skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, March 31, 2025

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

Trans Texans call for recognition on Trans Day of VisibilityPoll: Most WV voters oppose privatizing Public Employees Insurance Agency; Proposed SNAP cuts would hit Mississippi especially hard; President says reciprocal tariffs will start with all nations.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

President Trump says there are ways for him to take a third term. New tariffs are scheduled for this week, but economists say they'll hurt buying power. And advocates say the Trans Day of Visibility is made more important by state legislation.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural folks face significant clean air and water risks due to EPA cutbacks, a group of policymakers is working to expand rural health care via mobile clinics, and a new study maps Montana's news landscape.

SD library services on state budget chopping block

play audio
Play

Friday, January 24, 2025   

South Dakota lawmakers will soon resume debate on a budget-cutting plan targeting library services within the state.

Legislative committees are likely to take another look at Gov. Kristi Noem's proposal to reduce the State Library's main budget by more than $1 million, along with federal funding requiring a state match. A companion bill would repeal the agency's responsibilities.

Elizabeth Fox, president of the South Dakota Library Association and a librarian at South Dakota State University, warned the office would barely exist under the governor's approach. She said it now secures dozens of databases, which help students in many ways, like preparing for college entrance exams. Local branches benefit, too.

"There's medical databases," Fox pointed out. "If you go to the doctor and get told that you have something and you want to learn about it, the public library can help you do so through the databases provided by the State Library."

Fox noted while policymakers embracing these moves might argue about government efficiency, the State Library has purchasing power, which keeps costs lower. She argued taking away that ability would force school and municipal libraries to buy resources on their own when they are more expensive, putting pressure on local taxpayers.

As states try to fill workforce shortages, Fox feels such moves would set students back in charting a path for their professional lives.

"If this goes through, students will not even have a print index to find a journal article that they could go look in print," Fox explained. "It does put the state at a great disadvantage."

Other potential effects include the loss of library staff training for local sites and the use of a courier system allowing patrons to request a book from a different branch. Meanwhile, the national advocacy group EveryLibrary fears South Dakota's plans could be replicated by other states with similar budget motivations.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Nearly one in eight Mississippi residents relies on the food assistance program, which faces $230 billion in proposed federal cuts. (Pixabay)

Social Issues

play sound

For nearly one in eight Mississippians, monthly SNAP benefits provide a critical lifeline, one now at risk as congressional Republicans propose $230 …


Social Issues

play sound

Today, Montanans will gather outside the Statehouse to observe International Transgender Day of Visibility, during a legislative session that has …

Social Issues

play sound

Florida's public employees face twin crises as federal collective bargaining rights suddenly disappear and state government jobs are cut, leaving …


Cuts to Medicaid are one way Congress could pay for extending tax cuts passed in 2017. It is estimated two-thirds of the benefits of the extension would go to the wealthiest 20% of Americans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

To pay for the priorities of President Donald Trump's administration, like mass deportations and tax cuts, Republicans in Congress are considering …

Environment

play sound

A new study says agriculture co-ops are a strong economic force in states like South Dakota - but their future is murky, because of federal tax cuts …

Legislation across the country seeks to block transgender people from receiving health care, education, and even the right to publicly exist. (zera ruzgar/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Today is the International Trans Day of Visibility, to recognize the contributions of transgender people in society -- and raise awareness of the …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Wildfires are creeping closer and closer to health care facilities in California, including hospitals and nursing homes, according to a new study…

Social Issues

play sound

President Donald Trump's administration has targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, so advocates for people in rural communities are …

 

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