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• "With the settlement now final, we can put years of discord behind us and start a new chapter in our nation-to-nation relationship," Salazar said.
• The agreement will pay out $1.5 billion to two classes of beneficiaries. Each member of the first class would be paid $1,000. Each member of the second class would be paid $800 plus a share of the balance of the settlement funds as calculated by a formula based on the activity in their trust accounts.
• Another $1.9 billion would be used by the government to purchase fractionated land allotments from willing individuals and turn those consolidated allotments over to the tribe. An education scholarship for young Indians also would be established under the agreement.
• Congress approved the deal in December 2010 and U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan approved it after a June 2011 hearing. Hogan said that while the settlement may not be as much as some wished, the deal ended the legal deadlock and provided some certainty for the beneficiaries.
• Cobell traveled across Indian Country to explain the deal, but there was opposition. One opponent, Kimberly Craven of Boulder, Colo., took her objections to the Supreme Court, saying the settlement did not include an actual accounting for how much money the government lost and that the deal would overcompensate a select few beneficiaries.
• The Supreme Court declined to take up her petition.
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SD Gov. urging boost in school aid, state salaries
CHET BROKAW,Associated Press
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard said Monday he will recommend a pay raise for state employees and increases in state aid to school districts and reimbursements to Medicaid providers when he unveils his proposed state budget next week.
• Speaking on KCCR-AM radio, the Republican governor also said the state will get a windfall of one-time money next year because of changes in state and federal banking laws.
• Earlier in the day, Daugaard met privately with five GOP legislative leaders. Some of the lawmakers said the use of one-time money -- from reserves and other sources that are not part of ongoing tax collections -- will be a key issue in crafting the fiscal 2013-2014 budget.
• Daugaard declined to give dollar amounts for his proposed spending plan, but outlined some areas, including schools and Medicaid service providers, where he (Continued on page 22)
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