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Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
State offering free PFAS cleanup to local fire departments, schools
Firefighting foam, used at airports and military bases, has been identified as a source of toxic PFAS chemicals. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fire Administration) The state of South Dakota will spend up to $250,000 to clear PFAS chemicals from local areas in the coming year. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS or 'forever chemicals,' break down at an exceedingly slow rate in the natural environment. They're found in products like nonstick cookware, water-resistant items like umbrellas or rain jackets, and cleaning products, among other items. Concerns about their prevalence in the environment and their impacts on human health have grown steadily in recent years, as they've been discovered in drinking water, fish and food packaging. SD House defeats bill requiring 'forever chemical' labels on firefighting gear PFAS are also found in a kind of firefighting foam that's fallen out of favor, but fire departments around the U.S., including in South Dakota, still have some and need to dispose of it. The South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources awarded a $250,000 Solid Waste Management grant to the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) last month to help communities collect and dispose of some PFAS sources. The citizen-led water resources board evaluates projects and signs off on funding through the solid waste program. The grant will allow fire departments with PFAS foam, or schools whose science labs may still have chemicals, to summon the department's contractor to collect and safely dispose of them at an out-of-state location. The state will also reach out directly to agencies, and has begun to contact fire departments, airports, and other public entities by phone to find out if they have PFAS for disposal. The money comes from the Inspection, Compliance, and Remediation program, funded by a mix of fuel tank inspection fees and the sale of lottery tickets. Typically, cleanup grants through the program cover 80% of cleanup costs, with the entity requesting cleanup expected to cover the rest. The South Dakota Legislature approved Senate Bill 33 this year to let DANR put $250,000 of program funds toward PFAS cleanups with no local match. Andy Bruels with the DANR told the water resources board in March that a previous PFAS cleanup a few years ago cleaned up 'a fair amount of material.' The contractor hauled it out of state for disposal, as typical landfills can't adequately prevent the chemicals from continued seepage into the environment. The legislation also allowed for the grants to be used in waste tire cleanup, but Bruels said the primary focus will be PFAS and that it's unlikely much will be left for that secondary purpose. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What you need to know before you go: March 14, 2025
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Here are the top headlines from this morning. State lawmakers in Iowa are still debating school funding, even as schools face a budget deadline tomorrow. Iowa House Republican leadership holding strong on its education funding proposal South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden vetoed a bill that would have helped more child care workers afford care for their own kids. SD House rejects veto override of child care bill Property tax increases are limited in South Dakota after Governor Rhoden signed a bill into law. SD Gov. Rhoden to offer new way to counter property taxes Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
It's not hard to figure out why young South Dakotans don't want to be teachers
A student works on schoolwork at Journey Elementary School in Sioux Falls on Dec. 5, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) The leader of South Dakota's public universities gave a telling answer recently when a legislator asked him why the higher education system isn't churning out enough teaching graduates. 'We're seeing a drop-off in interest,' said Nathan Lukkes, executive director of the Board of Regents. 'If you go back 10, 20 years and you look at the percentage of students that were coming and wanted to be teachers versus today, the interest is going in the wrong direction.' Gee, I wonder why. Maybe it's because South Dakota raised its state sales tax rate by a half-percentage point nine years ago, ostensibly to increase teacher pay, only to lose focus and let the state's average teacher salary slide back to 49th in the nation. South Dakota House advances bill policing bathroom use, but related ID bill fails SD House defeats gender identity notification bill and taxpayer-funded education lobbying ban SD Senate rejects property tax credits for nonpublic education options House defeats bill requiring South Dakota state motto or seal in classrooms Bill requiring posting, teaching of Ten Commandments fails in SD House Lawmaker loses vice chairmanship after trying to defund Huron schools over bathroom issue Full Education archive Maybe it's because in 2019, instead of solving real problems in education, lawmakers passed a bill that requires every public school