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PIERRE, S.D.—As governor of South Dakota for 16 years, Bill Janklow was always in a hurry—pushing lawmakers to approve his proposals and racing to disaster sites to take charge. His need for speed also likely played a role in his one regret: the 2003 fatal traffic accident that landed him in jail and ended his political career. As South Dakota's attorney general, governor and congressman, the colorful politician dominated the state's political landscape for more than a quarter century, changing the face of the state's economy, education system and tax structure. Even his enemies—and there were many—admitted the Republican had...

You could love him or hate him, but you couldn't ignore him. During a political career that touched four decades and includes more than 20 years in elected office, former South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow shaped his own legacy with bold ideas, a powerful personality and a political philosophy that often defied traditional labels. Some saw the Republican, who announced Friday that he has terminal brain cancer, as conservative. Others said he was a populist. And still others said his political shape-shifting to fit the problem at hand transcended politics entirely.

With a fresh incision curving along his hairline from temple to ear visible to all, former South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow broke down and cried Friday as he announced that he's dying of brain cancer. But it wasn't the cancer that prompted the tears. It was recalling what he called the one regret of his life: a 2003 car wreck that killed a Minnesota man and ended Janklow's political career. "I know it's over. I know it's at the end of the trail, but I don't hurt," he said of the weeks-old cancer diagnosis. Janklow, 72, a Republican who dominated...

Former Rep. Bill Janklow will emerge from his manslaughter probation today with a clean record, more than three years after he sped through a stop sign in a Cadillac and killed a Minnesota motorcyclist. Janklow already regained his law license and can get behind the wheel again, having obeyed all conditions of his release, his probation officer said. But the 67-year-old's political career is through. "I think that it's good for everyone involved that this chapter has come to a conclusion," said Ed Evans, the attorney who represented him at trial. On Aug. 16, 2003, Janklow's car struck a Harley-Davidson...

The South Dakota Supreme Court will begin hearing cases at the Washington Pavilion. The high court will be in Sioux Falls for three days, hearing three cases each day. The public is invited to attend, starting at 9:00 this morning. We'll have coverage on all of the cases throughout the day on KELOLAND News and KELOLAND.com. Former governor and former congressman Bill Janklow goes before the South Dakota Supreme Court today to argue a case. A year ago he appeared before the same court to ask that his law license be reinstated. He lost it after his conviction of manslaughter...

Former Rep. Bill Janklow, who resigned from Congress after being convicted in a deadly traffic accident, will have his law license reinstated next month, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The decision followed a recommendation by the State Bar's Disciplinary Board. The judge who sentenced Janklow in the manslaughter trial had recommended waiting until Janklow's probation ends in January 2007. Instead, the license will be reinstated Feb. 15. Janklow, a former four-term governor, was automatically suspended as a lawyer after a jury found him guilty in December 2003 of running a stop sign and killing motorcyclist Randy Scott, 55, in...

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The State Bar's Disciplinary Board has recommended that former South Dakota Gov. and U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow should regain his license to practice law next February. If the state Supreme Court accepts that recommendation, it would mean Janklow would be reinstated to practice law about a year before his probation ends for second-degree manslaughter and other convictions related to an August 2003 crash that killed a motorcycle driver from Minnesota.

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PIERRE, S.D. -— The second-degree manslaughter and reckless driving convictions of Bill Janklow, a former congressman and four-term governor, have been unanimously upheld by the South Dakota Supreme Court. A decision released today said Janklow received a fair trial and there was enough evidence to convict him. Janklow was found guilty of killing Randy Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minn., when his motorcycle collided with a car Janklow was driving on Aug. 16, 2003, near Trent. Authorities said Janklow sped through a stop sign at an intersection of two rural highways. Janklow has said he was in a diabetic stupor and...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Former U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow will not have to pay any money out of his own pocket for an accident that killed a Hardwick, Minn., man. The lawyer representing Randy Scott's family said today that he will let stand a federal judge's ruling that Janklow was on duty Aug. 16, 2003, when he sped through a stop sign near Trent. That means federal taxpayers, not Janklow, would pay any monetary awards from a wrongful death lawsuit because Janklow is covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act, which protects federal employees from negligence claims when they're on...

Prairie Politics From the September 27, 2004 issue: Daschle, Thune, and the race for South Dakota. by Joseph Bottum 09/27/2004, Volume 010, Issue 03 LAST YEAR--on August 16, 2003, speeding in a borrowed white Cadillac down one of those long, dusty South Dakota highways that glide across the plains like endless ribbons--a Republican congressman named Bill Janklow ran a stop sign at 70 miles per hour and killed a passing motorcyclist. It was a horrible incident, and it brought an end to Janklow's long domination of South Dakota politics. Though routinely reckless, he'd always gotten the good breaks before,...

