Latest news with #RapidCity-based
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rapid City-based foundations partner to support nonprofits that have lost federal funding
A May 2023 aerial view of Rapid City, looking north from downtown. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) Two foundations in South Dakota's Black Hills have announced a partnership to support local nonprofits 'facing disruptions due to shifts in federal priorities.' The Rapid City-based Black Hills Area Community Foundation and the John T. Vucurevich Foundation have launched a joint fund, the Sustaining Black Hills Nonprofits Fund, to offer short-term bridge funding. The partnership, also supported by the Bush Foundation in Minnesota, is designed to provide flexible support for nonprofits as they work through changes in their federal support, while encouraging additional community support for nonprofits. Read South Dakota Searchlight's coverage of Trump administration firings, funding freezes, spending cuts, grant cancellations, tariffs and immigration enforcement. Many nonprofits are experiencing funding reductions or eliminations since the Trump administration began making widespread cuts in government programs. Jacqui Dietrich, John T. Vucurevich Foundation president and CEO, said in a news release that 'nonprofits are under intense pressure, facing rising costs, increasing demand for their services, and declining federal support.' 'While philanthropy can't fill every gap, our community can stand together to help sustain critical services through this transition,' Dietrich said. Chris Huber, Black Hills Area Community Foundation president and CEO, said that without nonprofit services, 'our community's needs don't go away, they go unmet.' The partnership has already provided bridge funding to Seventh Circuit Court Appointed Special Advocates, which recently lost $15,000 after the federal government terminated grant awards to the National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association. The program advocates for children in the court system. Funding has also been provided to Feeding South Dakota and to Working Against Violence Inc., which assists survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal cut to children's advocacy funding ‘abandons American children,' says South Dakota nonprofit leader
Makenzie Huber South Dakota Searchlight A Rapid City-based nonprofit that advocates for children in the state court system lost $15,000 last week after the federal government terminated grant awards to the National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association. The decision 'abandons American children' and will cause ripple effects throughout the state, said Seventh Circuit CASA Program Executive Director Kehala Two Bulls. The organization serves children in Pennington, Fall River and Custer counties. Seven other organizations serve South Dakota's other circuit courts. Volunteers with CASA advocate for children who've been removed from their families and placed in state care due to suspected abuse and neglect. The volunteers meet with the children and other contacts, such as teachers, therapists and caseworkers. They also write reports to judges about the children's needs, strengths and interests to create 'customized services and decision making,' Two Bulls said. Over 330 CASA volunteers worked with 658 children in 37 counties last year, according to the state Unified Judicial System. The national organization suspended all services and support to state and local programs, it announced last week, after the Trump administration's Department of Justice terminated funding. In a statement to Reuters, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said grants were rescinded that 'do not align with the administration's priorities,' but she said the Department of Justice will 'continue to ensure that services for victims are not impacted and any recipient will have the ability to appeal and restore any grant if direct impact on victims can be thoroughly established.' The national CASA office said it is appealing. Though the Seventh Circuit was the only South Dakota CASA office receiving grant funds from the national office, other local organizations rely on services provided by the national organization. That includes training and coordination, Two Bulls said. About 80 percent of the Seventh Circuit CASA's cases are Indian Child Welfare Act cases. Shifting that administrative burden and coordination to states will result in redundancy and reduced efficiencies, she added. 'Children will be destabilized by these changes,' Two Bulls said. 'It's important for people to make these decisions responsibly. Whether people agree with this or not, there's a need for people at a local level to partner with us and step up and come up with the funding, the infrastructure, the support needed, because these are real kids that deserve good futures.' Seventh Circuit CASA was awarded $25,000 in grant funding this year — $5,000 to conduct background checks of volunteers and $20,000 to develop support and specialized services for older youth in the system. The organization already received and spent about $10,000, but won't receive the remaining $15,000. In 2014, 207 kids in the Seventh Circuit were in state care over the course of the year, Two Bulls said. In 2024, that grew to 795 children because cases are taking longer to resolve. Older children are staying in the system longer and aging out once they turn 18 years old, she added. Last year, 35 kids aged out of foster care in the area. Nearly a decade ago, that number was closer to five children a year. About 80 percent of the Seventh Circuit CASA's cases are Indian Child Welfare Act cases. Youth who age out of the system are more likely to become homeless, incarcerated or die than their peers, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Two Bulls said the grant was intended to build supplemental training for advocates focused on building life skills for older children. The grants amounted to about 5 percent of the organization's operating budget, Two Bulls said. While the terminated funding won't shutter the program, she'll have to reallocate funds or find new revenue for the increasing need the grant was intended to address. 