ICE ARRESTS 8 IN MADISON IN DAYS FOLLOWING PROTESTS AGAINST KRISTI NOEM AT DSU COMMENCEMENT

MADISON, S.D. (Joshua Haiar, Seth Tupper / South Dakota Searchlight) – U.S. immigration officials conducted a “worksite enforcement action” that resulted in eight arrests Tuesday in Madison, three days after their boss, Kristi Noem, was subjected to a protest in the same South Dakota city.

At least one of the two targeted businesses, Manitou Equipment, was awarded financial support from the state while Noem was governor.

The media office for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a written statement that the agency’s action was at Manitou and also at Global Polymer Industries “in response to information or allegations received by ICE Homeland Security Investigations.”

ICE later issued a news release saying two people from Nicaragua and one from El Salvador were arrested at Manitou, and three from Nicaragua and two from Guatemala were arrested at Global Polymer. The release alleged that all eight people were in the country illegally and said they’re being held by ICE pending deportation proceedings.

The news release did not say whether the businesses would face consequences, but they were criticized in a statement from ICE Homeland Security Investigations St. Paul Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt.

“Employers who knowingly hire individuals without legal work authorization not only undermine our nation’s immigration laws but also exploit vulnerable populations,” Holt’s statement said. “These enforcement actions make it clear: illegal hiring practices aren’t limited to major metropolitan areas — they are happening in small towns across rural America, and we will continue to hold violators accountable, wherever they operate.”

In response to follow-up questions from South Dakota Searchlight, an ICE spokesperson said “this is all the information I can provide at this time.” Madison Mayor Roy Lindsay Jr. said Tuesday when reached by phone that he was out of town and suggested calling Police Chief Justin Meyer, who said all questions should go to ICE.

ICE’s statement said it enforces business compliance with federal employment eligibility requirements, and has the responsibility to conduct worksite enforcement initiatives “targeting employers who violate employment laws.”

“During these operations, any alien determined to be in violation of U.S. immigration laws may be subject to arrest, detention, and, if ordered removed by an immigration judge or other authority, subject to removal from the United States,” the statement said.

Action follows protest

Noem delivered the commencement address and received an honorary degree Saturday at Dakota State University in Madison. Around 200 demonstrators gathered outside the graduation ceremony to protest the actions of Noem and the Department of Homeland Security that she leads, which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

The protesters were especially concerned about the targeting of more than 1,000 international students nationwide, including one at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City — Priya Saxena — who is suing the government after it revoked her visa.

Her revocation was triggered by a criminal records check that turned up a four-year-old misdemeanor traffic conviction against her, and a charge of driving under the influence from the same traffic stop that was dropped after a test showed her blood-alcohol content to be within the legal limit. On Tuesday morning, while ICE was making arrests in Madison, Saxena was participating in a court hearing in Rapid City, where she’s seeking an order preventing further immigration enforcement against her.

Anden Wieseler is a member of the Dakota State University Student Senate who opposed Noem’s invitation to the university and helped organize Saturday’s protest. He wasn’t surprised by news of the immigration enforcement action.

“I had several conversations with members of the DSU student body and a lot of us kind of expected something like this to happen after bringing Kristi Noem to Madison,” Wieseler said.

A student who graduated Saturday, Carter Gordon, said the dual immigration enforcement action in Madison “reeks of retribution.”

“You could make the argument that they would’ve happened even had she not been protested, but it feels very vengeful,” Gordon said.

The nonprofit South Dakota Voices for Peace, which advocates for immigrants, is trying to gather information about the arrests and affected families. The nonprofit works with local rapid-response observers around the state, including one that reported seeing ICE helicopters Tuesday morning in Madison.

Chief Executive Director Taneeza Islam said the group’s main initial worry is whether the arrested people have children, and where they are.

“These kids are our top concern at the moment,” Islam said.

About the companies

One of the companies targeted, Manitou, is a France-based global manufacturer of construction equipment. Plant manager Jeff Minnaert told South Dakota Searchlight in 2023 that the Madison location employed about 250 people, and about 25% of them were Hispanic.

The company was seeking additional employees at the time to support a planned $60 million expansion that was set to add a combined 125 jobs to the Madison plant and another location in Yankton. In December 2022, while Noem was governor of South Dakota, the board of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development awarded Manitou nearly $1 million through a construction sales-tax refund program to help with the expansion.

In July 2023, also while Noem was governor, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development received a Silver Shovel award from Area Development magazine, which the magazine said was due to activity including the Manitou expansion.

The other targeted business, Global Polymer Industries, is a Madison-based company that was founded in a garage in the small town of Arlington in 1993. It describes itself as one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, which is a flexible product that retains its shape and melts only under extremely high temperatures. The company’s wide range of products includes conveyor components, sprockets, guide rails and custom-molded parts.

