PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota lawmakers were off Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but they’ll return Tuesday to face their busiest week so far of the 2025 session. Tuesday brings the first major deadline as all executive orders must be filed for review. The biggest item this week is Governor Kristi Noem’s proposed funding cut to South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Her plan would slash their budget by 65%, from $5.6 million to $1.9 million.
Lawmakers will also consider an educational empowerment account proposal, which would allow state money to be used for private education.
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The City’s Community Development Department is hosting an open house on development of a proposed ordinance regarding vacation home rentals in the community. The public open house is scheduled for Tuesday, January 28 from 4:30-6 p.m. at the Dahl Arts Center, 713 Seventh Street. Community Development staff will be available to share information, answer questions and collect public feedback. Attendees will be able to view numerous display boards regarding the issue. The City is seeking public feedback with the goal of developing a proposed ordinance regarding vacation home rentals. The proposed ordinance would go before the City Council later this year.
WASHINGTON – Just moments before leaving office, President Joe Biden commuted the life sentence of Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents. Peltier was denied parole as recently as July and wasn’t eligible for parole again until 2026. He was serving life in prison for the killings during a standoff on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He will transition to home confinement, Biden said in a statement.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a bill that would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of theft and violent crimes. It’s the first measure that President Donald Trump likely will sign into law and gives more weight to his plans to deport millions of migrants. Trump has made a broad crackdown on illegal immigration his top priority. And Congress, with Republicans in control and some Democrats willing to go along, is showing it’s ready to follow suit. The Laken Riley Act is named after a Georgia nursing student whose murder by a Venezuelan man last year became a rallying cry for Trump’s White House campaign.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed Marco Rubio as secretary of state, giving President Donald Trump the first member of his Cabinet. The vote was unanimous. Senators went back to work Monday night in the Capitol after Trump’s inauguration. Rubio is among the least controversial of Trump’s nominees. Action on other Trump Cabinet picks, including former combat veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, is expected later in the week. It’s typical for the Senate to confirm some of a new president’s top Cabinet positions on Inauguration Day.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Windy and dry conditions have returned to Southern California, raising the risk of new wildfires sparking as firefighters continue to battle two major blazes in the Los Angeles area that started in similar weather nearly two weeks ago. Forecasters say gusts could peak at 70 mph along the coast and 100 mph in the mountains and foothills during extreme fire weather that is expected to last through Tuesday. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Monday the city was prepared for any possible new fires and warned that strong winds could disperse ash from existing fire zones across Southern California.
From the Homeslice Weather Center: Partly sunny today, with a high near 38. Wind chill values as low as -4. Tonight, a 30 percent chance of snow. Partly cloudy, with a low around 21. Wind chill values as low as 8.
