The chairman of a South Dakota economic development board not only sits on the corporate board for a company benefiting from millions in state aid but also has connections to the company’s landlord. buff.ly/Khzb85j

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

Jordan Ward isn’t one of the eight men killed by an overdose in a South Dakota prison in 2025, but a lawsuit filed this year over his 2022 death in custody offers insight into how drugs sometimes make their way into the hands of inmates. buff.ly/6eVFol1

A program that helps farmers pass their operations along to their children got a $200,000 boost from a South Dakota government fund under the exclusive control of the governor.

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.

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden awarded $1 million from a fund he controls to help pay for two business parks in Aberdeen. That's the home of one of his opponents in next year's race for the Republican nomination for governor.

South Dakota’s Republican attorney general is threatening a lawsuit and ordering a national nonprofit to cease and desist “the deceptive advertising of the sale of #abortion pills in South Dakota,” but the organization is not signaling that it will stop its advertising campaign. buff.ly/QxD9Ygb

There’s a new ad campaign promoting #abortion pills at dozens of gas station pumps across South Dakota, and state officials said they’ll investigate it for potentially deceptive trade practices and possible violations of the state’s anti-abortion laws. buff.ly/G2k21V5

Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden proposed a $7.44 billion state government budget that would avoid big cuts but also hold South Dakota’s funding for schools, Medicaid providers and state employees flat next year. buff.ly/qzGY4gy

South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden’s plan to keep state funding flat for Medicaid providers, state employees and schools could hurt the same areas Rhoden said he’s helped “prioritize” in recent years, advocates say.

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.”

Savannah Standing Bear’s family and friends have heard plenty of rumors, but not many answers. It’s been eight months since she disappeared from the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. The latest from an #MMIP series in collaboration with @ict-news.bsky.social ⬇️ buff.ly/uyIDKr8

South Dakota soybean industry leaders said a new trade pledge with China is lifting prices but hasn’t erased anxiety about how much #farmers depend on a single foreign buyer. buff.ly/sd3jomx

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.

As a public debate begins about agriculture and water pollution in South Dakota, a new report shows the effects of a $3 million effort to mitigate the problem in the Big Sioux River watershed. See the numbers:

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

One of South Dakota’s top lawmakers said it may be time to move beyond financial incentives and consider new regulations on #agriculture to address the state’s polluted rivers and lakes: “I think it takes more than the carrot to address this."

State Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, called the #Education Department's review the “worst performing report that we have” and said Department Secretary Joe Graves faces an “uphill battle.” southdakotasearchlight.com/2025/11/13/s...

A committee of South Dakota lawmakers expressed support for legislative efforts to rein in powers that some committee members said former Gov. #KristiNoem abused. The efforts address the use of state credit cards and an economic development fund under the governor's control. buff.ly/6yZgD9m

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden is looking for parole board applicants. He needs to appoint a replacement for Ken Albers, the former Lincoln County sheriff, state lawmaker and 15-year parole board member who announced his retirement from the board last week. buff.ly/Xy8Shce

South Dakota sellers of #hemp based products ranging from seltzers to lotions fear that a provision in federal legislation will result in the products "getting ripped away."

South Dakota dedicated six bridges to fallen #WorldWarII veterans on #VeteransDay. “When folks drive by, that’s somebody’s loved one, and it’s a good way to keep their memory alive," said an honoree's nephew. buff.ly/ETmWzrR

An example of how @statesnewsroom.com serves readers -- we in DC do a story on the War Powers Resolution vote in the US Senate & @southdakotasearchlight.com fills in details for South Dakota on how SD senators--including the majority leader -- voted southdakotasearchlight.com/2025/11/06/r...

While the federal government shutdown threatens #SNAP food assistance benefits, three South Dakota counties have some of the highest percentages of federal food assistance participation in the country.

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden has appointed Seventh Circuit Presiding Judge Robert Gusinsky to serve as a supreme court justice for the First Supreme District, the governor’s office announced.

A South Dakota man is traveling to Washington, D.C., with plans to advocate for the vocational programming that helped him recover from the loss of his sight 12 years ago. He says the programming is under threat from proposed federal staffing cuts.

