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Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight Refugee resettlement fell sharply in South Dakota during the last federal fiscal year, and no refugees have arrived in the state during the past 11 months, according to the agency that [Read More…]

Molly Wetsch/South Dakota Searchlight WATERTOWN, S.D. – In South Dakota, where the state’s proportion of clean energy production is the highest in the country, students are taking advantage of growing energy workforce needs. Lake Area [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight Alternative instruction enrollment continues to rise in South Dakota, breaking 12,000 students enrolled in 2025, according to data released recently by the state Education Department. The growth comes as private and [Read More…]

Pasadena, Calif. – Travel South Dakota’s Carved in Stone; A Legacy of Teamwork float in the 2026 Rose Parade has been awarded the “Americana Award.” The award recognizes the “most outstanding depiction of national treasures and traditions,” [Read More…]

PIERRE, SD – The Department of Health is reporting the first two influenza deaths of the 2025 – 2026 season, both Minnehaha County residents in the >64-year age group. “Influenza can be a very serious illness,” [Read More…]

Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom WASHINGTON — A federal judge in California Wednesday found the Trump administration unlawfully terminated temporary protections for more than 60,000 nationals from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua. In a scathing 52-page order, Northern District [Read More…]

Molly Wetsch/South Dakota News Watch Some members of the state’s tribal nations are beginning to slowly embrace visitors, as the South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance (SDNTA) works with tribal leaders and organizations to reframe tourism [Read More…]

Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight BROOKINGS — South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden announced state economic development grants in two more communities Tuesday, drawing criticism from opponents in the race for governor who equated the announcements to [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight South Dakota received about $11 million less than what it requested from a new federal rural health fund, and the amount is smaller than the awards for surrounding states. “These resources [Read More…]

Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight NORRIS — As the last round of students filters in from the school van to the main hallway, Principal Brian Brown greets each student by name, with a high five and [Read More…]

Firefighters from multiple departments responded Friday morning to a fire at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wessington Springs that caused significant damage to the building. Crews were dispatched just after 9 a.m. after reports of [Read More…]

Bart Pfankuch, South Dakota News Watch MURDO, S.D. – When a group of two dozen economic development leaders gathered in this central South Dakota city in November, they were asked to list the top challenges [Read More…]

John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight The South Dakota Highway Patrol didn’t visit Brookings for a saturation patrol that had been announced in advance by the city’s leadership. The Department of Public Safety sent troopers to [Read More…]

Meghan O’Brien, South Dakota Searchlight South Dakota’s Republican attorney general asked a judge Tuesday for a court order to stop an abortion-rights ad campaign. The request in Hughes County court comes after Attorney General Marty [Read More…]

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Highway Patrol will hold sobriety checkpoints in 16 counties throughout the month of January. Checkpoints are planned for Beadle, Brookings, Brown, Clay, Davison, Day, Hamlin, Hanson, Hughes, Jones, Lawrence, Lincoln, [Read More…]

John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight A South Dakota law that prevents drug companies from restricting federal drug discounts for hospitals and other providers will remain in effect for now, a judge has decided. Chicago-based AbbVie [Read More…]

John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight A program that helps farmers pass their operations along to their children got a $200,000 boost from a South Dakota government fund under the exclusive control of the governor. Republican [Read More…]

John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight Paul Cooper remembers when the crank radios showed up in Leavenworth. By then, he’d done time in South Dakota’s state prisons, where inmates used electrical outlets to light up and [Read More…]