The Daily Slice, your Black Hills news podcast in under 10 minutes. Delivered every morning Monday-Friday at homesliceaudio.com/dailyslice
Rapid City Pair Arrested After Traffic Stop Uncovers Thousands of Fentanyl Pills
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Two Rapid City residents were arrested Sept. 14 after a Pennington County traffic stop uncovered fentanyl and cocaine, according to law enforcement. Travis Gustave Harberts, 36, and Maranza Dee Ball, 35, were taken into custody after an investigation by the Unified Narcotic Enforcement Team. Authorities seized about 4,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, 34 grams of powdered fentanyl, 14.9 grams of cocaine and $3,695.61. Both face felony charges involving distribution and possession of fentanyl and cocaine, along with misdemeanor drug paraphernalia charges and a seatbelt violation. Both are being held at the Pennington County Jail. (Full story)
83-Year-Old Man Found Safe After Overnight Search Near Sturgis
STURGIS, S.D. — An 83-year-old man reported missing Sunday evening was found safe Monday morning following an overnight search involving more than 70 people, according to the Meade County Sheriff’s Office. David Carda had been missing from his residence near Meadow Retreat Road since about 6:30 p.m. Sept. 27. Ground searchers located Carda after crews searched throughout the night with assistance from multiple agencies, helicopters, aircraft and drones. Carda was transported to a hospital for evaluation. (Full story)
Two Men Taken Into Custody After Rapid City Handgun Incident
RAPID CITY, SD — Two men are in custody after an incident at the 400 block of Centennial Street Sunday. Around 6 PM Sunday, police responded to the residence after a report of a man threatening people with a handgun, firing the weapon in the air, and retreating into the residence. Following the execution of the search warrant, officers apprehended 19-year-old Delbert Badmilk III, who was identified as the male subject who brandished the handgun. Badmilk was taken into custody on felony charges related to the original incident. A second individual, Michael Vanderfeen, was also located at the scene during the law enforcement response and taken into custody on an active warrant. (Full story)
Rapid City Seeks Candy and Costume Donations for Halloween Events
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Journey On and the Rapid City Police Department’s Community Engagement Team are seeking donations of candy and costumes to support youth in need and the many safe trick or treat events hosted throughout Rapid City in October. In the previous three years of the candy donation drive, more than 26,000 pieces of candy and hundreds of costumes have been donated. Donations can be dropped off at collection boxes in the City Hall and Journey On offices at 124 Quincy Street; and the Rapid City Police Department Substation outside of the Spirit of Halloween Store at the Uptown Mall. Donations will be accepted through Wednesday, October 21. (Full story)
Lee Enterprises Acquires Three South Dakota Newspapers
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Lee Enterprises, parent company of the Rapid City Journal, announced Monday it has acquired three South Dakota newspapers and one Montana newspaper from USA TODAY Co., Inc. The acquisition includes the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Aberdeen American News and Farm Forum, Watertown Public Opinion and Great Falls Tribune. The agreement is effective immediately and expands Lee Enterprises’ presence in South Dakota, where it already operates the Rapid City Journal. Lee Enterprises operates 193 owned and managed brands across 28 states. (Full story)
SpaceX’s supersized Starship launches into orbit for the first time but flight ends early
SpaceX has launched its enormous Starship into orbit for the first time and successfully delivered the newest and most advanced Starlinks yet. But flight controllers brought the spacecraft back to Earth early Monday instead of making six full laps around Earth as originally planned. Starship descended into the Pacific, north of Hawaii, three hours after blasting off from Texas. The previous test flights just skimmed space, lasting an hour at most. SpaceX says it cut the mission short “out of an abundance of caution.” Elon Musk’s showpiece rocketship needs to ace orbital flight to prove its readiness for NASA’s Artemis moon program. (Full story)
Nvidia unveils security platform to stop AI agents from going rogue
Nvidia has unveiled a new security platform designed to prevent AI agents from going rogue. The Open Agent Safety Platform includes software that sets boundaries for AI agents. This comes after revelations of AI models escaping and breaking into other organizations. Nvidia executives say the system could have prevented a recent incident where OpenAI agents hacked into AI startup Hugging Face. Similar breaches have involved OpenAI’s models and other companies like Anthropic and Meta. Nvidia’s open-source software, OpenShell, lets developers verify an agent’s authority. A separate security layer, Sentry, monitors and contains suspicious behavior. Over 100 companies are already using the system. (Full story)
5 men arrested near a US-run air base are bailed as UK police probe whether there’s a link to Iran
FAIRFORD, England (AP) — British police say that five men arrested under counterterrorism laws near a U.S.-run air base in England will be released on bail but are still under investigation. The head of U.K. Counter Terrorism Policing said Monday that the men face stringent conditions and “absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry.” Investigators haven’t concluded whether the incident was state-backed. They are investigating a possible link to Iran, Russia or non-state-backed militant groups. RAF Fairford is home to long-range U.S. bombers that have been used in the Iran conflict and has also been the focus of protests by anti-war campaigners. (Full story)
