South Dakota SCIF plan puzzles DHS, CISA officials - POLITICO

There are also concerns around funding for the installation — which would need to be built from scratch and could cost millions — and some argue the move could give the Noem-aligned Dakota State University a leg up on future federal contracts...

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/20/south-dakota-scif-cisa-noem-00736496 

Feds end a civil rights agreement on treatment of Native students, citing DEI - The Washington Post

In a 28-page letter signed last May, the federal government outlined its concerns that Native American and White students had been treated differently. The school district, which is the second-largest in South Dakota, agreed to take a number of steps, including staff trainings, better communication with parents and ongoing monitoring. 

Less than a year later, in a new letter, the Trump administration told the Rapid City Area School District it was terminating the agreement. The district is no longer required to make any of the changes. The agreement itself, the Education Department said, was a violation of civil rights law because it included requirements related to diversity, equity and inclusion...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/04/08/trump-native-american-students-civil-rights-south-dakota/

 

Republican states claim zero abortions. A red state doctor calls that 'ludicrous' - ABC News

"To say there are no abortions going on in South Dakota is ludicrous," said Amy Kelley, an OB-GYN in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, citing female patients who have come to her hospital after taking abortion pills or to have medical procedures meant to prevent death or end nonviable pregnancies. "I can think of five off the top of my head that I dealt with," she said, "and I have 15 partners."

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/republican-states-claim-zero-abortions-red-state-doctor/story

Anatomy of a book banning: TO BE DESTROYED I MSNBC FILMS

TO BE DESTROYED follows author Dave Eggers as he meets with students and teachers in the Rapid City, SD school district where his novel, “The Circle”, was pulled from shelves along with works by Alison Bechdel, Stephen Chbosky, Bernardine Evaristo and Imbolo Mbue. Through footage of heated school board meetings, community rallies and interviews with locals, we learn how these books were designated “to be destroyed”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8AECXju6yc

South Dakota, Texas Block Local Universal Basic Income Laws - Bloomberg

Research has complicated those critiques: After a year of receiving $500 a month, participants in a pilot guaranteed income program in Stockton, California, saw greater increases to their full-time employment rates than members of a control group who weren't receiving the regular payments. 

Research also shows people use the cash for essentials like rent and food; participating in pilots has also been shown to improve some people's physical and mental health. The expanded Child Tax Credit — an example of the kind of far-reaching, unrestricted cash transfer advocates would like to see applied nationally — helped lift an estimated 3 to 3.5 million children out of poverty in each of its first three months in 2021…

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-17/south-dakota-texas-block-local-universal-basic-income-laws

South Dakota governor banned by two more Native tribes in state

The move by the Yankton Sioux tribe and the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate tribe last week follows criticism from the governor who has – without evidence – accused tribal leaders of "personally benefiting" from drug cartels. The Oglala, Rosebud, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux tribes banished Noem earlier this year...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/13/kristi-noem-banned-tribes-south-dakota

For Republican Governors, Civics Is the Latest Education Battleground - The New York Times

Virginia, Florida and South Dakota have new standards that focus on patriotism, Christianity and anti-communism. But debating current events? That's discouraged...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/us/republican-governors-civics-education.html

Failed South Dakota House candidate arrested on rape charge following election loss

Republican Bud Marty May, 37, was arrested just days after he lost in a race against his mother…

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/failed-south-dakota-house-candidate-arrested-rape-charge-election-loss-rcna57590+

South Dakota nurse says many dying patients still insist COVID-19 'not real' | TheHill

... "People want it to be influenza, they want it to be pneumonia," Doering said. "We've even had people say, 'You know, I think it might be lung cancer.' ... Even after positive results come back, some people just don't believe it."...

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/526204-south-dakota-nurse-says-many-dying-patients-still-insist-covid-19-not

In South Dakota, trans youth just want health care and peace. Politicians are making that difficult.