in the state to display the national motto, 'In God We Trust.' Maybe it's because in 2022, then-Gov. Kristi Noem politicized the revision of social studies standards by disbanding the original working group and reappointing her own handpicked, ideologically aligned members. Maybe it's because last year, legislators passed a law mandating higher teacher pay without providing school districts any more funding than they typically receive. Maybe it's because this year, the governor is proposing a 1.25% increase in state funding for public schools, which is less than half the current rate of inflation. Maybe it's because public schools and their lobbyists had to fend off three bills so far this winter that would have diverted millions of dollars from public education and doled it out as various forms of vouchers for private school tuition, homeschooling and other nonpublic alternatives. Maybe it's because public schools and their lobbyists also had to fend off bills this winter that would have required displays of the Ten Commandments and the state motto, 'Under God, the People Rule,' in every public school classroom. Maybe it's because some legislators reacted to the defeat of the voucher bills and the Ten Commandments and state motto bills by trying, unsuccessfully, to punish school boards by barring them from using public funds to hire lobbyists. Maybe it's because a state representative — Phil Jensen, a Rapid City Republican — tried to defund Huron schools recently after somebody told him a transgender girl was using girls' bathrooms in the district. And maybe it's because another state representative — Brandei Schaefbauer, an Aberdeen Republican — is trying to create a law that would turn teachers and school administrators into bathroom police. Or perhaps it's because of the way some Republican legislators routinely demonize teachers, administrators, school boards and their lobbyists for having the audacity to seek adequate resources for public education. House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, sponsored one of the voucher bills and cosponsored the legislation to bar school boards from using public funds to hire lobbyists. During a recent Republican leadership press conference, he complained about the education lobby's influence. 'They come up with one answer to everything, and that's more money,' Odenbach said. In the state Senate, Republican Lauren Nelson of Yankton has been a legislator less than two months but is already aggravated about schools wanting additional funding. And she has teaching experience, although notably in private and homeschool settings in addition to public schools. 'The question I have is, when will the public schools have enough money?' Nelson blurted during a bill hearing recently. She was advocating for legislation that would have provided property tax credits for nonpublic educational costs. Nelson seemed to be railing against the public education establishment at large with no expectation of an answer, but I've got one for her: Enough money to rise out of 49th place in average teacher pay would be an obvious place to start. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX That doesn't appear likely to happen this legislative session. A growing number of Republican legislators are openly hostile to public education and are on a mission to strip away its funding and redistribute it to nonpublic alternatives that operate with no accountability. Some of them are waging a holy war, motivated by an unconstitutional craving for taxpayer support of religious instruction. Those lawmakers should stop treating public education lobbyists like enemies of the state. School board members, administrators and teachers can't come to Pierre every winter, because they're busy trying to educate South Dakota's children. Public education lobbyists are their voices in the halls of power. One of those lobbyists is Rob Monson, a former teacher and principal from Parkston, who serves as executive director of School Administrators of South Dakota. 'Public education is absolutely what made this country what it is,' Monson told reporters recently. 'If we lose public education, we will lose this country.' 'And that is my core,' he continued. 'That is our belief as an association, that we will fight all we can and with every breath we have to protect the sanctity of public education where all students — no matter their color, race, economic status or disability — are welcome in our doors every single day.' What if the governor and every South Dakota legislator felt that way about public education and worked that hard to protect and support it? Maybe young South Dakotans would once again view teaching as a viable career path.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Showdown over $825 million prison looms for state House of Representatives
