Ravnsborg

The next few weeks will help determine the fate of current and former South Dakota legal officials as the race to be the state's next attorney general takes shape. At stake are the jobs and futures of three Republicans with ties to the Attorney General's Office -- former AG Marty Jackley, suspended incumbent Jason Ravnsborg, and DCI director-turned-candidate David Natvig.

Ravnsborg, Jackley, Seiler: Three viable candidates for attorney general are in play as intrigue swirls around the upcoming race to be South Dakota's next top legal officer. The race features an impeached incumbent facing possible removal, a former AG running against him, and a Democrat keeping a close eye on who emerges from the GOP convention in June.

A new poll shows that a majority of South Dakotans favors the removal from office of state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, who killed a pedestrian with his car in 2020 and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors. The poll results come just days before the Legislature will begin impeachment proceedings against Ravnsborg in a special session on Nov. 9.

South Dakota laws place a great burden on pedestrians to be safe on or along state roadways and create a high legal standard for prosecutors or civil attorneys to prove that drivers were responsible in vehicle versus pedestrian accidents, legal experts say. The laws may come into play soon as an investigation continues into a fatal accident involving South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, who struck and killed Joseph Boever on a rural highway on Sept. 12.

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravsnborg said he thought he hit a deer on Sept. 12, when in fact he had struck and killed 55-year-old Joseph Boever while driving on U.S. Highway 14 west of Highmore. Ravnsborg left the scene that night and found Boever's body the next morning upon return. An accident reconstruction expert says it is improbable that Ravnsborg would not have known he struck a person, and another expert said it could be negligence if Ravnsborg's car left the travel lane and struck Boever on the shoulder.

Two cousins who were close to the man killed when struck by a car driven by South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg are concerned that investigators may not be seeking the full truth about what happened to their cousin. Joseph Boever, 55, was stuck and killed the night of Saturday, Sept. 12 by a car driven by Ravnsborg, who was driving home from a GOP event in Redfield around 10:30 p.m. Ravnsborg, who has a history of speeding violations, told authorities he thought he had struck a deer.