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• Cammack said neighbors who stop in his store relayed stories of their losses. "It just seems like the sad stories and disasters never end."
• Ranchers are gratified by donations made to a relief fund and other efforts to help those who lost cattle, but the key is for Congress to pass a new farm bill that includes a disaster program that will cover part of the ranchers' losses, Cammack said.
• A previous federal livestock disaster program expired at the end of 2011, but the House and Senate versions of the new farm bill include a new livestock disaster program that would be retroactive. The House and Senate are now trying to reach agreement on a common version of the farm bill.
• Pennington County dug two pits to dispose of cattle carcasses, and the county put 139 carcasses found along roads into the pits earlier this week, said Alexa White of the Pennington County Emergency Operations Center. She said officials do not know how many dead cattle have been placed in the pits by the county's ranchers. The county will make another sweep of roads Monday and Tuesday to pick up other carcasses ranchers have been unable to dispose of themselves, she said.
• Oedekoven said he has no specific worries about the spread of disease from the dead cattle, but ranchers should burn, bury or have a rendering service pick up the carcasses as quickly as possible. The cattle were healthy before the storm killed them, and few insects remain in the cold weather to spread any disease, he said.
• However, cattle that survived the storm were stressed and could be susceptible to respiratory problems, so ranchers should watch for signs of such problems, he said.
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• RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- A Rapid City judge who will decide whether hookah consumption falls under South Dakota's ban on smoking in public places sampled the product to get firsthand experience.
• Judge Jeff Davis is presiding over a trial that will determine whether Ifrits Hookah Lounge can sell alcohol. The statewide smoking ban prohibits businesses that sell tobacco from also selling alcohol.
• Ifrits stopped selling alcohol in 2010 after Police Chief Steve Allender and former Pennington County State's Attorney Glenn Brenner told the business it would be cited for violating the law. Business owners Charles Desmond and Brian Winckel then sued, asking the court to decide whether the smoking ban applies to hookah, which involves using water pipes with burning charcoal to ingest tobacco.
• Assistant City Attorney Carla Cushman asserted during the first day of the trial

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