or later tonight.
Koda Territory, serving South Dakota and Wyoming.
The 4th of July is long gone,
but the fight over fireworks at Mount Rushmore continues.
Plus, rural areas of South Dakota
could get faster phone and internet speeds,
but how will telecommunication companies lay it out?
And how would you like to see public transportation work
in Rapid City?
You get to have a say in what happens.
We'll tell you what to do.
Your news starts now.
This is Koda Territory News at 10.
Severe thunderstorms are here.
Strong winds are now ripping through
parts of Koda Territory.
And these storms won't be over for several hours.
Good evening, everyone.
I'm Alicia Garcia.
And I'm Aaron Dickens.
That's right, Alicia.
Let's take a look at the video
outside from right now from our studios.
I shot it moments ago.
You can see right here,
the pink lightning is headed our way.
There's, you know, different flashes of white
and pink in the sky heading our way.
Also, we got some video from Spearfish of hail.
Very tiny hail we got from a gas station in Spearfish.
But you can see it is definitely coming down.
Let's go right now to Chief Meteorologist Rhonda Lee
for the latest for the forecast.
Yeah, so stormy weather as predicted is happening.
Right now we still have our severe
thunderstorm watch box in effect until 11 o'clock tonight.
So at least for the next hour or so,
we are looking at Pennington, Fall River,
Custer, Oglala, Lakota, Lawrence, Mead,
and Butte counties still in that watch box.
We did lose Sheridan and Campbell counties,
but Weston and Crook counties on the Wyoming side
still have to deal with that storm activity
as we roll through the rest of our evening.
So what are we looking at right now?
We are looking at severe thunderstorm warnings
for Custer, Lawrence, Mead, and Pennington counties
until 11 o'clock p.m.
We are getting wind gusts of about 60 miles per hour,
P to half inch size hail,
and some of this rain is torrential.
Now the big, oh, and now it looks like our watch box has
just, or warning has just been extended to Rapid City
and Pennington County.
So we are going to be updating this as we go along.
Do keep in mind that some of these storm cells,
particularly the one that just left lead and into spearfish
have been very slow movers.
So there is some minor flooding associated with this.
So I'm gonna go and get information,
the latest information for the severe thunderstorm warning
that has just been issued for Rapid City.
I'll get back with you in just a moment.
Please stay here.
Meanwhile, no fireworks at Mount Rushmore
on the 4th of July, but the battle continues
and Governor Kristi Noem is taking action once again.
The governor filing an appeal today
to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
She isn't happy with the federal judge's recent decision.
The judge did not overrule the National Park Service's
denial of the state's request for fireworks
at Mount Rushmore this year.
Remember there were fireworks on the 4th of July
back in 2020.
President Trump attended the event.
Noem's lawsuit claims the agency's decision was,
quote, arbitrary and capricious.
The federal judge disagreeing saying the Park Service's
reasons for rejecting the fireworks were sound.
The reasons include eroding relationships
with indigenous tribal groups,
environmental and wildfire risks,
disruption of enjoyment by the public in Mount Rushmore
and disruption of construction at the memorial.
Telecommunication companies are focused on reconnecting
our rural areas to the rest of South Dakota
and getting the area ready for 5G.
Sioux Falls-based SDN Communications took the first steps
in the Black Hills surveying future sites
for rural broadband towers
as part of the federal ReConnect project.
They plan to lay 85 miles of fiber between Leed
and Hill City and 11 towers along Highway 385,
bringing high speed internet speeds to the area
and laying the foundation for 5G.
And while 5G is an attention grabber,
telecom companies are starting to focus their efforts
on bringing 4G to remote communities.
5G is great and we need to compete with it,
but maybe that first step is really making sure
that everyone in the United States has access
to good, reliable broadband.
Brown adds he expects 5G to reach Rapid City
within the next five to 10 years.
And as we know, more and more people are moving
to Rapid City and city officials are asking for your help.
This week, the city is holding a public meeting
to discuss future plans for downtown transit.
It's been 12 years since Rapid City's
public transportation system has been updated
and over that period of time,
upwards of 10,000 people have moved in.
