Latest South Dakota news, sports, business and entertainment:

DEATH INVESTIGATION Body of missing Sisseton woman found SISSETON, S.D. (AP) Authorities say the body of a Sisseton woman who had been missing for nearly two weeks has been found in rural Roberts County, in northeastern South Dakota.

Thirty-eight-year-old Michelle Lufkins was last seen Nov. 20 at her home.

State Division of Criminal Investigation spokeswoman Paige Wilbur on Tuesday declined to release additional details or say whether Lufkin's death was being treated as a homicide.

Several law enforcement agencies are involved in the investigation, including local agencies and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

RETIREMENT SYSTEM Board to recommend fix for SD Retirement System PIERRE, S.D. (AP) The South Dakota Retirement System's board is meeting Wednesday to make its final recommendations for improving the system's financial condition.

The system's assets have fallen in the last two years because of a loss in value of stocks and other investments. The Board of Trustees wants to take quick action to make sure the system's assets will cover potential benefits payable in the future.

The board has tentatively proposed some changes, including limiting annual inflationary increases in benefits to offset the investment losses caused by the recession.

The system has more than 70,000 members, including employees of state government, cities, counties and schools.

RAPE CASE-MISTRIAL Mistrial declared in SD rape case RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) A judge has declared a mistrial in the case of a Rapid City man accused of raping a 9-year-old boy.

Twenty-four-year-old Daniel LaRoche is charged with three counts of first-degree rape and three alternate counts of sexual contact with a child. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Judge Merton Tice declared a mistrial Tuesday after discovering that a juror had watched a news story about the case the previous night and learned about the possible penalty, then shared that information with other jurors.

A new trial is scheduled for the first week of January. In the meantime, Tice reduced LaRoche's bond from $100,000 to $10,000.

CHARLIE BATTERY SD Guard soldiers home on leave SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) Members of a South Dakota National Guard unit working in the Middle East are back home for some rest and relaxation.

Members of the 147th Field Artillery unit's Charlie Battery, based in Yankton, were called to active duty in April and will be overseas until late next spring.

The soldiers are providing security for a seaport in southern Kuwait. They'll be home for 15 days of leave before heading back overseas.

Staff Sgt. Neal Stratman is one who was welcomed at the Sioux Falls airport Tuesday night. He says that besides family and friends, what he misses most are little things like being able to take a walk.

Information from: KELO-TV, http://www.keloland.com health care-DASCHLE Not HHS secretary, but Daschle in health care fight anyway Washington (AP) One of the people taking a seat at the health care negotiating table is Tom Daschle.

The former Senate Democratic leader's nomination as health and human services secretary was derailed over a back taxes flap earlier this year. But that's not stopping Daschle from playing a significant role in Capitol Hill health care talks.

The close ally of President Barack Obama was in a strategy meeting earlier this week with top Senate and White House officials, including the actual HHS secretary, Kathleen Sebelius.

Daschle works for a prominent lobbying firm, and the Obama administration has vowed to keep lobbyists at arm's length. But White House spokesman Reid Cherlin says Daschle is one of the country's foremost advocates for health reform.

Daschle represented South Dakota from 1987-2005 before losing his seat to Republican John Thune. North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad says Daschle has "enormous" credibility and that there are very few people who know the health care issue as well as he does.

TRIBE-SUICIDE PREVENTION Tribal suicide prevention program gets money Bismarck, N.D. (AP) Sen. Byron Dorgan says a youth suicide prevention program on the Standing Rock Reservation has received enough federal money to continue.

The North Dakota Democrat says the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has delivered a $400,000 emergency grant to the Standing Rock Sioux.

The tribe earlier was denied a $1.5 million suicide prevention grant to help keep five workers on the job in communities along the North Dakota-South Dakota border.

Dorgan says the tribe can apply for regular funding again in the next fiscal year.

BLACK HILLS RATE HIKE Black Hills Energy seeks gas-rate hike in Nebraska LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) Black Hills Energy wants to raise natural gas rates for its 197,000 customers in Nebraska.

Black Hills says the average monthly residential would go up nearly $5.50.

It has filed the request with the state Public Service Commission. The increases would go into effect March 1.

If the new rates were rejected or modified by the state, customers would get refunds.

In a news release Wednesday, the company says it needs the money to recover capital investments made in its Nebraska distribution systems since July 2006 and recover higher operating expenses.

Black Hills Energy says its last rate increase of nearly 4.4 percent went into effect in February 2007.

Black Hills Energy is a subsidiary of Rapid City, S.D.-based Black Hills Corp.

PROFESSOR AWARD Dolan selected as 2009 professor of the year RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) A mechanical engineering professor at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology has been named the 2009 South Dakota professor of the year.

Dan Dolan has been selected for the award, presented by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of education.

In a release, the School of Mines says Dolan was selected from nearly 300 top professors in the United States. He is one of 38 state winners.

Along with his classroom work, Dolan is director of the Center of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing and Production, a competitive program that brings together students, faculty and industry leaders to work on real-world projects.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 12-02-09 1103CST | save this article / add to your favorites list