South Dakota Searchlight attempts to speak with officials at both companies were unsuccessful Tuesday.

Participating agencies

A news release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the following agencies supported its May 13, 2025, enforcement action in Madison:

FBI.

Internal Revenue Service.

Drug Enforcement Administration.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

U.S. Marshals Service.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations.

Madison Police Department.

South Dakota Highway Patrol.

South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.

 

REPORT PINPOINTS NURSING HOME STAFFING SHORTAGES IN IOWA AND THE NATION

IOWA (Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Newly reported federal data shows the overwhelming majority of nursing homes in Iowa and the United States are operating with too few staff to meet residents’ basic needs.

Eleven of Iowa’s 410 nursing homes were staffed at least 40% below the level expected to meet residents’ needs during the third quarter of 2024, according to the data. Among the 50 states, Iowa ranked in the middle of the pack, with staffing levels that averaged 20% below expectations.

According to federal data compiled by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and then analyzed by the nonprofit Long Term Care Community Coalition, nine in 10 nursing homes across the country were staffed below the level expected based on resident needs.

The report comes as Congress considers budgetary proposals that include instructions requiring the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to delay, until January 2035, enforcement of new minimum staffing standards for nursing homes.

Richard Mollot, LTCCC’s executive director, said the coalition’s methodology for calculating resident needs isn’t based on arbitrary benchmarks, but on each facility’s first-hand evaluation of its own residents’ condition and medical needs.

“It gives residents, families, operators, and policymakers a clear and meaningful way to gauge whether a nursing home is adequately staffed to ensure safe, appropriate care,” he said.

In the third quarter of 2024, the study shows, the average U.S. nursing home provided 3.73 total nurse staff hours per resident, per day. Based on resident acuity, the national average expected staffing level was 4.94 hours. As a result, the median nursing home fell 25% short of expected staffing levels, according to the coalition.

Only two states — Alaska, where staffing levels averaged 21% above expectations, and Oregon, where the homes were staffed 2.5% above expectations — met or exceeded their expected staffing levels.

The states with the worst overall staffing averages included Illinois, where the homes averaged 37.7% below expected levels, followed by Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, Georgia and Virginia, all of which were at least 30% below expected levels.

Lowest-rated Iowa homes are in rural and urban areas

The new report indicates there’s insufficient data on staffing for 13 of Iowa’s 410 nursing homes. Of the remaining 397 homes, 34 are reported to be staffed at or above the expected level.

There are 11 Iowa nursing homes that were staffed at a level at least 40% below the expected level based on each home’s assessment of residents’ needs. State records show that of those 11 homes, seven were cited by state inspectors for insufficient nursing staff at some point during the past 10 years.

The 11 Iowa homes that were staffed at least 40% below the expected level are:

Adel Acres in Dallas County: 47.5% below. The home was last cited for insufficient nursing staff in December 2021.

Oakland Manor in Pottawattamie County: 46% below. The home was last cited for insufficient nursing staff in August 2023.

Aspire of Pleasant Valley in Scott County: 45.3% below. The home was last cited for insufficient nursing staff in September 2024.

Mount Ayr Health Care Center in Ringgold County: 44.3% below. The home has not been cited for insufficient nursing staff in the past 10 years.

Bettendorf Health Care Center in Scott County: 43.8% below. The home was last cited for insufficient nursing staff in January 2025, October 2022 and May 2022.

Aspire of Perry in Dallas County: 43.1% below. The home was last cited for insufficient nursing staff in October 2024, September 2024 and September 2023.

Panora Specialty Care in Guthrie County: 42.8% below. The home was last cited for insufficient nursing staff in January 2025.

Good Samaritan Home of Saint Ansgar in Mitchell County: 42.7% below. The home has not been cited for insufficient nursing staff in the past 10 years.

Grundy Care Center in Grundy County: 42.4% below. The home was last cited for insufficient nursing staff in November 2024 and August 2024.

Maple Manor Village in Butler County: 41.4% below. The home has not been cited for insufficient nursing staff in the past 10 years.

Kingsley Specialty Care in Plymouth County: 40% below. The home has not been cited for insufficient nursing staff in the past 10 years.

 

DWU STUDENTS AND THE SOUTH DAKOTA SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE COLLABORATE ON REGIONAL ECONOMIC DATA ANALYSIS REPORT

MITCHELL, S.D. (J.P. Skelly / KORN) – After last year’s successful creation of a business and economic data analysis summary report, leveraging the expertise of local professionals, data from the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office and online resources, Dr. Tracy Dice’s students were well positioned to jump in and update the 2024 report. The project highlights the economic story of the Mitchell area, recognizing the importance of local economic dynamics and provides students with a practical application of their economic knowledge.