The city is considering adding new routes,
extending service hours and adding hubs
to accommodate the growth.
Kelly Brennan is the long range planner for the city
and says they are working on the upstate, on the update,
so the public transportation can play a bigger role
in the community.
One of the things we're kind of focusing on this time
is looking at transit as a want versus a need.
So we know a lot of people need transit
to get to and from work or to shop,
but what about the people that want to use transit
just to either lower their carbon footprint
or not put miles on their car
or just don't want to even own a car for that matter?
And they're encouraging people to attend a public meeting
which will take place this Thursday at 5.30
behind the fountains down at Main Street Square.
Rapid City is no stranger to construction
and as it stands, there's a lot of projects on deck.
In fact, the city signed off on 438 building permits
in the month of June.
Wow, like so many other things,
the construction industry's workforce has taken a hit,
especially with skilled craftsmen,
leaving some projects that require experience slow to start
and difficult to achieve.
Jeffrey Lindblum spoke with a local construction company
to see how these impacts are affecting the community.
Rapid City has a high demand for all sorts
of construction-related projects,
which normally would be great for a construction company,
but right now, the lack of materials
combined with labor shortages
mixed with a lack of skilled craftsmen
makes for a tricky recipe to swallow.
It's just a unique time when there's a lot of offerings
of new projects, new work that in other,
years, other timeframes, a company like mine
would be like, oh, this is great,
but right now, I think it's being wise
and doing our best to keep track of the material availability
because we could well have plenty of work lined up,
but we can't start.
Some of the work that needs to be done
requires skilled and practiced hands to create.
We've been getting a lot of applications from people
that are less than skilled in the construction industry.
The need for experienced workers places a burden
on already employees to train others
when the workload is already high for so few hands on deck.
The shortage of skilled workers in the industry is not new.
We've been facing that for decades,
and it's just amplified right now
because of how busy the construction industry is.
I think people wonder, what's the reason
that there aren't enough construction workers?
To me, it's pretty clear that oftentimes,
children who are coming up through school or going to college
or getting work in the skilled trades
isn't always put up on a platform
as something we should aspire to do.
The struggle to find workers
means that Rapid City construction companies
are fighting over the veterans and the most skilled craftsmen
that the Rapid City market has to offer.
There's a little bit of a labor war, if you will.
I mean, if you're going to hire somebody that's skilled often,
they're going to come from another company,
and that company is going to lose because of it,
and you gained.
It's a hard thing to sleep with sometimes.
I mean, that's happening in the industry locally.
Considering that the goal of bidding a construction project
is to find the cheapest offer made by a company
willing to tackle it,
that means compensation for skilled craftsmen
eager to put their experienced hands to work
suffers as the price drops
and could be acting as a deterrent to invest their time.
You're going to get multiple bids for your project
because you want the lowest price,
but yet the labor shortage is demanding
that you have opportunities and growth for these people
in the field, which means higher wages
because everything costs more.
So how do you balance that?
That's, I mean, that's an age-old question, I'm sure.
Jeffrey Lindblom, CODA Territory News.
Coming up with food and medicine is scarce.
People of Cuba are demanding changes.
And that's causing President Biden to change his priorities.
We'll tell you about that after the break.
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I really didn't think that I could be an addict, but I am.
If you're struggling, find help.
There's hope.
For the whole summer.
These very funny people are sitting in for Kimmel.
This is the way it is.
Aren't you will like it.
See who's hosting tonight.
You have to tune in for the answer.
Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC.
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After widespread, rare protests in Cuba,
more than 100 people have been arrested or are missing.
That's according to anti-government activists.
And the demonstrations on the communist island
and in some US cities are prompting president Biden
to examine the United States' stance with Cuba.
Isabel Rosales explains the tense diplomatic relations
between the two countries.
On the streets of Miami,
chance of the anti-communism anthem,
Patria y Vida, Homeland and Life,
all in support of the Cuban people.
The people in Cuba had many problems
with their food and their freedom.
For days, massive anti-government demonstrations
erupted across Cuba at levels never seen before
in the country's 62 year long communist regime.