Attendees await a hearing on budgeting for a proposed men's prison on Feb. 20, 2025, at the South Dakota Capitol in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) PIERRE — A prison that would be the most expensive taxpayer-funded project in South Dakota history has once again failed to earn support from the lawmakers who hold the key to the last $182 million needed to build it. The state's budget-setting committee voted Thursday to send a bill to fund the new men's prison to the floor of the House of Representatives with no recommendation for or against it. Because it appropriates funds, it needs to pass that chamber by a two-thirds majority. 'This deserves to be heard, by the entire body, with an up and down vote, on the floor tomorrow,' said Rep. Mike Derby, R-Rapid City. SD House panel lukewarm on bill to finalize new men's prison funding Thursday's action sets up a Friday showdown between supporters and opponents of a 1,500-bed prison that Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden called a top priority this week. No lawmaker on the Joint Appropriations Committee telegraphed their feelings on the project, but legislative leaders said at a press conference held earlier in the day that the bill's success is not certain. 'This thing, right now, I see is floundering a bit as far as passing,' said House Speaker Pro Tempore Karla Lems, R-Canton, who is a frequent critic of the prison plan. 'That could change when it gets to the floor, obviously. We don't know what the votes will be until they get on the board.' Rhoden, before departing to Washington, D.C., to meet with federal leaders in the Trump administration, called on lawmakers to follow through on the prison. He lauded the Senate's passage of a separate bill to rename the prison system as the 'Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,' and said the state needs a new prison if it expects to live up to the promise of the moniker. 'We need to put our money where our mouth is,' Rhoden said. 'The unfortunate truth is, rehabilitation is not possible in the current state penitentiary. The facility is Gothic, it's old and it's decrepit.' The budget committee's neutral recommendation Thursday was preceded by around an hour of back-and-forth about the prison. The price is set at $825 million before factoring in road construction or ongoing operational costs. Supporters spoke first. Ryan Brunner, a policy analyst in Rhoden's office, said the $825 million guaranteed price would slip from the state's grasp if legislators take the advice of opponents and spend a year studying alternative solutions for overcrowding at the penitentiary in Sioux Falls. The new prison on a rural site south of Sioux Falls would largely replace that older facility, state officials have said. The guarantee of a maximum price ends March 31. Resistance to final budget request for new prison 'a real possibility' in Pierre 'That price will only go up if this project does not continue to move forward in some way,' Brunner said. State Engineer Stacy Watters said lawmakers could wind up on the hook for $100 million in upgrades to 'bring it up to code' if their plans involved continued use of the penitentiary, which was built in 1881. 'Three years ago, when discussing the new prison, I halted all maintenance and repair projects at the Hill that were not emergency in nature,' Watters said, referring to the penitentiary by its informal name. There are multiple roof replacements needed across the penitentiary grounds, she said, as well as a need to address HVAC projects in the administration area, fire suppression system upgrades in recreation buildings, and heat pump replacements, upgrades to LED lighting and 'repairing walls that are pulling away from the building structure' in parts of the penitentiary. Department of Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko, echoing Rhoden, testified that the new facility would free up space across the system to offer rehabilitation programming like substance abuse treatment and parenting classes, and to add job training. 'We need space to do this, and we can only accomplish this with a new facility,' Wasko said. The site of a proposed men's prison in southeastern South Dakota. Some of the comments from Brunner, Watters and Department of Corrections Secretary Wasko addressed concerns brought to lawmakers' attention by Doug Weber, the retired chief warden and former longtime director of prisons at the state DOC. The former warden has come out strongly and publicly against the prison plan in recent weeks. He's sent seven letters this year to lawmakers, spoken to media outlets and addressed Republican leaders during a closed door, face-to-face meeting in Pierre. Lems told South Dakota Searchlight on Thursday that Weber's dispatches have offered insight to lawmakers who feel the executive branch has 'not been transparent.' Lems is among the elected officials supporting efforts to pause prison funding and study options before the state dips into the $600 million, interest-bearing incarceration construction fund it created for correctional projects three years ago. 'I'm not saying don't do anything,' said Lems. 'Overcrowding is an issue. We do have the money set aside, and that's a good thing.' A 2021 report from Nebraska's DLR Group offered up a 1,500-bed multi-custody-level men's facility as its top recommendation to address the prison system's woes. Private employers say they were pushed out of state prisons But Weber contends the state's laser-like focus on that recommendation is short-sighted. The same report suggested several other options, including new facilities on the grounds of Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield, in Rapid City, on the penitentiary grounds, and near Yankton's Human Services Center (HSC). Such facilities would serve different kinds of inmates with different needs, which Weber said is important in a prison system with fewer than 300 maximum security inmates. Wasko's pleas for a single new prison – a prison bid as a Level V, or high-custody, facility – are essentially her 'trying her best to make this prison, in my opinion, into something that it's not.' 