Holly Ramer, Author at The Rapid City Post

FILE - Vanessa Shields-Haas, a nurse practitioner, walks from the lobby toward the examination rooms at the Maine Family Planning healthcare facility, July 15, 2025, in Thomaston, Maine. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Appeals court says Medicaid funding cuts for Planned Parenthood can stand while lawsuit proceeds

December 31, 2025

A federal appeals court says the Trump administration can continue to withhold Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood while legal challenges continue. President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress cut Medicaid reimbursement for Planned Parenthood and some other abortion providers in July, sparking multiple lawsuits. In two cases, a federal judge issued preliminary orders siding with Planned Parenthood and a coalition of mostly Democratic states, but an appeals court overturned the first order on Dec. 12 and put the second on hold on Tuesday. And in a third case, a network of Maine clinics that challenged the cuts recently ended its lawsuit.

FILE - Lobsters are displayed on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Oysters, crab and $400,000 worth of lobster meat stolen in New England

December 30, 2025

Forty-thousand oysters, lobster worth $400,000 and a cache of crabmeat all were stolen in separate recent incidents in New England. The first seafood heist took place Nov. 22 in Falmouth, Maine, where authorities suspect someone stole 14 cages full of oysters from an aquaculture site in Casco Bay. The other two thefts happened in Taunton, Massachusetts. First, a load of crab disappeared after leaving the Lineage Logistics warehouse on Dec. 2. Then, on Dec. 12, according to a broker, lobster meat destined for Costco stores in Illinois and Minnesota was stolen by a fraudulent trucking company.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Judge orders the release of an immigrant with ties to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt

December 8, 2025

A Brazilian woman with family ties to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will be released from immigrant detention while she fights potential deportation. An immigration judge ruled Monday that Bruna Ferreira can be released on a $1,500 bond. Ferreira was previously engaged to Leavitt’s brother and they have an 11-year-old son. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested her last month in Massachusetts. Ferreira’s attorney says he argued she isn’t a danger or flight risk, and the government agreed. Ferreira came to the U.S. as a toddler and enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Babson College offers support to student deported trying to fly home for Thanksgiving surprise

December 1, 2025

Babson College has instructed faculty and staff to support a student deported to Honduras. Nineteen-year-old freshman Any Lucia Lopez Belloza was detained at Boston Logan International Airport on November 20 while trying to fly to Texas for Thanksgiving. She was deported two days later despite a court order prohibiting her removal, according to her attorney. Lopez Belloza is now staying with her grandparents. The college’s dean of campus life has told faculty and staff to provide academic and community support.

A wild turkey walks through a neighborhood in Portsmouth, N.H., Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

How trading wild turkeys for other animals became a conservation success story

November 27, 2025

Swapping turkeys for other animals was once a key part of North America’s wildlife conservation efforts. The wild turkey population dwindled to a few thousand in the late 1800s but has since grown to about 7 million across 49 states, plus more in Canada and Mexico. Restoration often relied on trades. For example, Oklahoma swapped walleye and prairie chickens for turkeys from Arkansas and Missouri. New Hampshire sent fishers to West Virginia in exchange for turkeys. Early efforts to raise turkeys on farms failed, leading to capturing and relocating wild turkeys, which proved successful.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters at the White House, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Immigrant with family ties to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is detained by ICE

November 26, 2025

A Massachusetts woman who was once engaged to the brother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt remains in ICE custody two weeks after her arrest on the way to pick up the son she shares with her ex-fiancé. Bruna Ferreira’s attorney says the woman was driving to her son’s school in New Hampshire when she was pulled over in Revere, Massachusetts and ultimately taken to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana. The attorney says Ferreira’s 11-year-old son lives with her former fiancé, Michael Leavitt, in New Hampshire, but they have shared custody and have maintained a co-parenting relationship for years since their engagement ended. Ferreira came to the U.S. as a young child from Brazil.

FILE - Youth Development Center. plaintiff David Meehan testifies as his intake photo, when he was 14 is displayed during his civil trial at Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood, N.H. on April 17, 2024. (David Lane/Union Leader via AP, Pool, file)

New Hampshire Supreme Court takes up disputed verdict in landmark youth center abuse case

November 20, 2025

New Hampshire Supreme Court justices are considering a disputed verdict in a landmark lawsuit over abuse at the state’s youth detention center. Last year, jurors awarded $38 million to David Meehan, who alleges he was repeatedly raped and beaten at the Youth Development Center in Manchester. The state wants to reduce the award under a law capping payouts at $475,000 per “incident.” Meehan’s attorneys argue this violates his constitutional rights. The state claims mismanagement of the facility is a “single incident,” which could limit payouts to others.

