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

South Dakota infants still dying at a high rate due to sleep issues

South Dakota infants are dying in their sleep at a rate far higher than the national average and above neighboring states, but new efforts are underway to save babies from a cause of death that health experts say is mostly preventable. From 2013 to 2017, more than 70 percent of

Stressed farmers face continuing economic decline

Stressed farmers face continuing economic decline

WALL, S.D. – A five-year slide in the agricultural economy in South Dakota and across the Great Plains has left many producers operating at a loss and is putting some in jeopardy of losing their farms. A major decline in most commodity prices is the primary cause of the losses,

Thousands of South Dakota voters don’t live where they register

Thousands of people who don’t live in South Dakota have become official residents, gotten registered to vote and then cast ballots in state elections, which some lawmakers and election officials fear could unfairly alter election results or open the door to fraud. State election officials say they are aware

Rural health initiatives fill life-saving gaps in remote areas

BISON, S.D. – Obtaining quality medical care is difficult for the roughly 350 residents of Bison and studies show that they and others living in remote rural areas of America have a higher mortality rate as a result. The northwestern South Dakota town lies about 30 miles from the North

Lawmakers spar over potential reduction in state sales tax rate

A debate is raging in Pierre this legislative session over how – and some say even if – taxpayers will see a reduction in the sales tax rate now that South Dakota has begun to collect new money from online retailers. When it comes to legislative intrigue, the contentious wrangling over the

Thousands of South Dakota children are trapped in poverty

RAPID CITY, S.D. – More than 40,000 South Dakota children, from infants to teenagers, live in families with incomes low enough to qualify for the federal food stamp program, creating challenges for a fruitful childhood and a prosperous adult life. The number of children in South Dakota families receiving

Educators struggle to reduce need for remedial classes in SD colleges

Every year, about 30 percent of South Dakota high school graduates who enroll in a state university must take remedial courses in math or English because they don’t test high enough in those topics. Those courses cost the students about $1,000 per class and provide them with no