• RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- More than 300 firefighters from across South Dakota are helping battle the wildfires raging in Colorado.
• The Rapid City Journal reports (http://bit.ly/19qUCNs ) that some of the South Dakota firefighters are nearing the end of a 14-day rotation in a region where fires have burned across rugged mesas and mountains.
• Jay Esperance, head of the South Dakota Division of Wildland Fire, is leading the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team fighting the East Peak Fire. That blaze has covered more than 13,000 acres, or 20 square miles, since it started on June 19.
• The South Dakota firefighters in Colorado include 64 full-time and seasonal firefighters from the state Division of Wildland Fire. Other wildland fire crews, volunteer fire departments and city departments also have sent firefighters to Colorado.
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• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Fire officials in South Dakota are urging safety ahead of the July 4 holiday.
• Fire Marshal Paul Merriman says fire officials see a few injuries and unintentional fires every year from fireworks.
• Legal sale of fireworks in South Dakota starts Thursday. People can discharge fireworks legally up until July 7 this year.
• Individual cities may adopt stricter limits on fireworks, and Merriman suggests residents check local ordinances and regulations.
• Merriman says people should follow the instructions on the product, avoid using fireworks in places where a fire could start and keep a source of water nearby.
• He says children should only use sparkers with adult supervision.
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• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A state task force studying the possibility of expanding Medicaid to cover an additional 48,000 low-income South Dakotans meets Wednesday as it nears the end of its study.
• The panel, appointed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard, will not recommend whether the

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