Latest News

Makenzie Huber and John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight PIERRE – The Legislature’s budget committee endorsed a bill Friday to spend $3 million on phonics-based reading instruction for elementary teachers, and the committee also dealt with [Read More…]

Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight Tens of thousands of out-of-staters title their vehicles in South Dakota, because it’s cheaper and easier. “This has resulted in South Dakota becoming a haven for non-residents that choose to [Read More…]

John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight PIERRE – Water quality advocates want lawmakers to pump $5 million into the creation of a Black Hills watershed program that would prevent its streams from turning out as polluted [Read More…]

Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers are considering a slew of new gun restrictions this session, many with the goal of reducing the number of semi-automatic rifles in Minnesota. Democrats are looking to build upon the gun legislation signed [Read More…]

Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight There aren’t enough elk in the state for all the hunters who want to shoot them, yet in some areas, farmers and ranchers complain of too many elk trampling cornfields, [Read More…]

The South Dakota House of Representatives has approved a package that would require each school district in the state to set a $45,000 floor for the average teacher salary starting July 1, 2026. The legislation [Read More…]

Yankton County, S.D.- A 45-year-old man died Saturday evening in a two-vehicle crash in Yankton County. Preliminary crash information indicates a Ford van driven by Michael J. Myers of Sioux Falls was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of [Read More…]

Marissa Apodaca from Sioux Falls was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for her involvement in a methamphetamine conspiracy. She was one of 24 co-conspirators, with 14 of them from South Dakota. Apodaca pleaded [Read More…]

  John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight PIERRE – Lawmakers peppered the Department of Corrections secretary with questions on Wednesday morning about the growing gap between initial and current price points for two new state prisons. [Read More…]

Jared Strong, Iowa Capital Dispatch A company that wants to help ethanol producers harness their carbon dioxide emissions to produce an additional renewable fuel says its technology is a viable alternative to proposed carbon dioxide [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight The number of students graduating from South Dakota high schools is declining. And fewer of those graduates are enrolling in any higher education, let alone attending one of South Dakota’s [Read More…]

Brad Reay, a Pierre man convicted of first-degree murder for killing his wife, has died at age 64 in the Jameson Annex infirmary in Sioux Falls. The South Dakota Department of Corrections announced his death, [Read More…]

John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight A long distance rail study from the Federal Railroad Administration includes new maps showing two possible South Dakota passenger rail routes. The routes would run through Sioux Falls and Rapid [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight The week of Valentine’s Day, in this humble reporter’s opinion, is the best week of the legislative session. It’s not just because lawmakers exchange candy with cute, punny messages on [Read More…]

Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight An ongoing effort to create open primary elections received some big contributions from South Dakotans in 2023, and also received a little more than half of its donations from a Colorado-based [Read More…]

Yankton County, S.D.- A 45-year-old man died Saturday evening in a two-vehicle crash in Yankton County. The names of the people involved have not been released pending notification of family members. Preliminary crash information indicates a Ford van was [Read More…]

BISMARCK — A trial expected to shed new light on a federal agency’s management — and potential mismanagement — of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests kicked off Thursday in federal court. North Dakota is seeking [Read More…]

John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight Fewer people than expected are signing up for Medicaid through an expansion backed by voters in 2022, and the state Department of Social Services is adjusting its budget to reflect the [Read More…]

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has announced that a Yankton man has been sentenced to 85 years in prison after he had earlier pled guilty to First Degree Manslaughter in connection to [Read More…]

The Biden administration will send close to $1 billion to airports across the country to upgrade terminal facilities, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Thursday. Among the recipients are the city of Spearfish and the Standing [Read More…]