The economy, ailing, food and medicine, scarce.
All while the number of COVID-19 cases skyrocket.
They don't have freedom.
They would have freedom.
They could get their own vaccines.
The communist run government quickly reacted with violence.
They call on the government.
Government in Cuba to refrain from violence.
Their attempts to silence the voice of the people of Cuba.
The protests prompting president Biden
to re-examine the United States' position toward Cuba.
Something that wasn't previously a priority
for the administration.
Under the Obama administration, embassies reopened
and many US restrictions eased in Cuba, but.
The regime enriched itself.
The Cuban people never saw any benefit from it.
The Trump administration reinstated travel regulations,
sanctions and named Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism.
Despite campaign promises to go back
to full diplomatic relations,
the Biden administration has yet to take action.
The longer it takes for the United States to act,
the more costly this situation becomes for the Cuban people.
In Miami, I'm Isabel Rosales.
The very latest on tonight's thunderstorms.
Chief meteorologist, Ron DeLee is up next
with your first alert forecast.
There's always more to the story inside edition.
Weekdays at 1230.
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All right, so we are monitoring
the severe situation upon us at this point.
We still have our severe thunderstorm warning
for Southwestern Mead, for Northwestern Custer,
Southern Lawrence, Southwestern Pennington
and Northeastern Weston on the Wyoming side until 11 o'clock.
So about 45 more minutes, give or take on that.
We are looking at 60 mile per hour wind gusts
and you could expect some minor roof damage
and siding to your house and trees.
So we expect for this to eventually make its way
into Box Elder, into Rockerville,
Bear Country over there near like Reptile Gardens
and those locales within the next,
I'd probably give this about 20 to 25 minutes
as we zoom in kind of street level,
going up towards Blackhawk.
You guys are now right on the leading edge of that storm.
Summer set right now in the middle of that
as we go up towards I-90.
Tilford, you guys are in the middle of this storm
at this moment.
Piedmont, I remember speaking with somebody
on Facebook live earlier out of Piedmont.
So here is the storm as we kind of told you about,
about an hour or so from when we last spoke.
So everybody, please take this storm seriously.
Move all important things that you want to keep
untouched by hail indoors.
Now is your moment if you're in Rapid City.
Everybody else, please hang tight.
Of course, we would love to get your pictures,
but we only want those if we can get them safely.
That is the key here.
So we still have a severe thunderstorm watch
in effect until 11 o'clock.
And that does include on the South Dakota side,
Pennington, Fall River, Custer, Oglala, Lakota,
Lawrence, Mead, Butte counties.
And then on the Wyoming side, still within that watch box
is Weston and Crook counties as well.
So kind of shaping up for a long night as we go along.
But here's good news.
Tomorrow we're looking way better.
Non-severe storms.
Some of these are going to be hanging around
through our early morning hours
as folks are on their way on their commute,
moving basically along a line from Faith
and Phillip and down through Kadoka.
So for tonight, our biggest threat is going to be
the high winds, the large hail,
and there have actually been a few reports
of some localized flooding out towards Spearfish.
So keep that in mind.
The fuel that we need, which is our current dew point really,
and our dew point is our true measure of moisture
in the air, very soupy air.
This time last night, nothing at all like that.
So what we're going to keep monitoring
is this cold front, which drapes itself across our region
as we move into Wednesday.
Now the thing with this cold front,
not only is it giving us some much needed rain,
we don't want the severe,
but at least we're getting the rain out of this,
but it is also going to cool us off
to something closer to normal.
We're going to stay pretty dry
until we get up to about Thursday evening into Friday
when we could get another round of thunderstorms.
We're not necessarily expecting anything
on the severe side,
but around the thunderstorms nevertheless.
So for tonight, as we've been mentioning,
a few severe storms.
We're going to be at about 57 in Keystone,
finally cooler into Sundance at 54,
Pine Ridge at 58 a.m. thunderstorms,
but those will be dissipating over Pine Ridge
in our early morning hours.
Your high tomorrow, Pine Ridge at 75 degrees,
and then Newcastle at 74.
