The Daily Slice, your Black Hills news podcast in under 10 minutes. Delivered every morning Monday-Friday at homesliceaudio.com/dailyslice
Rapid City Fire Crews Turn Grass Fire Into Strategic Burn at Thompson Park
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Rapid City Fire Department responded to a small grass fire Thursday morning at Thompson Park and used the incident as a controlled fuel reduction effort. Crews arrived around 10:45 a.m. along Meadowlark Road and quickly stopped the fire’s forward progress. With favorable weather conditions, the department’s Wildland Fuels Module conducted a controlled burn to remove remaining vegetation in a known hazard area. About one acre burned, no injuries were reported, and the cause of the original fire remains under investigation. (Full story)
Fraudsters Arrested At North Rapid Walmart For False Donation Scheme
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Rapid City police arrested two individuals Wednesday after responding around 11:30 a.m. to reports of fraudulent activity at 1200 N. Lacrosse St. Officers found two tables staffed by individuals who claimed to represent a student athletic organization, but police later determined they were not affiliated and could not explain where collected donations were going. The suspects were identified as 19-year-old Davion Bell of Riverdale, Illinois, and 31-year-old Trvone Stokes of Chicago, Illinois. Both were arrested on fraud charges, and Bell was additionally charged with impersonation to deceive law enforcement. Police believe there may be additional victims and are asking anyone who donated on Feb. 24 or 25 to contact Det. Brian Fletcher at 605-394-4134. (Full story)
SD Supreme Court Upholds DOC Commitment for Edgemont Student After Terroristic Threats
PIERRE, S.D. — The South Dakota Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed a lower court’s decision to commit a minor to the Department of Corrections after the student threatened to retrieve a firearm and shoot a school counselor, fellow students and himself at Edgemont School. In Interest of J.A.D., III, 2026 S.D. 11, the high court vacated a simple assault adjudication but upheld the finding that the student made a terroristic threat. The majority opinion, authored by Justice Myren, affirmed the commitment order, while Justice Salter wrote separately that he would have also upheld the simple assault finding. (Full story)
Lawmakers Raising Concerns Over Senators Skipping Votes in Pierre
PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota lawmakers say they still want to deliver property tax relief this session, but options narrowed after the House failed to pass House Bill 1308B, a bipartisan proposal aimed at reducing grocery and owner-occupied property taxes. House Democrats said the bill offered broad relief and blamed House Republicans for its defeat, while Republican leaders said major tax cuts require sufficient votes and funding sources. Lawmakers now face limited time to pursue smaller proposals or negotiate alternatives before the main portion of the legislative session concludes. (Full story)
Instagram says it will notify parents if teens ‘repeatedly’ search for terms related to suicide
Instagram will start alerting parents if their kids repeatedly search for terms clearly associated with suicide or self-harm. The alerts will only go to parents who are enrolled in Instagram’s parental supervision program. Instagram says it already blocks such content from showing up in teen accounts’ search results and directs people to helplines instead. The announcement Thursday comes as Meta faces two trials over harms to children. A trial underway in Los Angeles questions whether Meta’s platforms deliberately addict and harm children. Another, in New Mexico, seeks to determine whether Meta failed to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms. (Full story)
Lawmakers say US military used laser to take down Border Protection drone
FORT HANCOCK, Texas (AP) — Members of Congress say the U.S. military used a laser to shoot down a Customs and Border Patrol drone. The Federal Aviation Administration responded Thursday by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas. The FAA shut down the El Paso airport and the surrounding area just over two weeks ago after another use of an anti-drone laser. The Defense Department and Transportation Department referred questions to the FAA. The aviation agency said in a brief statement that it had expanded the airspace closure around Fort Hancock. Border Protection did not immediately respond to questions. (Full story)
Netflix walks away from Warner Bros deal, clearing the path for Paramount
NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix is declining to raise its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business in a stunning move that effectively puts Paramount in a position to take over its storied Hollywood rival. On Thursday, after Warner’s board announced that Skydance-owned Paramount’s offer was superior to the agreement it had previously struck with Netflix, the streaming giant said the new price that would be required to buy Warner would make it a deal that is “no longer financially attractive.” Unlike Netflix’s bid, Paramount wants all of Warner’s operations, including networks like CNN and Discovery. That would put CNN under the same roof as Paramount’s CBS and combine two of Hollywood’s last five remaining studios. (Full story)
