Author

Seth Tupper

Seth Tupper

Seth is editor-in-chief of South Dakota Searchlight. He was previously a supervising senior producer for South Dakota Public Broadcasting and a newspaper journalist in Rapid City and Mitchell.

Ruth Esperance, left, and her attorney, Daniel Gebhardt, in front of the federal courthouse in Rapid City. (Courtesy of Daniel Gebhardt/Solomon Law Firm)

Jury awards $400,000 in Black Hills National Forest gender discrimination case

By: - September 25, 2023

A jury awarded $400,000 in damages Saturday to a former Black Hills National Forest district ranger in her discrimination case against the federal government. The verdict came after a week-long trial in federal court at Rapid City. The jury found in favor of Ruth Esperance’s claim that she suffered gender discrimination. The jury also found […]

COMMENTARY
The Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board, comprised of 16 representatives from an array of interest groups, meets in October 2022 at the forest's Mystic Ranger District office in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

New approach needed as Forest Service fumbles on Black Hills leadership

By: - September 18, 2023

When I reported back in May that the Black Hills National Forest was on its eighth supervisor in seven years, I made it sound like that was a lot of turnover. Since then, there have been two more supervisors. That brings the tally to 10 in the past seven years, and five this year alone. […]

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Sept. 8, 2023, at The Monument in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Trump rally highlights Republican division with booing of absent Thune, Rounds, Johnson

By: - September 9, 2023

RAPID CITY — A Friday event intended to rally the South Dakota Republican Party around Donald Trump’s visit to the state instead showcased division at the party’s highest levels. The state’s all-Republican, three-member congressional delegation — Sens. John Thune and Mike Rounds, and Rep. Dusty Johnson — did not attend the event in the ice […]

(Courtesy of State of South Dakota)

ACLU is ‘RZNHELL’ with state over specialized plate denials

By: - August 29, 2023

It’s OK to be a “HELLCAT,” but not a “HELLBOY.” Don’t tell anybody to “HLDMYBR,” but it’s fine to go on a “BEERRUN.” And don’t say “IH8U,” but “YUH8ME” is acceptable. Those are some of the inconsistencies in state government’s evaluation of specialized vehicle license plate requests, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of […]

Hundreds of people attend the Aug. 17, 2023, grand opening of a Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

With reorganization plans squashed for now, VA celebrates new Rapid City clinic

By: - August 17, 2023

RAPID CITY — The long-debated, evolving plans for veterans’ health care in the Black Hills took a step forward Thursday with the grand opening of a new outpatient clinic. The 49,000-square-foot Rapid City facility is triple the size of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ previous clinic in the city. That’s a welcome development for Ricky […]

COMMENTARY
Gov. Kristi Noem arrives at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip campground after riding in the Legends Ride for charity on Aug. 9, 2021, during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The holy Sturgis trinity: Noem, Jesus and family

By: - August 15, 2023

A warning to all non-South Dakotans: If you bring your family to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally expecting to meet Jesus, you’re likely to be disappointed. Maybe even offended. That public service announcement has become necessary to correct the record after a glowing assessment of the rally’s rectitude last week from Gov. Kristi Noem. She started […]

SDO Services, a subsidiary of Midwest Lithium, plans to conduct exploratory drilling for lithium within the area outlined in red. The green lines are the city limits of Hill City. (Courtesy of Rapid Map/Pennington County)

Lithium exploration planned near Hill City

By: - August 15, 2023

A company looking for lithium in the Black Hills is planning another drilling project, this time near the southern edge of Hill City.  The company is SDO Services, the South Dakota subsidiary of Swiss-based Midwest Lithium. Michael Schlumpberger works in Rapid City as Midwest Lithium’s chief operating officer. The company’s previously announced drilling plan, at […]

COMMENTARY
Gov. Kristi Noem speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a meeting about the Governors Initiative on Regulatory Innovation in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Dec. 16, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Noem, Trump and the politics of inaction

By: - August 3, 2023

Gov. Kristi Noem’s rise to national prominence began on March 23, 2020. Fear and speculation were rampant as the coronavirus swept into the state. Noem issued an executive order with instructions for South Dakotans and held a press conference to discuss it.  Her choice of language was peculiar. She told South Dakotans what they “should” […]

(South Dakota Searchlight map via Datawrapper)

Company looking for lithium in Black Hills plans to drill 2 miles from Rushmore

By: - July 19, 2023

A company’s plan to conduct exploratory drilling for lithium in the vicinity of Mount Rushmore has sparked criticism from an environmental group. The company is Midwest Lithium. Its South Dakota subsidiary, SDO Services, plans to drill up to 55 holes in an area that was historically mined for lithium about 2 miles northwest of Keystone […]

A May 2023 aerial view of the former Gilt Edge Mine, an EPA Superfund cleanup site near Lead. (Courtesy of EcoFlight)

Cleanup of abandoned Black Hills mine on hold for potential re-mining

By: - July 17, 2023

Aspects of a two-decade-long cleanup at an abandoned Black Hills gold mine are pausing because a company might want to re-mine it. The Gilt Edge Mine was abandoned in 1999 when its operator, Brohm Mining, went bankrupt. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took over the site the next year. The EPA’s Joy Jenkins, of Denver, […]

COMMENTARY
Lobbyists in the halls of the South Dakota Capitol building in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

South Dakota lacks transparency in lobbyist spending

By: - July 8, 2023

Lobbying is one of the least transparent political activities in South Dakota, and an interest group’s inclusion of three legislators on a recent tour of the U.S.-Mexico border provides an example. The three legislators are Sen. Casey Crabtree, R-Madison, Rep. Will Mortenson, R-Pierre, and Rep. Tony Venhuizen, R-Sioux Falls. I’m picking on their trip because […]

Protesters block a road leading to Mount Rushmore on July 3, 2020, prior to a fireworks display attended by then-President Donald Trump. (Courtesy of Willi White/NDN Collective)

State predicts no trouble at future Rushmore fireworks, despite clash in 2020

By: - July 5, 2023

Protesters physically clashed with law enforcement officers the last time there was a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore, but state officials are telling the federal government there’s no reason to believe something similar would happen again. The state Department of Tourism applied Wednesday to the U.S. Department of the Interior for a special use permit […]