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Authorities ID woman killed in SD house fire
• CONDE, S.D. (AP) -- Authorities have identified a woman who died in a house fire in the northeastern South Dakota town of Conde
• The Spink County Sheriff's Office says 41-year-old Beth Ptacek died Sunday morning, along with a couple of pets. Her husband, Steve Ptacek, is being treated at a Minneapolis burn hospital.
• Fire investigators have been unable to determine the cause of the fire but say foul play is not suspected.
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New livestock development director named for ND
• BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has appointed Shaun Quissell as North Dakota's new livestock development director.
• Quissell succeeds Wayne Carlson, who has retired after 21 years in the Agriculture Department post.
• Quissell previously was a senior inspector in the state Meat and Poultry Inspection Program. In his new position, he'll oversee the department's livestock programs, including dairy and poultry inspection, auction and dealer licensing and bonding, livestock development, state meat inspection, livestock pollution prevention and feed registration.
• Quissell is a South Dakota native who graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in animal science. He joined North Dakota's Agriculture Department as an inspector in 2007.
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SD Senate panel considers statewide texting ban
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A South Dakota Senate committee is considering a proposed statewide ban on texting while driving.
• The measure, passed earlier by the House, would make it a petty offense carrying a $25 fine to drive while using a hand-held device to write, send or read text-based messages. But drivers could still use cellphones to talk and could text using voice-operated or hands-free technology.
• The bill would allow law enforcement officers to issue tickets for texting while driving only after stopping drivers for some other traffic violation. In addition, it would (Continued on page 19)
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