The Daily Slice, your Black Hills news podcast in under 10 minutes. Delivered every morning Monday-Friday at homesliceaudio.com/dailyslice
Tony Venhuizen Named South Dakota’s Next Lieutenant Governor
PIERRE, S.D. – A Sioux Falls lawmaker is set to become South Dakota’s next lieutenant governor. Governor Larry Rhoden nominated Republican Rep. Tony Venhuizen to succeed him after former Gov. Kristi Noem resigned last week to join President Donald Trump’s cabinet. Venhuizen, 42, is in his second term representing District 13 in the state House. A former chief of staff under both Noem and Gov. Dennis Daugaard, Venhuizen is known as a pragmatic conservative and a prolific political fundraiser. He’s also served on the South Dakota Board of Regents, and currently leads the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation.
Jackson Ponds Undergoing Drainage and Dredging Project
RAPID CITY, S.D. – City Parks crews and South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks contractor crews have begun working to drain and dredge the Jackson Ponds along Jackson Boulevard across from Jackson Park. City Parks officials are advising the public to stay away from the work areas for the duration of the project, which is expected to be completed by mid-March. Parks crews are pumping water out of the ponds in preparation for dredging out the silt by contractor crews, which is scheduled from early February through mid-March. The ponds are located on the south side of Jackson Boulevard across from Jackson Park between Argyle Street and Central Boulevard.
Pennington County Chair Pushes for Return to Five-Day Workweek
RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Chair of the Pennington County Commission says community feedback he is receiving shows great support for a return to a five day work-week for the county administration building. Ron Weifenbach says the current four day availability is a recurring issue in talks with his constituents. He notes people are too busy during the work week to make it during regular businesses hours and believes being open on a Friday would help give community members to get in and handle important business. He’s hoping to discuss the issue at a future meeting.
What is known about the collision between a passenger jet and Army helicopter near DC
ARLINGTON, Va. — A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. Officials say they do not believe anyone survived the Wednesday crash. The aircraft plummeted into the Potomac River. Officials say the search-and-rescue effort has turned into a recovery operation. At least 28 bodies have been pulled from the water. The crash occurred in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just miles from the White House and the U.S. Capitol. The passengers included figure skaters returning from the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, and two of their Russian coaches.
Hamas frees 8 more hostages. Prisoner release appears to be back on after snag
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Hamas-led militants have freed eight hostages as part of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. But the chaotic handover of some of the captives drew an angry protest from Israel. The hostages were shuttled through a crowd of thousands by masked militants. Israel’s plans to release 110 Palestinian prisoners later in the day were put on hold by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He demanded that mediators assure the safe exit for hostages going forward. He said later Thursday that he had received that commitment and Israeli media reported the releases would go ahead.
Russian drone strikes a building in Ukraine, killing at least 6
KYIV, Ukraine — Officials say a Russian drone has blasted a hole in an apartment building in northeastern Ukraine during a nighttime attack that killed at least six people and wounded nine others. Regional authorities said that the Shahed drone blew out a wall and surrounding windows in the apartment building in Sumy early Thursday. It said a child was among the wounded. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it “a terrible tragedy” and “a terrible Russian crime.” The United Nations says that the full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine that began nearly three years ago has killed more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians.
NASA’s 2 stuck astronauts take their first spacewalk together
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s two stuck astronauts are taking their first spacewalk together, exiting the International Space Station almost eight months after moving in. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore floated out Thursday to perform maintenance work and wipe down the station’s exterior. The pair expected to stay just a week when they arrived at the space station last June. But their brand new ride, Boeing’s Starliner capsule, encountered so much trouble that NASA decided to return it empty. That left the two test pilots in orbit until SpaceX can bring them home. That won’t happen until late March or early April.
U.S. economy grows solid 2.3% in October-December on eve of Trump return to White House, 2.8% in ’24
WASHINGTON — The American economy ended 2024 on a solid note with consumer spending continuing to drive growth. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product — the economy’s output of goods and services — expanded at a 2.3% annual rate from October through December. For the full year, the economy grew a healthy 2.8%, compared to 2.9% in 2023.
