Articles by Travis Kriens

Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight A new court fight over South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure could hinge on a complicated answer to a simple question: Does a set of six-year-old petition requirements still exist? The court [Read More…]

John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight Hundreds of bills about artificial intelligence and internet use by minors have been filed in statehouses in recent years. Even Heather Morton, who tracks state legislation as an analyst for the [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight The top election official in South Dakota’s most-populated county continued to cast doubt Tuesday on past election results reported by the county, while explaining plans to recount the results of two [Read More…]

Odarie Massiah, a 34-year-old man from Sioux Falls, has been convicted of Sex Trafficking of an Adult by Force and Coercion. On Monday, he was sentenced to 27 years and three months in federal prison, [Read More…]

Meade County, S.D.- A 47-year-old man died Monday afternoon in a single vehicle crash six miles northeast of Piedmont, SD. The names of the persons involved have not been released pending notification of family members. Preliminary [Read More…]

The capital murder trial of Joseph Hoek, accused of killing Moody County Deputy Sheriff Ken Prorok in a hit-and-run incident, is set to proceed in Moody County. The next hearing is scheduled for June 20 [Read More…]

Elaine S. Povich/Stateline SMITHFIELD, R.I. — Child care worker Marci Then, 32, looked over at two 4-year-olds in her care who were tussling over a toy plate in a model kitchen set. “Are we sharing?” [Read More…]

Meade County, S.D.- An 83-year-old woman died Friday morning when a trailered boat came unhitched and collided with her vehicle head-on near Sturgis, SD. Preliminary crash information indicates Carol J. Olson, the driver of a 2016 [Read More…]

An anti-abortion rights group, Life Defense Fund, has filed a lawsuit against the backers of a constitutional amendment designed to protect abortion rights in South Dakota. The lawsuit alleges that the Dakotans For Health petition [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight Total property tax payments during the last decade in South Dakota have increased by nearly 60% for homes, 47% for commercial property and 28% for agricultural property. Some legislators hope to [Read More…]

Charles Mix County, S.D.- A 19-year-old man died Friday morning in a single-vehicle crash near Delmont, SD. Preliminary crash information indicates Hadley W. Wallace, the driver of a 2012 Ford Escape, was traveling southbound on 401st Ave near [Read More…]

Bart Pfankuch / South Dakota News Watch SISSETON, S.D. – All it took in spring 2024 was two small, unrelated medical service interruptions to put women’s health at risk and expose the fragility of the [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight Interpreter use in South Dakota courtrooms has more than doubled in the last decade, according to the Unified Judicial System. Requests for translation services, which cost the state more than $26,000 [Read More…]

South Dakota Searchlight The South Dakota Democratic Party has nominated Forrest Wilson, of Lead, as its candidate for the Public Utilities Commission in the Nov. 5 general election. Wilson is the director at the Lead-Deadwood [Read More…]

Meade County, S.D.- An 83-year-old woman died Friday morning when a trailered boat came unhitched and collided with her vehicle head-on near Sturgis, SD. The names of the persons involved have not been released pending notification [Read More…]