Dakota Rural Action

Good news for communities facing #datacenter development! SB 135 protects #ratepayers from rising #power costs, protects #water resources & affirms #localcontrol. #sdleg

Reduced-price school meal funding heads to South Dakota Senate • South Dakota Searchlight South Dakota families who qualify for reduced-price school meals could get those meals for free if the state Senate backs a bill.

Making sure all SD school children have lunch & that their families do not incur debt for this seems like a commonsense idea. If we care about kids, this is an easy choice southdakotasearchlight.com/2026/03/03/r... #sdleg #hunger

A complex route for SD property rights debate this year South Dakota's coalition backing property owners' rights has been tested in this year's legislative session. Its members are reflecting on the failure of a proposed constitutional amendment surroundin...

HJR 5001 failed because it was flawed language no matter how good the intent was. Could have been better if more folks had been at the table. And we can't be careless with the constitution app.publicnewsservice.org/story/a-comp... #sdleg #eminentdomain

‘Carbon is dead,’ along with the bill to make carbon pipelines file an environmental study • South Dakota Searchlight A panel of South Dakota senators defeated an attempt to require environmental impact studies for carbon dioxide pipelines.

Disappointed to see HB 1173, which would have required an EIS for #CO2 #pipelines, fail. Communities need access to this type of information when these projects come calling southdakotasearchlight.com/briefs/carbo... #sdleg

South Dakota Senate declines to put eminent domain restrictions on the ballot • South Dakota Searchlight South Dakota voters will not be asked to put restrictions on eminent domain in the state constitution, the state Senate decided Monday.

Flawed HJR 5001 fails passage in state Senate. While the intent was good, the language was always flawed. We have to do better for a constitutional amendment. southdakotasearchlight.com/2026/03/02/s... #sdleg

Wow, lots of finger-pointing here. It seems to be no one's responsibility & no one's fault....

Another AI plant, another way that Big Tech is hurting people's everyday lives.

The #taxbreaks are costly - Virginia's #datacenter tax incentive cost the state $1.6 billion last year! South Dakota can't afford this, which is why we've been fighting tax breaks during the #sdleg session

Dakota Rural Action ‼️UPDATE as of today, Feb. 24 - the vote to reconsider SB 239 FAILED on the Senate floor (16-17-1-1) and so remains dead. The roll call vote is in a comment if you'd like to check. THANK YOU to all....

📰Good news! SB 239, which would have granted #datacenters up to 30 years #tax rebate through Governor's Office of Economic Development failed it reconsideration vote & is dead #sdleg bit.ly/4s3NIXO

VIEWPOINT | South Dakotans feel mocked, excluded by their Legislature Guest column by Michelle Oftedahl, Residents United for Rural and Agricultural Land

🔥 Michelle Oftedahl on a recent Senate State Affairs hearing: "This is an abuse of the process. Though they didn’t technically do anything wrong, it definitely wasn’t right" on #datacenter bills at the #sdleg www.thedakotascout.com/p/viewpoint-...

US farmers are rejecting multimillion-dollar datacenter bids for their land: ‘I’m not for sale’ Families are navigating the tough choice between unimaginable riches and the identity that comes with land

"You don't have enough to buy me out. I'm not for sale. Leave me alone, I'm satisfied."
— Ida Huddleston, 82-year old Kentucky farmer, rejecting a $33 million dollar offer

8 Days Left to Comment! Deadline for the Oct Jinx comment period is March 3, 2026, @ 11:59 pm (MT). October Jinx is a proposed uranium drilling project near Craven Canyon.
To read more about the project and how to comment, go to
bhcleanwateralliance.org/october-jinx...
Or scan the QR code provided.

Other states are learning that #tax exemptions for #datacenters is not the right move. South Dakota should learn from their missteps & not pass any #taxbreaks here! #sdleg

Heads up #SouthDakota - data center bills are headed to the House & Senate floors today & Monday. Contact your district legislators today! HB 1246 & SB 135 are good for communities! SB 239 will just help #datacenters pocket our #taxdollars bit.ly/4cDJtO4 #sdleg

SB 234, 235 & 239 were hoghoused shortly before the hearing. The public was caught unawares & were treated pretty poorly at the hearing.

Data center restrictions earn lawmaker endorsement as fight continues over tax incentives • South Dakota Searchlight South Dakota legislative committees vetted nine data center bills at the Capitol, leaving three of the bills standing at the end of the day.

