Carson Walker

3 weeks ago | mitchellrepublic.com | Carson Walker

MITCHELL — Amanuel Gemechis, a 14-year-old student at George S. Mickelson Middle School in Brookings, will represent South Dakota in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington. The eighth-grader out-spelled 27 other elementary and middle schoolers on Saturday at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell. The winning word: meringue. "I love the spelling bee," Amanuel said afterward. "It helps me learn a lot.

4 weeks ago | bhpioneer.com | Carson Walker

MITCHELL — Paul Lloyd-Davies fondly remembers his first and only participation in a spelling bee. The 72-year-old was in middle school at Sacred Heart Elementary in Aberdeen and entered the contest on a whim. “They started slinging the words out and it narrowed and narrowed until there was this gorgeous brainiac in the class and me. We went a few rounds and we got to a word I think was volcano,” Lloyd-Davies said, recalling that he believes he added an “e” on the end.

4 weeks ago | sdnewswatch.org | Carson Walker

MITCHELL, S.D. – Paul Lloyd-Davies fondly remembers his first and only participation in a spelling bee. The 72-year-old was in middle school at Sacred Heart Elementary in Aberdeen and entered the contest on a whim. "They started slinging the words out and it narrowed and narrowed until there was this gorgeous brainiac in the class and me. We went a few rounds and we got to a word I think was volcano," he said, recalling that he believes he added an "e" on the end.

1 month ago | sdnewswatch.org | Carson Walker

South Dakota journalists, students and anyone interested in learning more about the justice system are invited to free training on March 28 that will be held online and in person at Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Chief U.S. District Judge Roberto Lange and Senior U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier will lead the session designed to help journalists cover all aspects of federal courts.

Jan 22, 2025 | sdnewswatch.org | Carson Walker

Credible information is increasingly difficult to find. It's one of the reasons readers trust South Dakota News Watch and why the organization's donor base includes people from across the political spectrum. News Watch will now build on that trust by partnering with Gigafact, a nonprofit network of nonpartisan newsrooms that verify influential claims circulating online. Veteran journalist Megan Luther, who already writes freelance stories for News Watch, will lead the effort, which will start Feb.