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Groton Daily Independent
Saturday, July 29, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 029 ~ 16 of 67
3 people die in mobile home re in western South Dakota
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A mobile home re that killed three people Fri- day in western South Dakota could be seen for miles and drew re ghters from a dozen agencies, of cials said.
Investigators recovered the bodies by mid-afternoon Friday, Rapid City re of cials said. Two of the bodies appear to be adults, but authorities don’t know their age, gender and re- lationship to each other. Investigators were trying to determine the age of the third victim.
Two people were able to escape the home before re ghters arrived. The two had minor injuries. After talking to witnesses, law enforcement and
Emergency responders investigate the scene of a mobile
re ghters began looking for three home re, Friday, July 28, 2017 in Rapid City, S.D. A re
people who were unaccounted for. of cial says multiple people are unaccounted after a re
Fire ghterssaytheyfoundthemo- destroyedamobilehomeinwesternSouthDakota.(ChrisHuber/ bile home engulfed in ames when
theyarrivedabout5a.m.Fire ght- RapidCityJournalviaAP)
ers made several attempts to enter
the home and rescue those inside, but could not enter because of the “heavy re conditions,” authorities said in a statement. The mobile home was destroyed.
Fire ghters had to move slowly as they searched the home because of concerns about the stability of the structure, Rapid City Fire Lt. Jim Bussell said. The re damaged a second home at the B & J Mobile Home Park in Rapid City and ignited a small grass re. Of cers were able to quickly evacuate the second mobile home.
Crews reported seeing ames visible from several miles away as they responded to the blaze. The cause remains under investigation.
Liquor sales increase in Nebraska towns near reservation
WHITECLAY, Neb. (AP) — Some Nebraska communities near a South Dakota Native American reserva- tion where alcohol is banned have seen liquor sales boom since beer stores shuttered at a tiny nearby village that long served as the reservation’s watering hole, according to gures from the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission.
The agency asked for data from distributors after ordering an end to beer sales in the community of Whiteclay in April. The gures show that overall beer sales in northwestern Nebraska counties have de- clined, but speci c towns have seen liquor sales more than triple between April and June, the Lincoln Journal Star reported .
Whiteclay is next to the Pine Ridge Reservation. Rushville, a town about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Whiteclay, reported more than 3,700 gallons of beer in April and nearly 13,000 gallons in June.
Whiteclay had drawn criticism for selling alcohol so close to the reservation and for drawing dozens of people a day who drink, pass out and sometimes ght in public. Supporters of closing its beer stores argued that nearby communities with larger populations and the ability to pass local liquor ordinances could better police alcohol sales.
“We haven’t heard the complaints” from those larger communities about the vagrancy, violence and