While South Dakota has made progress on opening government records to the public, more needs to be done. That was one of the conclusions from a panel discussion about open records hosted Friday by the South Dakota Newspaper Association at the Minnehaha Country Club.
The discussion marked the 10-year anniversary of major open records legislation that presumed South Dakota records are open unless they are noted as closed. Panelists for the discussion included former state senator Dave Knudson of Sioux Falls, Argus Leader reporter Jonathan Ellis, SDNA Legal Hotline attorney Jon Arneson and Tony Venhuizen, who served as chief of staff to former Governor Dennis Daugaard. The panel was moderated by Jack Marsh of S.D. News Watch.
Knudson, the sponsor of the open records legislation in 2009, said getting the bill through the Legislature was not an easy process with opponents that included Gov. Mike Rounds, the South Dakota Municipal League, the Board of Regents and the Secretary of State’s office. (Read more here…)