South Dakota on the lookout for elder abuse
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO.com) -- Elder abuse is in the spotlight in South Dakota. This week 82-year-old Richard Spry and 75-year-old Susan Spry, both of Texas, were found guilty of stealing more than 500-thousand dollars from folks in South Dakota. Attorney General Marty Jackley says the state is on the lookout for elder abu...
Apr 13, 2024
Elderly Texas couple guilty of abusing the elderly
PIERRE, SD (KELO.com) -- An elderly Texas couple convicted of abusing the elderly. Attorney General Marty Jackley says 82-year old Richard Spry and his 75-year old wife Susan stole up to a half-million dollars from an adult who was elderly or had a disability. They both face maximum sentences of 27 and 26 years in pr...
Apr 11, 2024
Rounds: tribal police training a problem while he was Governor - State now offering police academy training for South Dakota tribes
WASHINGON, DC (KELO.com) -- Tribal leaders have declared states of emergency due to runaway crime on the reservations. Tribes are having a tough time recruiting officers for law enforcement. Senator Mike Rounds says it's a long-running problem. Tribal leaders are trying to get a handle on runaway crime rates on the r...
Apr 11, 2024
Attorney General's group claims victory on greenhouse gas rules
PIERRE, SD (KELO.com) -- Attorney General Marty Jackley is celebrating a victory over the Biden Administration on greenhouse gas emissions. Jackley and 20 of his colleagues challenged mandates from the U-S Department of Transportation for states to establish overreaching targets for CO2 emissions. Jackley says one thi...
Apr 08, 2024
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Signing bonuses restored to military enlistees
WASHINGTON, DC (KELO.com) -- Making sure the government keeps its word to the soldiers who serve the country. That's the goal of Congressman Dusty Johnson concerning enlistment and reenlistment bonuses. The National Guard Bureau temporarily ran out of money for the bonus program, which pays out signing bonuses ranging...
Apr 08, 2024
Murder charge dropped in Mitchell truck stop case
MITCHELL, SD (KELO.com) -- A second-degree murder charge against a Detroit man who disposed of a female's body at the I-90 Travel Center in Mitchell has been dropped. 60-year old Anthony Harris was charged with murder in the death of 57-year old Melody Fae Gooch of Detroit. Her body was found at the truck stop on Mar...
Apr 08, 2024
Cocaine ring busted up in Spearfish
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO.com) -- Two Texans and a South Dakotan are headed to prison. Kevin Jarero, 23, and Darius Neal, 24, or Corpus Christi, Texas, and Erasmo Briseno, 32, of Spearfish have been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The conspiracy reached from Co...
Apr 06, 2024
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Board of Regents adopts tuition freeze for public college and university students
VERMILLION, SD (KELO.com) -- Meeting in Vermillion Thursday, South Dakota Regents approved a tuition rate freeze for the state's publicly supported colleges and universities. That marks a fifth straight year of no tuition rate increases. Board of Regents Executive Director Nathan Lukkes says it's a big win for studen...
Apr 04, 2024
Governor still willing to work with tribes despite dispute
PIERRE, SD (KELO.com) -- Governor Kristi Noem says she stands by her comments that the state's tribal council members are benefiting from the presence of cartels on their reservations. That follows action by the Cheyenne River Tribal Council to ban her from its reservation - the second tribe to do so. The Oglala Siou...
Apr 04, 2024
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Mitchell murder suspect makes first court appearance
MITCHELL, SD (KELO.com) -- The first court appearance for a man charged in a grisly murder case in Mitchell. 60-year old Anthony Harris is accused of repeatedly running over Melody Gooch, and leaving her body hidden behind a truck stop last month. The suspect and the victim are both from Detroit. Harris was tracked ...
Apr 03, 2024
Governor Noem calls for ban of Mexican Cartels from reservations - another tribe bans the Governor
PIERRE, SD (KELO.com) -- Governor Kristi Noem is now banned from a second Native American Reservation. "Dakota Scout" is reporting that the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Council voted unanimously Tuesday to forbid the governor from coming on to its land. The Oglala Tribe took similar action earlier this year,...
Apr 03, 2024
Dusty Johnson supports Governor Noem's outreach to tribes
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) -- South Dakota Congressman Dusty Johnson is a big supporter of Governor Noem's outreach to the Oglala Sioux. Johnson has attempted to highlight the challenges faced by South Dakota's tribes. Johnson believes fighting crime should not be a partisan issue.
