Sharp gains in investment earnings have put the South Dakota Retirement System in even better shape to pay the retirement benefits of thousands of state, county, city and school employees, officials said Thursday.

The South Dakota Retirement System's assets have grown to an all-time high after earning 12.4 percent on investments through the first seven months of the financial year, an official said Monday.

Now that President Barack Obama's re-election has cleared the way for the full implementation of his health care law, doctors and hospitals in South Dakota are urging the state to expand its Medicaid program so thousands of additional low-income residents can receive coverage.

South Dakotans who file fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits should have to pay back more money than they received, a state advisory panel recommended Tuesday.

The South Dakota Legislature acted legally when it trimmed the annual cost-of-living increase for retirees in the state's public pension plan during the recent economic crisis, a state judge ruled Wednesday.

The South Dakota Legislature acted legally when it trimmed the annual cost-of-living increase for retirees in the state's public pension plan during the recent economic crisis, a state judge ruled Wednesday.

After going three years without a pay raise, South Dakota's 13,000 state employees should find out soon what, if any, kind of bonus they will get to compensate them for sticking it out through those lean years.

South Dakota's unemployment insurance system has recovered from the financial problems that plagued it during the recession, and businesses are once again starting to hire workers, state Labor Secretary Pam Roberts said Wednesday.