Crabtree's bills were hoghoused - they were entirely changed shortly before the hearing started. The public had no time to react - very poor legislative work southdakotasearchlight.com/2026/02/18/d... #sdleg #datacenters

Flock of #datacenter bills headed to committee 2/17 at the #sdleg - some good, some bad. Read for more info ➡️https://www.facebook.com/dakotaruralaction/posts/pfbid026E1eQvZsLxXW1iVq4xZ8uk6K7Q5UeGGsM54cHrk2vjfLeuy9fRv2Dx1SQuxH4QH1l

Activists Speak Out Against Proposed Exploratory Uranium Drilling near 7,000+ Year Old Historical Site - The Rapid City Post BLACK HILLS, SD — A proposed exploratory mining operation dubbed “October Jinx”, conducted by Canadian-based company “Clean Nuclear Energy Corporation”

This is a great article to read for an update and overview of the Oct. Jinx project. The Federal comment period for this project is open right now. The deadline is March 3 at 11:59 pm (MT). Go to our website for more info and links to the official FS comment page.
rapidcitypost.com/groups-speak...

Beyond Exports Resources - Land Stewardship Project

“The current commodity system, dominating with corn and beans, it really seems that only a few people are winning, and the farmers continue to lose. The more that the farmers continue to lose, they move off the land, our communities suffer."-LSP's Shea-Lynn Ramthun
www.agweek.com/crops/cereal...

South Dakota Senate takes aim at frivolous lawsuits meant to suppress free speech More than three dozen states already have anti-SLAPP laws on their books

Great to see anti-SLAPP legislation progressing in #SouthDakota! www.thedakotascout.com/p/south-dako... #sdleg

Data center tax break proposal fails in South Dakota legislative committee • South Dakota Searchlight A bill that would have created a 50-year sales tax break on equipment and software purchases for data centers failed at the committee level.

Glad to see this bill granting a huge #taxbreak to #datacenters fail BUT keep your eyes 👀 peeled for a smokeout southdakotasearchlight.com/2026/02/04/d... @southdakotasearchlight.com #sdleg

Ag producers in worst 3-month cost-price gap since 2015, new USDA data shows - Investigate Midwest Late 2025 marked the most severe three-month stretch in more than a decade for the gap between what agriculture producers pay to operate and what they receive in return, according to an analysis of US...

Late 2025 marked the most severe three-month stretch in more than a decade for the gap between what agriculture producers pay to operate and what they receive in return, according to an analysis of USDA data released Friday.

investigatemidwest.org/2026/01/30/a...

Rural Deuel County at center of South Dakota's data center debate Hyperscale Data Centers dominated conversations in Deuel County at a Legislative Cracked Barrel. One of the area’s lawmakers is bringing a bill to incentivize the tech-giants, but many oppose the legi...

"I think if you're going to bring any industry into, especially Deuel County where it's predominantly ag, it should either complement or support the industry that already dominates the county" - Erik Oftedahl www.sdpb.org/politics/202... #datacenters #sdleg #localcontrol

Rapid City People’s Alliance holds first public gathering The Rapid City People’s Alliance held its first public gathering Saturday evening, bringing together community members to address local challenges including housing, health care and economic struggles...

Callie Stainbrook-Dewar, RCPA member: “Everyone in our group was just feeling like people are really struggling here to make ends meet..we just as a group believe that collectively we have the power to make a difference in local policy change here.” www.kotatv.com/2026/02/02/r... @kotatv.com

OPINION: Who’s Afraid of Hot Springs? - The Rapid City Post Hearing Chair Denies Venue Change Requests from Three Local Governments Last spring’s notice of a proposed uranium exploration project near Craven Canyon,

DRA's Rebecca Terk: Why is the Board of Minerals & Environment set against holding its uranium exploration hearing in the affected area rather than hours (and a time zone change) away in Pierre? rapidcitypost.com/opinion-whos... #mining #southdakota #uranium #localcontrol

Senate, House leadership introduces 'Data Center Bill of Rights' bill Senate and House leadership team up to introduce a new bill they’re calling the “Data Center Bill of Rights.”

This: "So, we’re just saying when it comes to the richest tech companies in the world, we don’t think those people in particular should be given a tax break.” - Speaker Jon Hansen www.sdpb.org/politics/202... #sdleg #datacenter #taxpayers

HJR 5001 will allow the South Dakota voters to decide whether to constitutionally protect eminent domain restrictions, was strengthened and clarified through amendments and then passed by the House State Affairs Committee #sdleg #eminentdomain #sdisnotforsale

A quote graphic with a photo of a rock formation in Craven Canyon. A quote from Rebecca Terk: The state's message seems clear: we make the decisions here in Pierre, no matter what your local governments and local people have determined."

The State Board of Minerals & Environment denies 2 counties & 1 city's request for the Craven Canyon proposed #uranium drilling project hearing be held in Hot Springs instead of Pierre. bit.ly/4qYHNTk #localcontrol

VIEWPOINT | South Dakota decision makers put uranium prospects before Black Hills residents, tribes Guest column by Rebecca Terk, Dakota Rural Action

Who's afraid of Hot Springs? The State of South Dakota, it seems bit.ly/4qYHNTk #uranium #mining #localcontrol

To clarify - if testifying in person, you can still register at the hearing, but it is an electronic registration as opposed to a paper signup sheet.