Laboratory 'meat' faces 10-year ban in South Dakota

Bill deadlocked on final vote; faces reconsideration

PIERRE – The meat might be fake, but the debate was real.

The South Dakota Senate deadlocked on a bill to ban the sale of cell-cultured meats Wednesday in a 17-17 tie. Usually, the Senate avoids tie votes because it has 35 members, but Canton Sen. Kevin Jensen was excused Wednesday.

If you need a primer on cell-cultured meat, it’s basically the stuff grown in a lab with animal cells, but not the traditional way of cultivating meat, which has been done over millennia. It sets a new definition to prime rib Friday.

Legislature rejects bills to raise marriage, gambling age