South Dakota Searchlight

We shine a light on important matters affecting South Dakota, analyze the choices made by state officials, and clarify how their policies impact the lives of South Dakotans and the political landscape. Our focus is on delivering news and opinions that value truth, fairness, understanding, and respect. Accessing our articles and signing up for our email newsletter is completely free. Additionally, other media organizations that adhere to our standards are welcome to share our content.

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Lawsuit against shorter petition window subjects governor candidate to grilling on the stand

3 days ago | southdakotasearchlight.com | Seth Tupper

RAPID CITY — A candidate for governor of South Dakota endured two hours of questioning on a witness stand Monday about his efforts to restrict citizen-initiated ballot measures. The candidate is Jon Hansen, who serves as speaker of the state House of Representatives and is running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in next June’s primary election.
Existing prison locations might be only politically palatable sites for a new facility

5 days ago | southdakotasearchlight.com | Dana Hess

South Dakotans are being held prisoner by their indecision about where they want to build their next prison. After all the debates and accusations, it’s hard to know what to think about the project. It’s difficult not to be cynical watching lawmakers get all hopped up about spending $600 million. We’re supposed to think that’s a bargain because the original plan called for spending $850 million.
Gun-industry companies and groups give $2 million to help build state-owned shooting range

6 days ago | southdakotasearchlight.com | Joshua Haiar |Seth Tupper

A list of donors to a state-owned shooting range under construction north of Rapid City includes $2 million from gun-industry companies or organizations. The $20 million, 400-acre complex will be one of the largest public shooting ranges in the nation when it opens this fall, according to the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks. The complex will host recreational shooters, safety programs, marksmanship competitions and law enforcement training.
‘This is an investment’: opponents lambaste proposed state cut to needy family benefits

1 week ago | southdakotasearchlight.com | Makenzie Huber

SIOUX FALLS — Some needy South Dakota families could soon lose up to $136 a month less to spend on gas, groceries, clothing, utilities, house repairs or rent. The average South Dakota family in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program receives $515.55 a month, according to the state Department of Social Services. An average of just under 2,500 families get TANF benefits each month.
South Dakota Legislature removes lawmaker addresses from website after Minnesota shootings • South Dakota Searchlight

1 week ago | southdakotasearchlight.com | Makenzie Huber

by Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight June 20, 2025 South Dakota legislative leaders recently ordered the removal of lawmakers’ home addresses from the Legislature’s website in response to the shootings of two lawmakers and their spouses in Minnesota. The decision is about personal safety, said state Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls.
Political leaders too often enable violence after saying they condemn it

1 week ago | southdakotasearchlight.com | Seth Tupper

by Seth Tupper, South Dakota Searchlight June 19, 2025 South Dakotans should be grateful they’re not represented by the likes of Mike Lee. When the Republican U.S. senator from Utah heard about Saturday’s murder of a Minnesota Democratic state representative and her husband, along with the wounding of a Democratic state senator and his wife, Lee’s instinct was to politicize it.
State schedules vaccination clinics as measles cases rise to four

1 week ago | southdakotasearchlight.com | Makenzie Huber

by Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight June 18, 2025 The number of reported measles cases has grown to four in South Dakota, according to a Wednesday news release from the state Department of Health. In response, the department will hold vaccination clinics across the state. The super-contagious disease is nearing a six-year record as outbreaks spread across the United States.
House moves petition for special session to override veto of pipeline bill

1 week ago | southdakotasearchlight.com | Cami Koons

The Iowa House of Representatives Tuesday secured the necessary two-thirds majority on a petition calling for a special session to override the governor’s veto of a bill pertaining to eminent domain and carbon sequestration pipelines. Seventy representatives signed the petition in favor of returning to the state Capitol to override the veto on House File 639, but two-thirds of the Senate will also have to sign on for a special session to be called.
‘Expensive and complicated’: Most rural hospitals no longer deliver babies

1 week ago | southdakotasearchlight.com | Anna Claire Vollers

by Anna Claire Vollers, Stateline, South Dakota Searchlight June 16, 2025 Nine months after Monroe County Hospital in rural South Alabama closed its labor and delivery department in October 2023, Grove Hill Memorial Hospital in neighboring Clarke County also stopped delivering babies. Both hospitals are located in an agricultural swath of the state that’s home to most of its poorest counties. Many residents of the region don’t even have a nearby emergency department.
Litigation results in payments for southeast SD landowners along rail-to-trail route

2 weeks ago | southdakotasearchlight.com | Joshua Haiar

by Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight June 13, 2025 Seven landowners in Bon Homme and Charles Mix counties will receive a total of nearly $128,000 from the federal government after the U.S. Court of Federal Claims found their land was taken without compensation to make way for a proposed hiking and biking trail.