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

Fraudulent farmers live lavishly until caught

BELLE FOURCHE, S.D. – Farmers and brokers who commit organic grain fraud have shown a propensity to spend big money on lavish lifestyles until the authorities catch up with them. When Belle Fourche organic grain broker Kent Duane Anderson turned to fraud, he made millions of dollars and used the

Fraud and weak USDA oversight chip away at integrity of organic food industry

Trey Wharton of Sioux Falls has made numerous sacrifices in his life in order to maintain a healthful lifestyle centered around a vegan diet and consistent consumption of organic foods. To afford organic products that are sometimes double or triple the cost of conventionally grown foods, Wharton works two jobs,

Panel discussion on politics and education set for Thursday, June 16, 2022

Panel discussion on politics and education set for Thursday, June 16, 2022

In the latest segment of its ongoing “South Dakota Matters” series of polls and panels, South Dakota News Watch will host a one-hour panel discussion on the effect of increasing politicization of public education and its impact on the worsening teacher shortage on Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 7:30

Special report part 1: Teachers in SD endure new stress as politics and culture war seep into classrooms

Jason Connelly is exactly the kind of young educator the South Dakota public school system would love to add to its depleted teacher workforce. Connelly grew up in Sioux Falls and attended Catholic schools before pursuing a history and teaching degree at Augustana University, which he obtained this year. Connelly

Kylie Carlson named 2022 Nelson reporting intern at South Dakota News Watch

South Dakota News Watch is proud to announce that Kylie Carlson, a senior at South Dakota State University, has been selected as the 2022 recipient of the Jeffrey B. Nelson Investigative Journalism Endowed Internship. Kylie will work as a paid, full-time reporter for News Watch during the internship, which will

Special report part 2: CO2 pipelines could affect the land, lives and livelihoods of SD property owners

Special report part 2: CO2 pipelines could affect the land, lives and livelihoods of SD property owners

Editor’s note: This article was produced through a partnership between South Dakota News Watch and the Solutions Journalism Network, a national non-profit group that supports rigorous journalism about responses to problems. This is Part 2 of a two-part series; Part 1 published on May 2, 2022. Peggy Hoogestraat is

Special report: Proposed CO2 pipelines thrust South Dakota into billion-dollar debate over carbon capture technology and climate change

Special report: Proposed CO2 pipelines thrust South Dakota into billion-dollar debate over carbon capture technology and climate change

Editor’s note: This article was produced through a partnership between South Dakota News Watch and the Solutions Journalism Network, a national non-profit group that supports rigorous journalism about responses to problems. This is Part 1 of a two-part series; Part 2 publishes May 10, 2022. So far, most of