Latest News

Thune touches on Medicaid, town halls and tariffs during Watertown Rotary Club visit
Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight The scene outside Thursday’s Watertown Rotary luncheon turned raucous in the presence of South Dakota’s senior U.S. senator. Not long after the event, staffers urged Republican U.S. Senate Majority Leader John [Read More…]

Millions spent to keep manure out of Big Sioux River paying off, speaker says
Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight SIOUX FALLS – Keeping cattle waste out of the river that runs through the state’s largest city will cost about $11 million over the next five years, and the city will [Read More…]

Theresa Kriese verbally accepts Presidency of Mitchell Technical College
Mitchell Technical College has announced Theresa Kriese has verbally accepted the position of President, pending formal approval by the Mitchell School Board. Kriese would become the sixth President of the institution since opening in 1968. [Read More…]

Rhoden alters expectations for 2026 governor’s race while Johnson builds a strong financial position
Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden hasn’t said whether he’s running to keep his office next year, but his actions during the first few months of his administration suggest he could reshuffle expectations [Read More…]

Plaster cracks, goose droppings, and an un-Flaming Fountain: the South Dakota Capitol conundrum
Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight Majority Leader Scott Odenbach waved his hand behind him, gesturing to the lawmakers’ lobby just a few paces beyond his desk on the House floor. “I would ask anyone in [Read More…]

Mitchell Art Students show well at SDHSAA Gallery competition
Mitchell captured fourth place in the highly competitive AA division at the South Dakota High School Activities Association Gallery competition in Sioux Falls. Art teacher Marica Shannon says individually, Dailyn Kiner took 1st place in [Read More…]

East River South Dakotans vent, call for action at Sioux Falls political town hall
Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight SIOUX FALLS – Attendees of a Tuesday evening town hall focused on the impact of Trump administration policies voiced worries about federal funding cuts, the impact of tariffs and a [Read More…]

‘After all our hard work’: Federal fallout leads to suspension of interlibrary loan courier service
Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight Checking out some books through local libraries could soon cost more than a standard library card fee. Libraries were instructed Monday to immediately suspend use of the state’s interlibrary loan [Read More…]

Marijuana legalization hits roadblocks after years of expansion
Kevin Hardy, Stateline As every state surrounding Idaho legalized marijuana, state Rep. Bruce Skaug started to view it as inevitable that the Gem State would follow suit. Not anymore. Skaug, a Republican, supported two bills [Read More…]

Suspects Identified in Wagner Casey’s Burglary
The Wagner Police Department has identified two suspects involved in the recent burglary at a Casey’s gas station in Wagner, South Dakota. The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 15, resulting [Read More…]

Mitchell Technical College Earns 2025-2026 Military Friendly Gold School Designation
Mitchell Technical College has earned the 2025-2026 Military Friendly® Gold School designation. Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,800 [Read More…]

South Dakota Century Farms & Ranches Invited to Apply for Recognition
PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) and the South Dakota Farm Bureau (SDFB) are honored to recognize longstanding South Dakota family farms and ranches through the Century Farm and [Read More…]

Drugmaker sues South Dakota over law preserving broad access to discounts for hospitals, pharmacies
John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight A drugmaker is suing South Dakota over a law that bars the company from limiting drug discounts used to prop up providers who serve Medicaid patients. The lawsuit is from Chicago-based [Read More…]

Education board votes to finalize embrace of phonics-based reading instruction for South Dakota
Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight It’s out with the new and in with the old again for students in South Dakota’s English and Language Arts classrooms. The South Dakota Board of Education Standards approved revisions [Read More…]

Public Notice of High-Risk Offender Release
The South Dakota Department of Corrections is providing notification to law enforcement and the public about the pending release of state prison offender Moises Aguilar-Hernandez. Aguilar-Hernandez, age 43, will be released from prison on April [Read More…]

De Smet blazing a trail along historic Highway 14
Jackie Hendry, South Dakota News Watch DE SMET, S.D. – The first leg of a new hiking and biking trail along Highway 14 will materialize just east of De Smet this summer from the edge [Read More…]

KORN News Radio’s “Mitchell’s Morning News” recognized by the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association
KORN News Radio’s “Mitchell’s Morning News” captured first-place honors for small market radio morning newscast in the 2024 Eric Sevareid Awards presented by the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. News Director J.P. Skelly accepted the award [Read More…]

Sunday Morning Fatal Crash in Gregory County
Gregory County, S.D.- The driver was seriously injured and the passenger fatally injured in a one-car crash four miles west of Gregory, SD, Sunday morning. The names of the persons involved have not been released pending notification [Read More…]

DWU Board of Trustees Extends Presidential Contract
At its March meeting, the Dakota Wesleyan University Board of Trustees voted to extend President Dan Kittle’s contract by five more years. Kittle was hired as the 21st president of DWU in 2022 with a [Read More…]

Rounds re-introduces bill to eliminate federal Department of Education
South Dakota Searchlight U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, re-introduced his bill Wednesday to eliminate the federal Department of Education and move “all critical federal programs” to other departments. Rounds introduced similar legislation in November, during the prior session [Read More…]
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