Latest news with #DepartmentofGame
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ban on spreading human remains reinstated at Bear Butte State Park
Bear Butte is near Sturgis in western South Dakota. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) Lawmakers reinstated a rule Tuesday to prohibit the spreading of human remains at Bear Butte State Park in western South Dakota. The rule was originally set in 2002 after tribal leaders worked with the Department of Game, Fish and Parks to ban the practice. Bear Butte, called 'Mato Paha' in Lakota, is a spiritual site for Native American tribes. The 4,426-foot solitary mountain on the plains near Sturgis is a national historic landmark, and the area surrounding it became a state park in 1961. A ceremonial area and special campground are reserved for religious purposes, and visitors are asked to respect the area. The department and lawmakers inadvertently repealed the ban in 2019 when they changed several other rules simultaneously, said Jeff VanMeeteren, director of the Division of Parks and Recreation with the department. Tribal leaders requested the mistake be fixed, he said. 'Bear Butte is a sacred worship area by the tribes, and the leaving of human remains is just not an acceptable thing in their culture,' VanMeeteren said. South Dakotans can spread burial ashes at other state parks, VanMeeteren told lawmakers, as long as they get a burial permit and seek permission from the department. The legislative Rules Review Committee unanimously approved the change. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate OKs oversight of property leases, projects
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota Senate has given unanimous approval for lawmakers to have more control over long-term property leases that state government enters, as well as state Department of Game, Fish and Parks projects and leases costing more than $2.5 million. Republican Sen. Chris Karr is prime sponsor of both measures. The 35-0 votes on Monday sends them forward to the House of Representatives for further action. They are in response to deals that were made in the past six years while Kristi Noem was governor. DOC official: No contingency if new prison plan fails Senate Bill 144 would require legislative approval for GFP works. Senate Bill 145 would require legislative approval for 'any proposed real property lease by the state where the initial term of the lease exceeds a commitment of fifteen years and the base rent due during the initial term either exceeds $5,000,000 in total for the rental payments due during the term of the lease or $50,000 per month during the term of the lease.' In recent years, state government entered into leases for One Stop centers in several cities that are costing significantly more than when the services in those communities were offered at various locations. Data provided in the past to the Legislature's Joint Committee on Appropriations showed: In Sioux Falls, the One Stop lease cost $7,648,618 per year. That was a $5,598,740 increase. In Rapid City, the One Stop lease cost $1,760,250 per year. That was a $1,125,056 increase. In Spearfish, the One Stop lease cost $382,610 per year. That was a $197,983 increase. In Huron, the One Stop lease cost $328,474 per year. That was a $211,154 increase. In Madison, the One Stop lease cost $113,738 per year. That was a $29,018 increase. Karr noted that state agencies in turn also needed $11 million of new furniture when they moved into the new locations. The Senate on Monday approved a third Karr measure, Senate Bill 146, that would further restrict financial transfers within state government. 'These would stop those things from happening,' he told reporters afterward about the three-bill package. Karr said the oversight would be required regardless if the project resulted from a gift. Had the legislation been in effect, it would have covered the One Stop leases as well as projects such as the shooting range complex outside Rapid City that GFP plans to open later this year, at an estimated cost of $19.5 million, and the Outdoor Campus East renovations in Sioux Falls that will cost an estimated $6.5 million. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