'This action was completely disconnected from the need and the vulnerability in our community,' Two Bulls said. 'What we have is less funding and less infrastructure to properly address it. We're painfully aware of how many kids it leaves at risk.' Greg Sattizahn, state court administrator for the South Dakota Unified Judicial System, said in a news release that the state is committed to 'providing leadership, support and encouragement' to the eight CASA nonprofits across the state.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Exploratory drilling projects threaten important Black Hills cultural sites, activists say
Pe' Sla, or Reynolds Prairie, is a high-elevation Black Hills meadow of sacred importance to Lakota people. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) An environmental organization and a Native American advocacy group say two important Black Hills cultural and historical sites face threats from exploratory drilling projects. One of the projects is proposed by Rapid City-based Pete Lien and Sons. It wants to conduct exploratory drilling for graphite on national forest land near Pe' Sla, also known as Reynolds Prairie, which is a high-elevation meadow in the central Black Hills. Graphite is used in electric vehicle batteries, lubricants, pencils and other products. Pe' Sla is a ceremonial site for Lakota people, and it figures prominently in traditional Lakota creation stories. 'Drilling at Pe' Sla would be like drilling under the Vatican or at a sacred site in Jerusalem,' said Taylor Gunhammer, an Oglala Lakota, in a news release. 'Under any circumstances, it is not a place to be considering mining.' Dakota Gold will conduct pre-permit study for potential mine in Homestake area In response to questions from South Dakota Searchlight, a representative of Pete Lien and Sons said the U.S. Forest Service is reviewing the plan's potential impact on sites of cultural and historical significance in the proposed project area, and questions and concerns should be directed to that agency. Gunhammer is a local organizer with NDN Collective, a Native American advocacy group in Rapid City. NDN and the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance are encouraging people to submit comments on the Pete Lien and Sons project and another project that could affect Craven Canyon in the southern Black Hills. That's where a Canadian company, Clean Nuclear Energy Corp., plans to conduct exploratory drilling for uranium on state-owned land located seven miles north of Edgemont. Uranium is the primary ingredient in nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants. The Black Hills Clean Water Alliance and NDN said Craven Canyon contains 7,000-year-old cultural and historical sites of importance to Indigenous tribes, historians and archeologists. A representative of Clean Nuclear Energy Corp., Mike Blady, said in email correspondence with South Dakota Searchlight that the proposed exploration area has been explored and mined previously. A letter to the company from state regulators last year said the area is within a quarter-mile of the edge of Craven Canyon, but Blady said the area is over a mile away. 'We are aware of the cultural significance and are doing everything in our power to ensure that there is no collateral damage,' Blady wrote. 'We have consulted with the state and federal government as well as hosting an open house for Indigenous groups and are confident that there will not be adverse effects. Meanwhile, another company, enCore Energy, hopes to mine uranium in the Edgemont area. Its various state and federal mining permit applications have been bogged down in administrative and court appeals for years. The Clean Nuclear Energy Corp. drilling proposal will be considered by the state Board of Minerals and Environment. The Pete Lien and Sons proposal is under consideration by the supervisor of the Black Hills National Forest. Both proposals are open for public comment. Written comments regarding the Clean Nuclear Energy Corp. proposal must be received by May 14. Comments may be submitted online at by clicking the date under the 'Comment deadline' heading for the project, or in writing to the Minerals, Mining, and Superfund Program, 523 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD, 57501-3182. Comments regarding the Pete Lien and Sons proposal must be received by May 9. Those may be submitted online at by mail to the Mystic Ranger District Office, Attn: Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project, 8221 S. Mount Rushmore Rd., Rapid City, SD, 57702; or by fax at (605) 343-7134. The locations of Pe' Sla and Craven Canyon within the Black Hills of western South Dakota.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal cut to children's advocacy funding ‘abandons American children,' says SD nonprofit leader
