Articles by Travis Kriens

Amina Aidarkhanova/South Dakota News Watch As Americans prepare to celebrate Independence Day during the nation’s 250th anniversary year, South Dakotans will join millions of travelers on the road despite rising costs for gasoline, hotels and [Read More…]

Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight RAPID CITY — The two remaining Republican candidates for governor of South Dakota clashed over prison policy Friday night in what might have been the closest thing to a debate that [Read More…]

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows worsening drought conditions across southeastern South Dakota, with nearly the entire region now experiencing some level of drought or abnormal dryness. Areas of severe drought (D2) have expanded across [Read More…]

KYLE, S.D. — A woman was found dead from an apparent gunshot wound early Friday near Kyle, and multiple suspects have been taken into custody, according to the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. [Read More…]

MITCHELL, S.D. — The Mitchell Police Department is reminding residents that electric motorcycles, including popular brands such as Sur-Ron and Talaria, are subject to the same laws and safety requirements as traditional motorcycles in South [Read More…]

MITCHELL, S.D. — Emergency crews temporarily closed a portion of Interstate 90 near Mitchell on Friday while responding to a motor vehicle crash, according to Mitchell Fire & EMS. Details about the crash, including the [Read More…]

MITCHELL, S.D. — Construction continues on Mitchell’s new Bypass Trail, with crews currently pouring a section of the path adjacent to Cadwell Park, according to Mitchell Parks and Recreation. The section under construction runs north [Read More…]

Nada Hassanein/Stateline Seventeen Republican attorneys general, including South Dakota’s, have sued California over a state law that requires plastic packaging producers to move away from single-use plastics, alleging that the law will raise costs for [Read More…]

Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight South Dakota utility regulators unanimously approved the merger of Black Hills Energy and NorthWestern Energy on Wednesday in Pierre. The new utility will be named Bright Horizon Energy, with an estimated total value [Read More…]

Elena Tittel/South Dakota News Watch SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – While post-pandemic Chapter 11 business bankruptcy filings in South Dakota are down, the number of business closures and Chapter 12 filings, common with farmers, have risen. [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight SIOUX FALLS – South Dakota’s repeat offense rate for people who leave prison can return to the low point it saw a dozen years ago, the state’s corrections secretary said Tuesday. [Read More…]

Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight RAPID CITY — A nonprofit organization argued Tuesday that the information it provides about abortion pills is protected as free speech even in a state that bans abortion, while the state [Read More…]

John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight A South Dakota state senator was charged with two felonies Tuesday for allegedly trying to put candidates for county party leadership posts on the primary election ballot without those candidates’ knowledge. [Read More…]