Bart Pfankuch

Journalist Danielle Ferguson of Sioux Falls has joined South Dakota News Watch as its second full-time investigative reporter. Ferguson comes to News Watch from the Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, where she most recently served as the Watchdog Reporter for Law and Order. Ferguson, a native of Salem, South Dakota,

As South Dakota moves forward on creating a regulatory system for medical marijuana by the end of 2021, some people have looked to Oklahoma for guidance on how — or how not to — develop a functioning framework. Oklahoma voters approved the legal sale, possession and use of medical marijuana on a

If medical marijuana becomes legal starting July 1, 2021, in South Dakota, as proposed so far, the state will join 36 other U.S. states where medicinal pot is legal, including neighboring states North Dakota, Montana and Minnesota. Nebraska does not allow marijuana in any form, while Iowa has a

Despite failed attempts by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to delay implementation of a medical marijuana program, a legislative leader on marijuana issues believes the state can be ready to roll out its first prescriptions for legal pot by Nov. 18, 2021, as scheduled. Noem said the state needed more

South Dakota tourism officials and operators are happy to see a tough 2020 in the rearview mirror, and even happier to look forward to what could be a banner year for visitors and spending in 2021. Aside from some pockets of unexpected prosperity in 2020 — in tourist activities focused on

LAKE NORDEN, S.D. – Dairy farmer Rodney Elliott stands in a small room where part of his $12 million robotic milking system is doing its job. The robotic system is located inside a huge new barn on Elliott’s farm northeast of Lake Norden and is one of only a

LAKE NORDEN, S.D. – The Drumgoon Dairy in Lake Norden is one of only a handful of dairies in the state to use a fully robotic milking system. Here are some basics on the operation run by Rodney Elliott, a native of Northern Ireland who has run one of South