Mar 30, 2024
Huron postal facility to be upgraded...but at a cost
HURON, S.D. (KELO.com) -- The Postal Service will invest up to $3 million to upgrade the processing center in Huron. But as part of the plan, mail processing operations will be shifted to a facility in Fargo. Todd West, president of the South Dakota Postal Worker's Union, doesn't like that idea. The postal service says...
Mar 30, 2024
South Dakota's first "Medal of Honor Recognition Day"
HARTFORD, SD (KELO.com) -- South Dakota just celebrated its first "Medal of Honor Recognition Day". The working holiday was approved by this year's legislature, making South Dakota one of the few states that observes the day. Tom Rooney introduces us to Michael Fitzmaurice of Hartford...the lone remaining C...
Mar 26, 2024
Carbon capture pipeline opponents ready to roll with petition drive
PIERRE, SD (KELO.com) -- The South Dakota Property Rights and Local Control Alliance will be holding a rally today at the Capitol Rotunda right after the 2024 Legislative Session gavels out. The group, made up mostly of property owners, is opposed to the recently signed SB 201, which supporters called the property ow...
Mar 26, 2024
Hockey comes to Watertown
WATERTOWN, S.D. (KELO.com) -- Minor League hockey is coming to Watertown! The North American Hockey League has approved the membership application for Watertown's team, which will be known as the Shamrocks. The Watertown Shamrocks will compete in the Central Division beginning in the 2024-25 season. The Shamrocks will ...
Mar 16, 2024
Texas ranchers get help from South Dakota
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) -- Help is on the way from South Dakota. The Akaska Development Corporation is coordinating the transportation to get hay and feed donations from South Dakota to cattle producers in Texas devastated by recent wildfires. Texas Rancher Billy Hall says they're doing what they can to manage the...
Mar 16, 2024
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Minimum teacher pay becomes law
MITCHELL, SD (KELO.com) -- An important step in climbing out of the basement on teacher pay. Governor Kristi Noem has signed a bill that sets a minimum base pay for teachers of 45-thousand dollars. House Education Committee Chairman Mike Stevens says it's about more than the money. Governor Noem says the legislation ...
Mar 14, 2024
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South Dakota DCI helping investigate Colorado crime lab scientist
PIERRE, SD (KELO.com) -- South Dakota's Division of Criminal Investigation is helping to untangle 15 years worth of Colorado Crime Lab work. A former Colorado crime lab scientist is accused of mishandling DNA testing in 650 cases. Attorney General Marty Jackley says South Dakota's crime lab has a strong national repu...
Mar 14, 2024
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New funding pushing Lewis & Clark toward completion
TEA, SD (KELO.com) -- They're beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. That's the reaction from officials of the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System to the newest round of federal funding. Executive director Troy Larson says Congress approved nearly 19-million dollars for the project. Larson says the ...
Mar 12, 2024
Ongoing search for missing 17-year old
MILLER, SD (KELO.com) -- The search for a missing teenager resumed near Miller this morning. 17-year old Wyatt Rowland was last seen just after midnight early Sunday morning. The Civil Air Patrol and other agencies are helping with the search, along with volunteers.
Mar 12, 2024
Pipeline bills quickly signed into law
PIERRE, SD (KELO.com) -- Governor Kristi Noem wasted no time in signing three major pipeline bills into law. Together, supporters call the measures the "Landowner Bill of Rights" in dealing with Carbon Capture pipelines. Opponents, like landowner Joy Hohn of Hartford, say the package missed the mark. Severa...
Mar 08, 2024
Pipeline bills pass House and Senate, await Governor's signature
PIERRE, SD (KELO.com) -- Legislative leaders are hailing pipeline legislation passed Wednesday as a victory. Carbon Capture pipeline proponents and opponents are coming away from the process feeling shortchanged. Landowners wanting eminent domain reform were disappointed the issue never got off the ground in Pierre t...
Mar 07, 2024
Teacher pay tied to state aid increases
A major portion of the budget is state aid to education. An added twist to the education spending package is a requirement that school districts use state aid increases to boost teacher pay. House Majority Leader Will Mortenson explains the mindset. Senator Liz Larson of Sioux Falls calls that a good start. The bill ...
Mar 07, 2024
Budget and session near completion, but potential problems later this year
PIERRE, SD (KELO.com) -- South Dakota legislators are headed to adjournment, with adoption of the state budget the final order of business. Democratic Representative Linda Duba of Sioux Falls is on the Appropriations Committee, and says it's been much tighter this year as federal funding drops off. But, she says it w...
Mar 07, 2024