The Daily Slice, your Black Hills news podcast in under 10 minutes. Delivered every morning Monday-Friday at homesliceaudio.com/dailyslice
Voters select Republican candidate for governor July 28
RAPID CITY, S.D. — South Dakota voters will decide the Republican nominee for governor in a July 28 runoff after no candidate reached the required 35% threshold in the June 2 primary. Toby Doeden led the primary with 31% of the vote, followed by Gov. Larry Rhoden with 24%. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Rapid Valley Elementary voters in Pennington County will vote at West River Electric because of construction. The runoff winner will face Democrat Dan Ahlers in the Nov. 3 general election. (Full story)
Rapid City schools approve $214.8 million budget for 2027
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Rapid City Area Schools Board of Education approved the district’s $214.8 million budget for 2027 during its meeting Tuesday. The budget manages 17 funds and includes more than $97 million for the general fund and about $49 million for capital outlay, including a $16.3 million increase primarily for the Rapid Valley Elementary addition and renovation project. District officials said the budget includes a 2.5% compensation increase, accounts for a 178-student enrollment decline and reflects changes to the state’s property tax relief funding formula, shifting a larger share of district revenue from local property taxes to state aid. (Full story)
Rapid City Council Approves Sports Complex, Star Village Demolition Projects
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Rapid City Common Council cleared the way for two projects to get underway at their regular council meeting this week. For the sports complex, the council authorized the mayor and finance director to sign a facilities management agreement between the city and Sports Facilities Management and sign an agreement for architectural services with TSP, Inc. The council also approved the real estate donation agreement between the city and Pete Lien & Sons, Inc. for the sports complex land. The council also approved agreements for the demolition of 28 garages and sheds in the Star Village area next month that are “neglected, damaged, and dilapidated” resulting in a safety issue. (Full story)
Pennington County Approves New Sales Tax for Property Tax Relief
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Pennington County commissioners have joined Meade County in approving a new county sales tax aimed at providing property tax relief for owner-occupied homeowners under a recently enacted state law. During their regular meeting Tuesday, commissioners unanimously approved Ordinance 796, which imposes a 0.5% county gross receipts sales and use tax in Pennington County. The measure was adopted under the provisions of Senate Bill 96, passed by the South Dakota Legislature in 2026. The law gives counties an option to generate revenue through local sales taxes while reducing property taxes on owner-occupied homes. The new tax is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2027. Property owners are expected to see the resulting tax reduction reflected on their 2028 property tax notices. (Full story)
Trump pays respects to 4 US service members killed in the Middle East
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) — President Donald Trump is honoring the lives of four U.S. service members who were killed in the Middle East and returned to their families at an air force base in Delaware. Trump saluted Wednesday as four transfer cases carrying the service members’ remains were escorted off an airplane during the dignified transfer. Earlier in the day, he called the ritual over the loss of life as “one of the hardest things to do as a president.” The service members were identified as 25-year-old Tyler James Feehan of Hawaii, 19-year-old Isabella Gonzales of Texas, 28-year-old Angel S. Rampersad of New York, and 30-year-old Michael Emmanuel Swinton of North Carolina. (Full story)
OpenAI blamed a hacking event on its AI models going rogue. Here are some things to know
ChatGPT maker OpenAI says it is still investigating the “unprecedented cyber incident” that led its artificial intelligence systems to break out of a testing environment and hack into another AI company. OpenAI said Tuesday that two of its most capable AI models were responsible for the cyberattack targeting New York-based AI startup Hugging Face. The incident is stirring debates over the need for stronger AI guardrails and the extent to which AI agents are capable of acting on their own. San Francisco-based OpenAI says its AI was working with reduced guardrails because it was supposed to be in a safe testing environment. (Full story)
Louvre reopens Apollo Gallery after a brazen heist, but no jewels are on display
PARIS (AP) — The Louvre’s Apollo gallery is reopening to the public for the first time since last year’s crown jewels heist. The museum has removed the collections and precious jewels, returning the gallery to its original ceremonial purpose. Security at the Paris museum has been boosted with new surveillance cameras and anti-intrusion systems. On the day of the heist, thieves took less than eight minutes to steal the 88 million euro trove. Security improvement is a priority of the decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan, launched last year, to modernize infrastructure and ease crowding. (Full story)
