Year: 2026

John Hult and Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight PIERRE — South Dakota lawmakers voted to recognize the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, but not before adjusting language on Indigenous people and civil rights [Read More…]

Governor pledges transparency in funding decisions that lawmakers might vote to take away

John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight PIERRE — A day before lawmakers were set to debate a bill that would dash his exclusive authority to dole out awards from an employer-funded pool of economic development dollars, Gov. [Read More…]

Lawmaker wants longer ‘cooling-off period’ for those who parlay public work into private-sector jobs

Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight Some state employees who want to go to work for companies doing business with the state will have to wait longer if a new bill becomes law. Republican Sen. Tim Reed, [Read More…]

Kyle Tucker agrees to a $240 million, 4-year contract with the World Series champion Dodgers

Kyle Tucker has agreed to a $240 million, four-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to a person familiar with the deal, bolstering the team’s chance for a third consecutive World Series championship. Tucker [Read More…]

NCAA basketball players and gamblers are charged for allegedly rigging games

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An investigation into a sprawling betting scheme to rig NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association games has ensnared 26 people, including more than a dozen college basketball players who tried to fix games as recently [Read More…]

Friday Sports: January 16, 2026

FRIDAY SPORTS, JANUARY 16, 2025 MITCHELL KERNELS — Mitchell Kernels basketball will be at Brookings on Friday night for a doubleheader starting with the girls game at 6 pm, followed by the boys at 7:30 pm. [Read More…]

SDSU Rolls to a 90-44 Home Win Over Denver

BROOKINGS, S.D. – The South Dakota State women’s basketball team made quick work of Denver Thursday night in a 90-44 win over the Pioneers at First Bank & Trust Arena. The Jackrabbits built a double-digit lead [Read More…]

Fens’ Monster Night Leads Coyotes to 99-83 Win Over Kansas City

VERMILLION, S.D. — For the second game in a row, Cameron Fens had a dominant showing as South Dakota basketball earned its ninth win in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center 99-83 over Kansas City Thursday night. Fens broke [Read More…]

Anne Hathaway to star in Paramount+ true crime series ‘Fear Not’

Anne Hathaway attends the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 25, 2024 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images) Anne Hathaway is on board for a new Paramount+ limited series called Fear [Read More…]

Ag News

Cattle futures higher waiting on widespread direct business

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were up waiting for the rest of the week’s business to develop. February live cattle closed $.90 higher at $236.05 and April live cattle closed $1.10 [Read More…]

Ag News

Whole milk goes back to school: Is butter next?

Wisconsin lawmakers are considering legislation that would make sure more real dairy butter can be served in more schools. Chad Zuleger with the Dairy Business Association says Wisconsin lawmakers are considering legislation that would require [Read More…]

Ag News

Soybeans gain on new export sales, solid weekly numbers

Soybeans were higher on commercial and technical buying. Unknown destinations and China both bought U.S. soybeans ahead of the open. Unknown picked up a total of 545,000 tons, with 470,000 tons for 2025/26 delivery, and [Read More…]

Ag News

Transition to El Niño could bring more dry weather for Midwest

A shift to an El Niño weather pattern could mean drier-than-normal conditions persist in the Midwest. Jacob Dickey, meteorologist for WCIA-TV in eastern Illinois, tells Brownfield, “We’ve been hit the hardest by that drought.” He [Read More…]

Ag News

January WASDE report signals need for proactive grain marketing in 2026

A senior market advisor with Total Farm Marketing says the latest supply and demand report from the USDA caught the market off guard. Bryan Doherty says farmers need to use more proactive grain marketing plans. “We added an [Read More…]

3 deaths, dozens of illnesses linked to California poisonous mushroom outbreak: Officials

Minh Hoang Cong/500px via Getty Images (SONOMA COUNTY, Calif.) — Foragers are being warned of what could be the largest toxic mushroom outbreak in California history, which state health officials say has caused three deaths [Read More…]

Uvalde sergeant recounts entering Robb Elementary with Gonzales

January 15, 2026 Travis Kriens

Brandon Bell/Getty Images (CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — Jurors on the trial of former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer Adrian Gonzales listened to a firsthand account of the emergency response from a police sergeant who tried [Read More…]

New state employee is ‘looking at the bookkeepers’ to catch and prevent problems, legislators learn

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight Half a dozen entities comb through South Dakota’s financial records each year to ensure a balanced budget or that details are accurately recorded. South Dakota Compliance Auditor Missy Lock, who was [Read More…]

3 more Democratic lawmakers say they are under federal investigation over illegal orders social media video

Rep. Jason Crow speaks to the media following a closed door meeting with members of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill, December 16, 2025 in Washington. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — Three House Democrats [Read More…]

What is the Insurrection Act that Trump is threatening to use against Minnesota protests?

Border Patrol agents deploy tear gas as they clash with residents in a residential neighborhood after a minor traffic accident, January 12, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) (MINNEAPOLIS) — President Donald Trump threatened [Read More…]

Mia McKenna-Bruce says Sam Mendes’ Beatles films are ‘absolutely next level’