'I'm going to continue to refer to it as a 1,500-bed human warehouse, a massive human warehouse, because that's really what it looks like to me right now,' Weber told South Dakota Searchlight. The state has spent millions to maintain the penitentiary over the years, Weber said. It can safely serve its purpose – like prisons of similar design such as California's San Quentin Rehabilitation Center – particularly if enough medium-security inmates could be moved out to leave one inmate per cell, according to Weber. That's what it was designed for. The state added more cameras, lighting and other security upgrades during Weber's tenure, following the 2011 murder of Correctional Officer Ronald 'R.J' Johnson. The campus training center was upgraded and named after Johnson a few years later. State official says new men's prison will alleviate health risks during heat events Just a few years ago, the state installed air conditioning at the penitentiary, and put around $300,000 toward a new elevator in the penitentiary's administration wing. Following Thursday's vote, Weber characterized Watters' $100 million list of facility fixes as mostly 'wish list' maintenance unrelated to the basic functioning of the penitentiary's housing areas. Former state Speaker of the House Steve Haugaard has also come out as a vocal opponent. On Thursday, Haugaard once again testified against the prison bill. The state needs to focus on rehabilitation and recidivism, he said, consider all its options, and do a better job managing its penitentiary operations. 'I've been in the penitentiary hundreds of times over the course of my career,' said Haugaard, a Sioux Falls lawyer. 'It's perfectly suitable to get the job done if you just hire the staff that you need.' Wasko responded by reminding the committee that lawmakers had boosted staff pay to address open positions a few years ago. The DOC is at its lowest vacancy rate in 10 years, she said, and 'that is something to be commended.' 'As of the last six months, our problem has not been to recruit, it's been to retain,' she said. 'And I think we've got a lot of initiatives in place to improve that retention.' Watters addressed the Yankton idea, suggesting that the state would struggle to staff a prison in that city. The HSC is the state's psychiatric hospital. 'You'll hear that we should construct a new prison in Yankton to be closer to HSC and medical services,' she told the committee. 'However, as of right now, HSC has four of their 16 pods closed due to lack of staffing.' Wasko and Brunner, meanwhile, maintained that the state's plan is for a 'multi-custody' facility. Its units would be flexible and able to serve the needs of any kind of inmate, they said. 'This is not the maximum security facility you've been told it is,' Wasko said. According to the Department of Corrections website, a Level V facility is the most secure available. It must 'have double perimeter fencing with razor wire and detection devices or equivalent security architecture.' The perimeters 'must be continuously patrolled.' In South Dakota, only the Jameson Prison Annex on the penitentiary grounds in Sioux Falls and South Dakota Women's Prison in Pierre are Level V facilities. The 1881 penitentiary that the new prison will largely replace is a Level IV facility. The request for information sent to potential bidders in 2023 asked those bidders to present a plan for 'a 1,500-bed Level V facility.' A bid document for an environmental assessment also uses the same language. Critics have pointed to a 1,500-bed Nebraska prison priced at $350 million as proof that South Dakota is overbuilding. Consternation over that figure has bubbled over in multiple legislative meetings about the South Dakota prison, both before and during the 2025 session. Calls for transparency and accountability permeate prison commission meeting South Dakota officials have repeatedly responded by saying that the Nebraska prison is for medium-security inmates, and by saying the price tag is a moving target without the certainty of a guaranteed maximum price. According to reporting from the Lincoln Journal Star, officials in that state said at an August groundbreaking that the $350 million figure should hold. On Thursday, however, Nebraska Department of Correctional Services spokeswoman Dayne Urbanovsky told South Dakota Searchlight that the main building construction package for the new prison 'will be bid out in the spring.' 'As for projected total construction costs, I do not have those numbers at this time,' she wrote. J.E. Dunn Construction guaranteed the $825 million price for South Dakota. Vance McMilllan of J.E. Dunn told lawmakers that the Nebraska price tag, whatever it winds up being, is for a less durable facility. 'You've asked us to look at a facility that is going to last 100 years,' McMillan said, adding that 'I know for a fact' that some of the buildings in the Nebraska prison will be made of metal. 'Metal buildings will not last 100 years,' he said. When asked on Wednesday if the South Dakota prison price would be lower if the state had asked for a lower-custody facility, Brunner said he'd have to 'look at all the classification levels' to know for sure. He said South Dakota's design will accommodate mostly medium-security inmates, but that the new prison's design makes it like a five-speed pickup, for which you can use 'all five speeds.' 'A modern cell is concrete wall, concrete floor, steel door, two people per cell,' Brunner said. 'And so that's the facility that's been designed.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
