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As of the week ending January 28, 2024, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported South Dakota’s topsoil moisture supplies at 6% very short, 19% short, 73% adequate, and 2% surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies were [Read More…]

Kwik Star, a well-known Midwest gas station chain, plans to open five new locations in eastern South Dakota in 2024, marking a total of 11 stores in the past year. The company, also known as [Read More…]

Senate Bill 109, submitted by Democratic Sen. Reynold Nesiba, aims to provisionally repeal capital punishment in South Dakota. The bill argues that the death penalty is problematic, ineffective as a deterrent, and economically burdensome. Nesiba [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight – One of the first pieces in the long-term effort to address South Dakota’s child care needs cleared its first hurdle Wednesday at the Capitol in Pierre. A bill that would require [Read More…]

Paul Laleman, a 40-year-old parks technician employed by the City of Brookings, was arrested and charged with grand theft for stealing over $7,000 from the Brookings Ice Skating Association (BISA), a nonprofit supporting youth hockey. [Read More…]

Joshua Haiar and Seth Tupper, South Dakota Searchlight – Texas has not repaid South Dakota for assistance at the Texas-Mexico border even though similar mutual-aid agreements between South Dakota and other states have typically involved [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight – A bill mandating minimum safety standards in public schools — without requiring armed guards — was unanimously approved Tuesday by the Senate Education Committee at the Capitol in Pierre. The [Read More…]

PIERRE, (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) — Homeless people would be in line for free South Dakota birth certificates and state ID cards under the terms of two bills that advanced out of a state House [Read More…]

PIERRE, (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) — There are at least three shops that sell products made from the legal, hemp-derived cousins of marijuana within a half mile of the state Capitol. On Tuesday, lawmakers took [Read More…]

Black Hawk, South Dakota — a 137-year-old community with a population of over 3,000 — isn’t actually a city. The community has its own ZIP code, post office, water company, fire department, cemetery, businesses, churches [Read More…]

South Dakota lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 117, introduced by Sen. Joshua Klumb, R-Mitchell, aimed at easing regulations for the state’s industrial hemp industry by aligning THC testing standards with federal guidelines. The proposed amendment [Read More…]

The South Dakota House has approved Senate Bill 60, which modifies the requirements for school bus drivers, particularly those with diabetes. Previously, diabetic drivers had to undergo additional tests to obtain a medical card for [Read More…]

South Dakota lawmakers voted 8-5 to reject a bill proposing to raise the minimum age of marriage from 16 to 18. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Kadyn Wittman, aimed to address concerns about child marriages, [Read More…]

39-year-old Lacey Leigh Durham of Canton, South Dakota, pleaded not guilty to charges of vehicular battery, hit and run, driving under the influence, reckless driving, and speeding after a New Year’s Eve incident. She allegedly [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight – A bill that would create a commission to study and possibly propose a new state flag design to the Legislature and Governor’s Office failed in the Senate State Affairs Committee [Read More…]

PIERRE, John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight – For every pay period, the average correctional officer in a South Dakota prison works an average of 14 overtime hours. That’s an hour more than the last fiscal [Read More…]

PIERRE, John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight — A returned check written to a South Dakota business could soon cost its account owner $20 more. Senate Bill 38 would update the fee businesses can charge people for a [Read More…]

Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight – An ethanol production company headquartered in Sioux Falls announced Monday it will partner with the remaining company looking to build a carbon capture pipeline in South Dakota. Poet will collaborate [Read More…]

Gasoline prices in South Dakota have dropped by 2.8 cents per gallon over the past week, averaging $2.75/gallon. This marks a 13 cents per gallon decrease from a month ago and a substantial 60 cents [Read More…]

Terry Lee Schoenhut, a 39-year-old fugitive wanted on multiple charges in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota’s Pennington and Tripp counties, was apprehended in the Pierre area by an off-duty Hughes County Deputy sheriff. Schoenhut, considered [Read More…]