The CJ Schwan's company is benefiting from state aid approvals totaling $69 million. CJ Schwan's employs South Dakota's former commissioner of economic development and also has a corporate board member who chairs a state economic development board. buff.ly/ELIMj2E

No state that borders South Dakota has publicly confirmed a lethal overdose in a state prison in 2025. South Dakota has reported eight. buff.ly/HP0CA1I

A company benefiting from $69 million in state grant and loan approvals has South Dakota's former economic development chief as an employee and the chairman of the state's economic development board as a corporate board member. That's caused lawmakers to raise ethical questions.

Half the people released from #prison in South Dakota return within three years — the highest recidivism rate in at least the last eight years, a new report says. Corrections officials shared the report with members of the state's Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force. buff.ly/2B7jdjz

Fights and serious injuries spiked higher in South Dakota’s state #prisons last year than at any point since at least 2018, according to a report released by the state Department of Corrections. buff.ly/zVQ2T8r

There are 273 unidentified deceased Indigenous peoples across the country. In an effort to return them to their families, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and South Dakota are offering a free DNA drive this week. Via @ict-news.bsky.social buff.ly/69xU5Tg

Farmers across the country may soon receive a share of a $12 billion farm aid package, as promised by President Donald Trump. But some South Dakota #farmers say it’s not the change they want to see: “I would rather have trade deals than bailouts."

The South Dakota Board of Regents introduced proposed changes to the public university system’s housing and meal plan policy, in response to failed legislation to remove on-campus living requirements. buff.ly/Umc9hzE

Five years since an SD lawmaker successfully proposed legislation adding a Habitat Stamp fee to hunting, fishing and trapping licenses, it has funded 1,300 projects worth $14 million. A wildlife advocate calls it "one of the smartest investments hunters and anglers have ever made.”

Caitlynn Belliveau struggled to find work and support her family after losing her job amid Trump administration federal workforce reductions: "It’s crazy to me that this is being celebrated or something they’re proud about.” Third in a series ⬇️

Money is flowing to tribal public radio stations after U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-SD, brokered a deal to replace Corporation for #PublicBroadcasting funding that Congress rescinded. But the stations are concerned about their prospects for future appropriations.

South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden pushed back on a lawmaker’s suggestion that the agricultural industry should be more tightly regulated to improve water quality. “Rest assured,” Rhoden said, “he’s going to be set straight on a few of his issues in a very kind, civil way." buff.ly/LFstFGu

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Alabama's new state Senate map was designed by an 18-year-old University of Alabama freshman who submitted his proposals, unsolicited, to a federal court hearing a lawsuit over the districts.

A 15-member task force established by South Dakota’s attorney general will review the state’s #OpenMeetings laws and ponder possible changes.

School districts have made some progress in addressing the national shortage of school bus drivers, but there still aren’t as many drivers as there were in 2019, according to a new study. Via @stateline.org

Five tribes in South Dakota want their congressional delegation to help restore funding for a research project led in part by a South Dakota genetics lab.

The rift between an oversight committee and South Dakota's #MedicalMarijuana industry widened as the committee approved 11 motions, some of which expressed support for tighter regulations. One industry representative called the group a "show committee." buff.ly/srunNEY

A state commission cleared the Rapid City Area School Board of allegations that it violated state transparency laws in its handling of a former superintendent’s contract termination.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will pay for a portion of November benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or #SNAP, the department said in a brief to a federal court in Rhode Island. Via @statesnewsroom.com buff.ly/5KHgd2d

Volunteers have pulled together one more search for Renzo Bullhead before winter sets in along a stretch of the Missouri River. "We can't breathe until we know," said the superintendent of McLaughlin High School, where Bullhead graduated. #MMIP buff.ly/TCE8m2N

Nearly 75,000 South Dakotans — roughly one in 12 residents — will lose #SNAP food assistance benefits if the federal government #shutdown persists into next week, state officials acknowledged.

Two days after a U.S. senator from South Dakota said he was encouraged by the desire of President Donald Trump to “do right” by American ranchers, Trump outraged many of them by rolling out a policy to import more #beef from Argentina.

When local South Dakota ambulance services go to a call for low-income or elderly people but don't end up taking them to the hospital, the ambulance services don't get reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid. A group of lawmakers is supporting efforts to change that:

Amid a backlash against President Trump’s suggestion to import more Argentinian beef, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-SD, said he came away from a meeting at the White House “encouraged by the desire” that Trump and his top agriculture official showed to “do right by the American producer.” buff.ly/2yKA0S6

Improving rural health in the Dakotas will require providing rural residents with tools to monitor their own health and nearby hubs or health care access to conduct basic tests ahead of #telehealth visits with specialists, summit panelists said. buff.ly/xSsrOwh

A sustainable aviation fuel developer, #Gevo, plans to shift its immediate investment from South Dakota to North Dakota, in part because of delays in the development of the multi-state #SummitCarbonSolutions pipeline. The company added it still hopes to develop its South Dakota site. buff.ly/sSKO2Qq

Protesters put 4,321 paper dolls on display at the SD Capitol, representing the number of children affected by the state’s funding reduction for #TANF, a program benefiting low-income families. “We don’t balance a budget on the backs of poor women and children," said one protester. buff.ly/NARhV1D

“All they’re guilty of is working and doing a job that isn’t currently being filled by an American," Elliott said.