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 · Last updated 6:20 p.m. PT Taxpayers would pay in Janklow lawsuit By CARSON WALKER ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- A judge ruled Tuesday that former Rep. Bill Janklow was on duty when he caused a deadly traffic accident, meaning taxpayers would have to pay for any civil damages in a wrongful-death lawsuit. U.S. Magistrate Arthur Boylan sided with a federal prosecutor's conclusion that Janklow, 64, was on official business Aug. 16, 2003, when he sped through a stop sign on a rural road and collided with motorcyclist Randy Scott. Janklow had appointments or...

Report: Janklow Avoided Tickets 16 Times ASSOCIATED PRESS SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Former Rep. Bill Janklow, who resigned from Congress after being convicted in a highway death, was stopped 16 times by state troopers during his last term as governor but was never ticketed, according to a South Dakota Highway Patrol report. Troopers felt they should not ticket Janklow out of respect for his authority and, in some cases, fear of retribution, said the report, written by the patrol superintendent, Col. Dan Mosteller, for Gov. Mike Rounds. Mosteller said he never issued orders to go easy on Janklow. The...

Boycott call not hurting rally interest By Bill Cissell, Journal Staff Writer STURGIS - A call by some motorcycle riders for a boycott of the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally doesn't seem to have hurt interest, and this year's event may be one of the largest in the 64-year history of the August gathering, local and state officials say. This year's rally officially runs Aug. 9-15, but the weeks immediately before and after the rally typically are only a little less hectic. The calls for the boycott came in protest of the sentencing of former Rep. Bill Janklow, R-S.D., for the...

On her way to narrowly winning (by 2,944 votes) the seat vacated by Rep. William Janklow (R.-S.D.) after his conviction for manslaughter in an automobile accident, Democrat Stephanie Herseth moved to the right on several issues, trying to align herself with President Bush and distance herself from John Kerry. In preparing for the June 1 contest with Republican State Sen. Larry Diedrich, the 33-year-old Herseth announced that she supported President Bush on the Iraq War and agreed with both Bush and Diedrich on the need for a federal marriage amendment. She also said she favored retaining some (albeit not all)...

Democrat Wins Election for Janklow's Seat By JOE KAFKA Associated Press Writer SIOUX FALLS, S.D. Democrats looking ahead to November got a bounce with the victory of Stephanie Herseth in a special election, marking the party's second straight congressional triumph and snatching a House seat in a heavily GOP-leaning state. Herseth, a member of one of the state's most distinguished political families, narrowly defeated Republican Larry Diedrich in Tuesday's poll. She will immediately fill the seat of Bill Janklow, who resigned his seat before he went to jail over a deadly auto accident. "We ran a positive, truthful campaign based...

From CNN's "Capital Gang" Stephanie Herseth, Democrat congressional nominee in SD, is leading the Republican challenger, Larry Diedrich, 49-40 (Argus-Leader survey), as the campaign to select a successor to former Rep. William "Bill" Janklow, R-SD, enters its final ten days. However, Diedrich has improved his poll numbers, after campaign visits by Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-IL, First Lady Laura Bush, and Second Lady Lynne Cheney. An issue dividing the two is abortion: Herseth opposes partial-birth abortion but would allow "exceptions," a position Republicans insist mean that she is really in support of partial-birth abortion, a procedure that the American Medical Assn....

Janklow Leaves S.D. Jail After 100 Days By CARSON WALKER Associated Press Writer SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Former congressman and governor Bill Janklow left jail Monday, 100 days after he began serving his sentence for an accident that killed a motorcyclist. Janklow, carrying a large accordion file under one arm and a brown grocery bag in the other, walked out of the jail, past a crowd of reporters, and left in a vehicle driven by a longtime friend. "We love you, man," family friend Matt Rost yelled as Janklow walked outside. Janklow hugged another who complimented him on his...

It's long past time for former Bucks County state Rep. Thomas Druce to trade his khakis and polo shirt for prison blues. Can it be nearly five years since the Republican golden boy ran over and killed a Harrisburg man, then fled and tried to cover up the fatal crash? That's right. The Druce case has become a textbook example of justice delayed - and nothing short of a disgrace. Finally, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued a common-sense ruling striking down Druce's appeal of his jail sentence of two-to-four years. The high court last week did the right thing...

Janklow says he won't do community service Updated: 03-03-2004 07:52:18 AM SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Former South Dakota governor and congressman Bill Janklow is days away from being able to get out of jail for up to ten hours a day for community service. But he says he doesn't plan to do it. Judge Rodney Steele denied Janklow's request to set him free until the state Supreme Court hears his appeal. As part of a 100-day jail sentence, Steele urged Janklow to speak to students and community groups about the legislative process and other topics he knows about. According...