The Daily Slice, your Black Hills news podcast in under 10 minutes. Delivered every morning Monday-Friday at homesliceaudio.com/dailyslice
Rapid City School Bus Lands in Ditch During Pre-School Route Practice
RAPID CITY, S.D. — A school bus was spotted in a ditch on Moon Meadows in Rapid City Wednesday as drivers practiced their routes ahead of the school year which gets underway Aug. 24. The Rapid City Area School District addressed the occurrence in a statement on its Facebook page pointing out that’s why drivers practice – to make sure they are ready to safely transport students when school starts. The school district representatives encouraged members of the Rapid City community to show encouragement to drivers as training continues ahead of what will be another busy school year. (Full story)
Pennington County Sets Aug. 31 Deadline for Temporary Vehicle Registrations
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Pennington County Treasurer’s Office has set an Aug. 31 deadline for customers issued temporary paper vehicle registrations because of the recent county cybersecurity incident. The deadline applies only to customers whose motor vehicle transactions could not be completed because of the incident and does not apply to dealership-issued temporary registrations. Other vehicle purchasers must still transfer titles within 45 days of purchase. The Treasurer’s Office has processed motor vehicle transactions since July 13 and all property tax payments since Aug. 12. The office is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Full story)
Rapid City Moves to Year-Round Water Restrictions as Pactola Conditions Worsen
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Lack of inflows into Pactola Reservoir has triggered a prolonged water restriction schedule for Rapid City. On Wednesday, city officials said the storage condition status for Pactola Reservoir was officially being elevated from ‘concern status’ to ‘alert status’ which would result in expanding water conservation measures – watering restrictions – throughout the year. Earlier this spring, City officials elevated the storage condition status from ‘normal status’ to ‘concern status’ due to the water levels at Pactola and the lack of inflows due to no snowpack in the watersheds above the reservoir. City water customers will continue with the same daily watering schedule in place since late March. (Full story)
Tribal Leaders Gather in Rapid City to Address Reservation Public Safety Concerns
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association is hosting a two-day conference in Rapid City to address safety concerns on the region’s reservations. According to the Association, current federal funding is 13 percent of total need which has led to a diminished number of federal and tribal law enforcement officers and severely limited resources on all South Dakota, North Dakota, and Nebraska reservations. The Association said tribal leaders, law enforcement, and others will discuss funding, staffing, federal responsibilities, equipment, drug enforcement, courts, detention, and public safety resources. The conference ends today. (Full story)
Rhoden Awards $90 Million in Digital Health Grants
PIERRE, S.D. — Gov. Larry Rhoden has awarded 82 grants totaling $90 million to support digital health and data modernization across South Dakota. The federal Rural Health Transformation funding will support projects focused on electronic health records, cybersecurity, digital equipment, interoperability and technology-based workforce training. The state received 144 applications requesting a combined $336 million. Funded projects include digital referral and care coordination platforms, cybersecurity programs, remote patient monitoring, virtual reality clinical training, aging-in-place technology and digital health innovation labs serving rural and underserved communities. (Full story)
Judge removed from Texas track meet killing case as Karmelo Anthony seeks retrial
McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — The trial judge who presided over the case of the Texas teenager convicted of fatally stabbing a 17-year-old athlete at a high school track meet was ordered removed from the case as the defendant seeks a new trial and appeals his conviction. Karmelo Anthony was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison after a jury in June rejected his claims of self-defense during a confrontation with Austin Metcalf last year. Anthony’s legal team argued Wednesday that a retrial was warranted in part because state District Judge John Roach enforced overly strict courtroom rules and gave an interview after the trial was over. A new judge has been assigned for Thursday’s hearing on the retrial request. (Full story)
Amazon set to expand drone delivery of lightweight packages to 500 US cities
Millions more people may be able to get smaller, lightweight Amazon packages delivered by drones by the end of the year under a plan the company announced Wednesday to expand the airborne shipping to suburban areas in nearly 500 U.S. cities. Amazon said in news release that customers could receive the drone deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes, The drones can carry packages up to five pounds. The plan will intensify the battle between Amazon and Walmart to provide consumers with the fastest delivery times. Amazon’s plan would expand drone delivery into hundreds of new communities, including the Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland and Boise areas. (Full story)
Former Meta engineer says Instagram took a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ approach on kids under 13
OAKLAND, California (AP) — A former engineering director at Meta who has testified before Congress about child safety on Instagram told jurors at a landmark trial that the company took a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach on kids under 13 on its platforms. During his second day of testimony Wednesday, Arturo Béjar said Meta consistently prioritized profits over safety in designing its products. The trial that began Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, California, pits Meta against the states of California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey and is expected to last about six weeks. The company has rejected the claims and said evidence at the trial will show its commitment to safety. (Full story)