South Dakota’s governor said he does not support using state money to fill a funding gap in the #SNAP food assistance program during the federal government shutdown, and said he was unaware of a funding request that a hunger relief organization submitted to the Legislature. buff.ly/mxa0sF4

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says the indictment of a former driver’s license examiner should inspire legislators to make it a state crime to possess pornographic images of real adults created by artificial intelligence. buff.ly/vj5PpWv

The 19 proposals advanced by a legislative task force aiming to reduce #PropertyTaxes for South Dakota homeowners are a mix of ideas including spending cuts, increases in other taxes and tapping into other funds. A closer look:

South Dakota wasted $20.4 million on a rural Lincoln County site before it pivoted to a location in Sioux Falls for a prison construction project. The wasted money covered an array of costs, ranging from herbicide application to site-specific designs. See where the money went: buff.ly/ue2ClZo

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. southdakotasearchlight.com/2025/10/23/a...

A South Dakota couple want an Iowa carbon pipeline company to pay them for surveying their land against their will. Jared and Tara Bossly, of rural Aberdeen, filed a trespassing lawsuit in Brown County against #SummitCarbonSolutions.

Sioux Falls service club introduces civil discourse theme in public Q&As: “We want to create a space where these conversations don’t break down into finger-pointing and shouting."

"Let the words go out from this place in this day: No eminent domain for private gain in the state of Iowa": GOP candidates for Iowa governor voice their opposition to CO2 pipelines. Via @iowacapitaldispatch.com southdakotasearchlight.com/2025/10/06/r...

For some people across the country, the coverage of the federal #GovernmentShutdown is their introduction to U.S. Senate Majority Leader #JohnThune, R-South Dakota. Here's a look back at our profile of Thune from November, when his colleagues elected him to the leadership post.

Gov. Larry Rhoden has issued 65 pardons and one commutation since taking office in January, according to records on file with the South Dakota Secretary of State.

Farmers are spending long days harvesting #soybeans this fall with no soybean purchases by China, due to the country's retaliation for President Trump's #tariffs. That's impacted prices, leaving farmers at the mercy of potential government assistance for the lost income.

Mount Rushmore, Badlands, Wind Cave National Park remain open with limitations. Jewel Cave and Minuteman Missile site close temporarily. Federal shutdown leaves South Dakotans guessing. @joshuahaiar.bsky.social / @southdakotasearchlight.com southdakotasearchlight.com/2025/10/01/f...

“Property taxes are complex, and you can’t have simple solutions without unintended consequences to a complex mechanism,” Harrisburg's superintendent said after a panel discussion. She urged caution as South Dakota lawmakers consider reforms to #PropertyTaxes and education funding.

Less than 24 hours before South Dakota lawmakers met to consider building a prison, one of them disseminated “shocking new revelations” in a press release. The timing, writes @sethtupper.bsky.social, "was peculiar, to say the least." Commentary:

Cody Kafka had "one of the most freeing feelings" recently when he walked across his own land. It was possible because of a state program that helps people get started in farming.

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

Republican state Sen. #CaseyCrabtree formally announced that he is running for South Dakota’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives next year, pledging to carry out President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda. buff.ly/MIkgI7S

#SummitCarbonSolutions wants Iowa to remove provisions from the company's pipeline permit that require approval in the Dakotas. Summit said the change would reflect that “additional options for storage and pathways to storage are developing." buff.ly/YG01CXK Via @iowacapitaldispatch.com

A legislative task force aiming to reduce #PropertyTaxes for South Dakota homeowners will meet in Pierre next week with an opportunity for public comment. buff.ly/ph7d5Hn

Rural hospitals are less likely to offer obstetric services after they’ve been acquired by a larger health system, leading to mixed outcomes for mothers and babies, according to new research. buff.ly/6qB7WBk Via @stateline.org

Kevin Woster is "pretty big on Jesus," but a T-shirt proclaiming Rapid City "belongs to Jesus" made him uncomfortable. "We have seen what happens in other countries where religion and government become one," he writes. "We should never want that here." Commentary:

The Rhoden administration has said #OperationPrairieThunder won’t impact the Highway Patrol budget, but the movement of inmates points to other costs. Two federal agencies had to move 35 people from the Minnehaha County Jail before the operation's first Sioux Falls saturation patrol. buff.ly/ojuqzmu

SD Gov. Larry Rhoden’s draft legislation addresses many of the details of a proposed $650 million, 1,500-bed men’s #prison in Sioux Falls. But it doesn’t address at least three areas of concern raised by lawmakers ahead of the special session where they’ll consider the bill.

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