Bart Pfankuch

Bart Pfankuch

Title: content director; expertise: agriculture, state government, education, rural issues, Indigenous people, poverty; language spoken: English; contact: 605-937-9398 / bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org

Western SD voters share their perspectives

Western SD voters share their perspectives

Donald Trump 'too extreme' to one voter, but he's seen as the answer to inflation for others.

Large lithium batteries next step in SD wind power growth

Large lithium batteries next step in SD wind power growth

One neighbor worries about the chance of fire from the system designed to provide energy when it's needed.

Inflation reverses gains made in South Dakota teacher pay

Inflation reverses gains made in South Dakota teacher pay

Teacher pay has risen in South Dakota, but an analysis shows educators are losing purchasing power at an even greater rate.

Construction crews prepare to work on the exterior of an apartment complex

Warning signs found in new South Dakota economic data

Farm income, sales tax collections, job openings, unemployment, personal income and gross domestic product are among the top concerns. 'No red flags ... (but) a return to more of the normal.'

A historic building sits on a hit in Hot Springs, South Dakota.

Hot Springs takes next steps in push for prosperity

The Southern Black Hills city is part of a pilot project to identify top problems and solutions using journalism and community engagement.

A blue watertower in the city of Watertown, South Dakota.

Watertown taps resident input to solve problems

The South Dakota city of 23,000 is among those crowdsourcing solutions to community challenges like housing, child care and labor.

A man and a woman pose for a photo taken by another person at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Southeast SD surges ahead of Black Hills in tourism revenue

South Dakota saw $4.96 billion in tourism spending in 2023, with 14.7 million visitors. Increasingly, more of them are drawn to the 14 counties in and around Sioux Falls.