News

The South Dakota Legislature has green-lighted the $650-million dollar funding bill for a new men’s state penitentiary in Sioux Falls. District 20 Senator Paul Miskimins voted “yes”. “I know it’s a huge investment, but basically [Read More…]

John Hult-SD Searchlight PIERRE — After 144 years, South Dakota lawmakers decided Tuesday it’s time for “the Hill” to retire. The required two-thirds of each legislative chamber voted to endorse a 1,500-bed, $650 million replacement [Read More…]

By Todd Epp, South Dakota Broadcasters Association A joint legislative committee advanced Governor Larry Rhoden’s $650 million men’s prison plan on Tuesday, 13 to 2, after extended testimony on cost, size, and inmate care. Lieutenant [Read More…]

Two Mitchell area 4-H members are recipients of state-level 4-H scholarships. Both Delaney Zoss of Sanborn County and Willam Kreth of Davison County received $1,500 Sokota Scholarships. Zoss graduated from Mitchell High School and is [Read More…]

Josh Haiar-South Dakota Searchlight One of South Dakota’s wealthiest businessmen says an aspect of economic development often gets overlooked — great public schools. “If families know their children can get a top-quality education in Mitchell, [Read More…]

Two people were injured Friday night, one fatally, when their motorcycle struck a deer, four miles east of Hot Springs, SD. The South Dakota Department of Public Safety reported shortly after 7 pm a motorcycle [Read More…]

Attorney General Marty Jackley says five people, including one former state correctional officer and two current inmates, have been indicted for transporting contraband into the South Dakota State Penitentiary. “Transporting illegal items into the prison [Read More…]

South Dakota Searchight Governor Larry Rhoden has appointed John Shubeck of Beresford to the South Dakota House of Representatives on Wednesday, filling a seat left vacated by the death of Rep. Richard Vasgaard, a Republican [Read More…]

John Hult-SD Searchlight South Dakota’s first state public defender and his staff of four have taken on 43 cases since taking their first this winter. Lawmakers created and funded the Office of Indigent Legal Services [Read More…]

YES Michael Klinski-South Dakota News Watch Diverging diamond interchanges (DDI) reduce crashes and improve traffic flow compared to traditional intersections. There are three diverging diamond interchanges in South Dakota. The busiest two – Lacrosse Street [Read More…]

A 51 year old man from Reliance is sitting in a federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Heath Choal was sentenced to seven years in prison followed by three [Read More…]

Makenzie Huber-SD Searchlight A program supporting rural and first-generation college students pursuing graduate degrees in biomedical research at the University of South Dakota is among the victims of Trump administration grant cancellations upheld recently by [Read More…]

A 27 year old woman from McCall, Idaho died in a single motorcycle crash seven miles south of Keystone Saturday evening. The South Dakota Department of Public Safety reported around 5:05 pm, the driver of [Read More…]

Becky Haenfler, a middle school English Language Arts teacher at the Avon School District, has been named the 2026 South Dakota Teacher of the Year. Secretary of Education Joseph Graves made the announcement at a [Read More…]

South Dakota’s public university system continues its upward momentum in student enrollment. This marks the fourth consecutive year of targeted system growth and the second successive year with more than 36,000 students – a notable [Read More…]

Mitchell Technical College has announced a record-breaking enrollment for the Fall 2025 semester, with 1,344 students enrolled—an 8.6% increase over last fall’s total of 1,237. This marks the highest enrollment in the college’s history and [Read More…]

Josh Haiar-SD Searchlight SIOUX FALLS — Emotional testimony spilled out Wednesday as about 75 people pleaded with South Dakota social services officials to halt a proposed rule change that testifiers said could drastically slash Medicaid [Read More…]

Josh Haiar-SD Searchlight South Dakota is at the epicenter of this fall’s bird flu season with a total of 134,900 turkeys at three facilities already killed to contain the spread, and reports coming in about [Read More…]

Around 1,000 people gathered at the new High Plains Processing plant to celebrate its completion. Governor Larry Rhoden praised the investment. “It’s just part and parcel with what we’ve done in South Dakota,” said Rhoden. [Read More…]

The Mitchell School Board is working on updating a policy regarding fund-raising for a variety of activities involving students. Superintendent Joe Childs says fund-raising has evolved over the years. “We just wanted to begin with [Read More…]