South Dakota News Watch

Established in 2017, South Dakota News Watch is a non-profit organization dedicated to delivering crucial news stories across the state. Their coverage spans a variety of topics including agriculture, education, public safety, and politics. Supported by private donations and various foundations, South Dakota News Watch works alongside multiple media organizations to fulfill its mission.

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Toby Doeden makes establishment nervous. So what's next?

1 week ago | sdnewswatch.org | Stu Whitney

ABERDEEN, S.D. – Toby Doeden was in Sioux Falls on April 9 when the Brown County Republican Party posted on Facebook about its Lincoln Day Dinner the following night, promising a “formal candidate announcement for statewide office.”Doeden, an Aberdeen businessman whose deep pockets and conservative activism have sparked speculation about a run for South Dakota governor in 2026, was the first person who came to mind for political enthusiasts.
South Dakota Symphony pulls 'Giants in the Earth' opera out of the shadows

2 weeks ago | sdnewswatch.org | Stu Whitney

One of the first people Delta David Gier met after being named music director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra in 2003 was Art Husboe, founder of the Center for Western Studies at Augustana University. Husboe pulled Gier aside at a dinner party and gave him a copy of “Giants in the Earth,” Ole Rolvaag’s classic 1925 novel depicting the struggles and sacrifice of Norwegian pioneers in the Dakota Territory.
Cuts in federal funding for food will hurt pantries and producers

2 weeks ago | sdnewswatch.org | Bart Pfankuch

BOX ELDER, S.D. – Montana Roem is worried that a proposed $1 billion cut to federal food programs that aid schools and charities will hurt her family on two fronts.
Reversal of US energy agenda sparks friction between states

3 weeks ago | sdnewswatch.org | Stu Whitney

Changes to climate policy under President Donald Trump’s administration have sharpened Upper Midwest debates about the reliability of renewable energy and the separation of state and federal interests. One point of agreement is that winning the White House means controlling the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a federal regulatory body that maintains and enforces environmental laws.
US Department of Education's impact on South Dakota: Q&A

3 weeks ago | sdnewswatch.org | Stu Whitney

At a White House ceremony on March 20, surrounded by schoolchildren in desks set up for the occasion, President Donald Trump signed an executive order with the stated intent of dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. "We're going to eliminate it," the president said of the Cabinet-level agency, which has a budget of $268 billion and is responsible for distributing federal education funds, enforcing civil rights laws and supporting educational research.
30 spellers to compete in South Dakota state bee

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.
Bird flu in SD: Millions of birds dead, worry shifting to humans

1 month ago | sdnewswatch.org | Bart Pfankuch

BRIDGEWATER, S.D. – As bird flu ravages poultry farms across the country – including in South Dakota – fears are growing that the highly contagious avian influenza virus could mutate and begin to spread widely among the world's human population. The virus already has caused devastating effects in the state, which has seen the second-highest number of outbreaks in commercial poultry flocks in the nation.
Sturgis military event reveals division among SD veterans

1 month ago | sdnewswatch.org | Bart Pfankuch

STURGIS, S.D. – An event hosted by Congressman Dusty Johnson to honor Vietnam veterans in Sturgis this week unwittingly revealed the growing division among some veterans in South Dakota and beyond. As Johnson told those assembled inside he wanted to make up for poor treatment of veterans in the 1960s and 1970s, a group of people outside the Sturgis Veteran's Club protested how veterans are being treated now by the Trump administration and Congress.
South Dakota Democrats seek new message for voter momentum

1 month ago | sdnewswatch.org | Stu Whitney

Dan Ahlers recalls campaigning for a 2018 South Dakota legislative race in his hometown of Dell Rapids and calling on a household he knew was registered Republican. The woman who answered the door recognized Ahlers from his work in Pierre and said, “Dan, I like you and I appreciate what you stand for, but I can’t vote for you.”When he asked her why, she said, “I just can’t vote for a Democrat.” He lost the election by fewer than 100 votes.
Populists seek staying power with Republican takeover

1 month ago | sdnewswatch.org | Stu Whitney

The shifting landscape of South Dakota Republican politics went seismic on Feb. 22 in Pierre, when county leaders voted property rights advocate Jim Eschenbaum as the new chairperson of the state party’s central committee. No one sensed the moment’s gravity more than Eschenbaum, a retired farmer from Hand County whose work as a county commissioner steered him into a carbon pipeline debate that has shaped the party’s priorities and clouded its future path. Part 1 of a 2-part series.