Latest News

Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight PIERRE — A panel of South Dakota regulators approved an electric rate increase Friday for Xcel Energy customers and allowed eight entities to intervene in a pending Black Hills Energy rate [Read More…]

Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight A company that’s being sued for exploratory drilling near a culturally significant site in South Dakota’s Black Hills is withdrawing from the project, according to a letter shared with project opponents. [Read More…]

Nicole Schlabach/South Dakota Searchlight Daniel Milks, the founder and lead guide at My XO Adventures, has introduced many visitors in South Dakota’s Black Hills to mountain goats. “It’s an eye-opener, and a jaw-dropper,” he said. [Read More…]

Operation Prairie Thunder continued its community-based enforcement efforts last week with its 13th saturation patrol operation in Mitchell. The operation, conducted April 30 and May 1, brought together the South Dakota Highway Patrol and local, [Read More…]

PIERRE, S.D. – Volunteer firefighters across South Dakota face danger every time they respond to an emergency, and ensuring they have the proper gear is essential to their safety and effectiveness. Legislation passed during the 2026 [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight The health disparity between Native American and white South Dakotans is among the largest racial or ethnic health gaps in the nation, according to a new report from a foundation that [Read More…]

Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight Dignitaries and scientists celebrated the next step Thursday toward what one official called the “largest science experiment ever attempted on U.S. soil.” Over the coming months, 6,000 steel beams will be [Read More…]

Bart Pfankuch/South Dakota News Watch Compared to several states to the west, South Dakota is not even in the conversation of places in danger of experiencing a water crisis. Arizona, New Mexico, California and Colorado [Read More…]

John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight Tribal police recruits in South Dakota will soon have an option for basic training through the Bureau of Indian Affairs that’s closer to home, but it won’t be as close as [Read More…]

Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom WASHINGTON — Voters, including those within the Make America Healthy Again movement, say the rising cost of healthcare is a significant concern that will have an impact on whom they support in [Read More…]

Molly Wetsch/South Dakota News Watch Next school year, about 141,000 students in South Dakota public schools may begin to see more conversations about substance use disorder – and how to prevent it – being had in their classrooms. [Read More…]

South Dakota Searchlight Donald Trump has signed a bill into law that its sponsors from South Dakota say will accelerate the review and processing of mortgages on tribal trust land. Trust land is held by [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight South Dakota ranks 46th in the nation in a new report on average teacher salaries, the same as last year. The state’s standing is its highest since the National Education Association started ranking [Read More…]

Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight Tribes and environmental groups scored at least a temporary victory this week in their multipronged effort to stop exploratory drilling in culturally significant areas of South Dakota’s Black Hills. A federal [Read More…]

Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight PIERRE — Elk hunters in South Dakota will have more opportunities in Custer State Park and east of the Missouri River after a legislative committee approved rule changes Tuesday. The committee, [Read More…]