A company spearheading a long-lingering #uranium mining proposal in southwestern South Dakota hopes to restart its state permitting process after a 13-year hold.

A large swath of America melted under record heat for the country’s 250th birthday, including in the nation’s capital, where despite being one of the hottest places across the globe, President Trump planned a nighttime speech followed by a massive fireworks display. #America250

On the eve of the nation’s 250th birthday, President Donald Trump used his address at #MountRushmore National Memorial in South Dakota to allege that there is “a resurgence of the communist menace in our land.” #America250 buff.ly/zMsDC12

Six years after authorities arrested demonstrators blocking a road leading to a fireworks display featuring President Donald Trump at #MountRushmore, the same area stood empty as he returned.

An array of merchandise and influence is on sale for the 250th birthday of the U.S. America250, created by Congress, and Freedom 250, President Trump’s entity, operate on their own respective tracks. But there is no clear accounting of which entities are getting the bigger shares.

Ahead of President Trump's visit to Mount Rushmore today, Dana Hess wonders "what it would be like to have just five minutes with the president to explain how his policy positions are making life tougher for South Dakotans." COMMENTARY:

South Dakota Searchlight got a first look at the upgrades and renovations to the state museum at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre, including new exhibits that opened this week. The new 🎧Searchlight Report🎧 episode brings listeners along for the tour. buff.ly/LVmUM8l

China — the biggest buyer of U.S. #soybeans — is once again placing orders after a trade agreement ended the country’s purchasing freeze. But USDA data shows there is still a long way to go before China’s purchases reach pre-trade war levels. Via @tennesseelookout.com

South Dakota’s online 605Drive vehicle title and registration system charged incorrect tax amounts in some transactions, a new audit report found.

With a section of the “big, beautiful” law set to expire July 4, states will now determine whether people enrolled in Medicaid can, once again, get routine healthcare services from #PlannedParenthood clinics that remain open. Via @statesnewsroom.com

The National Park Service is designating an area for protesters as the agency prepares to welcome thousands of attendees, including President Donald Trump, to a Friday fireworks display at #MountRushmore National Memorial in western South Dakota.

State #Medicaid agencies are concerned that many sick and disabled enrollees will lose their coverage because the Trump administration is narrowing the definition of who is “medically frail” enough to get an exemption from new work requirements. Via @stateline.org

"Without journalists adding context, seeking contrary views and doing their best to exercise good news judgment, social media consumers are unwittingly manipulated by influencers and algorithms into obsessing over trivialities." COMMENTARY from @sethtupper.bsky.social:

A South Dakota board advanced rules that allow up to $30 million to be loaned from a state housing infrastructure fund to help finance airport projects in Rapid City and Sioux Falls.

President Donald Trump landed in North Dakota, taking the first flight on the new #AirForceOne en route to the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. Via @northdakotamonitor.com

Farmers growing corn and soybeans for biofuels can now quantify the carbon intensity of crops grown with certain regenerative agriculture practices, due to a recently finalized federal rule. Via @iowacapitaldispatch.com

For the families of Native American victims in far-flung corners of South Dakota who feel disconnected from the criminal justice system or lost somewhere within it, the state's #MMIP liaison is there. A Q&A with the first liaison, as she transitions to a new job with the state:

The Great American State Fair on the National Mall has all the trappings of a classic state fair: food vendors, merchandise, a Ferris wheel and scores of activities. But just days before the nation’s 250th anniversary, one thing was, for the most part, notably absent. The crowds.

An organization that advocates for South Dakota #voters wants new rules clarifying the administration of what one of its members called a “hastily constructed bill allowed to become a poorly constructed law” on voter registration.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s attempt to redefine the constitutional right to #BirthrightCitizenship. Via @statesnewsroom.com

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday kept in place state laws banning transgender athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams. South Dakota approved its ban in 2022.

At least nine states, including South Dakota, have passed voting laws this year that will make it more difficult for some voters to cast their ballots during the midterm elections in November. Via @stateline.org

State officials including the governor visited the South Dakota town of Highmore after strong storms ripped through the area, leaving roofs torn off homes, vehicles tipped over, grain bins caved in and wind turbine towers folded in half.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement searches for the location history of #cellphones near crime scenes are covered by the Fourth Amendment, requiring warrants to obtain the data. Via @statesnewsroom.com

U.S. Senate Majority Leader #JohnThune, R-South Dakota, has an agreement to write his first book, according to his latest annual financial disclosure.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, a blow to the Trump administration and some Republican states that had urged the justices to require all ballots to arrive by the close of polls. Via @statesnewsroom.com

