Articles by Travis Kriens

Bart Pfankuch / South Dakota News Watch HOT SPRINGS, S.D. – A sense of optimism and opportunity filled the air as a group of residents of this southern Black Hills city gathered recently to forge [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight A state board awarded over $10.5 million in federal funding at its Tuesday meeting to help rehabilitate or construct affordable housing in South Dakota. The developments received $3.33 million in Housing [Read More…]

South Dakota Medicaid will start covering doula birth and postpartum services in 2025. Medicaid is a joint federal-state health insurance program for low-income and disabled people. Doulas are trained, non-medical professionals who provide physical, emotional and educational support to [Read More…]

South Dakota Searchlight – Bovine tuberculosis has been confirmed in South Dakota cattle for the first time since 2021, State Veterinarian Beth Thompson said Tuesday. The infected steer was identified in late October by meat [Read More…]

Former Governor’s Office of Economic Development Commissioner Scott Stern moderates a discussion on rural water systems on Dec. 10, 2024, at the Sanford Event Barn in Sioux Falls. Panelists are, from left, Lewis and Clark [Read More…]

Two people were hospitalized after a shooting in Aberdeen on December 10. Police responded to the scene on North Congress Street around 11 a.m. and found one individual with a gunshot wound. The second person [Read More…]

Local leaders gathered for a legislative breakfast on Tuesday to discuss key issues ahead of the 2025 legislative session. Among the topics was a proposed bill aimed at revising South Dakota’s unique law that classifies [Read More…]

The Sioux Falls City Council is still deliberating a $68 million bond to upgrade the city’s recreation and aquatics facilities, with the vote delayed yet again. Originally scheduled for May, the vote has been pushed [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight Native American children remain overrepresented in the South Dakota foster care system, accounting for 72.5% of the foster care population at the end of fiscal year 2024, according to new data. [Read More…]

Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight Massive data centers used for cloud computing and artificial intelligence are consuming enormous amounts of energy, and developers are eyeing South Dakota as a potential location, regulators say. These “hyperscale [Read More…]

PIERRE, SD – The Department of Health is reporting the first influenza death of the 2024-2025 season, a Corson County resident in the over 65 years age group. “Influenza can be a very serious illness,” said [Read More…]

Hutchinson County, S.D.- A 49-year-old Freeman, SD man died Wednesday night in a single vehicle crash near Menno, SD. Preliminary crash information indicates Adam Van Hove, the driver of a 2004 Cadillac Escalade, was traveling east on US Highway [Read More…]