Latest news with #NOPE
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
SD's Project Prison Reset: What's next
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Project Prison Reset's task force in South Dakota has started to mold their specific recommendations: 1,500 to 1,700 beds at a maximum cost of $600 million located at existing Department of Corrections facilities or proposed locations in the Worthing, S.D. or Mitchell, S.D. areas. 'This is not final action,' task force member and Republican state lawmaker Jon Hansen said Tuesday. 'This is not anybody agreeing to a final plan. This is just getting these options on the table, show us what we can do within the constraints that we're setting forth, and hopefully we have something that we can agree upon, particularly as a legislature on two-thirds' vote.' NOPE says yep to Project Prison Reset's site selection Eventually, the plan is for the entire state legislature to learn about what the task force recommends. And, of course, what the House and Senate decide to do with that information will be their decision. JE Dunn Construction was a contractor for the project with a guaranteed maximum price of $825 million that failed to receive legislative approval in February, and they continue to work with the state. Now, options for consideration in the near future are top of mind. 'So our next meeting is in five weeks,' Lt. Gov. VenHuizen and task force chair said Tuesday. 'Do you think you can have that in five weeks?' 'We will have a version that, yes, we can talk through,' Vance McMillan, senior vice president of the justice group at JE Dunn, said in response Tuesday. 'To say that it's going to be complete, I can't give you that commitment 'cause there's too many options on the table. There will be some options that we can bring to the table, but to say that it would be the one, like I said, that solves all the problems, I can't give you that commitment. If I was nervous about anything, it's the bed count.' The project that failed to get legislative approval in February was designed to last 100 years. 'To get to your dollar amount, we're going to have to look at all options,' McMillan said. 'So, we're going to come in with things that do not meet 100-year building facility. I'm just going to be honest with you.' And, as McMillan says, as 100 becomes 50, pricier challenges will eventually be on the horizon. 'You're going to solve the problem now, but you're kicking a can that you're going to have another problem in 40 years, 50 years, and you're going to go, have to go build something again, and it's going to be twice as expensive then,' he said. Project Prison Reset's task force has already endorsed replacing the aging South Dakota State Penitentiary. Their next meeting is scheduled for July 8. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
NOPE says yep to Project Prison Reset's site selection
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Project Prison Reset's task force in South Dakota has endorsed a plan that rejects a proposed site for a new prison in Lincoln County. The decision is a victory for a group that opposed the construction of a new facility between Harrisburg and Canton. The long fight is over for Kyah Broders and Michelle Jensen, NOPE board members.A new state prison will not be built on this Department of Corrections-owned land near their homes. 'Nothing has really set in yet, other than I'm over the moon that the legislators and our governor obviously brought forth this whole reset process,' said Broders. Former mayor back in court for triple homicide 'It was a big day yesterday and it does it feels great to know that all this hard work all this time, the efforts that it is actually paying off,' said Jensen. The two are part of a group of friends and neighbors who got together and made their voices heard. The group formed a non profit, grew to 12 hundred members, lobbied lawmakers, raised legal funds, educated themselves and fought hard. 'This battle was tough; it was emotionally draining. It was time-consuming. I mean, we all have jobs during the day,' said Jensen. It's clear to them that improvements need to be made in the prison system, but the process needs to remain open. Both Broders and Jensen applaud lawmakers and the new governor, Larry Rhoden. 'It's been a more transparent process, which is how I think all facts of the government should work,' said Jensen. And they are grateful to the hundreds of people who made their opposition to the proposed prison effective. 'It's definitely been a group effort, it's amazing to know that you can make a difference with your voice but you have to get involved and you have to stay involved,' said Broders. Locations in the Mitchell and Worthing areas are possible spots for a future DOC facility or facilities. The task force has also endorsed the possibility of building at current department facilities, which include locations in Sioux Falls and Springfield. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
SF woman sees positive change after elimination diet
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — 47-year-old Brandee Helmich eats mostly whole foods these days. 'I eat pretty clean,' Helmich said. The lifestyle changes come after Avera helped the Sioux Falls woman undergo an elimination diet, a way to pinpoint food sensitivities. State Supreme Court hears NOPE case Tuesday Helmich lives with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia and deals with pain and inflammation. 'Had gained a lot of weight with the medications I was on, not being able to be mobile, at one point I was pretty much in a wheel chair and decided I wanted to take a more natural approach and see if that would help with flare-ups and weight and kind of how I felt,' Helmich said. Through the elimination diet, Helmich cut out several foods, including processed foods, and noticed results right away. 'For me, in the first three weeks, my inflammation pretty much went away,' Helmich said. As she started adding foods back in, she found out what her body doesn't tolerate well. 'I found for instance dairy and gluten caused me a lot of pain, inflammation, and flare-ups almost immediately. Now that I've been on it for a while I can go lactose free instead of no dairy completely,' Helmich said. Dr. Dawn Flickema with Avera Functional and Integrative Medicine says elimination diets are a pretty common tool to use with patients. 'Initially, this was really a kind of difficult thing for me to ask patients to do because I do think changing what you eat is probably one of the hardest lifestyle changes to make, but then clinically, we see so much benefit with patients making food changes that it's become a lot easier thing to counsel,' Flickema said. While Helmich says the elimination diet wasn't easy, it was worth it. 'I still have flare-ups. I'm always going to have a chronic illness, but I have tools to manage it now,' Helmich said. Helmich says she has also decreased the amount of medications she's taking. She says one way she stays on track with her eating plan is meal prepping. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rhoden vetoes petition signature bill
SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — A bill changing how groups gather signatures for ballot measures has been vetoed by Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden Tuesday. State Supreme Court hears NOPE case Tuesday In a news release, Rhoden announced he signed 20 election-related bills while also vetoing one, House Bill 1169. HB1169 requires ballot measure petitions to receive at least 5% of signatures from each of the 35 senate districts based on the last gubernatorial election turnout. Last week, KELOLAND News highlighted two voter advocacy groups that said HB1169 would make South Dakota home to the most extreme geographic petition signature requirements in the country. Under current laws, to get an initiated measure on the ballot, a petition needs signatures equal to 10% of the vote cast in the last gubernatorial election for the entire state. 'We would go from having no geographic distribution requirement to the worst in the country,' Matthew Schweich, with the Voter Defense Association of South Dakota, said last week. 'Just one state senate district, if they don't like an initiative, could choose not to sign it and block it, even if the entirety of South Dakota wanted an opportunity to vote on that constitutional amendment,' Schweich noted. 'This bill has a worthy goal: placing safeguards on the process to add constitutional amendments to the ballot in South Dakota, however, I am concerned that this bill will not withstand scrutiny in the courts,' Rhoden said in his letter issuing the veto. 'This bill attempts to change the South Dakota Constitution in statute, and I believe that approach to be misguided.' 03-25-2025_HB-1169-VETO-LetterDownload There was another issue with HB1169, on how to enforce the 5% per Senate district. Currently, the South Dakota Secretary of State office doesn't report election results from the 35 districts, only by county and precinct. Because they don't release that information, people won't know how many signatures they need to collect to reach 5%. Minnehaha County Auditor: 'New territory' with new election laws Rhoden has signed 177 bills and issued two vetoes this legislative session. Here's the list of the 20 election-related bills signed into law: SB 68 requires an individual be a citizen of the United States before being eligible to vote and to provides a penalty therefor. SB 73 requires that an individual registering as a voter when applying for a driver license be a resident of this state for the purposes of voting. SB 75 requires an indication of United States citizenship status on a motor vehicle operator's license or permit, and on a nondriver identification card. SB 89 repeals the requirement that judicial officers be listed on a separate nonpolitical ballot. SB 91 revises the requirements for a petition to initiate a measure or constitutional amendment or to refer a law. SB 92 requires that the director of the Legislative Research Council and the secretary of state review an initiated measure and determine if the measure embraces more than one subject. SB 106 requires an individual be registered as a voter of this state before being eligible to be a petition sponsor for a ballot measure. SB 164 prohibits the use of a deepfake to influence an election and provides a penalty therefor. SB 173 revises the process by which a recount may be requested. SB 185 amends provisions pertaining to the process by which the qualifications of a registered voter are verified. HB 1062 amends provisions pertaining to the maintenance and publication of the statewide voter registration file. HB 1066 revises residency requirements for the purposes of voter registration. HB 1126 modifies provisions pertaining to the compensation of a recount board. HB 1127 requires that notice of a county's canvass, post-election audit, and testing of automatic tabulating equipment be posted to the secretary of state's website. HB 1130 provides permissible dates for municipal and school district elections. HB 1164 revises the process for nominating candidates for lieutenant governor. HB 1184 amends the deadline for filing a petition to initiate a measure or constitutional amendment. HB 1208 designates an individual using the address of a mail forwarding service or post office box when applying to register as a voter or vote by absentee ballot as a federal voter. HB 1256 requires the inclusion of certain information on a candidate's nominating petition or on a ballot question petition. HB 1264 requires the disclosure of an outstanding loan balance on a campaign finance disclosure report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NOPE board member: ‘Still hurdles to come'
LINCOLN COUNTY, S.D. (KELO) — The future of a new men's prison in South Dakota is up in the air. House Bill 1025 in Pierre originally appropriated money to build a men's prison in Lincoln County, but the House of Representatives removed that section of the bill and ultimately decided not to send the legislation over to the Senate. And while HB 1025 is dead, there remains the possibility that its language and sections could still be included in the body of another bill that is very much alive. House votes to pause CO2 pipeline construction Meanwhile, the segment of rural Lincoln County where the state has wanted to build a men's prison shares several similarities with other slices of eastern South Dakota. 'Where's the police force, where's the ambulance service, where is the medical facilities and then all the volunteer and everything that supports the families,' Jerry Pommer, who lives in the county, said Tuesday. 'There's nothing out here. It's a cornfield.' And officials trying to turn it into something else have been dealt a setback. 'We appreciate the legislators and what they've done for us and everybody that's helped us out,' Mike Hoffman, who lives in the county, said Tuesday. 'All of our local representation.' While HB 1025 is in the recycle bin in Pierre, an excavator was on its way out of a field in rural Lincoln County Tuesday at the proposed prison site. The machinery's movement could be seen as symbolic, but for Hoffman and Pommer, their cause isn't gone. They each belong to the NOPE organization, and Hoffman is a board member; the group's name is an acronym for 'neighbors opposing prison expansion.' 'There is still a fight,' Pommer said. 'I think the NOPE organization is going to continue to be involved in this and continue to take anything that comes our way in the future.' 'It was a good feeling to have that part of it done, but there's still hurdles to come, I believe, yet,' Hoffman said. KELOLAND News requested an interview Monday with South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden on these topics; his office said the opportunity would eventually come. On Monday at the state Capitol, Republican Rep. Aaron Aylward, who represents Lincoln County in Pierre, looked down the road at what could still be coming. 'I know the side that wants this done, the fight isn't over … probably going to see a hoghouse or two come back,' Aylward said Monday. A hoghouse amendment means throwing out all of a bill's contents and putting in different legislation. Time will tell as the 2025 legislative session presses on. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