The final report was debuted on Tuesday, May 13, at a university press conference, hosting South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson as a special guest.  Nearly 20 entities and individuals were consulted as part of the research.

Findings of the report included:

Despite global economic challenges, including trade tensions and inflation, South Dakota continues to show resilience through strong agricultural output and a favorable business environment.

Housing prices in Mitchell have risen significantly, with the average home price reaching over $431,000. Combined with stagnant local incomes and rising mortgage rates, affordability is a key issue.

Small businesses dominate the regional economy, but workforce shortages and lack of affordable childcare limit their growth. Demand for childcare far exceeds supply, with over 3,000 children under 9 years old in the area and only 576 registered daycare slots available.

Rising healthcare costs, a shortage of healthcare professionals, and an aging population strain the healthcare system. Telehealth and mobile healthcare units have started to address rural access issues, but the state faces ongoing challenges in recruiting and retaining healthcare workers. Gender wage gaps also persist in healthcare, with men earning an average of 15% more than women across Mitchell, Huron, and Yankton.

Sales tax accounts for about 70% of Mitchell’s city revenue, with half of consumer spending driven by visitors from outside the city. While this highlights Mitchell’s role as a regional hub, it also underscores the need to continuously invest in community amenities, housing, and economic diversification to remain competitive and sustain growth.

The data was presented by Dr. Tracy Dice, Associate Professor of Business and Economics.  Eighteen students were tasked with conducting the research and developing the final report.  CEO of the Mitchell Area Development Corporation and Chamber of Commerce Mike Lauritsen was instrumental in bringing the idea for the project to DWU.

About the project, Dice stressed the value of the exercise.  “Teaching economics in an applied, relevant, and practical manner is very effective.  It makes data meaningful.  Students are retaining information because they see how it applies in the real world and they see the relevance in their own lives.  After creating this report, these students will be able to interpret data at a higher level.”

The report data will be housed on the Secretary of State’s website.

 

TOURISM LEADERS WORRIED SOFT ECONOMY WILL SLOW REVENUES

PIEDMONT, S.D. (Bart Pfankuch / South Dakota News Watch) – John Carley joined about 100 other business operators in early May for a meeting of the Black Hills & Badlands Tourism Association to preview the 2025 tourism season.

The mood in the room, he said, was “a little muted” compared to recent years, when South Dakota set repeated records for visitors and tourism spending.

“I wouldn’t say they were jumping up and down like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to have a great year,’” said Carley, manager of the Elk Creek Resort and Petrified Forest in Piedmont.

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism officials across the state are feeling cautious, and perhaps even a bit worried, that tourist numbers and revenues will be lower this year.

From Sioux Falls to Rapid City, officials said stubborn inflation, the rising cost of living, cuts to federal jobs and national parks, fear of tariff impacts and a general malaise over the national economy could curtail visitor counts and spending.

“Anxiety is starting to grow among American travel consumers,” said James Hagen, secretary of the South Dakota Department of Tourism. “People are being very cost-conscious right now.”

Comments by President Donald Trump about annexing Canada is also blunting the state’s typical rush of visitors from north of the border, officials said.

A recent industry survey showed that while most Americans remain excited about potential travel this year, more than half are worried about a pending national recession, Hagen said. One quarter of those respondents said their worries will cause them to travel less this year, he said.

Hagen said when travel budgets were tight in the past, such as during the 2008 Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, South Dakota still performed well because it is mostly a driving destination that is seen as affordable compared to its competition.

“There are some things that are out of our control, national and world politics for example, so we need to keep a close pulse of what’s going on,” Hagen said. “But we can adjust our message in a heartbeat nine ways to Sunday to reach the right consumers at the right time to get in front of those consumers to inspire them to pull the trigger.”

Any reduction in visitors and tourism dollars will cause ripples across the economy of South Dakota, which has seen falling sales tax revenues in recent years.

According to the state, tourism generated nearly $400 million in tax revenues, making up 17% of all state sales tax collections in 2024. An estimated 14.9 million visitors spent $5.1 billion in 2024, supporting nearly 59,000 jobs, state data show.

Tourism has been on a roll in South Dakota in recent years, with increases in visitors and spending in seven of the past eight years, dipping only during the pandemic in 2020.

Worrisome hotel data in Sioux Falls

Teri Schmidt, CEO of Experience Sioux Falls, said the East River tourism outlook for 2025 “isn’t looking the worst, but it’s not looking the best either.”

Signs of market weakness are showing up in Sioux Falls hotel vacancy rates. Schmidt said year-over-year occupancy was down 5.7% in March and down 11.4% in April.

