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CDC report on Smithfield COVID outbreak in Sioux Falls was redone with ‘watered down’ safety recommendations

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved a final report on a massive COVID-19 outbreak at the Smithfield Foods plant in Sioux Falls, then retracted that report and redid a second final report with much less stringent worker-safety recommendations. The first report was dated April 21, 2020, and

South Dakota criminal and civil traffic laws favor drivers over pedestrians in collisions

South Dakota traffic laws place more responsibility on pedestrians to be on the lookout for errant drivers than they do for drivers to watch out for walkers, joggers and cyclists when it comes to assigning liability in vehicle versus pedestrian accidents. The state criminal and civil laws are unique among

SD sheep farmers hurting as pandemic reduces demand and processing capacity

In March 2020, the sheep-farming industry in South Dakota — the sixth-largest in the country — was humming along nicely. After a few sluggish decades, prices for meat and wool were at or near all-time highs and markets were stable. Fine-dining restaurants and the cruise-line industry continued to fuel strong demand for

Crash experts question Ravnsborg’s car-deer explanation and raise concerns of distracted driving

HIGHMORE, S.D. – An experienced traffic-accident reconstruction expert is casting doubt on the claim made by South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg that he thought he hit a deer with his car the night of Sept. 12 when in fact he had struck and killed a man. Kurt Weiss is

Family of victim in attorney general crash worries if investigation will be thorough; Ravnsborg makes formal statement

Two cousins of the man killed when a car driven by South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg struck him say they worry the investigation into the incident is not being handled properly. Victor and Nick Nemec are both cousins of Joseph Boever, 55, who was killed when Ravnsborg struck him

SD election officials say vote-by-mail and voting at polls will be safe, fair and accurate

Editor’s note: This article, the first in an ongoing series on the 2020 election, was produced through a partnership between South Dakota News Watch and the Solutions Journalism Network, a national non-profit group that supports rigorous journalism about responses to problems. The people who will operate and oversee the

Concerns arise over merger of SD agricultural and environmental agencies

PIERRE, S.D. – Some South Dakota farmers, ranchers and environmental advocates are concerned about Gov. Kristi Noem’s plan to combine the state Department of Agriculture and Department of Environment and Natural Resources into a single agency and are wondering what the new agency could mean for the state’s