Weather

The G. Norton Jameson Annex at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

State official says new men’s prison will alleviate health risks during heat events

BY: - July 29, 2023

One inmate at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield was seen for heat exhaustion this week as temperatures and heat indices pushed near triple digits in much of South Dakota. Most of the inmate housing and work areas within state Department of Corrections facilities are air conditioned, but the former college dorm rooms used as […]

A worker moves coal at a coal-fired power plant on Feb. 1, 2019, in Romeoville, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Winter is coming and the U.S. grid remains vulnerable to power plant failures

BY: - July 22, 2023

From winter storms to sweltering summer heat, there’s a consensus among experts that increasing extreme weather, a shifting electric generation mix, delays in getting new power generation projects connected and the difficulties in getting new transmission lines and other infrastructure built all pose an increasing risk to the grid. At U.S. Senate committee hearings as […]

An apartment complex on the Rosebud Reservation has drifts of snow blocking the doors and windows on Dec. 27, 2022. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

SD school districts find compromise between snow days and online learning post-COVID

BY: - April 26, 2023

Whether they sleep with a spoon under their pillow or turn their pajamas inside out – two rituals purported to bring about a snow day – South Dakota students haven’t lost the magic of a serendipitous day off from school. And if school districts across the state have anything to say about it, they’ll always […]

Pike Electric service trucks line up after a snow storm on Feb. 16, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

After a series of winter storms, regulators approve new standards for power plants

BY: - February 22, 2023

Two years after Winter Storm Uri, which caused a massive power failure in Texas that caused more than 200 deaths, and just two months after another storm, Elliott, forced blackouts in parts of the South, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved new extreme cold reliability standards for power plants.  However, the vote last week […]

An apartment complex on the Rosebud Reservation has drifts of snow blocking the doors and windows on Dec. 27, 2022. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Disaster declarations for tribes land as two-part storm looms

BY: - February 21, 2023

President Joe Biden declared major disasters for two tribal communities in South Dakota on Tuesday for a pair of deadly December storms.  News of the declarations for the Rosebud and Oglala Sioux tribes arrived as snowflakes began to fall in the first of two more winter storms expected to blanket the state. This week’s storms […]

Wind turbines in Schlewswig, Iowa. (Photo by Christopher A. Jones/Getty Images)

How did renewables fare during Winter Storm Elliott

BY: - January 27, 2023

A day after Christmas, as parts of the country were still digging out from Winter Storm Elliott, the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, undeterred by the absence of much concrete data, already knew where to cast the blame for rolling blackouts implemented in parts of the South to keep the grid from collapsing.  “While there […]

South Dakota Department of Transportation workers remove an Interstate 90 sign near Salem that was warped and damaged by the May 2022 derecho.

Spring 2022 derecho cost $2.8 billion, NOAA says. Some damage won’t be fixed until 2024.

BY: - January 17, 2023

Crews are still working to clean up damage months after the May 2022 derecho, which swept a roughly 100-mile-wide wall of dust and winds over 100 mph across South Dakota. The derecho damage has a multi-state price tag of $2.8 billion, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information’s newly updated list of billion-dollar disaster […]

Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Chairman Peter Lengkeek delivers the annual State of the Tribes address to lawmakers on Jan. 12, 2023, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Tribal chairman calls for collaboration; Noem spokesman responds with criticism

BY: and - January 12, 2023

UPDATED 7:30 p.m. Central, 1/12/23 PIERRE — A tribal chairman said Thursday that better collaboration is needed among tribal and state officials on deadly storms, and Gov. Kristi Noem’s spokesman responded by describing that assertion and others as a “message of division” that perpetuated “false narratives.” Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Chairman Peter Lengkeek delivered the […]

(Image courtesy of S.D. DOT)

Interstates fully reopen

BY: - January 4, 2023

Interstate 90 has reopened westbound from Sioux Falls to Mitchell as of 4:45 p.m. today, according to the state Department of Transportation. Other closed portions of I-90 and I-29 reopened earlier, which means South Dakota’s interstates are now fully open. I-90 travel conditions, as reported by the DOT: Although I-90 is now reopened eastbound and […]

(Image courtesy of S.D. DOT)

Interstate 90 reopens from Chamberlain to Mitchell

BY: - January 4, 2023

Interstate 90 has reopened eastbound and westbound from Chamberlain to Mitchell as of 8 a.m. today, according to the state Department of Transportation. I-90 remains closed from Mitchell to Sioux Falls (Marion Road/exit 395). The DOT anticipates reopening I-90 from Mitchell to Sioux Falls by midday today. Meanwhile, I-29 reopened between Sioux Falls and Brookings […]

(Image courtesy of SD DOT)

I-29 reopens from Sioux Falls to Brookings

BY: - January 3, 2023

Interstate 29 northbound and southbound has reopened from the I-29/I-90 interchange in Sioux Falls to Brookings as of 6 p.m. today, the state Department of Transportation said in a news release. Interstate 90 eastbound and westbound will remain closed overnight from Chamberlain (exit 265) to Sioux Falls (Marion Road/exit 395) due to significant snow accumulation […]

(Image courtesy of SD DOT)

Interstates close from Sioux Falls to Chamberlain and Brookings

BY: - January 3, 2023

Due to accumulating heavy snow and sustained high winds causing blizzard-like conditions and extensive drifting, Interstate 90 has closed eastbound and westbound from Chamberlain (exit 265) to Sioux Falls (Marion Road/exit 395), while Interstate 29 northbound and southbound has closed from the I-29/I-90 interchange in Sioux Falls to Brookings (exit 132) as of 8:45 a.m. […]