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• Keith Olsen, who's lived in the city 10 years, said children in the community know Knutson's name and respect rather than fear him.
• "My child, my 7-year-old, looks at him and goes, 'I want to be a police officer someday,' and I guarantee a lot of other kids in the community are doing the same thing."
• The Worthing vacancy is the latest in a series of positions that have opened in South Dakota police departments in recent months. In Tea, Police Chief Brian Ketterhagen resigned without public explanation a month ago. His resignation came less than two years after the demotion and eventual termination of former chief Ken Haugen.
• Lennox Police Chief Russ Nelson left two months ago for a job with fewer hours, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.
• And in August, Wagner Police Chief Jim Chaney resigned after being charged with not informing the proper authorities that his girlfriend was using meth. He was sentenced in October to 120 days of community service, which he must complete to avoid a six-month jail sentence.
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• RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- A death-row inmate in South Dakota is challenging the state's single-drug execution protocol.
• Charles Russell Rhines appeared in 7th Circuit Court on Tuesday to hear recorded testimony from health care experts about the one-drug method.
• Rhines has been sentenced to death for the 1992 fatal stabbing of 22-year-old Donnivan Schaeffer during the burglary of a Rapid City doughnut shop. His conviction and death sentence was upheld in September, and now Rhines is challenging the constitutionality of the state's one-drug protocol.
• A judge will rule on the legality at a later date.
• Rhines can appeal the decision to the South Dakota Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
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• MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) -- The head of the McGovern Center for Leadership and Public Service at Dakota Wesleyan University is resigning.
• Donald Simmons is leaving his position as director of the center to pursue other opportunities.

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