The U.S. Senate Ag Committee's draft of the #FarmBill does not include language that livestock industries have called for to stop the impact of state-specific laws on production standards. It's also silent on pesticide labeling and year-round #E15. Via @iowacapitaldispatch.com

South Dakota's funding mechanism for local governments is "imperfect, but it’s local," writes Brad Johnson. "Take away #PropertyTaxes and that relationship changes fundamentally." COMMENTARY:

Activists rallied, danced and marched in the nation’s capital as they laid out their vision for the future of the United States beyond this year’s semiquincentennial. #America250 Via @statesnewsroom.com

Delegates at the South Dakota Republican Convention denied the state’s top election official an opportunity to seek reelection, choosing a nominee for secretary of state who advocates for hand-counted election results.

The two remaining Republican candidates for governor of South Dakota clashed over prison policy in what might have been the closest thing to a debate that voters will see before the party’s nomination is decided in a July 28 runoff election.

Members of the New Democrat Coalition asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide fresh details about the nation’s #screwworm outbreak and demanded that the Trump administration allocate more resources to containing the spread. Via @statesnewsroom.com

As the nation's 250th birthday nears, with a fireworks display featuring President Trump at #MountRushmore, another anniversary passed this week marking 150 years since the Battle of the #LittleBighorn. A new 🎧Searchlight Report🎧 episode explains how it’s all related. buff.ly/mCWRjWU

Opponents of a new South Dakota law that uses a higher state sales tax rate to fund property tax reductions for homeowners said they did not collect enough petition signatures to put the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Visitors from across the United States traveled to the National Mall for the opening day of the Great American State Fair, a days-long event that is part of President Donald Trump’s Freedom 250 celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial. Via @statesnewsroom.com

Resumption of trade with China and potential year-round availability of E15 biofuel could positively impact the farm economy, according to an agricultural economist who spoke at the Governor’s Ag Summit in South Dakota.

“There are not the votes to nuke the filibuster and there aren’t going to be 10 Democrat votes to all of a sudden support the SAVE America Act,” Thune said. “Those are just hard realities ..."

It costs significantly more to incarcerate women than men, adding to the financial burden on state and local correctional systems, according to a new report from the nonpartisan think tank Council on Criminal Justice. Via @stateline.org

Five days ago I filled out an online form and received an email granting me permission to cover speeches at the South Dakota Republican State Convention. Tonight party officials wouldn't let me in to cover a speech by Senate Majority Leader John Thune. southdakotasearchlight.com/2026/06/25/s...

State courts cannot find liability for labeling shortcomings in pesticides and related products such as #Roundup because such products are covered by federal law, the U.S. Supreme Court said in a decision backing agricultural giant Monsanto. Via @statesnewsroom.com

Seventeen Republican attorneys general, including South Dakota’s, have sued California over a state law that requires plastic packaging producers to move away from single-use #plastics, alleging that the law will raise costs for consumers across the country.

President Donald Trump will attend the first #fireworks display in six years at #MountRushmore on July 3, according to announcements from Freedom 250 and South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden. buff.ly/T8ASKLG

The Trump administration sent Congress a request for $87.6 billion in emergency funding to cover the cost of the war in Iran and other expenses. The proposal asks lawmakers to add a few policy changes, including the year-round sale of #E15. Via @statesnewsroom.com

U.S. Senate Republicans walked into a lunch with the president looking for ways to unify, but they left the closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill as fractured as ever about policy goals. Via @statesnewsroom.com

South Dakota utility regulators unanimously approved the merger of Black Hills Energy and NorthWestern Energy. The new utility will be named Bright Horizon Energy, with an estimated total value of $15.4 billion and 2.1 million customers in eight states.

President Donald Trump derailed a #housing overhaul that he was set to sign into law, canceling a signing ceremony for the broadly popular bipartisan bill until Congress passes an election security measure. Via @statesnewsroom.com

Excerpt from new book on evolving commemorations of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, including the 50th in 1926: "... the modern troopers paired up with their warrior counterparts, the former on the left and the latter on the right, and rode down from the battle ridge together ..."

Instead of celebrating the nation’s birthday during the Fourth of July weekend, some Native Americans on the Great Plains are focused on a different event this week: the 150th commemoration of the Battle of the #LittleBighorn.

Four years after the Dobbs decision, healthcare providers say the overturning of legal #abortion and the passage of abortion bans by states has complicated miscarriage care. Via @stateline.org

Parties, protests, displays of historic documents, odes to the Founding Fathers — and a massive political rally by the president — will mark a deeply polarized nation’s 250th anniversary on this #FourthofJuly. Via @statesnewsroom.com