Lounge carpet laying | Pipelines + prisons + data centers = GOP leadership clash | SLAPPing back frivolous lawsuits | Betting on sports betting | An overdue Medal of Honor | Striking independence

Did you miss last week’s episode of The Scouting Lounge? Downloaded hundreds of times since both free and paid subscribers of The Dakota Scout received it in their inboxes seven days ago, there’s still time to catch up, hit the link below to listen to “A very bad day | Nosey neighbors | Rescued by a former legislator | Data center defeat | The GOP’s consigliere | Nibbling on property taxes | Mayoral run lessons” and check out all past shows by visiting the podcast archive.

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PIERRE — Republican legislative leaders publicly clashed Thursday over data center tax incentives, with Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff accusing House Speaker Jon Hansen of fear mongering about economic development during a joint news conference at the Capitol.

A South Dakota native who shot down several Soviet fighter jets will be awarded the Medal of Honor by President Donald Trump.

PIERRE – South Dakota is moving to join more than three dozen other states to short circuit lawsuits meant to stifle free speech, political activists and media.

Tens of thousands of South Dakotans are flocking to neighboring states to place wagers on sporting events, but voters could decide to keep that money in-state.

PIERRE – Hyperscale data centers will not be exempt from sales taxes in South Dakota following the defeat of a bill Wednesday morning that would have granted them 50 years of exemptions.