Latest News

South Dakota Searchlight – B-1 bombers attached to Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City took part in airstrikes Friday in Iraq and Syria. “The mission we conducted validated that we can respond to any [Read More…]

John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight – Primary voters would pick their party’s nominees for attorney general and secretary of state under a bill that cleared a state House committee Monday morning. House Bill 1198 is the [Read More…]

PIERRE, Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight — A bill that would require school districts and public libraries to publish policies on restricting minors from accessing obscene materials or books unanimously passed the state House Education Committee [Read More…]

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has announced that Joseph Gene Hoek (Hook) of Sioux Falls has been charged with First Degree Murder and Aggravated Eluding for the death of Moody County [Read More…]

PIERRE — Threatening a police officer on Facebook could land people in jail for up to a year under the terms of a bill that passed the state Senate on Thursday. That’s less time behind [Read More…]

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Wednesday evening to assist low-income families through an expansion of the child tax credit and the bill now awaits approval in the Senate. But some organizations are also highlighting a [Read More…]

John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight – The state of South Dakota has issued an apology letter and a $300,000 payment to a transgender advocacy group for the abrupt cancellation of a Department of Health contract [Read More…]

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has confirmed that Moody County Chief Deputy Sheriff Ken Prorok (Pro-rock) was killed in the line of duty Friday afternoon in Moody County. Chief Deputy Sheriff Prorok, [Read More…]

Charles Mix County, S.D.- One person died Friday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash in Charles Mix County. The names of the persons involved have not been released pending notification of family members. Preliminary crash information indicates the 97-year-old driver of [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight – South Dakota lawmakers haven’t made major changes to education funding and teacher pay in eight years. But that could change this legislative session. The last time the Legislature made major [Read More…]

By Todd Epp, South Dakota Broadcasters Association. South Dakota legislators began taking testimony Wednesday (Jan. 31, 2024) on a bill that would remove the state sales tax on food. SB164 would remove the current 4.2% sales tax [Read More…]

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…]