South Dakota’s annual Point-in-Time (PIT) homeless count identified 1,431 individuals experiencing homelessness on a single night in January, with a notable increase in those living unsheltered. However, specific numbers for Watertown were not available from the count, and local officials caution that the one-day snapshot presents challenges for accuracy, particularly in colder states.

The count, conducted on January 28th by the South Dakota Housing for the Homeless Consortium (SDHHC), aims to provide an annual snapshot of homelessness across the state. It includes people in shelters, transitional housing, agency-paid motels, and those unsheltered in vehicles, outdoors, or other places unfit for habitation. This data is used for measuring homelessness trends locally, statewide, and nationally.

Continue reading “Point-in-Time Count Shows Rising Homelessness in South Dakota, with Record Unsheltered Rates” →

A Missouri woman has admitted that she committed a crime when she lied about the status of a chimp named Tonka.

Tonia Haddix pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to two counts of perjury and a count of obstruction of justice. All are felonies. Sentencing is currently set for July 16.

“Individuals go to court to seek justice,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith said to reporters outside the courthouse in downtown St. Louis after Haddix’s plea hearing. “There can only be justice from the court if those individuals are honest.”

Continue reading “‘Chimp Crazy’ star Tonia Haddix admits to federal crimes for lying about Tonka” →

The South Dakota Highway Patrol has announced plans to conduct sobriety checkpoints in 14 counties throughout the state during April, including two within the KXLG listening area.

The initiative is aimed at deterring individuals from driving under the influence of alcohol.

Continue reading “Sobriety Checkpoints Planned for 14 South Dakota Counties in April” →

A federal law that makes it a crime to knowingly make false statements to influence the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. does not punish statements that are merely misleading, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The high court ruled for Patrick Daley Thompson, a lawyer and a former alderman who is the grandson of former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and the nephew of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, SCOTUSblog reports. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the unanimous March 21 decision.

Continue reading “Merely misleading statements aren’t illegal under false statements law, Supreme Court says” →

A Henry County family is suing the sheriff for false arrest and malicious prosecution, alleging the county has waged a campaign of “wild west justice” against them.

Curtis and Lori Wagler are suing Sheriff Rich McNamee, Henry County Deputy Carlos Lopez, and the county in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. They allege Lopez’s conduct was “so clearly abusive and in violation of the law that he earned his way to being the sole member of the county’s Brady-Giglio list” – a reference to the list of law enforcement officers known by prosecutors to have been untruthful in the course of their police work.

Continue reading “Iowa couple’s arrest prompts lawsuit alleging ‘wild west justice’ in Henry County” →

Imagine being convicted of a crime—not because you intended to break the law, but simply because what you did was unknowingly illegal. That’s the problem we’re facing as mens rea (Latin for “guilty mind”) is increasingly ignored or watered down in our federal laws.

Without clear mens rea standards, innocent people can be punished for accidental or technical violations of the law. Additionally, the absence of intent requirements gives prosecutors unbridled discretion, which can lead to politically motivated or unfair charges.

Continue reading “Crime or Mistake? Why Intent Matters in the Law” →

A Canadian citizen has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for intentionally damaging energy infrastructure facilities in both North and South Dakota, thanks in part to assistance from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office among several other agencies.

United States District Court Judge Daniel M. Traynor issued the sentence to Cameron Monte Smith, 50, on Monday, March 10, 2025. The sentence was announced jointly by Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl for the District of North Dakota, and U.S. Attorney Alison Ramsdell for the District of South Dakota.

Continue reading “Canadian Sentenced to 25 Years for Attacking Energy Infrastructure in Dakotas” →

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden has signed a bill that will loosen his state’s felony ingestion statutes, which are among the nation’s strictest laws on drug use.

Senate Bill 83 reduces first- and second-offense ingestion of controlled substances from class five felonies to class one misdemeanors. Maximum penalties for the charges, which typically stem from urine test results, will fall from five years in prison and a $10,000 fine to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Continue reading “South Dakota governor signs bill loosening one of nation’s harshest drug laws” →

Iowa law enforcement officials could be subject to a Class D felony charge if they defy state law on immigration enforcement under a bill approved by a House subcommittee Wednesday.

House Study Bill 285 states that law enforcement officers, including elected sheriffs, who “knowingly and intentionally” fail to comply with the state’s laws regarding federal immigration law enforcement, would face a Class D felony charge. The charge is punishable by up to five years in jail and fines of between $1,025 and $10,245.

Continue reading “Bill would impose felony for Iowa law officers who defy state immigration law” →

The only man on death row in South Dakota wants a federal judge to give him another set of appeals because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upended its prior guidance on the authority of federal bureaucrats.

In 2000, Briley Piper, Elijah Page and Darrell Hoadley tortured and killed Chester Allan Poage near Spearfish.

Piper and Page received death sentences; Hoadley was sentenced to life in prison.

Continue reading “South Dakota’s lone death row inmate argues for new appeals in federal court” →