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• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- The U.S. Agriculture Department's Council for Native American Farming and Ranching is holding its first meeting this week.
• Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack set up the council to advise him on ways to eliminate barriers to participation in USDA programs for Native American farmers and ranchers. It was appointed as part of the Keepseagle settlement, and the group will meet at least twice a year for the next five years.
• The meetings at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., run 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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• BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- A federal judge says a North Dakota man convicted of operating a drug and prostitution ring on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation must serve 45 years in prison.
• A jury in April found Dustin Morsette, of New Town, guilty on several charges, including sex trafficking, sexual abuse, drug trafficking and witness tampering.
• Morsette faced a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. Judge Daniel Hovland says Morsette deserved a stiff sentence, but says a life sentence "is harsh for a 23-year-old man with no criminal history, a childhood spent living in 21 different foster homes, and a life plagued with dysfunction and chaos."
• U.S. attorneys Brendan Johnson of South Dakota and Timothy Purdon of North Dakota say the two states are seeing an increased number of human trafficking cases.
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• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson says a 19-year-old Mission man has been sentenced to more than 14 years in prison for his role in the beating death of a man with a baseball bat.
• Jason DeSersa was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty in May to voluntary manslaughter.
• The conviction stems from an October incident in which DeSersa hit the victim, knocking him to the ground. Prosecutors say that while the victim was on the

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