Nisland News

PIERRE, S.D. - The South Dakota Legislature delayed work on the $4 billion state budget Wednesday because negotiations continued on spending for education and other key programs, lawmakers said.

A bill that would have allowed local school boards and taxpayers to decide when and/or if they needed to consider consolidation was flying through the South Dakota Legislature, until it got to the Senate Education Committee.

A temporary sales tax increase has been rejected by the South Dakota House State Affairs Committee by a vote of 9 to 3. House Bill 1222 would have raised the state sales and use tax from 4 percent to 5 percent to fund the budget gaps.

A Sioux Falls man is behind bars, accused of attacking his estranged wife with a hammer and kidnapping her.