Landing the ‘budget plane,’ slamming the gas (literally) and other sights and sounds from the final legislative week

A white-knuckle drive around a state training course highlights the end of the 101st South Dakota legislative session in this week’s episode of the Searchlight Report. Lawmakers also approve the state’s budget, finding money to increase funding for education, Medicaid providers and state employees — the state’s “big three.” Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden approves two major bills in a property tax relief plan, trading lower property tax for higher sales tax. Reporter and Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien visits a different kind of legislative event at the Emergency Vehicle Operation Course, and catches sound from the ringing in of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, with South Dakota’s own liberty bell.