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seat being vacated by retiring Tim Johnson can't be on the general election ballot.
• Secretary of State Jason Gant on Tuesday said independent candidate Clayton Walker won't be on the ballot after his nominating petitions were successfully challenged.
• Walker can appeal the decision in circuit court.
• Gant in a letter sent to Walker said the challenge left the candidate 1,410 signatures short of the 3,171 required for his petition to remain filed.
• Brookings resident Mary Perpich contested the petitions. She's the Brookings County Democratic Party chairwoman.
• Walker's petitions were challenged on the grounds that they included unregistered voters, had discrepancies in the counties and addresses listed for the signers and showed information difficult to verify because of their "poor quality."
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Exploding targets banned in Idaho, Mont., Dakotas
KEITH RIDLER, Associated Press
• BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- The U.S. Forest Service has banned exploding targets in northern Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and portions of South Dakota because of wildfire and public safety concerns.
• Northern Region Forester Faye Krueger announced Tuesday the regional closure that immediately prohibits exploding targets on national forest lands.
• Some target shooters use the exploding targets because they contain chemical components that mix when struck by a bullet and create a loud bang and big puff of smoke.
• But the Forest Service said exploding targets the past two years have started at least 16 wildfires in Western states that cost $33 million to fight. Agency officials also have concerns that the explosions launch debris that can injure bystanders.
• "Exploding targets pose a very real safety threat to visitors and our employees," U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said in a statement.
• The order includes all 12 national forests and grasslands in the agency's Northern Region. The fine for using the banned targets is up to $5,000 and six months in jail.
• The closure falls under national regulatory guidance for safeguarding natural resources and public safety, Forest Service spokesman Phil Sammon said.
• "We want to eliminate as much as possible those human-caused wildfires," Sammon said. "The fact that we have the closure order is an indication that (exploding targets) are being used more, getting to the point we need to take this step."
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