Estimated 4.6M Americans can't vote in midterms because of felony convictions, new report says

Estimated 4.6M Americans can’t vote in midterms because of felony convictions, new report says

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.

Continue reading “Estimated 4.6M Americans can’t vote in midterms because of felony convictions, new report says”

Authorities ‘actively investigating’ after woman claims her late father was a prolific serial killer

Authorities ‘actively investigating’ after woman claims her late father was a prolific serial killer

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.”

Continue reading “Authorities ‘actively investigating’ after woman claims her late father was a prolific serial killer”

Park Event Raises Awareness for Halloween Safety

Event at Angels Park raises awareness for children’s safety around Halloween

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”

Through USD Tax Clinic, Law Students Offer Free Tax Representation

Through USD Tax Clinic, Law Students Offer Free Tax Representation

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”

Lawyer says South Dakota trusts defer taxes but don’t avoid them

Lawyer says South Dakota trusts defer taxes but don’t avoid them

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”

Poll: About half of South Dakota voters want Medicaid expansion, but many remain undecided

Poll: About half of South Dakota voters want Medicaid expansion, but many remain undecided

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.

Continue reading “Poll: About half of South Dakota voters want Medicaid expansion, but many remain undecided”

South Dakota Takes Part in the United States Department of Justice’s Wide-Ranging Efforts to Protect Older Adults

South Dakota Takes Part in the United States Department of Justice’s Wide-Ranging Efforts to Protect Older Adults

The Justice Department has announced the results of its efforts over the past year to protect older adults from fraud and exploitation. During the past year, the Department and its law enforcement partners tackled matters that ranged from mass-marketing scams that impacted thousands of victims to bad actors scamming their neighbors. Substantial efforts were also made over the last year to return money to fraud victims. This week, the Department also announced it is expanding its Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force to amplify efforts to combat scams originating overseas.

Continue reading “South Dakota Takes Part in the United States Department of Justice’s Wide-Ranging Efforts to Protect Older Adults”