Voices from South Dakota’s Legislature, judiciary, schools, law enforcement, mental health, tribal health and nonprofit spheres will pick up and carry on a conversation about inmate rehabilitation and recidivism that began with a lawmaker-led summer study this year. buff.ly/Xys0k1S

Calling the #WoundedKneeMassacre a "battle" that soldiers "deserve" medals for, Defense Secretary #PeteHegseth announced that a review of Medals of Honor awarded to massacre recipients is complete, and the medals will not be rescinded. buff.ly/UwyWjrG

A state-spanning sting operation in June drew indictments for the owners of five smoke shops in South Dakota this week, according to Attorney General Marty Jackley. buff.ly/6RF7I2m

More than 40 people showed up at a federal courthouse for a hearing on the future of a University of South Dakota art professor suspended for a social media post about the killing of conservative commentator #CharlieKirk.

South Dakota officials said click-by-click audit trails, multi-person payment approvals and other new security measures are in place following a string of criminal cases involving state employees. More details:

A University of South Dakota art professor facing the loss of his job over his online comments about the killing of #CharlieKirk filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the university and South Dakota Board of Regents from terminating his employment. buff.ly/uqQ9XCr

After making a $33 million gift to education, Roger Musick talks about his motivation, including the role of education in economic development: “If families know their children can get a top-quality education in Mitchell, that makes us more attractive than bigger, busier places."

South Dakota taxpayers lost $21 million when their leaders abandoned plans for a men’s prison in southern Lincoln County, according to figures released by the governor's office ahead of a legislative vote on a new prison plan in Sioux Falls.

Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have entered a stalemate over whether to fund the government for seven weeks or begin a shutdown that could last considerably longer, amid high partisan tensions. buff.ly/1NtvQTJ Via @statesnewsroom.com

Attorney General Marty Jackley announced that five people — a former guard, two inmates and two other people — face charges in connection with an alleged conspiracy to bring drugs and contraband into the South Dakota State Penitentiary. buff.ly/idEOxSA

"When these papers abruptly shut down, everybody in the community kind of realized that they actually missed their newspaper, and they wanted it more than they were giving the paper credit for." Q&A with an executive from the company that reopened four closed #newspapers in SD ⬇️

South Dakota public university enrollment this fall is 36,091 students, exactly the same as last fall, according to numbers released by the South Dakota Board of Regents. See the figures for all six universities: buff.ly/bHCenkz

As China boycotts U.S. soybean purchases, a $500 million processing plant south of Mitchell that will turn more of South Dakota's crop into oils and livestock meal opened its doors.

Hundreds of people were ticketed or arrested during the first of a series of state-funded "Operation Prairie Thunder" saturation patrols in Sioux Falls. More details ⬇️

South Dakota’s beleaguered secretary of corrections has resigned, just weeks ahead of a legislative vote on a $650 million prison construction project. Gov. Larry Rhoden acknowledged the departure could help the proposal, after some lawmakers called for changes in the department. buff.ly/3zqyaWU

As one candidate calls South Dakota's current approach to business incentives "corporate welfare" and another advocates less focus on job creation, the 2026 Republican primary for governor is exposing divergent views on #EconomicDevelopment within the party. buff.ly/0Alc7fN

"It's a noisier lunch room" since Platte-Geddes required students to lock away #cellphones, the superintendent said, but that's good: "at least they’re talking and interacting.” About a third of SD districts remove or lock away high school students’ phones at least part of the day.

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 virtual meeting. buff.ly/6xuo1fd

Grant program for tribal radio stations will start in October, Rounds says @makenziehuber.bsky.social @southdakotasearchlight.com southdakotasearchlight.com/2025/08/28/t...

The Trump administration’s cancellation of #SolarForAll grants benefiting low-income households is “catastrophic for Indian Country" and "another broken promise to Native tribes," according to a grant recipient that was working with tribes in South Dakota.

Business leaders in the #SiouxCity area are asking the governors of South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska to help them secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for infrastructure improvements. More about the projects: buff.ly/QgDOuLG

After a period of chaos caused by the process known as the “unwinding,” tribal health leaders fear their communities will experience more health coverage disruptions when new federal #Medicaid work and eligibility requirements are implemented in 2027. buff.ly/08bOv3v Via @kffhealthnews.org