The Daily Slice, your Black Hills news podcast in under 10 minutes. Delivered every morning Monday-Friday at homesliceaudio.com/dailyslice
Search Continues for Armed and Dangerous Suspect
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Law enforcement continued their search for a man wanted out of Ohio who fled from a traffic stop Friday. The search of Jeremy Taylor hit day number three Monday as law enforcement used a variety of resources in searching for the man in the area of Sheridan Lake and Pactola Reservoir. Authorities say air assets and ground equipment were all used in the search, which so far, has been unsuccessful. The public is still being urged to avoid the area as law enforcement continue to make door-to-door contact with residences impacted within the search area. They say Taylor is armed and dangerous. (Full Story)
Rapid City Fire Department Releases 2025 Call Volume Numbers
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Rapid City Fire Department says they responded to 22,591 calls for service in 2025, marking a 2.13 percent increase compared with the previous year, according to annual statistics released by the department. Officials said the increase represents 472 more calls for the year, or an average of 39 additional calls per month. Despite the higher call volume, the department reported maintaining rapid response times and around-the-clock readiness throughout the year. Fire crews dispatched 32,572 units and spent a combined 19,243 hours responding to incidents. Emergency medical calls accounted for the majority of responses, totaling 16,177, or 71.61 percent of the department’s overall call volume.
EMS Task Force Bill Advances Unanimously
PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota’s Senate Health and Human Services Committee unanimously advanced legislation addressing the state’s EMS crisis Monday. Senate Bill 89 would create a task force to study EMS funding as ambulance services struggle with workforce shortages and declining volunteerism. South Dakota has lost 10 ambulance services in the past decade, and the average age of EMS personnel is 51. The task force would deliver recommendations by November first. The bill now moves to the full Senate.
House Judiciary Advances Church Disruption Felony Bill
PIERRE, S.D. — The state House Judiciary Committee Monday advanced a bill to make disrupting church services a Class 5 felony. House Bill 1124 is a different but similar measure to Senate Bill 113, a proposal by Gov. Larry Rhoden to make disrupting worship services a Class 6 felony. With two members excused, the committee voted 7-4 to advance the bill to the House floor with a do pass recommendation.
South Dakota Lawmakers Consider Safeguards for Cryptocurrency Kiosks Amid Scam Concerns
SOUTH DAKOTA — South Dakota is considering new regulations on cryptocurrency kiosks as lawmakers respond to rising reports of scams tied to virtual currency machines. A state Senate committee is scheduled to hear a bill Feb. 3 that would require licensing for crypto kiosks and mandate consumer protections such as transaction receipts. Consumer advocates say the largely unregulated machines have increasingly been used by scammers to convince victims to deposit money under false pretenses. According to the state attorney general, South Dakotans reported nearly $14 million in cryptocurrency-related losses in 2024, while AARP officials note similar safeguards have already been adopted in at least 22 other states. (Full Story)
Government says it’s fixing redactions in Epstein-related files that may have had victim information
NEW YORK (AP) — The Justice Department says it has taken down several thousand documents and “media” that may have inadvertently included victim-identifying information after lawyers for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s victims complained of insufficient redactions. The government said in a letter to a judge Monday that “technical or human error” caused the errors. Lawyers for victims said in a letter to the judge Sunday that botched redactions had damaged the lives of nearly 100 victims. The judge who oversaw the sex trafficking case against Epstein in Manhattan federal court scheduled a hearing for Wednesday and invited lawyers to bring their clients, although he said he was not certain how helpful he could be. (Full Story)
Musk Inc.? Billionaire combines his rocket and AI businesses before an expected IPO this year
NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk is joining his space exploration and artificial intelligence ventures into a single company before a massive planned initial public offering for the business later this year. His rocket venture, SpaceX, announced on Monday that it had bought xAI in an effort to help the world’s richest man dominate the rocket and artificial intelligence businesses. The deal will combine several of his offerings, including his AI chatbot Grok, his satellite communications company Starlink, and his social media company X. (Full Story)
Couples at the Westminster show bond over dogs, and each other
NEW YORK (AP) — The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show spotlights bond between people and dogs. But reaching the United States’ premier canine event also can be about another kind of love. Just ask professional dog handlers Bill and Taffe McFadden. He’s a two-time Westminster-winning handler. She handled the second-place winner in 2019. He says it would be very hard to hard to do the job without someone just as vested in it. The McFaddens were back Monday for the 150th annual Westminster show. The multi-round, breed-by-breed competition is underway. Best in show gets awarded Tuesday night. (Full Story)
