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

SD sheep farmers hurting as pandemic reduces demand and processing capacity

In March 2020, the sheep-farming industry in South Dakota — the sixth-largest in the country — was humming along nicely. After a few sluggish decades, prices for meat and wool were at or near all-time highs and markets were stable. Fine-dining restaurants and the cruise-line industry continued to fuel strong demand for

Crash experts question Ravnsborg’s car-deer explanation and raise concerns of distracted driving

HIGHMORE, S.D. – An experienced traffic-accident reconstruction expert is casting doubt on the claim made by South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg that he thought he hit a deer with his car the night of Sept. 12 when in fact he had struck and killed a man. Kurt Weiss is

Family of victim in attorney general crash worries if investigation will be thorough; Ravnsborg makes formal statement

Two cousins of the man killed when a car driven by South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg struck him say they worry the investigation into the incident is not being handled properly. Victor and Nick Nemec are both cousins of Joseph Boever, 55, who was killed when Ravnsborg struck him

SD election officials say vote-by-mail and voting at polls will be safe, fair and accurate

Editor’s note: This article, the first in an ongoing series on the 2020 election, 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. The people who will operate and oversee the

Many SD teachers on their own when adding safety barriers in classrooms

South Dakota public school teachers are largely on their own when it comes to building and installing protective barriers for their classrooms that may reduce the spread of the coronavirus among their students and themselves. With no statewide policy in place, and little or no guidance from individual school districts,

Smoking, and possibly vaping, can increase risks of serious health consequences from COVID-19

A growing body of medical research shows that cigarette smokers and possibly e-cigarette users face a significantly higher risk for serious complications from COVID-19 than non-users. Medical professionals across the country are also worried that smoking or vaping may increase a person’s chances of getting COVID-19 in the first

COVID-19 outbreak infects students at Northern State University in Aberdeen

Eight students of Northern State University in Aberdeen and a youth who attended a recent athletic camp on the NSU campus have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a university spokesperson. The university is working closely with the state Department of Health to undergo contact tracing of those with confirmed