A new law going through the Statehouse could put doctors in jail for providing gender affirming care to transgender minors.
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/south-dakota-trans-youth-just-want-health-care-peace-politicians-n1131791

South Dakota Lawmakers Just Voted to Send Doctors to Jail for Helping Trans Kids - Mother Jones

Many other states have similar laws in the works.....
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/01/south-dakota-transgender-minor-health-care-bill/

South Dakota Doctors Could Face Criminal Charges Over Prescribing Puberty Blockers for Trans Teens

If it passes into law, South Dakota’s HB 1057 would criminalize doctors in the state who prescribe gender-affirming treatment for transgender teenagers. ....
https://www.thedailybeast.com/south-dakota-doctors-could-face-criminal-charges-over-prescribing-puberty-blockers-for-trans-teens

Billboards oppose ‘In God We Trust’ | Freethought Today

The Freedom From Religion Foundation placed eye-catching billboards in South Dakota’s largest cities to protest a new state law requiring “In God We Trust” in public schools. And it did catch the eyes of Gov. Kristi Noem and several state representatives.....
https://www.freethoughttoday.com/vol-36-no-08-october-2019/billboards-oppose-in-god-we-trust

A red state is plastering ‘In God We Trust’ on the walls of public schools. It’s mandatory - The Washington Post

South Dakota joins a growing list of states that force their schools to display the motto.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/07/27/red-state-is-plastering-god-we-trust-walls-public-schools-its-mandatory/

South Dakota GOP Lawmaker: Business Owners Shouldn’t Have to Serve Black People – Friendly Atheist

South Dakota State Rep. Michael Clark had a strong reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case: Not only did he celebrate the Court’s narrow ruling that a Colorado commission went was hostile to the baker’s faith, he said all business owners should have the right to discriminate, even if we’re talking about bakers refusing to sell cakes to black customers......

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2018/06/06/south-dakota-gop-lawmaker-business-owners-shouldnt-have-to-serve-black-people/

South Dakota GOP Wants to Force Abortion Patients to Visit Fake Clinics - Rewire

Anti-choice politicians in South Dakota are attacking the state’s last abortion clinic to score political points at taxpayer expense, according to reproductive rights advocates. At the center of the controversy is state-directed informed consent counseling required before a person can receive abortion care—counseling currently offered at a Planned Parenthood clinic.....
https://rewire.news/article/2018/02/06/south-dakota-gop-wants-force-abortion-patients-visit-fake-clinics/

Keystone Pipeline Leaks 210K Gallons Of Oil In South Dakota -- TPM

TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone pipeline leaked an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil in northeastern South Dakota, the company and state regulators reported Thursday. ...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/keystone-pipeline-leaks-210k-gallons-of-oil

S. Dakota Bill Lets Christian Adoption Agencies Deny a Child to Gay, Atheist, and Single Parents

A South Dakota bill that has already passed the Senate and is awaiting a vote from the House would allow faith-based foster care and adoption agencies to refuse service to gay couples, atheists, single parents, interfaith couples, divorced people, Muslims, and any other group that may conflict with their sincerely held religious beliefs.

This is what happens when you put the interests of Christians ahead of the children they supposedly care for (with taxpayer funds)....
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/03/02/s-dakota-bill-lets-christian-adoption-agencies-deny-a-child-to-gay-atheist-and-single-parents/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

South Dakota State Senator Compares LGBT Parents to Pedophiles

In a townhall meeting known as a “legislative crackerbarrel,” one South Dakota lawmaker chose some very pointed language to defend a proposed bill that would allow government-funded discrimination against LGBT families and other couples seeking to adopt children....
http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/rjmedwed/south_dakota_state_senator_compares_lgbt_parents_to_pedophiles

State lawmaker’s solution for pregnant workers: ‘You can quit’

Eight male lawmakers shot down a bill that would have helped pregnant employees safely stay on the job....
https://thinkprogress.org/state-lawmaker-pregnant-workers-quit-132e218a66c5#.xgpoa4o3s