skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, April 14, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Suspect arrested in arson at Pennsylvania Governor's mansion; AZ universities thread needle to comply with Trump DEI order; National tally shows military arsenal among OH taxpayers' top expenses; Helicopter in Hudson River crash lacked flight recorders; Social Security cuts could impact one in six Coloradans.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

FEMA, other disaster preparedness agencies could face tough times due to budget cuts. Crop seed preservation in a precarious state under Trump administration. And new executive order undercuts states' powers on climate change.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump's tariffs sow doubt and stress for America's farmers, rural Democrats want working class voters back in the fold, and a cancelled local food program for kids worries folks in Maine.

SD keeps abortion ban, but 'the landscape is changing'

play audio
Play

Monday, November 18, 2024   

A majority of South Dakotans have voted to maintain a strict abortion ban but other factors are shifting the landscape for reproductive care in the state.

Of the 10 states voting on abortion during the 2024 election, South Dakota was one of three to keep a ban in place.

Kim Floren, director of the Justice through Empowerment Network, which provides financial assistance to people seeking abortions, said the state's view on the issue is not new but concern is growing over how the federal government may affect reproductive rights.

"I'm feeling the panic from people who are in areas that maybe haven't experienced what we've experienced as far as barriers go," Floren noted. "The reality is that we as a community can figure out how to take care of one another."

The Justice through Empowerment Network provides assistance with travel and transportation, child care, lodging, interpreters, birth control and medical procedure funding. Floren pointed out the organization supports 30 to 40 people per month. The final tally for Amendment G, which would have established a right to abortion in the state's constitution, was 41% for and 59% against.

South Dakotans voted in 2006 and 2008 against near-total abortion bans but Floren stressed since then, President-elect Donald Trump's first term made people feel "emboldened to be more vocal." Still, she acknowledged his second term will begin in a different context than his first.

"Before Dobbs, we did not have all of these reliable, safe websites where you can order abortion pills from and have them sent to your house for extremely cheap," Floren observed. "In some ways, access here has gotten better."

Floren added Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota will return to his post after running for vice president on the Democratic ticket. Walz in 2023 signed a bill protecting patients who travel to Minnesota for abortion care and their providers from legal penalties in other states.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Technical violations accounted for nearly two-thirds of Mississippi's probation/parole revocations in 2023, according to a 2024 Mississippi Department of Corrections task force report. (Pixabay)

Social Issues

play sound

Criminal-justice experts say Mississippi's parole and probation systems, designed as alternatives to incarceration, are instead functioning as …


Environment

play sound

A bill to promote virtual power plants goes before the California State Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee next week. Virtual power plants are …

Health and Wellness

play sound

About 200,000 kids in Michigan have asthma, and nearly five million suffer from the condition nationwide. Research from Michigan State University …


There are more than 47,000 registered electric vehicles in Nevada, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.(Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

While Nevada ranks among the top states for electric vehicle sales, one local business says it is seeing less demand for charging stations, and has …

Social Issues

play sound

Final action is expected soon on a plan that would prevent North Dakota cities and counties from using alternative voting methods for local elections…

Rinsing nasal passages with a saline solution is another option to help flush allergens out of the nose. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

About one in four adults and one in five children suffer from seasonal allergies in Maryland, and experts have tips on how to treat them. You may …

Social Issues

play sound

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, plans to cut 7,000 jobs from the U.S. Social Security Administration as it works to reduce the size …

Social Issues

play sound

On the heels of courtroom victories, some Minnesota prosecutors say they'll try to replicate the success in going after more businesses suspected of …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021