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Brad Johnson, South Dakota Searchlight SIOUX FALLS — The United States is living in a “brutal era,” New York Times columnist David Brooks told about 2,000 people Tuesday at Augustana University, but there is hope today’s ugly [Read More…]

John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight The South Dakota Department of Corrections has suspended tablet-based phone calls, texting and email services for inmates and their families due to what the DOC has described as “an investigation pending [Read More…]

A state prison offender on escape status for more than two years is back in custody. Brandon Witt was arrested in Mitchell on March 21. He was placed on escape status when he left a [Read More…]

MITCHELL, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) will hold a pre-construction informational meeting to share project details about the S.D. Highway 37 construction project scheduled for 2024-2025. The informational meeting is scheduled [Read More…]

John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight A defense attorney request for the diary of an alleged rape victim was the focus on Wednesday in a South Dakota Supreme Court case that tackles the limits of a [Read More…]

Iowa Capital Dispatch Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced what she called “a resounding victory” over the Biden administration on Tuesday as the EPA approved the year-round sale of E15 motor fuel beginning in 2025. [Read More…]

On Wednesday, March 20, a stabbing in Watertown resulted in one person being taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. The incident occurred at the 1000 block of 4th Ave NW, where the Watertown [Read More…]

Gov. Kristi Noem signed legislation this week to create a state public defender office. The proposal arose from a task force involving legislative and criminal justice officials. When the group convened, South Dakota was one of two states to saddle counties [Read More…]

Lyman County, S.D.- A 38-year-old man and 59-year-old man died Monday evening in a two-vehicle crash in Lyman County. The names of the people involved have not been released pending notification of family members. Preliminary crash information indicates a [Read More…]

John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight Summit Carbons Solutions would move something of value from one place to another for a fee, and as such is entitled to survey private land and use eminent domain for [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight After the state declined to seek federal grant money to reduce greenhouse gases and other air pollution last year, Rapid City was the only city in South Dakota to apply for the [Read More…]

Meade County, S.D.- A passenger in a UTV suffered fatal injuries yesterday in a single-vehicle crash near Sturgis, SD. The names of the persons involved have not been released pending notification of family members. Preliminary crash information indicates a single [Read More…]

A crash on Sunday involving two semi trucks south of Madison, Minnesota, resulted in the death of Steven Michael Schanning, 68, of Gary, South Dakota. The incident occurred at the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 [Read More…]

Sioux Falls Police responded to a downtown Sioux Falls apartment in the early morning hours this past Saturday. Upon arrival, they discovered a man shot multiple times in the torso in the apartment building’s hallway. [Read More…]

The South Dakota Supreme Court is holding two sessions at Northern State University as part of its “travel term,” giving students and the public a chance to see how the court operates. Chief Justice Steven [Read More…]

South Dakota settled with The Transformation Project, an LGBTQ advocacy group, for $300,000 after terminating their contract. The lawsuit stemmed from the state’s cancellation of a contract for a community health worker aimed at helping [Read More…]

South Dakota ranked second in the nation for honey production in 2023, with producers seeing a significant increase in production compared to the previous year. The state produced 18.4 million pounds of honey from 212,000 [Read More…]

Last week, the South Dakota NewsMedia Association First Amendment Committee hosted a webinar with open government expert David Cuillier, who highlighted the declining transparency in government, both nationally and in South Dakota. Cuillier pointed out [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight Two tribal leaders in South Dakota are demanding Gov. Kristi Noem apologize for comments she made about tribal governments at town halls last week. The president of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe released [Read More…]

On Monday, portions of Aberdeen Central High School were placed on lockdown following a fight between three students that resulted in an injury to a School Resource Officer (SRO) from the Aberdeen Police Department. The [Read More…]