LaPlante takes new job as assistant US attorney

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The state’s Secretary of Tribal Relations J.R. LaPlante has taken a new job as an assistant U.S. attorney in Sioux Falls.

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard on Wednesday said LaPlante’s resignation from the state office is effective Aug. 1.

LaPlante became the state’s first secretary of tribal relations in 2011. He is a graduate of the University of South Dakota School of Law and an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.