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Members of the state House of Representatives stand and applaud after a $104 million tax cut bill passed with unanimous support on March 9, 2023, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Lawmakers approve temporary sales tax cut worth an estimated $104 million in first year

BY: - March 9, 2023

PIERRE — With just hours left in the last regular day of business in the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers compromised to approve what some described as the largest tax cut in South Dakota history. The plan would reduce the state sales tax from 4.5% to 4.2% for four years, saving taxpayers and costing the state […]

A whale surfaces on July 8, 2018, just east of Montauk, New York in the Block Island Sound. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Wind and whales: ‘No evidence’ links projects to deaths

BY: - February 28, 2023

The U.S. offshore wind power industry is in its infancy, with just a handful of turbines installed along the Atlantic coast. But they’re already being blamed for the deaths of whales that have washed up on beaches in New Jersey, New York, Virginia and elsewhere.  A Fox News story on Feb. 13 made strenuous attempts […]

Immigrants wait overnight next to the U.S.-Mexico border fence to seek asylum in the United States on Jan. 7, 2023, as viewed from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

White House targets economic development in Central America to reduce migration

BY: - February 6, 2023

WASHINGTON — The White House Monday announced nearly $1 billion in investments to address economic causes of migration in several Central American countries, an effort being spurred by Vice President Kamala Harris.   Spread over several years, 10 private companies from Target to Nestlé are pledging $950 million to create economic development in Honduras, El Salvador […]

Officials: Cause of Huron dam fish die-off unclear

BY: - January 24, 2023

A recently completed James River dam project was the site of a massive fish die-off in Huron last week, but state officials say the cause of the deaths is unclear. A state official says they are monitoring the situation on the ground and may restock the affected area of the river. The fish kill was […]

Members of the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol hold their last public meeting in the Canon House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Dec. 19, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

U.S. House Jan. 6 panel report finds Trump incited insurrection, demands accountability

BY: and - December 23, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Jan. 6 committee late Thursday published its findings in a nearly 850-page report that accused former President Donald Trump of inciting an insurrection and recommended Congress consider how to determine whether those found to be insurrectionists should be barred from holding office ever again. The report caps 18 months of […]

In this photo illustration, a mobile phone can be seen displaying the logos for Chinese apps WeChat and TikTok in front of a monitor showing the flags of the United States and China on an internet page, on September 22, 2020, in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

TikTok ban for federal workers close to becoming law, following flurry of state bans

BY: - December 20, 2022

A ban on federal employees using TikTok on their government-issued phones is on track to become law after Congress included the provision in the year-end government funding bill released early Tuesday. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley’s legislation barring the popular social media platform from federal devices was one of several bills attached to the spending measure, […]

Photo of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, which features long-grass prairie landscapes

SD counties to receive $15M in federal money with few strings attached

BY: - December 3, 2022

South Dakota counties will receive over $15 million in one-time funds from the U.S. Department of the Treasury over the next two years, with the ability to spend the money on nearly anything they want. The federal money is another form of COVID-19 economic relief stemming from the American Rescue Plan Act. This time, the […]

Veterans and supporters of the PACT act demonstrate outside the U.S. Capitol Building on August 02, 2022 in Washington, DC. Demonstrators from veterans-rights groups including the Wounded Warrior Project, Burn Pit 360 and the American Legion, have stood outside the Capitol Building in protest to call on the U.S. Senate to pass the PACT Act, a bill to expand health care benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Thousands of veterans deluge VA with claims for toxic exposure benefits, health care

BY: - November 23, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is processing claims at the fastest rate in its history, hoping to avoid a significant backlog as hundreds of thousands of veterans apply for health care and benefits under the landmark toxic exposure law Congress passed earlier this year. The day after President Joe Biden signed the […]

Secretary-Elect Monae Johnson celebrates her November 8, 2022 election victory. Behind Johnson (from left) stands her campaign manager, Gretchen Weible, and her husband Rick Weible.

Incoming Secretary of State looks to hand-count ballots, audit each election

BY: - November 23, 2022

Secretary of State-Elect Monae Johnson campaigned as the candidate who would secure South Dakota’s elections. That message helped her defeat Democratic challenger Tom Cool – who campaigned on concerns about Johnson being an “election denier” – with 65% of the vote.  But the campaign is over, and Johnson is thinking about the changes she hopes […]

Abyss pool on a winter afternoon

Yellowstone National Park identifies man whose foot was found in thermal pool

BY: - November 22, 2022

Yellowstone National Park draws millions of tourists yearly, which often generates stories of misbehavior or misunderstanding. Think: Trying to pose with irritable bison or walking up to grizzly bears as if they’re an attraction at the local zoo. However, in a case that is odd, even by the park’s standards, authorities have concluded that a […]

northern Wisconsin for walleye with a sunset as a backdrop. (Joanna Gilkeson/USFWS)

Fewer South Dakotans fishing, prompting worries of state revenue loss

BY: - November 21, 2022

Fewer South Dakotans are fishing, and that could spell trouble for the state Game, Fish and Parks department. A majority of the department’s Division of Wildlife revenue funding comes from the sales of hunting and fishing licenses. GF&P relies on that money to conserve the state’s wildlife and outdoor recreation. Over 10,800 fewer resident fishing […]

A portion of the Pactola Reservoir in the Black Hills. (Seth Tupper/SD Searchlight)

New lifetime pass for veterans provides free entrance to national parks and other public lands

BY: - November 11, 2022

Starting today, on Veterans Day, military veterans and Gold Star families can get a free lifetime pass to the nation’s 400 million acres of public lands, national parks, wildlife refuges, and forests. Lifetime access for veterans was part of the  Alexander Lofgren Veterans in Parks Act, which passed in December 2021. The bill authorized free […]