We don't need a surveillance state to protect kids online
(Illustration by) Adults have a First Amendment right to look for and access information online, including sexual content. But House Bill 1053, a bill aimed at limiting minors' access to online content, would require people to undergo an invasive age verification process before accessing adult content online. As a parent myself, there are certainly online materials that I don't want my children to view, but I don't need a surveillance state rife with unintended consequences to accomplish this goal. Laws that seek to impose age verification systems on sites with adult content might sound reasonable at first, but the devil is in the details. SD House approves age verification bill; some Democrats raise censorship concerns Under House Bill 1053, adults would be required to upload personal data, such as a photo ID, with companies that claim to verify their age. Efforts to childproof the internet like this not only hurt everyone's ability to access information, but also pose numerous threats to our online privacy and safety. If this bill passes, every single website with any amount of 'material harmful to minors' would require all users to upload their government-issued ID, bank account information, or credit card number to prove their age, and make otherwise suitable content completely off-limits for minors. This is akin to barring minors from an entire library because one shelf contains adult materials. Unlike in-person ID checks, online age verification exposes every website visitor to privacy and security risks. That means it seriously burdens the rights of adults to read, get information, speak and browse online anonymously. Records of our personal information tied to details of the adult content we watch, sexual questions we have, or interests or identities we're exploring could make millions of people vulnerable to harassment, blackmail and exploitation. Because of that, House Bill 1053 would undoubtedly have a chilling effect on free expression online. The legitimate fear of having personal information exposed may deter adults from accessing legal and consensual adult content, thereby limiting their freedom to explore and express themselves in a private digital space. The Supreme Court has ruled that states can restrict a minor's access to adult material, but legislators must navigate a delicate balance mandated by the U.S. Constitution. The law cannot inhibit a minor's access while simultaneously burdening an adult's right to access the same material. In a precedent-setting case, Reno v. ACLU, the courts deemed age verification requirements were unconstitutional when a less restrictive alternative exists. For example, the voluntary installation of parental control filters. In January, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, a challenge to a Texas law that, like House Bill 1053, requires people to undergo an age verification process before accessing adult content online. A decision in the case is expected by early summer 2025. Is there harmful content on the internet for young viewers? Undoubtedly. But not every societal ill requires a solution from the government. Young people deserve our protection and support, but age-gating the internet is not the answer — especially considering that for the more tech-savvy users, all of these attempts at censorship would fall short anyway. The only way that a website can determine whether a user is located in a particular state is to use the geolocation data provided by the user's device. But all you need to get around these censors is a virtual public network, or VPN. Kids can easily circumvent the proposed age verification requirements. Is there harmful content on the internet for young viewers? Undoubtedly. But not every societal ill requires a solution from the government. In this case, parents already have the tools they need to keep explicit and harmful content away from kids. Built-in parental controls allow us to set screen time limits, review app permissions (such as our kids' camera, location and contacts), block apps and approve downloads, block sites and filter content. Despite the numerous tools parents have to keep their kids safe online, fewer than 15% of parents activate these tools. Rather than infringing on constitutional rights, we should focus on educating parents about these existing solutions. Allowing loosely regulated surveillance of our online activity is dangerous and opens the door for government censorship. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
