Latest News
From barn to table: How agritourism is reviving rural South Dakota
Molly Wetsch/South Dakota News Watch LENNOX, S.D. – Just 20 minutes away from South Dakota’s biggest city is an unexpected oasis. Chickens and geese freely roam, goats bleat for treats and a traditional barn with [Read More…]
Growing crop supply and weakened foreign demand are hurting South Dakota’s economy, council says
Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight Farmers across South Dakota are seeing healthy crops, but abundant supply and weakening foreign demand are driving prices down, some of the state’s economic advisers said during a Thursday virtual meeting. [Read More…]
Sanford Health to Acquire Lewis Drug in Fall 2025 Merger
Sanford Health has announced a merger with Lewis Drug, set to take effect in fall 2025. Lewis Drug, a pharmacy and retail chain with over 60 locations across South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota, will maintain [Read More…]
Father and son recognized for life saving efforts
A father and son were recognized Wednesday for saving a couple and their dog from a mobile home fire in Mount Vernon on April11th. Deputy Trestin Jerke was conducting a traffic stop when he and [Read More…]
Road closure Thursday at First and Main
The City of Mitchell Street Department will be working on removal of street lights, sidewalk and curb and gutter at intersection of 1st Ave and Main St. Thursday July 28th, 2025. The intersection will be [Read More…]
Mitchell woman sentenced to federal prison
A 55 year old woman from Mitchell and a 66 year old woman from North Jackson, Ohio have been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. Catherine Hamilton [Read More…]
U.S. Navy announces commissioning date and location for the future USS Pierre
The U.S. Navy will commission the future USS Pierre, an Independence-variant littoral combat ship, in Panama City, Florida, Nov. 15. The naming of LCS 38 honors the legacy of the citizens of Pierre and the [Read More…]
South Dakota Department of Revenue Reports 13% Increase in Tax Collections from 2025 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
The South Dakota Department of Revenue estimates that tax collections from the 2025 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally totaled $1,581,736, marking a 13% increase over last year’s collections of $1,399,501. These figures include revenues from state sales [Read More…]
South Dakota Highway Patrol introduces StarChase
The South Dakota Highway Patrol is turning to advanced technology to make dangerous vehicle pursuits safer for both the public and law enforcement. Troopers now have another key tool to track suspects without putting lives [Read More…]
Mitchell Techincal College earns national kudos
Mitchell Technical College has been recognized as the #1 community college in South Dakota and ranked #13 nationally in WalletHub’s 2025 Best & Worst Community Colleges report. Each year, WalletHub evaluates more than 650 community [Read More…]
High Plains Processing plant poised to give a needed boost to soybean producers
SD Searchlight-Makenzie Huber U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune was blunt in his opening remarks during a Dakotafest policy discussion on Wednesday about the state of agriculture. While South Dakota farmers in parts of the [Read More…]
NIMBYs and BANANAs: Johnson points out the differences
SD Searchlight-Makenzie Huber The United States can win the “AI race,” but not without the infrastructure and data centers necessary to develop the emerging technology, U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson told members of the Greater Sioux [Read More…]
Vietnam era veterans honored and thanked for their service
Congressman Dusty Johnson continued his mission of recognizing veterans who served in the military during the Vietnam era from 1955 to 1975 Thursday at Mitchell VFW Post 2750. “Our office has honored more than 1,200 [Read More…]
Highway 37 traffic shift north of Mitchell announced
On Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, two-way traffic is scheduled to be shifted onto the newly reconstructed southbound lanes of S.D. Highway 37 north of Mitchell. The traffic switch is anticipated to be complete by the [Read More…]
SDPB announces program cuts and personnel layoffs
South Dakota Public Broadcasting Executive Director Julie Overgaard announced today layoffs that will affect 15 SDPB employees. The affected positions are across the spectrum of programs and services that SDPB provides. They impact SDPB local [Read More…]
National agriculture organization leader seeks input during Dakotafest
Dakotafest is a magnet that draws agricultural leaders like American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall. “I come to be at Dakotafest to meet the farmers and ranchers here in South Dakota and also be [Read More…]
Senator John Thune addresses Farm Bill concerns
A new federal farm bill is two years overdue but finally writing a new one will be a priority when Senators and Congressmen return to Washington next month. Senator John Thune says much of the [Read More…]
Two Mitchell education leaders happily accept an unprecedented gift toward a bright future for local education
The leaders of two Mitchell educational institutions are marveling over the generosity of Roger and Vicki Musick. The Mitchell couple recently donated $33-million dollars toward boosting pre-k through university-level education opportunities. Dakota Wesleyan University president [Read More…]
Power outages across South Dakota government stymie services statewide
Makenzie Huber and John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight South Dakota state government telephone systems and websites went down across several departments Tuesday, limiting systems and services. One woman filling out driver’s licensing paperwork at the Sioux [Read More…]
Board backtracks on effort to remove student growth goals from South Dakota teacher evaluation requirements
Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight A plan to remove an expectation of student growth from South Dakota’s rules governing teacher evaluation rules stalled Monday. Student growth is one performance outcome among many used to track student [Read More…]