Saturday,  Jan. 11, 2014 • Vol. 16--No. 179 • 20 of 34

(Continued from page 19)

neral of former economic development director Richard Benda.
• Benda had left state government when Daugaard took office. Benda accepted a loan monitor job with SDRC Inc., a privately held Aberdeen company that recruited foreign investors for the failed Northern Beef Packers plant and other ventures in the state.
• The Governor's Office of Economic Development for years contracted with SDRC to administer the federal EB-5 program, in which foreign investors can secure permanent residency for as little as $500,000. South Dakota has since canceled the contract.
• Jackley's investigation found that $550,000 of a $1 million state grant given to Northern Beef for construction and equipment costs was improperly diverted to SDRC to pay EB-5 immigration loan monitoring fees. He also found that Benda had double-billed the state for three flights.
• No charges have been filed, but a federal investigation into the use of the EB-5 program in South Dakota is ongoing.
• Jackley has said his office is assisting the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice, which have primary authority over federal immigration law and the EB-5 program.
• Northern Beef opened on a limited basis in 2012 after years of delays, but the company filed for bankruptcy protection in July because it lacked money to buy cattle for slaughter.
• San Francisco-based investment banking firm White Oak Global Advisors submitted the winning $44.3 million credit-and-cash bid for the idled plant during a bankruptcy court auction in December. The sale closing is pending court approval.

Woman who ran over trooper in Sioux Falls pleads

• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A woman now acknowledges she drove drunk and ran over a South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper in Sioux Falls.
• Rachel Coleman pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer and felony driving under the influence fourth.
• The 26-year-old could get up to 42 1/2 years in prison.
• Trooper Andrew Steen tried to pull Coleman over in the early morning of Oct. 17, 2012, but she led authorities on a 20-minute chase. It ended in a parking when Steen got out of his vehicle to try and stop Coleman but she accelerated and ran him over.
• Coleman was shot by other officers and arrested nearby. Her attorney says she can't remember anything from that night.

(Continued on page 21)

© 2013 Groton Daily Independent • To send correspondence, click here.