Articles by J.P. Skelly

James Valley Drug and DUI Court celebrated the graduation of Kelly C. from the intensive program Thursday before a packed Davison County Public Safety courtroom. He celebrated 529 sober days, paid off $932 dollars in [Read More…]

Tax reform remains a major topic for the GOP gubernatorial candidates. Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Dusty Johnson said there’s a lot of misinformation out there. He favors better-targeted tax relief. “We have some major challenges [Read More…]

Parolees are discovering the rules have changed…they’re being pulled back to prison for parole violations and for committing crimes after being released on parole. They’re held in county jails on their way back to prison…and [Read More…]

The first wave of Mitchell Hometown Heroes banners has arrived on North Main Street. Mitchell Main Street and Beyond executive director Elizabeth Luczak is excited to see the project come to life. “The first wave [Read More…]

Attorney General Marty Jackley has appointed Chad Mosteller to serve as the new director of the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, replacing Dan Satterlee who has been appointed as U.S. Marshal for South Dakota. [Read More…]

K-12 and MTC budget reviews dominated discussion during Tuesday’s Mitchell School Board meeting. On the K-12 side, Superintendent Joe Childs says declining enrollment is impacting the proposed 2026-2027 spending plan. “It’s been essentially a cliff [Read More…]

Congressman Dusty Johnson said Washington has been surprisingly productive in recent weeks — including recent action to improve housing affordability. “The House has passed out a major housing package,” said Johnson. “We have passed the [Read More…]

The South Dakota Department of Corrections got the message. It’s cracking down on parole violators…now there’s an overcrowding emergency in the two largest jails in South Dakota. Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead recently briefed county [Read More…]

It was a perfect day for the Mitchell community to gather together in remembrance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of freedom both at home and abroad. The Memorial Day tributes [Read More…]

Each year Mitchell High School’s graduating seniors selected two commencement speakers. And 2026 was no exception. Katie Hohn encouraged her classmates to move forward using life lessons learned from the Disney Pixar movie “A Bug’s [Read More…]

The 196 strong Mitchell High School Class of 2026 gathered for a final time Sunday to celebrate the completion of their high school education. Mitchell High School Principal Justin Siemsen says this is the first [Read More…]

SD Searchlight-Josh Haiar A 70-year-old woman from Canada died after being struck by a bison Monday while hiking with her husband in South Dakota’s Custer State Park, after another park visitor was injured by a [Read More…]

Should he be elected governor, Dusty Johnson is promising to bring a long-standing tradition back to Pierre and Fort Pierre. In 2019, former Governor Kristi Noem announced she’d be moving the Governor’s Hunt from Pierre [Read More…]

A federal lawsuit filed against the South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment has delayed upcoming hearings and temporarily paused Project Chord, a proposal by Canadian mining company Clean Nuclear Energy Corp. to drill 38 [Read More…]

It’s the end of the 2025-2026 school year in Mitchell. And Superintendent Joe Childs says it’s been memorable. “The day before school began with the announcement of our endowment gift in partnership with Dakota Wesleyan, [Read More…]

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a rule change that could speed up data center builds in South Dakota and across the country. The move would eliminate the need for a Clean Air Act permit [Read More…]

Attorney General Marty Jackley commends the South Dakota Supreme Court for upholding the conviction and life sentence of David J. Shangreaux, Jr., a Pierre man found guilty by a Hughes County jury of second-degree murder [Read More…]

A 50 year old man from Crooks is sitting in a federal prison following his conviction of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance.  The sentencing took place on Monday. Cary Ludens was sentenced to 13 [Read More…]

During a ceremony held recently at the Big Sioux Composite Squadron meeting, Cadet Tysen King of Volga was presented with the Brigadier General Billy Mitchell Award by Maj Tyler Gross, the South Dakota Deputy Wing [Read More…]

James Valley Drug & DUI Court will hold a graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 28, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. CDT in the second-floor courtroom of the Davison County Public Safety Building, 1015 S. Miller Ave., [Read More…]