The Daily Slice, your Black Hills news podcast in under 10 minutes. Delivered every morning Monday-Friday at homesliceaudio.com/dailyslice
Rapid City Area Schools Welcomes 122 New Teachers
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Rapid City Area Schools are gearing up for the 2026-2027 school year. On Monday, the district kicked off a week of new teacher orientation with welcomes and introductions, and orientation events to get new teachers ready for the school year. This year, 122 new teachers joined the Rapid City district, 69 of those are first time teachers. The Rapid City school district is home to 2,100 staff and 22 schools. The first day of school is Monday, Aug. 24. (Full story)
Two More Fatalities Reported in Latest Sturgis Rally Crash Statistics
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The South Dakota Highway Patrol reported two new fatalities in their latest rally statistics report Tuesday. The first accident involved the driver of a Yamaha motorcycle that crashed on Highway 16A at mile marker 27. The 63-year-old male left the roadway to the right, entered the westbound ditch and overturned. The second accident happened at Deerfield and Marshal Gulch Road. The patrol says a 46-year-old male driving a 2008 Harley Davidson passed a vehicle in a no-passing zone and when he attempted to return to his lane, he lost control. Along with the two fatal crashes, there were 9 injury crashes reported. In other stats, the patrol has reported 54 D-U-I arrests on the year so far, along with 108 misdemeanor drug arrests and 46 felony drug arrests. (Full story)
Rapid City to Implement Year-Round Water Restrictions as Pactola Levels Drop
RAPID CITY, S.D. — A decreasing water level in Pactola Reservoir has prompted the City to implement year-round water restrictions for Rapid City. On Tuesday, Public Works Director Mike Theis told the Public Works Committee that the water restriction status for Rapid City would be elevated from “Concern Status” to “Alert Status” next week. Rapid City gets about 85 percent of its water from Pactola and 15 percent from wells – Pactola is currently at 73.4 percent full. Alert Status is implemented when Pactola is at a certain level and inflows are less than 50 percent of the monthly average. Alert Status restrictions will be in place year-round. (Full story)
Stick Shift Foils Attempted Vehicle Theft in Downtown Rapid City
RAPID CITY, S.D. — A juvenile is in custody following a botched morning vehicle theft Monday in downtown Rapid City that ended in a parking lot collision. Rapid City police officers responded to a parking lot at 312 Main St. for a report of an individual attempting to steal a vehicle. At the scene, a male attempted to drive an SUV away but was unable to get the vehicle into gear properly, likely because it had a manual transmission. During the attempt, he crashed the SUV into a nearby truck. The suspect is a juvenile and has since been entered into the appropriate channels of the juvenile justice system. (Full story)
Cause of Bear Butte Fire Under Investigation
STURGIS, S.D. — The cause of the Bear Butte Fire, which burned nearly 457 acres near Sturgis, remains under investigation. The fire started Monday afternoon off Highway 79 near the Iron Horse Campground and moved northwest, driven by southeasterly winds. The fire jumped Rock N Rally Road before crews stopped its forward progress at Bear Butte Lake Road. Helicopters provided air support, and multiple fire agencies responded. Firefighters remained on scene Tuesday monitoring for hot spots. No firefighter injuries were reported. The state fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause. (Full story)
Michigan Rescuers Find Three Missing Tubers After Three Days
TWIN LAKE, Mich. — Rescue teams found two women and a 9-year-old boy Friday after they were stranded for three days following a tubing accident on the Muskegon River. Sarah Vida, 28, her son, Kayden Kovalcik, 9, and Jazmin Hock, 28, began walking after their tubes popped when they hit logs. Rescuers tracked the group using footprints, broken twigs and flattened grass, finding them about 7 miles from where they entered the river. The three had eaten bark and flowers and drank river water. They were treated for dehydration, exhaustion, cuts and bug bites and taken to a hospital. (Full story)
3 states are set to hold executions on the same day, a first in the US since 2010
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Tennessee, Alabama, and Oklahoma plan to execute inmates on the same day this week. That would make Thursday the first time in nearly 16 years that three executions occur on the same day in the U.S. Robin Maher from the Death Penalty Information Center notes that a small number of states drive execution numbers. Tennessee plans to execute Anthony Darrell Hines, three months after the attempted execution of another inmate was called off because of a problem inserting an IV. Alabama is set to execute Jeremy Williams, who waived his appeals, for the 2021 murder of a 5-year-old girl. Oklahoma plans to execute Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez for the 2003 murder of his girlfriend. (Full story)
At Lindsay Clancy trial, focus turns to medications prescribed before she killed her 3 children
Lindsay Clancy messaged one of her caregivers less than two months before she killed her three young children in 2023 that she was having “intrusive thoughts I never had before,” “feeling completely hopeless” and worried about becoming addicted to some medications. That’s according to messages from her that were read Tuesday during the testimony of a psychiatric nurse practitioner who treated her. Clancy has pleaded not guilty to murder charges. She says she heard voices telling her to harm her children. Prosecutors argue that she is an intentional killer. Clancy’s attorneys say she sought help for bipolar disorder and postpregnancy psychosis but her condition worsened. She faces life without parole if convicted. (Full story)
