South Dakota House lawmakers have begun impeachment proceedings against the state’s attorney general, who is facing misdemeanor charges for striking and killing a man with his car. Republican lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a resolution in the House to impeach Jason Ravnsborg, the state’s top law enforcement officer. He has indicated he will not heed calls to resign. The Republican attorney general faces three misdemeanor charges in the September death of 55-year-old Joseph Boever. It will require a simple majority to advance the impeachment charges to the Senate. There, it would require two-thirds of senators to convict and remove him from office.
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Supporters of a successful ballot measure to make medical marijuana legal in South Dakota are urging state lawmakers to allow users to avoid criminal charges during any delay in implementing the program. Gov. Kristi Noem and Republican legislative leaders are pushing to delay the program for a year, arguing they need the time to study the issue and set up a comprehensive medical pot program. Medical marijuana groups called for lawmakers to allow people who are charged with marijuana possession beginning July 1 to avoid convictions by presenting a statement from a medical practitioner showing they have a “debilitating medical condition.”
The U.S. Senate voted 92-7 Tuesday to confirm Tom Vilsack as Agriculture secretary. The former Iowa governor spent eight years leading the same department for former President Barack Obama. In his testimony, Vilsack, 70, heavily endorsed boosting climate-friendly agricultural industries such as the creation of biofuels, saying “Agriculture is one of our first and best ways to get some wins in this climate area.” He faced minimal opposition throughout the confirmation process.
Siouxland District Health announced plans for the next public COVID-19 vaccination clinic. It will take place on Tuesday, March 2nd at the Tyson Events Center and is open to Woodbury County residents who are 65-years or older. Appointments are needed and will open up this Thursday at 3 p.m. People can register online. For people who do not access to the internet a phone line is available by calling (712) 234-3922. Officials say the appointments are expected to fill up quickly because of a smaller amount of vaccine available. Also, some are being allocated to local medical providers for their highest-risk patients.
News release from Siouxland District Health:
The next public COVID-19 vaccination clinic for Woodbury County is scheduled for Tuesday, March 2, 2021 at the Tyson Events Center. This clinic will be open only to Woodbury County residents that are 65 years of age or older. This clinic is by appointment only, and appointments will become available for the public to register at 3:00 P.M. on Thursday, February 25, 2021. These appointments are only open to people that are age 65 or older, and proof of age will be required at the appointment.
Online registration can be accessed at the Siouxland District Health Department website at http://www.siouxlanddistricthealth.org/ beginning at 3:00 P.M. on Thursday, February 25, 2021.
For individuals age 65 and older that do not have the ability to make the appointment online, SDHD will have assistance available to make the appointment over the phone by calling 712-234-3922 beginning at 3:00 P.M. on Thursday, February 25, 2021. This line is reserved for those 65 and older who are unable to use the online appointment scheduling, and we ask that those who are able to use the online option to please do so in order to keep the phone lines open for those that truly need them. Please note that this
This week there will be fewer online appointments available due to a smaller amount of vaccine available for that clinic, and a larger number of the appointments being allocated to local medical providers to assist their highest-risk patients in making an appointment. We also have additional appointments set aside for use through our phone bank at SDHD. We anticipate that these appointments will fill up quickly, and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we work through this process with the vaccine that we are allocated.
An additional vaccination clinic is planned for the week of March 8th, and that clinic will focus on individuals included in Phase 1B, Tier 1 that have not yet had the opportunity to sign up. SDHD will notify the public when appointments are available for that date.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The risk of flooding generally remains low across most of Nebraska and Iowa because the snow across both states is expected to melt gradually in the coming days. National Weather Service meteorologist Allan Curtis said this week's forecast for temperatures somewhat above freezing during the days and below freezing at night with no significant new precipitation should allow the snow to melt gradually without causing too many problems. But the amount of ice on some rivers remains a concern because chunks of ice can create flooding as the it melts by creating ice jams that block the channel of the river. So officials will be watching how the ice melts closely.
