The 2025 MINKS Regional Conference will kick off with a welcome reception on the evening of Wednesday, June 11, and wrap up by 1 p.m. CDT on Friday, June 13.
Conference Agenda
Schedule of Events
* All times are Central Daylight Time.
* The dress attire for the reception and conference is business casual.
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
5:00 – 7:00 p.m. | Welcome Reception
Hattie's Parlour, Hotel On Philips, 100 North Phillips Ave.
Hors d’oeuvres and Cash Bar
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Four Winds N & S, Hilton Garden Inn Sioux Falls Downtown, 201 E. 8th St.
7:00 – 8:00 a.m. | Breakfast
8:00 – 8:15 a.m. | Welcome and Updates
South Dakota Hosts
8:15 – 9:30 a.m. | State Roundtable Session
Led by Chief Justice and Court Administrator from Each State
- Meet the state teams.
- Overview of each Court’s structure, current strategic priorities, challenges and successes.
9:30 – 9:45 a.m. | Break
9:45 – 10:45 a.m. | Attorney Shortages in Kansas: Lessons Learned From the Rural Justice Initiative Committee
Panelists:
- Justice K.J. Wall, Kansas Supreme Court
- Laurel Klein Searles, Chief of Attorney Services and Compliance, Kansas Supreme Court
Kansas, like many other states, faces a critical shortage of attorneys in its rural communities. This crisis threatens access to justice, undermines economic development, and weakens the social fabric of rural Kansas. As a result, the Rural Justice Initiative Committee was established in December 2022. The Committee spent two years studying the issues that contributed to this crisis and developing recommendations to help address these issues. In this session, we will discuss the Committee's findings and the response proposed in the Final Committee Report released in December 2024.
This session will include a guided discussion of other states’ experiences and potential solutions.
10:45 am – 12:00 p.m. | Future of Admittance to the Legal Profession
Moderator: Greg Sattizahn, State Court Administrator, South Dakota Unified Judicial System
Panelists:
- Chief Justice Steven R. Jensen, South Dakota Supreme Court
- Judge Zel M. Fischer, Supreme Court of Missouri
This session will focus on the role of the NextGen Bar Examination as well as the UBE in the future of gaining licensure into the legal profession. The presentation will highlight the work of the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform (CLEAR) and its working groups that were established by the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators. In addition, there will be an overview of South Dakota’s recently adopted pilot program that creates an alternative to the bar examination through a public interest pathway to legal licensure. The session will offer the opportunity for a guided discussion about the future of the legal profession and to share and learn from experiences from the MINKS states.
This session will include a guided discussion of work in other states.
12:00 – 1:30 p.m. | Lunch
1:30 – 3:00 p.m. | Access to Justice Commission
Panelists:
- Justice Matthew McDermott, Iowa Supreme Court
- Bob Gast, State Court Administrator, Iowa Judicial Branch
This session will discuss Iowa's Access to Justice Commission—structure, short history, programs, etc.
3:00 – 3:15 p.m. | Break
3:15 – 4:30 p.m. | Nebraska Supreme Court's Approach to Promoting the Use of Technology in the Courtroom
Panelists:
- Justice William B. Cassel, Nebraska Supreme Court
- Justice Stephanie F. Stacy, Nebraska Supreme Court
- Amy E. Prenda, Deputy Administrator for Court Services, Nebraska Judicial Branch
This presentation will provide an overview of how the Nebraska Supreme Court continues to advance and encourage the use of technology in the courtroom. The presentation will share how:
- After the pandemic, a Nebraska Supreme Court directive for the judicial districts to adopt local rules on using remote technology (Modified Operating Procedures and Protocols for Virtual Meetings) has continued to improve efficiency and accessibility.
- A Nebraska Supreme Court initiative to upgrade all the courtrooms in the state with uniform audio-visual equipment has facilitated fully remote and hybrid hearings, ensured the integrity of the record, and promoted the use of digital evidence.
Initiatives by the Language Access Program, once fully implemented, are expected to expand access to language services through multi-state remote orientations, skill-building opportunities, and the availability of interpreters.
This session will include a guided discussion on other states’ work or challenges in this area.
4:30 p.m. | Adjourn
5:30 – 8:30 p.m. | Evening Social Event
Old Courthouse Museum, 200 W. 6th St.
