Around the State | Local News Stories
SD man accused of Noem, judge threats
(AP) — A South Dakota man is charged with threatening a state official and judge after he allegedly faxed a message to a local TV station saying he planned to kill Gov. Kristi Noem and allegedly emailed a threat to a judge.
Jason Shields was arrested in October shortly after the threats were made, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported. He is charged with a pair of felonies that each carry a maximum five-year prison sentence.
According to court documents, Shields sent a one-page fax to a TV station on Oct. 23 saying he and several others were planning to kill the Republican governor soon. Law enforcement arrested Shields that day. He later told law enforcement officers that he had acted alone, court documents say.
Shield also told officers that a day earlier he had emailed Magistrate Judge Donna Bucher that he wanted her killed because he felt she had made decisions that were not “appropriate or just,” according to court documents.
Shields has not yet entered a plea. His attorney, Sandy Steffen, declined to comment on the charges.
Both the governor’s security team and South Dakota’s court system increased their security protocols after the threats.
Ranch, homestead given historical designation
The Joseph Reynolds Ranch near Rochford and Patterson Homestead in Nemo have been listed to the National Register of Historic Places.
The register is the official federal list of properties important to American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering and culture.
The Reynolds ranch was nominated for its association with the settlement of the Black Hills. The ranch yard contains several historic buildings including a circa 1877 timber-framed barn along a segment of the Cheyenne-to-Deadwood trail. Ranching was the family’s main business, and Reynolds is credited with bringing some of the first purebred cattle into the Black Hills.
The Patterson Homestead was listed for its association with the settlement of the Black Hills. James Patterson came to the Black Hills via Iowa around 1888. In 1900, he and wife Tena ran a boarding house from a log house made from hewn log walls. By 1910, Patterson had purchased the log house and had switched to farming.
Murder suspect released from jail
A Washington state judge has released a man who was arrested for the 1994 murder of a South Dakota native.
According to court papers, the state doesn’t think it has enough evidence to prove its case against Richard Knapp beyond a reasonable doubt.
Audrey Hoellein lived near Aberdeen before moving to Lead then out of state. According to court papers, the 26-year-old was found dead in Vancouver, Washington, in 1994.
The case went cold, but in 2018 investigators identified Knapp as a person of interest. DNA from the butt of a cigarette recovered outside of where he worked matched DNA found at the crime scene.
Chamberlain schools ordered to pay $100K
A federal judge has ordered the Chamberlain School District to pay nearly $100,000 to the family of a child with disabilities to cover the cost of the child’s special education.
The judgments affirmed the earlier conclusions of a hearing examiner who had ordered the district to reimburse parents Judith and Michael Steckelberg for the tuition and travel costs associated with a specialty care facility in Utah.
The ruling from Judge Lawrence Piersol was filed Wednesday in the Southern Division of the US District Court in South Dakota.
The Steckelbergs’ child, now an adult, is identified in court documents as “AMS.”
AMS was described as “an active child” who had a “sudden onset” of physical and behavioral conditions in the fifth grade. The child was soon diagnosed with Pediatric Acute Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, an obsessive compulsive disorder.
The child was hospitalized several times at Avera Behavioral Health in Sioux Falls and missed most of the fifth, sixth and seventh grade school years as a result. The school built multiple individual education plans for the child, but by 2018, the Chamberlain High School principal told the Steckelbergs, “I’m at the point where I don’t think being at CHS is the right setting for AMS.”
Annual bird count scheduled for Dec. 11
Wind Cave National Park will do its annual Christmas Bird Count from 7:30 am to 2 pm on Dec. 11.
Participants should meet in front of the visitor center.
Staff will distribute hiking and driving routes and datasheet packets.
Participants are encouraged to bring lunch, warm clothes, binoculars, field guides and spotting scopes.
The count is patterned after the nationwide National Audubon Society effort to document trends in wintering birdlife throughout the United States.
I-90 lane switch made
The state Department of Transportation is nearing completion on the Interstate 90 reconstruction project from Salem to Humboldt.
On Thursday, westbound traffic was moved from the eastbound lanes for repainting lane lines for eastbound traffic.
When completed on Friday, both traffic lanes were fully operational and all exits along this reconstruction project were reopened.
Since the project began in March, two-way traffic has been used in the eastbound lanes. Work on the 15-mile interstate reconstruction project included recycling the existing surfacing, placement of 11.5 inches of concrete with asphalt shoulders, reconstruction of two bridges, rehabilitation of two additional bridges, replacement of culverts and regrading of low-lying areas.
Michels Road & Stone of Brownsville, Wisconsin, was the general contractor on this $37.5 million project.
SD man loses hundreds to scam
A South Dakota man recently lost hundreds of dollars after he received an email indicating he had won the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes.
After responding to the email, the man received numerous phone calls and was asked to pay taxes to unlock the prize. He made several payments. When the requests continued, the man called the Better Business Bureau.
Publishers Clearing House is one of the largest sweepstakes offered and there is no cost to participate.
Cresbard to implement 2 percent sales tax
Beginning Jan. 1, the town of Cresbard will begin charging a 2 percent sales tax.
South Dakota municipalities can implement tax rates or change existing rates on Jan. 1 or July 1 each year.
Housing Authority awards $13M for new homes
South Dakota Housing Development Authority’s Board of Commissioners recently awarded more than $13 million to assist residents with new multi- and single-family housing, homebuyer assistance, homeowner rehabilitation and homelessness prevention.
The 13 projects funded will provide 220 new multi-family housing units and 18 single-family homes. The programs will provide down payment assistance for 64 households, homeowner rehabilitation for 15 homeowners and services and financial support for 14 households who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
Watertown teacher receives $25K award
A first-grade teacher from Watertown received the Milken Educator Award on Friday.
Abby Turbak of McKinley Elementary School received $25,000 that she can use however she chooses.
Hailed as the “Oscars of Teaching,” Milken Educator Awards inspire and uplift with the unique stories of educators making a profound difference for students, colleagues and communities.
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