Author

Joshua Haiar

Joshua Haiar

Joshua Haiar is a reporter based in Sioux Falls. Born and raised in Mitchell, he joined the Navy as a public affairs specialist after high school and then earned a degree from the University of South Dakota. Prior to joining South Dakota Searchlight, Joshua worked for five years as a multimedia specialist and journalist with South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

The Board of Regents meets Dec. 8, 2022, at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Board reviews ‘minors on campus’ policy in response to drag show

By: - March 30, 2023

The state Board of Regents reviewed a draft policy Thursday in Aberdeen responding to public concerns about minors attending a drag show on a college campus.  “I think we are at a good place here, but we expect some tweaks around the margins,” said Nathan Lukkes, the board’s chief of staff. “The policy essentially establishes […]

(Getty Images)

State regulators approve partial rollback of natural gas price increase

By: - March 28, 2023

MidAmerican Energy’s 6% natural gas rate increase in South Dakota will be rolled back to 5.4%. The over 100,000 South Dakotans who get natural gas from the company can expect the change to take effect in May. The rate change will affect commercial customers as well as residential. MidAmerican proposed the 6% increase last May. […]

Legislators consider vetoes from Gov. Kristi Noem on March 27, 2023, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Hemp and crypto bills fall as legislators sustain Noem vetoes

By: - March 27, 2023

PIERRE — Lawmakers debated the future of money and the amount of an intoxicating compound that should be allowed in industrial hemp, but they failed to override any of Gov. Kristi Noem’s vetoes Monday at the Capitol. None of the four bills up for override votes received the necessary two-thirds majority. Legislators also failed to […]

(Illustration by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Interest groups spend thousands on social events for lawmakers, with no disclosure

By: - March 25, 2023

PIERRE — Politicians, lobbyists and liquor dealers gathered in the back room of a restaurant. It was mid-January, a couple of weeks into South Dakota’s annual legislative session. Everybody was unwinding after a long day at the Capitol, chatting and mingling.  Pork roast was on the menu. People lined up for drinks at the bar. […]

Governor Kristi Noem conducts a bill-signing ceremony in a military hangar at the South Dakota Air National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing at Joe Foss Field on Mar. 22, 2023. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Noem signs ban on ‘evil foreign government’ contracts, takes questions on ag land and trusts

By: - March 22, 2023

SIOUX FALLS — With a fighter jet in the background, Governor Kristi Noem conducted a bill-signing ceremony Wednesday in a military hangar where she celebrated efforts to mitigate the influence of what she called “evil foreign governments.”  “I’ll do everything in my power that I can to ensure that our people stay as free as […]

A South Dakota hunter walks the tall grass with his dog.

Federal government awards $23 million for Prairie Pothole Region

By: - March 21, 2023

The federal government plans to spend $23 million to restore and conserve grasslands and wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region, which is known as the “duck factory” of North America and is home to migratory birds, fish and other wildlife. The money is part of the Department of the Interior’s $120 million in funding from […]

Bees gather on the corner of a hive body box at Adee Honey Farms in Bruce, South Dakota. The farm is one of the largest beekeeping operations in the nation. (Courtesy of Adee Honey Farms)

Beekeeper says adulterated honey is a factor in plummeting production

By: - March 20, 2023

One of the nation’s largest independent honey producers says adulterated products deserve some of the blame for new numbers that reveal a 41 percent drop in South Dakota honey production. It’s the third straight year of declining production in the state, and the 7.2 million pounds produced last year is South Dakota’s lowest value in […]

Cold Springs Creek in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where parcels of private land are being added to the Black Hills National Forest. (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)

Black Hills National Forest adds 239 acres through deal with elk group and landowners

By: - March 16, 2023

The Black Hills National Forest is growing by about one-third of a square mile. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation acquired 239 acres of land from two landowners for a total of $1.1 million and conveyed it to the national forest. The land is high in the remote western area of the forest in South Dakota, […]

From left, Gov. Kristi Noem talks with South Dakota Farm Bureau President Scott VanderWal, farmer Travis Mockler and Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden after a bill signing ceremony on March 15, 2023, at C&B Operations in Mitchell. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

New state law makes it harder to file a complaint or lawsuit against ag operations

By: - March 15, 2023

MITCHELL — A new South Dakota law makes it harder to file a nuisance complaint or lawsuit against an agricultural operation and limits the amount of money that can be awarded. Governor Kristi Noem signed the bill on Wednesday at a farm implement dealership in Mitchell, after legislators approved it earlier this winter. The law […]

Gov. Kristi Noem speaks to reporters March 6, 2023, at the Capitol in Pierre about her revived grocery tax repeal bill. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Noem calls Russian invasion of Ukraine ‘Europe’s fight, not ours’

By: - March 14, 2023

Governor Kristi Noem, who’s viewed as a potential Republican presidential or vice presidential candidate, described America’s military aid to Ukraine as a costly strategic mistake. “It’s pushing Russia into an alliance with China — meaning Russia may soon draw from China’s large weapon arsenal,” Noem told Tucker Carlson of Fox News. Carlson posted Noem’s written […]

An antelope walks through dry grass. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

State caps non-resident archery licenses on public land

By: - March 9, 2023

South Dakota will join most other states in capping deer and antelope archery licenses for out-of-state hunters on public land. The state Game Fish and Parks Commission unanimously approved the change Thursday at a meeting in Pierre. South Dakota had been one of the few states that allowed an unlimited number of non-resident bowhunters on […]

Rep. Becky Drury, R-Rapid City, speaks on the House floor during the 2023 legislative session at the Capitol in Pierre. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

House fails to override Noem’s veto of optional hotel tax increase

By: - March 7, 2023

The state House of Representatives failed on Tuesday to override Gov. Kristi Noem’s veto of a bill that would allow hotels and motels in “business improvement districts,” or BIDs, to raise a per-room tax. Supporters of the bill fell six votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto. The vote was 41-29, […]