Hors d’oeuvres, Cash Bar, Browse the Exhibits
Friday, June 13, 2025
7:00 – 8:00 a.m. | Breakfast
8:15 – 8:30 a.m. | Welcome and Updates
South Dakota Hosts
8:30 – 9:45 a.m. | National Open Court Data Standards (Missouri NODS)
Panelists:
- Judge W. Brent Powell, Supreme Court of Missouri
- Kathy Lloyd, State Courts Administrator, Missouri Judiciary
- Diane Robinson, Ph.D., Principal Court Research Associate, National Center for State Courts
The panel will provide information about the purpose and scope of the National Open Court Data Standards (NODS) and the state of implementation around the country. Panelists will provide information about Missouri's NODS initiative, including the formation of a work group, revisions to court operating rules, and development and implementation. The session will conclude with a discussion about data and evaluation results of pilot projects.
This session will include a guided discussion on how other state courts are using data.
9:45 – 10:00 a.m. | Break
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. | Preserving the Court Record (remote session)
Panelist:
- Amitav Thamba, Chief Technology Officer, Marion Superior Court, Indiana
Amitav Thamba will present the groundbreaking AI implementation that has transformed court recording accessibility and transcript production in Marion County, Ind. In April 2024, an AI-powered platform created by the TRX group was deployed, giving 77 judicial officers immediate access to all court recordings. The system delivers recordings within minutes of hearing conclusion, eliminates manual requests, and features intuitive search functionality using multiple parameters.
Building on this success, Indiana Supreme Court in September 2024 sanctioned a pilot project using the TRX framework and generative AI to automatically generate certified accurate transcripts with speaker identification and interactive time-linked audio/video references for mental health proceedings. This innovation dramatically reduces transcript production time while maintaining accuracy, creating a new standard for judicial efficiency and transparency.
This session will include a guided discussion on challenges, structures and potential solutions in other states.
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Artificial Intelligence in State Courts: Promise & Peril
Panelists:
- Elizabeth T. Clement, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Center for State Courts
- Diane Robinson, Ph.D., Principal Court Research Associate, National Center for State Courts
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch/Open Discussion on Hot Topics and Questions from the Conference
1:00 p.m. | Closing Remarks and Adjourn
Wednesday Evening Welcome Reception
Hotel on Philips
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
100 North Phillips Ave.
A welcome reception with hors d’oeuvres and cash bar will be held in Hattie's Parlour at Hotel on Philips on Wednesday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Hattlie's Parlour is located on the second floor of the hotel off of the mezzanine area.
Hotel On Phillips was originally built as the Sioux Falls National Bank in 1918, and it continued to operate as a bank over the years along with various office spaces situated on floors three through nine. At the time it was built, it was the tallest building in South Dakota. One hundred years later, in 2018, Hotel On Phillips began its restoration and transformation into an upscale chic boutique hotel featuring 90 unique and elegant guest rooms along with many luxury suites.
Thursday Evening Social Event
Old Courthouse Museum
Thursday, June 12, 2025
5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
200 W. 6th St.
Parking: Free two hour parking is located to the west of the museum. Enter from Dakota Avenue. Metered parking is available as well, curbside south of the museum along 6th Street and on the east side of the building on Main Avenue.
An evening social event with hors d’oeuvres and cash bar will be held at Old Courthouse Museum on Thursday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. This beautifully-restored 1800s quartzite building has three floors of regional history exhibits. The second floor features the restored circuit courtroom and law library. The exhibits will be open to browse. (No food or drinks allowed in the exhibits.)
When completed in 1893, local architect Wallace L. Dow claimed the structure would be the “largest courthouse between Chicago and Denver.” Interior courthouse features include slate stairs, granite pillars, stained glass windows and tiled fireplaces. Perhaps one of the most striking features of the building is the 16 large murals on the walls of the hallways painted by Norwegian immigrant Ole Running between 1915 and 1917.
The courthouse was used for Minnehaha County business until 1962, when it became too small for court and administrative activities. A new courthouse was built to the west of the original, and the Old Courthouse was slated for demolition to make room for a parking lot. Concerned citizens campaigned to save the Old Courthouse, and in 1974 the building was converted to a museum.