So 70s, yeah, that's a big switch,
considering that today we were up in the 90s.
So the rain will stop by Wednesday,
and then as we move into Thursday, mostly sunny,
another round of showers by Friday
with the next round of cold fronts coming by.
And then as we get into Saturday and Sunday,
we get rid of all that nice cool air,
and we stay pretty dry and well above average
for at least the next few days after our weekend.
Right back to the 90s.
Right back up there.
Thanks Rhonda.
You're welcome.
Ever get tired of driving on potholes in Rapid City?
Yes, I do.
And the solution could be a phone call away.
We'll explain the details after the break.
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Hi, I'm Governor Kristi Noem.
In 2020, the voters of South Dakota spoke up
and approved medical cannabis.
One of my jobs as governor is to make sure
that the will of the people
and all constitutional laws are enforced.
The medical cannabis program is on schedule,
and we're working to implement a responsible program
that follows the direction given by the voters.
Throughout the rules and the public input process,
the departments of education and health
have been careful in their approach.
Other states have made mistakes
that we do not want to repeat.
Well, potholes are known to cause wear and tear on vehicles
and Rapid City crews are now hearing concerns.
If you see a pothole that you would like fixed,
you can call Rapid City's pothole hotline.
There it is, 605-394-4152,
which directs you to the city's street department number.
The city has at least one truck
working on the road at all times.
Along with a night crew, it's advised that residents
are calling to inquire about a pothole
should give exact locations on the block or address.
You know, we have a lot of roads that have 20, 25,
even up to 30,000 vehicles per day.
So the crews can stay pretty busy.
We try to work in tandem a lot with our city sweepers.
We do a lot of our work in the evening hours.
A lot of times they don't even see the crews out and about
because try to minimize the interaction with the traffic.
And he says the potholes are typically fixed
within a day or two.
The American Red Cross is pushing for additional volunteers,
both nationally and locally.
The nonprofit trains volunteers for anything
from disaster responding to working in mass care
or feeding those in need.
People with mental health or medical backgrounds
could use their skills in a relatable position
within the organization.
You know, the great thing about being a volunteer
for the American Red Cross is that you really get
an opportunity to help people
when they're at their greatest need,
when people have lost everything.
The feeling that you get from being able
to help those folks and understand,
you've actually been able to provide them something
that will help them to move along,
that'll help them to recover,
it's just such a great feeling.
Recently, the Red Cross responded to an apartment fire
in Leed over the weekend,
and one person suffered life-threatening injuries.
Volunteers helped people from each of the five units
affected by the fire by providing comfort
and essential items.
We were right there as that fire,
unfortunately, was still going,
talking with those families and helping get them stabilized,
and then we worked with them over the long term
to get a recovery plan so that they won't end up
in a bad situation that they can continue
to grow and improve.
Anyone interested in volunteering
with the American Red Cross can apply online
or by calling their offices,
and we have all that contact information
on our website, Codatv.com.
Will a third shot be necessary for COVID-19 vaccinations?
Well, local health experts are saying maybe not.
Vaccinations are the best way to protect yourself
from the coronavirus,
and lately, manufacturers of the vaccine
are pushing to up their two-series shot.
Ultimately, public health officials will make the final call
on whether the booster shot is necessary,
but Dr. Shankar Kura of Monument Health
says both real-world and trial data,
along with all medical research done this far,
indicates the third shot isn't necessary.
Scientific evidence strongly shows
that just two doses are sufficient,
not only to be safe against the Delta variant,
but also to have long-lasting immunity for several years.
Kura wants to remind everyone,
even if you've been infected in the past,
you should still get the shot
in order to avoid another surge of COVID-19.
Well, South Dakota experienced
an alarming number of COVID deaths,
and now we're realizing that other illnesses
also became more severe during the pandemic.
And it will take millions to repair the wounds
and to repair a South Dakota memorial,
but veterans say it's worth it.
We'll tell you why next on Kota Territory News at 10.
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South Dakota has seen a significant increase
in suicides in 2021,
and Pennington County is no exception.
