The Daily Slice, your Black Hills news podcast in under 5 minutes. Delivered every morning Monday-Friday at homesliceaudio.com/dailyslice
House Education Committee Unanimously Rejects State Library Funding Cuts
PIERRE, S.D. – The House Education Committee rejects state library funding cuts Wednesday in Pierre.The panel voted 13-to-0 to send the measure to the Joint Appropriations Committee with a negative recommendation. Education Secretary Joe Graves said changes would save $3.7 million, while local officials warned of impacts on community services. Librarians and city leaders testified the cuts would hurt rural access and student resources.
House Committee Backs Limits on School Bond Elections in Close Vote
PIERRE, S.D. – The House Education Committee backs restrictions on school bond elections today (Wednesday) in Pierre. Lawmakers voted 8-to-7 to require bond measures to appear only on primary or general election ballots. School administrators warn the limits could cost districts millions in financing delays. Tea Area’s superintendent says growing districts need more flexibility. The measure heads to the full House.
Rapid City Man Arrested for Threatening South Dakota Governor
RAPID CITY, S.D. – State Senator Amber Hulse of Rapid City has introduced a bill to ease property taxes. The bill would limit annual valuation increases for homes to 3%. People who owned their homes before November 2020 would have their valuations retroactively reset in accordance with the new rule. People who bought after that date would also have their homes reset, however the caps would begin at their purchase price. Hulse’s bill is one of several moving through the legislature.
Trump tells prayer breakfast he wants to root out ‘anti-Christian bias’ and urges ‘bring God back’
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says at a private religious group’s Washington prayer breakfast he’s forming a commission on religious liberty. Trump also said at the hotel ballroom event Thursday he’ll name Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead a task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias.” Earlier in the day, Trump advocated at the National Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol for Americans to “bring God back” into their lives and said his relationship with religion “changed” after a pair of failed assassination attempts last year. Trump joined a more than 70-year-old Washington tradition that brings together a bipartisan group of lawmakers for fellowship. The nondenominational Christian says he believes “you can’t be happy without religion.”
Federal workers debate the legitimacy of financial incentives to quit as the deadline nears
WASHINGTON (AP) — The deadline for federal workers to receive financial incentives to quit is approaching. More than 2 million employees have until Thursday at 11:59 p.m. EST to decide what to do. Administration officials have been increasing their pressure on workers to leave, saying that furloughs or layoffs could come next. They also said that workers would have fewer civil service protections and higher scrutiny if they remain. The attempt to downsize the federal workforce has been spearheaded by Elon Musk, and it’s part of President Donald Trump’s effort to overhaul Washington. Democrats and unions have warned against accepting the deal, saying workers could be stiffed.
Second type of bird flu detected in US dairy cows
Dairy cattle in Nevada have been infected with a new type of bird flu that’s different from the version that has spread in herds since last year. U.S. Agriculture Department officials announced the finding Wednesday. It indicates that distinct strains of the H5N1 bird fluvirus have spilled over from wild birds into cattle at least twice. Experts said it raises news questions about wider spread and the difficulty of controlling infections in animals and the people who work closely with them. The new virus version found in cattle has been linked to severe infections in the U.S. and Canada.
Trump administration plans to pressure the IOC to come up with a uniform transgender athlete ban
President Donald Trump is ready to take his fight against transgender athletes to the International Olympic Committee. Trump wants the IOC to “change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject” ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Trump made the remarks while signing an executive order designed to keep men out of women’s sports. The order empowers both the office of the Secretary of State and the Department of Homeland Security to take steps to attempt to prevent international transgender female athletes from competing in the United States.
