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Senator withholding opinions on Ravnsborg prior to trial

Jason Ravnsborg during a 2019 interview on SDPB's "South Dakota Focus."
SDPB
Jason Ravnsborg during a 2019 interview on SDPB's "South Dakota Focus."

A state senator said she's not sharing her opinions ahead of a Senate trial in June on the impeachment of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg.

Sen. Maggie Sutton is a Republican from Sioux Falls.

“I’m speaking for myself,” Sutton said. “But I think many other senators are feeling the same, that this is one of the biggest decisions and one of the biggest votes we’ll ever have to take in our tenure. This is a heavy responsibility.”

Ravnsborg was driving a vehicle that struck and killed pedestrian Joe Boever in 2020. The House impeached Ravnsborg last month, and now the Senate will decide whether to remove him from office and whether to bar him from holding future elected offices. The two-day Senate trial begins June 21.

Rep. Erin Healy, D-Sioux Falls, voted to impeach Ravnsborg in the House.

“I hope that the public is able to understand exactly what went on that evening so we can move forward knowing that whatever happens in June, that we can feel at peace with the outcome," Healy said.

Both lawmakers said they’ve received a lot of feedback on the issue.

Laura (she/her) is based at the Sioux Falls Studio. She is a journalism/anthropology student at Augustana University.
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