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17-year-old boy from STAR Academy dies
• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- The state Department of Corrections says a 17-year old boy has died from an apparent medical condition at a state-run juvenile corrections program in Custer.
• Officials say Brady Folkens developed symptoms at the State Treatment and Rehabilitation Academy and was seen by on-site medical staff before being taken to the Custer Regional Hospital on Saturday. Brady was then flown to Sioux Falls so that he could be seen by a specialist but died Saturday night at a Sioux Falls hospital.
• The family was present at the hospital when Brady died.
• An autopsy will be conducted and test results are pending on the cause of his illness.
• The department has asked the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation to investigate the death, which is standard procedure for all deaths in custody.
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SD state senator eyes 2015 boost in road taxes
CHET BROKAW, Associated Press
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A federal infusion of recession stimulus spending helped South Dakota catch up on road projects, and now a lawmaker plans to take a look on whether the state should raise taxes to keep up with construction and maintenance.
• Republican Sen. Mike Vehle, of Mitchell, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, plans to hold a series of hearings when the 2014 Legislature opens in January to gather information about the need for highway funding and how that revenue might be raised. Any bill to raise highway taxes would not be introduced until 2015, he said.
• "The goal is to get some consensus," Vehle said. "Do we have a problem, how bad is that problem, what can we do about it, what should be the process, and can we get everybody behind it?"
• Vehle, who has long urged additional funding for state highways, said he usually holds a hearing early in a legislative session to get updates from the state Transportation Department and the state Revenue Department on road conditions and tax (Continued on page 11)
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