From January to May,
59 people in South Dakota have died by suicide,
according to the Department of Health.
That number is double the first three months of 2020,
and almost 20 more than the same timeframe of 2019.
In Pennington County,
the numbers look the same with 34 deaths
by suicide recorded so far,
compared to 21 in all of the last year.
So why the increase?
There was a lot of misinformation,
and so a lot of people were afraid,
and they didn't want to come in
to seek treatment that they needed.
So it's almost like our community stayed at home
trying to stay healthy
and let other illnesses get more severe.
Sullivan said mental illness has increased across the board,
including anxiety, depression, and suicide.
The Flaming Fountain Memorial is a tribute
to South Dakota's veterans
who have served our country in a time of war,
but had it since been several years
since the fountain was last flaming,
and much stands in the way before it can be that way once again.
Austin Goss has more from Pierre.
The Flaming Fountain Memorial in Pierre
is one of the city's most notable points of interest.
However, it's in need of a lot of repairs.
When we first moved here,
there was plenty of water coming out of the fountain,
and it was always lit no matter what.
And in the mid-late 70s, early 80s,
the flames started to dissipate,
and the wind would come up, and the flames would go out.
And then gradually the water started to diminish.
The water flow started to diminish.
The Flaming Fountain Memorial used to look more like this,
but now it looks like this.
Decades of wear and tear have gotten it to this point,
and veteran groups are saying
that it's time for repairs to become a priority.
The importance of this to veterans in South Dakota is immense.
And so the people that died in World War I, World War II,
Korea and Vietnam, they deserve a memorial to them.
The mechanism that helps put the flame out
has been in need of repairs for several decades now.
And more recently, it was discovered that the water line
that feeds the fountain also has a large hole in it.
All in all, it could cost millions of dollars to repair.
And previous efforts by local state legislators
have fallen short.
Veteran groups like the Pier Fort Pier Chapter
of the Vietnam Veterans of America
are hoping to get the word out about the need for a fix.
To get the Flaming Fountain back to the way it was,
because it means a lot to not only Vietnam vets,
but all vets of all walks of life.
And then also out there, the memorial too,
is the placement that lost their lives
and the emergency responders.
Veteran groups and other proponents of fixing the fountain
are hopeful that during the next legislative session in 2022,
there will be more of a concerted effort to get funding
to help fix the fountain.
In Pier, I'm Austin Goss.
Coming up, there's lots in store for movie lovers.
That's next.
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The wait is finally over.
Shen Yun returns to the stage with an all-new production
filled with beauty, majesty, and a powerful message of hope.
Discover the lost culture of ancient China.
Discover this season.
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Is your credit card on?
During the pandemic, theaters took a big hit to ticket sales
with closures and delayed releases.
However, things are back on the rise,
according to Rapid City's own Golden Ticket Cinemas.
The theater features a comfy way to watch,
seating in recliner chairs that book dinner
and the show available.
Katie Lloyd is the manager and says it was a slow season in 2020,
but 2021 has been different with new productions coming out
after being pushed back.
She says that the recent release of Black Widow
had good ticket sales, has had the majority of the big budget films,
and she expects that to continue.
Last year they halted production, basically moved everything back,
so there was nothing being released.
So I think with new ones and more coming out,
more this year and next year, I think it'll definitely pick up.
She says she anticipates big crowds for the Space Jam movie
with LeBron James coming soon.
And as more staff gets hired, they'll be able to see the influx of customers
seeking a night out with popcorn.
I haven't been to a movie yet. I'm really excited to get out.
Going for the popcorn.
Yeah.
So Rhonda, we can hear the storm already here now.
Yes, and as we take this to ground level right here in Rapid City,
right along I-90, we still have some of those stronger
and severe cells making its way towards us.
This does still include Custer, Mead, and Pennington counties
until about 11 o'clock p.m.
We're going to zoom out and you can kind of get a good idea
that we're not out of the woods by any stretch.
Everybody, please be very vigilant in our overnight hours.
All right. Be careful out there. Thanks so much for joining us.
Have a great night.