Latest News
State-ordered study says opioid settlement money should target treatment for incarcerated people
John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight South Dakota should spend opioid settlement money in the coming years to address the needs of people entering or leaving prisons and jails, according to an assessment prepared for the state [Read More…]
Dry July deepens rainfall deficits across much of southeastern South Dakota
After a wet start to July, dry conditions have dominated much of the month across southeastern South Dakota, leaving many communities well below normal precipitation levels. National Weather Service data through July 21 show Mitchell [Read More…]
Family’s $150M lawsuit against U.S. Marshals closed
Molly Wetsch/South Dakota News Watch A lawsuit filed against the U.S. Marshals Service after the shooting death of a young man on the Yankton Indian Reservation in 2024 has been dismissed and the case has [Read More…]
Rosebud Sioux Tribe to build $4.6M behavioral health treatment facility
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe is planning to build a $4.6 million outpatient behavioral health treatment facility, expanding access for the Sicangu Lakota Oyate to community-led mental health, suicide prevention, crisis intervention and substance use treatment [Read More…]
Davison County Commissioners approve adding a new Deputy
Davison County Commissioners have unanimously approved Sheriff Steve Harr’s request for adding a new deputy. There are currently eight deputies on staff with the last patrol deputy added in 2021. Harr says calls for service [Read More…]
Name Released in Charles Mix County Fatal Crash
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety has released the name of a male driver who died last Friday as a result of a single vehicle crash in Charles Mix County. Around 12:40 pm, 56 [Read More…]
Yankton County residents sentenced for felony drug crimes
Two Yankton County residents were recently sentenced to prison on felony drug charges. The Yankton County States Attorney’s Office reported 35 year old Tyler Lee, Sr was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for [Read More…]
City Council grapples with alley construction proposals
To construct an alley or not to construct an alley, and who pays for it? That was the question that dominated discussion during Monday’s Mitchell City Council meeting. The council hosted a public hearing regarding [Read More…]
Authorities seeking the public’s assistance in locating a non-compliant sex offender
South Dakota, federal and state authorities are seeking the public’s help in locating Benjermin Kelley (alias Benjamin Kelley) of the Sioux Falls and Madison area. He’s a non-compliant sex offender whose whereabouts have been unknown [Read More…]
FEMA assistance headed to South Dakota
FEMA announced the approval of more than $750,000 in post-disaster funding for Public Assistance projects across South Dakota state, city, and county departments. This program empowers states, local communities, tribes and territories to recover and [Read More…]
New housing forms foundation of Canistota’s revitalization
CANISTOTA, S.D. – The success story unfolding in this eastern South Dakota city shows how a commitment to housing development can break the pattern of decline afflicting many rural communities across the state. Long known [Read More…]
Government Justice More inmates denied early release as more parolees return through crackdown
South Dakota Searchlight-John Hult The number of people granted discretionary parole by the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles has fallen by 17% over the last two years, according to data shared at a [Read More…]
Alexandria Residents Urged to Restrict Water Usage After Water Main Break
ALEXANDRIA, S.D. — Residents in Alexandria are experiencing low water pressure and are being urged to conserve water following a water main break that drained the city’s water tower, local officials announced. The Hanson County [Read More…]
Chili Cook-Off Champions
Eleven teams vied for top honors during Sunday’s Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo chili-cook-off at Stampede Park. Committee chairman Stan Peterson says most of the teams are repeat competitors. “They have fun, that’s what it’s all [Read More…]
Mitchell Exchange Club earns national award
The Exchange Club of Mitchell was awarded the NATIONAL C.A.R.E. AWARD during the National Exchange Convention in Omaha, Nebraska recently. C.A.R.E. stands for Child Abuse Reduction Effort. Each year, the National Exchange Club presents a [Read More…]
Authorities release the names of those involved in a fatal crash in Day County
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety has released the names of those involved in a fatal vehicle-pedestrian crash on Wednesday night, July 15th in Day County. Preliminary crash information indicates 51 year old Timothy [Read More…]
Former South Dakota State Treasurer David Volk passes away
David Volk, 79, of Mitchell, SD, passed away Friday, July 17, 2026, at Veterans Affairs Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD. Private burial was held at Servicemen’s Memorial Cemetery in Mitchell. David Lawrence Volk was born [Read More…]
Sanford Health namesake, billionaire philanthropist T. Denny Sanford dies at 90
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — T. Denny Sanford, the billionaire businessman whose philanthropy reshaped health care in South Dakota and beyond, died Saturday at the age of 90. Sanford Health CEO Bill Gassen announced Sanford’s death [Read More…]
Kennebec man killed in semi rollover near Lake Andes
Charles Mix County, S.D.- A Kennebec, South Dakota man died Friday in a single-vehicle crash near Lake Andes, South Dakota. Names of the those involved have not been released pending notification of family members. Preliminary crash [Read More…]