“I don’t ever remember that happening, so that’s a tough one to swallow,” she said. “We’re working as hard as ever, but it’s just not happening so far.”

Schmidt said she’s hearing potential tourists indicate they might cut back on travel or reduce the length or extent of vacations this year.

“Some are saying, we’re just not going to come because, ‘What if we lose our Medicare or tariffs cause my groceries to increase or the cost of gas or my medications?” she said. “And it’s not just the older generations that feel this way. … There’s a lot of young people just getting established who are being a bit more careful with their money.”

New data also show soft tourism bookings in locations that compete with Sioux Falls, including in Fargo, North Dakota, Madison, Wisconsin and Omaha, Nebraska, Schmidt said.

A tour group of 18 people recently cancelled their trip to South Dakota over economic uncertainty, and she’s not hearing the usual travel interest from Canadians, many of whom are upset over Trump’s effort to make the country the 51st U.S. state.

“Canada has always been a great visitor market for our state and we’re just not seeing it all,” she said.

‘Booking window’ tighter when money is tight

Michelle Thomson, CEO of the Black Hills & Badlands Tourism Association, said she is hearing about “financial uncertainty” and worry over a possible economic recession among potential visitors, which is causing the so-called booking window to shorten.

That means visitors aren’t locking in travel plans as early as usual, which adds to unease for tourism businesses that can’t be sure if people are coming, Thomson said.

“Optimism is still very high, and people are still talking about vacations,” she said. “But ultimately, the financial concerns people are having is causing some visitors a little bit of heartache over whether they’re going to take a vacation this year.”

Thomson said she expects visitors to come to western South Dakota, but they might be more frugal than in the past.

“After COVID, people really feel like a vacation is something that is automatic for them,” she said. “They’re just taking another look at where they go and they may spend a little less time and a little less money.”

Spending at Sturgis rally could fall this year

Toni Woodruff, spokeswoman for the Buffalo Chip campground and event venue in Sturgis, said the annual motorcycle rallies tend to draw bigger crowds in anniversary years marked by a zero or a five, including this year’s 85th.

And while bookings for the early August event are very strong so far, Woodruff said the high cost of living could reduce spending by bikers this year.

“The people are coming and they’re very excited,” she said. “Where we might see some of the impact (from the economy) will be more in how much disposable income they’re spending, maybe less on food and beverage and merchandise.”

Any tightness in spending will hurt businesses across the Black Hills and among the nearly 900 temporary vendors that arrive for the event, she said.

Woodruff said she attended the Daytona Bike Week in Florida earlier this year and spoke to vendors who were concerned about rising food costs and the tariffs placed on goods from China, where they order much of the merchandise they sell.

“Food vendors are going to have to pay higher prices and those higher costs will be pushed onto tourists,” she said. “And like what we saw happened during COVID, when those prices went up, they never went back down.”

Like other South Dakota tourism officials, however, Woodruff remains confident that 2025 will be a good year for the tourism industry, at least during the rally.

“The rally is really an affordable vacation option, and it’s like Mecca in how people prepare for it in advance so it’s on their radar and on their calendar,” she said. “They’ll say, ‘Yes, It’s going to cost some money, but I’m going to find a way to make it happen.’”

So far, so good at Elk Creek Resort

From his vantage point, Carley said 2025 is off to a good start at Elk Creek Resort, which opened on May 1. The sprawling recreational vehicle, camping and cabin resort with a pool and a lake sits a mile east of Interstate 90 between Rapid City and Sturgis.

Early bookings are above average for the resort’s two big annual events – the Black Hills Bluegrass Festival in June and the Sturgis motorcycle rally in August.

“Those are both barometers for us, and so far they’re looking good,” he said.

Early season interest in the Petrified Forest has been solid, and he’s hoping to attract both visitors with plans in place and those just passing through.

Carley, who is a state senator from Meade County, said predictions about visitors can be gauged largely on inflation rates and gas prices. While prices for many things remain high, he said the $3.39 per-gallon unleaded gas price in Rapid City in early May is acceptable.

His only concern is that the 2025 season might be soft in times when there isn’t a big event scheduled in the area. “Those in-between periods, that’s where I’d say we don’t have the same level of bookings as we’ve had in the past.”

Schmidt said she and her team continue to promote aggressively to keep the doors open to anyone who wants to visit Sioux Falls or elsewhere in South Dakota, even if it’s for a shorter or less extravagant stay.

“I’m just so concerned for those businesses who live by the tourism dollar because that is their livelihood,” she said. “Especially if you’re a seasonal business, and we certainly have many of those in our state, if that tourism season doesn’t come through with a bang, it’s pretty hard to take.”