Articles by Travis Kriens

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Nebraska volleyball team beat Iowa State 4-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-16, 26-24) in front of a crowd of 3,376 at the Sanford Pentagon on Saturday afternoon. Nebraska hit .360 while Iowa [Read More…]

Primary season enters next phase in South Dakota

Alexander Rifaat/South Dakota News Watch PIERRE, S.D. – The field is set for the 2026 South Dakota Primary Election on June 2 for state legislative races as well as governor, U.S. House and U.S. Senate. [Read More…]

Rory McIlroy stumbles at the Masters and now shares the lead with Cameron Young

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — That one-man show at the Masters gave way to a wide-open chase for the green jacket with a stunning turn of events that forced Rory McIlroy to remind himself where he was at [Read More…]

Trevor Larnach hits 3-run homer in 7-run 3rd inning as Twins beat Blue Jays 7-4

TORONTO (AP) — Trevor Larnach hit a three-run home run, Brooks Lee added a solo shot and the Minnesota Twins used a seven-run third inning to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 on Saturday for [Read More…]

Pitching Leads South Dakota State to Wins over Georgia Tech and Iowa

IOWA CITY, Iowa – South Dakota State softball received stellar performances in the circle en route to a pair of victories over Power Four opponents on Saturday at Iowa’s Pearl Field. The Jackrabbits began the day [Read More…]

Tigers extend winning streak to 12, sweep Doane to stay atop GPAC

CRETE, Neb. — Dakota Wesleyan extended its winning streak to 12 games Saturday, sweeping Doane 3-1 and 8-0 to remain in first place in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. The Tigers improved to 30-11 overall [Read More…]

Rory McIlroy pulls away with birdie binge and sets Masters record with 6-shot lead at halfway mark

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The only thing that stopped Rory McIlroy in the Masters was running out of holes to play Friday. McIlroy stood on the 12th tee in a tie with Patrick Reed and with a dozen [Read More…]

Valenzuela hits 1st MLB homer, Blue Jays set season high for runs in 10-4 victory over Twins

TORONTO (AP) — Brandon Valenzuela hit his first MLB home run, Daulton Varsho also connected and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Twins 10-4 on Friday night to halt Minnesota’s four-game win streak. Vladimir Guerrero [Read More…]

Jackrabbits, Tommies Split Doublheader

ST. PAUL, Minn. — South Dakota State pulled away to defeat St. Thomas in the opener before the Tommies had the answers in the late innings of Game 2 as the two Summit League foes [Read More…]

Tigers Explode for 33 Runs in Doubleheader Sweep of Dordt

MITCHELL, S.D. — Dakota Wesleyan’s offense exploded for 33 runs as the Tigers swept Dordt in a wild GPAC doubleheader Friday at Drake Field. In game one, DWU rallied late to outslug Dordt 13-11 in [Read More…]

South Dakota’s state-owned shooting range exceeds annual visitation estimate in first five months

Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight South Dakota’s new state-owned West River outdoor shooting range has had as many visits in five months as officials anticipated for its entire first year, according to an update Thursday. The [Read More…]

Gas prices soar by 21% as government inflation figures reflect Trump’s war on Iran

Ashley Murray/States Newsroom WASHINGTON — Spikes in energy prices caused by the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran drove up inflation for Americans in March, according to the latest consumer price index figures released Friday. Costs jumped 0.9% in [Read More…]

CDC’s 2025 data shows birth rates continuing to slide

Kelcie Moseley-Morris/Stateline New data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows fertility and birth rates continue to fall across the U.S., while cesarean section procedures increased and preterm birth rates remained flat. [Read More…]

Environmental, tribal concerns persist as fireworks bring ‘rock concert in phone booth’ to Rushmore

Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight When Cheryl Schreier learned of plans for fireworks this summer at Mount Rushmore, she thought about the behind-the-scenes planning it takes to host thousands of people at the national memorial she [Read More…]

Calendar quirk and law change have South Dakota election officials worried about deadlines

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight Election officials in South Dakota are worried about a possible delayed start for early and absentee voting as they rush to prepare ballots for the June 2 primary, and they’re also [Read More…]

2.5 million Americans lost food aid in months after passage of GOP megabill, study finds

Jacob Fischler/States Newsroom At least 2.5 million low-income people quickly lost help affording groceries under a Republican-passed law that added new requirements for the nation’s largest nutrition program and shifted hundreds of millions of dollars [Read More…]

Army Corps warns of hydropower and recreation impacts as drought persists in Missouri River basin