FILE - Stephen Murphy, right, and his attorney Charles Keefe watch as the judge gives the jury instructions following closing remarks during his trial at Hillsborough County Superior Court, Jan. 21, 2025 in Manchester, N.H. (David Lane/The Manchester Union Leader via AP, Pool, File)

Jury acquits ex-youth center worker on 3 sex assault charges, deadlocks on 5 others

November 19, 2025

One of the first men charged with abusing children at New Hampshire’s state-run youth detention center has been acquitted of three sexual assault charges, but a jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on five other counts. The jury announced its decision Wednesday, the third day of deliberations. Fifty-six-year-old Stephen Murphy of Danvers, Massachusetts, and another former staffer at the Youth Development Center were arrested in 2019. The ensuing scandal has expanded to include a criminal investigation, nine additional arrests, over 1,100 lawsuits and the establishment of a settlement fund to compensate victims.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., addresses a gathering Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Cory Booker says Dems need to ‘get back in the huddle’ after blowing a big play

November 14, 2025

Sen. Cory Booker is back in New Hampshire, home to two Democrats who broke ranks with their party to end the government shutdown. Booker is speaking Friday night at a party fundraiser dinner with Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan. Ahead of the event, he spoke at a town hall meeting at Saint Anselm College, where he didn’t criticize them directly but compared their actions to missing a big play in football. Booker says it’s time for Democrats to get back in the huddle and work together. As part of the compromise reached this week, Republican senators promised to hold a vote by mid-December to extend health care tax credits, but there is no guarantee of success.

Peg Sweeney speaks to Eric Sweeney during Sweeney's sentencing hearing at Merrimack Superior Court in Concord, N.H., on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (Geoff Forester/ Concord Monitor via AP, Pool)

New Hampshire teen who killed sister-in-law and nephews sentenced to 60 years to life in prison

October 3, 2025

A New Hampshire man who at age 16 killed his sister-in-law and two nephews was sentenced Friday to 60 years to life in prison. Eric Sweeney is now 19 years old. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the 2022 shootings of Kassandra, Benjamin and Mason Sweeney. Defense lawyers sought a 40-year sentence, citing Sweeney’s traumatic childhood. Prosecutors asked for 97 years, emphasizing the innocence of the victims. The sentencing judge said he tried to balance the magnitude of the crimes with providing a narrow path for rehabilitation.

FILE - A view of the Sununu Youth Services Center on Jan. 28, 2020, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

9/11 victims’ fund architect slams changes to New Hampshire abuse settlement program

August 19, 2025

An attorney who helped design the 9/11 victims’ compensation fund says New Hampshire lawmakers have undermined the fairness of a settlement program for abuse victims at the state’s youth detention center. Deborah Greenspan recently submitted an affidavit in a class-action lawsuit to block changes to the settlement fund, which was created in 2022. It was recently changed to give the governor the authority to fire the fund’s administrator and to allow the attorney general to veto awards. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs argue that turns the process into a political one. The defendants say moving control to the executive branch ensures that tax dollars are spent appropriately. A hearing is set for Wednesday.

Cultlike Zizian group member charged in border agent’s death seeks delay in death penalty decision

July 1, 2025

A woman charged in the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Vermont wants to delay the government’s decision on whether to seek the death penalty by at least six months. Lawyers for Teresa Youngblut say prosecutors have set a July 28 deadline for them to explain why the death penalty should not be sought, even though she has yet to be charged with a crime eligible for such punishment. They filed a motion Monday asking a judge to extend that deadline by at least six months and to prohibit the government from making its decision before then. Youngblut is part of a cultlike group known as Zizians that has been connected to six killings in three states.

New Hampshire’s Juneteenth celebration culminates with dance event

June 18, 2025

Though the Trump administration has been removing content on African American history from federal websites, Juneteenth remains a federal holiday, commemorating June 19, 1865. That’s the day Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Texas. Celebrations are planned around the country Thursday, including in New Hampshire, which doesn’t recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday. The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire has been holding events for the last two weeks, culminating with a celebration at a Portsmouth memorial park. Organizers say they want participants to think about how the story of America would change if told through the descendants of enslaved people.

FILE - Steve Kramer is seated June 5, 2024, at Superior Court, in Laconia, N.H., during his arraignment in connection with charges of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, Pool)

Consultant behind AI-generated robocalls mimicking Biden goes on trial in New Hampshire

June 4, 2025

A political consultant who sent voters artificial intelligence-generated robocalls mimicking former President Joe Biden last year is set to go on trial. Steven Kramer has admitted orchestrating a message that was sent to thousands of voters two days before New Hampshire’s Jan. 23, 2024, primary. The message featured a voice similar to Biden’s and suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting ballots in November. The trial begins on Thursday. Kramer faces 11 felony charges related to voter suppression and 11 misdemeanor charges of impersonating a candidate. he faces decades in prison if convicted.

Vessel’s implosion can be heard on new video from expedition to Titanic wreckage

May 27, 2025

Authorities investigating the implosion of an experimental submersible on its way to the Titanic wreckage in 2023 have released a new video recorded aboard a support ship at a key moment. The Titan vanished on June 18, 2023, setting off a five-day search that ended with authorities saying all five passengers were dead, including the CEO of the company that built the vessel, Stockton Rush. U.S. Coast Guard investigators last week released a video of Wendy Rush monitoring the Titan that day, hearing a noise that sounds like a door closing and saying, “What was that bang?” The Coast Guard says it believes it was the sound of the Titan’s implosion reaching the surface of the ocean.

Holly Ramer.