The Pennington County Courthouse and jail complex in Rapid City, in June 2023. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) A Rapid City-based nonprofit that advocates for children in the state court system lost $15,000 last week after the federal government terminated grant awards to the National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association. The decision 'abandons American children' and will cause ripple effects throughout the state, said Seventh Circuit CASA Program Executive Director Kehala Two Bulls. The organization serves children in Pennington, Fall River and Custer counties. Seven other organizations serve South Dakota's other circuit courts. Volunteers with CASA advocate for children who've been removed from their families and placed in state care due to suspected abuse and neglect. The volunteers meet with the children and other contacts, such as teachers, therapists and caseworkers. They also write reports to judges about the children's needs, strengths and interests to create 'customized services and decision making,' Two Bulls said. Read more South Dakota Searchlight coverage of Trump administration firings, funding freezes, spending cuts, grant cancellations, tariffs and immigration enforcement on our Federal Fallout page. Over 330 CASA volunteers worked with 658 children in 37 counties last year, according to the state Unified Judicial System. The national organization suspended all services and support to state and local programs, it announced last week, after the Trump administration's Department of Justice terminated funding. In a statement to Reuters, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said grants were rescinded that 'do not align with the administration's priorities,' but she said the Department of Justice will 'continue to ensure that services for victims are not impacted and any recipient will have the ability to appeal and restore any grant if direct impact on victims can be thoroughly established.' The national CASA office said it is appealing. Though the Seventh Circuit was the only South Dakota CASA office receiving grant funds from the national office, other local organizations rely on services provided by the national organization. That includes training and coordination, Two Bulls said. Shifting that administrative burden and coordination to states will result in redundancy and reduced efficiencies, she added. 'Children will be destabilized by these changes,' Two Bulls said. 'It's important for people to make these decisions responsibly. Whether people agree with this or not, there's a need for people at a local level to partner with us and step up and come up with the funding, the infrastructure, the support needed, because these are real kids that deserve good futures.' Seventh Circuit CASA was awarded $25,000 in grant funding this year — $5,000 to conduct background checks of volunteers and $20,000 to develop support and specialized services for older youth in the system. The organization already received and spent about $10,000, but won't receive the remaining $15,000. In 2014, 207 kids in the Seventh Circuit were in state care over the course of the year, Two Bulls said. In 2024, that grew to 795 children because cases are taking longer to resolve. Older children are staying in the system longer and aging out once they turn 18 years old, she added. Last year, 35 kids aged out of foster care in the area. Nearly a decade ago, that number was closer to five children a year. About 80% of the Seventh Circuit CASA's cases are Indian Child Welfare Act cases. Children will be destabilized by these changes. – Kehala Two Bulls, executive director, Seventh Circuit CASA Program Youth who age out of the system are more likely to become homeless, incarcerated or die than their peers, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Two Bulls said the grant was intended to build supplemental training for advocates focused on building life skills for older children. The grants amounted to about 5% of the organization's operating budget, Two Bulls said. While the terminated funding won't shutter the program, she'll have to reallocate funds or find new revenue for the increasing need the grant was intended to address. 'This action was completely disconnected from the need and the vulnerability in our community,' Two Bulls said. 'What we have is less funding and less infrastructure to properly address it. We're painfully aware of how many kids it leaves at risk.' Greg Sattizahn, state court administrator for the South Dakota Unified Judicial System, said in a news release that the state is committed to 'providing leadership, support and encouragement' to the eight CASA nonprofits across the state. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Speaking the same language: Opioid programs connect overdose victims with recovered mentors
Cameron Nielson is a 27-year-old Sioux Falls resident in recovery from opioid use disorder. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) Shame consumed Cameron Nielson as he lay curled and shaking on an emergency room bed. Nurses shouldn't have to rush to care for him, he thought. Other patients deserved attention more than him. This was his seventh relapse. His mother drove him to the emergency room with severe withdrawal symptoms from opioids and Xanax last summer after his drugs were stolen from his safe, he said. Medicine for opioid use saves lives. But SD doctors hesitate to prescribe it, advocates say. SD uses portion of opioid settlement funds to distribute overdose prevention kits 'I hated myself,' the 27-year-old Sioux Falls resident remembered. He accepted medication from one of the nurses to stop the withdrawal symptoms. His head was clearer and he could fall asleep, but the shame remained. Vanessa Needles entered the room after he woke up. She wasn't a nurse, but a peer support specialist meant to connect Nielson to resources. His shame turned to embarrassment, but it soon became gratitude for the medical staff and Needles. Needles spoke his language in a way the nurses and doctors surrounding him couldn't. She overdosed once herself and struggled with alcohol use, eventually leading to a car crash that killed her coworker in 2017. Needles and Nielson started experimenting with drugs and alcohol around 14 years old. They'd both done things and treated their loved ones in ways they regret. He wasn't alone. Needles, who is seven years sober, offered Nielson grace. 