South Dakota

Aerial photo of the Capitol building in Pierre. (Getty Images)

Legislative roundup: Elections, transgender kids and Noem’s first signatures

BY: - February 3, 2023

PIERRE – Aside from the ongoing saga of censured-and-reinstated Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller, elections were the major theme this week in the Legislature.  Our own Josh Haiar spent Friday morning in the House State Affairs Committee, where he heard debate on a few of the 46 election-related bills filed as of 1 p.m. Friday. Here’s a […]

Adane Redda, Tabitha Mathiang, Kendra Jasso-Chukwuyem, Moses Idris, Aluda Sisto and Nyareik Choul pose for a photo at an Avera Health event. All six are community health workers and community outreach consultants at Avera Health, helping the health care organization reach and communicate with non-English speakers in Sioux Falls. Twelve languages are spoken among the six of them. (Courtesy of Avera Health)

South Dakota’s multilingual population is growing. Advocates say more resources are needed.

BY: - January 7, 2023

Selene Zamorano-Ochoa says her friends and clients can’t simply hop in a car and drive themselves to work or the grocery store like most other South Dakotans. Instead, they use their smartphones to hail ridesharing services. That’s because they can’t speak English well enough to pass the state driver’s license test.  In 2020, the South […]

Lower Brule boys basketball coach Brian LaRoche gives pointers to his team during a timeout at a game against Marty Indian School on Dec. 10, 2022, in Marty. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Lakota Nation Invitational brings unique energy to Rapid City area

BY: - December 13, 2022

Ask Sage Brings Plenty what basketball means to Marty Indian School, and the boys varsity coach will give you a blunt answer. “If we did not have a basketball program, I don’t know if we’d have enough kids to have class,” said Brings Plenty, who also serves as the school resource officer. “I keep track […]

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 […]

Humboldt, SD ambulance services will get a boost from telehealth.

State hopes $1.7M telemedicine program will boost rural ambulance service

BY: - November 20, 2022

South Dakota Emergency Medical Service (EMS) agencies and paramedics hope a partnership between the state and a Sioux Falls-based telemedicine provider will bolster rural ambulance service. The partnership with Avel eCare addresses questions of viability for South Dakota’s 130 ambulance services. Several EMS agencies operate in areas up to an hour’s drive away from a […]

COMMENTARY
The South Dakota State Capital, pictured on Nov. 2, 2022.

South Dakota social studies standards are meaningful, challenging, empowering

BY: - November 11, 2022

As an experienced classroom educator, I am excited about the potential of South Dakota’s proposed social studies standards. They provide a framework for students to gain critical knowledge, vocabulary, and understanding in key areas of history, government, geography, and economics. A strong foundation in social studies is necessary to prepare productive citizens for the future. […]

Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota meets with supporters in Rapid City on Nov. 7, 2022.

Record-setting number of women elected as governors in midterms

BY: - November 10, 2022

WASHINGTON —  The United States’ ceiling for female governors was shattered this week, with voters in 12 states electing women to the role, breaking the prior record of nine set for the first time back in 2004. While not all of the gubernatorial campaigns have been called as of Thursday afternoon, Arizona and Oregon voters had two […]

Exterior of the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House in Sioux Falls, pictured on Nov. 7, 2022.

Homeless task force votes to send recommendations to city leaders in Sioux Falls

BY: - November 7, 2022

The question of how best to respond to homelessness – and the cost of doing so – will soon land in the lap of the Sioux Falls City Council. The Sioux Falls Homeless Task Force, made up of city and county officials and community representatives in the state’s largest city, signed off on its recommendations […]

A farmer harvests corn near Slater, Iowa. on Oct. 17, 2020.

Climate funding could suffer in the farm bill under GOP control of Congress

BY: - November 7, 2022

WASHINGTON — Republicans who may be taking control of Congress in this week’s midterm elections have not been very specific about many policy goals—but the farm bill is an exception. Members of the GOP in the U.S. House and Senate are sending strong signals they want to strip climate funding from the massive legislation in […]

COMMENTARY
Yard signs supporting Initiated Measure 27, piled up in the IM 27 campaign office in Sioux Falls on Nov. 4, 2022. IM 27 sought to legalize adult cannabis use in South Dakota. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Johnson: Colorado experience doesn’t square with legal pot fears

BY: - November 7, 2022

Marijuana legalization in Colorado has not had the negative societal effect that opponents of Initiated Measure 27 say it will have on South Dakota if voters pass it on Tuesday. The group against marijuana legalization insinuate that out-of-state drug interests, not South Dakotans who signed petitions, are waging a campaign to endanger our children, families […]

State Court Administrator Greg Sattizahn addresses the Study Committee on Juvenile Justice on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022, at the South Dakota State Capitol. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

‘Three strikes’ rule for young offenders endorsed by legislative panel

BY: - November 5, 2022

A legislative panel wants to make it easier for judges to detain juveniles, require school resource officers to report suspected drug use to school officials, fund community response teams to deal with low-level offenders and offer a new path to graduation for troubled youth. Those were among the proposals that emerged during the final meeting […]

Bison once roamed North America, from coast to coast, from Alaska to Mexico. Several groups, including the Nature Conservancy, have been working to re-establish the native grazing animals to lands owned and managed by Native Americans.

Bison return program is now helping Native American ranchers build herds

BY: - November 4, 2022

LINCOLN — For years, Wayne Frederick and his father managed a herd of bison held by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of south-central South Dakota. But now, a unique partnership between a tribal nonprofit that helps Native ranchers raise bison and the Nature Conservancy is helping Frederick start his own commercial herd. Four bison were delivered […]