz, who has been selected as Kamala Harris’ running mate, is seen as a progressive and his record on crime has been criticized by Republicans, with Minnesota-based conservative think tank American Experiment calling the state a new “high crime state.”

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“Criminal laws have grown so exuberantly and come to cover so much previously innocent conduct that almost anyone can be arrested for something,” Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch observed in 2019. Gorsuch elaborates on that theme in a new book, showing how the proliferation of criminal penalties has given prosecutors enormous power to ruin people’s lives, resulting in the nearly complete replacement of jury trials with plea bargains.

“Some scholars peg the number of federal statutory crimes at more than 5,000,” Gorsuch and coauthor Janie Nitze note in “Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law,” while “estimates suggest that at least 300,000 federal agency regulations carry criminal sanctions.” The fact that neither figure is known with precision speaks volumes about the expansion of federal law.

Continue reading “America has too many laws, and that gives prosecutors power to ruin people’s lives” →