'When you're trying to get off of it, the littlest thing makes the biggest difference,' Nielson told South Dakota Searchlight. 'The most valuable thing is having someone understand what you're going through.' Needles is one of nine peer support specialists in eastern South Dakota with Sioux Falls-based nonprofit Emily's Hope. Their work is part of a pilot program overseen by the state Department of Social Services and launched in January 2024 to reduce overdoses by providing 'essential supports and strengthening connections' to local resources, according to a statement from the department. Rapid City-based Project Recovery piloted the program in western South Dakota. The pilots are funded by national opioid settlement dollars, costing $346,445. The national opioid settlement was reached in 2021 to resolve opioid litigation against the country's three largest pharmaceutical distributors and one manufacturer. More than $50 billion in settlement funds are being delivered to state and local governments from the companies accused of flooding communities with opioid painkillers even though they allegedly knew how addictive and deadly the drugs were. South Dakota is set to receive $54 million of settlement funding within the next two decades. The department plans to continue funding the program with settlement dollars through 2029, based on a plan presented to the opioid advisory council in April. The two organizations received a combined 34 referrals since the program's launch and connected with 26 people to provide resources. Between 2016 and 2020, there were more than 2,400 drug-related hospitalizations and 684 drug-related deaths in South Dakota. Angela Kennecke, founder and CEO of Emily's Hope, said the organization works closely with emergency room departments for referrals. Sometimes the initial contact yields later results. One woman who ended communication with a peer support specialist last year picked communication back up this year to seek help. 'I always say a seed is planted,' Kennecke said. 'Even if they don't go into treatment immediately or they don't go on medication and get the help they need, a seed has been planted that there is someone there to help them when they're ready.' Kennecke's daughter, Emily, died of a fentanyl overdose, laced in heroin she injected. Her family was planning to enroll her into a treatment program when she died in May 2018. Project Recovery has found most of its success working with Rapid City's Fusion Center, which is a law enforcement task force. The clinic receives referrals based on overdose data collected by law enforcement. Kendra Joswiak, clinical practice director at Project Recovery, said her response team connected with 82% of activations, 56% of which continue to be engaged in addiction service treatments. Needles, a 30-year-old mother of two — soon to be three — served as a peer support specialist for years in other capacities before working with Emily's Hope to meet with overdose victims in the emergency room. She's previously talked with people struggling with substance use on the street, and she's shared her story with jail inmates. The program bridges gaps in South Dakota's behavioral health infrastructure, she said. It also destigmatizes substance use within the medical profession and in the community, and gives a sense of purpose to those in recovery. 'By helping someone stay sober, I stay sober another day,' Needles said. 'I can stand in front of them and tell them that this is scary and sh—y, but that it's going to get better.' Peer support specialists with Emily's Hope receive a group text when an overdose victim arrives at a Sioux Falls-area hospital. Whoever is available goes, Needles said. Most of the time, people have already checked out of the hospital before a specialist arrives. She remembers when she overdosed a decade ago, and she left the hospital as soon as she could because she was scared. She needed to cope with her emotions, and the only way she knew how was to use again. She and other peer support specialists will follow up with patients after they leave the hospital, dropping off bags of fentanyl test strips or medication to prevent overdose. She'll hand them to the patient, parents or spouses — whoever she can find. After Nielson was admitted to the hospital and into a treatment program through Avera Health, Needles joined him each Friday. She checks in on him to see how he's feeling and has taken him to support meetings since he completed treatment. She sent him a coin and card when he reached three months of sobriety late last year. CONTACT US Nielson is eight months sober. He's taking a Suboxone prescription to eliminate cravings, and he feels more like himself, he said. He started reading again, hasn't missed a day of work and spends time with his 3-year-old son each week. It's something he couldn't have dreamed of a decade ago. Needles' guidance and support reminds Nielson he's not alone and what he's capable of achieving. 'Besides Vanessa, I don't have another person to talk to regularly who knows what I'm going through or is sober,' Nielson said. 'It can kind of get lonely after you cut off every friend you had, since they were all part of my addiction.' One relationship isn't a lot, but it's a start, Needles said. She hopes as others learn about medications for opioid use disorder and about efforts to curb overdose deaths in the state, overdose response teams will be able to reach more people. 'Everybody deserves a little bit of grace,' Needles said. 'We're all struggling one way or another.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
