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

Illnesses related to firefighting foam latest burden for South Dakota veterans

Illnesses related to firefighting foam latest burden for South Dakota veterans

Military veterans who served at Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City and at Joe Foss Field Air National Guard Station in Sioux Falls are part of new national class-action lawsuits seeking damages due to exposure to toxic chemicals in firefighting foam.

Tribe bans Dupree educators from reservation over child abuse allegations

Tribe bans Dupree educators from reservation over child abuse allegations

DUPREE, S.D. — A child abuse allegation against a teacher at Dupree Elementary School prompted the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to take the unusual step of banning the teacher, a principal and the superintendent from reservation lands where the public school is located. As a result, the three employees have

Soybean farming

On China trade, South Dakota farmers face an ‘uneasy balance’

As political apprehension over the U.S.-China relationship rises, South Dakota farmers find themselves forced to think more globally and find a way to support American national security interests while protecting their own need to make a living. On the one hand, South Dakota farmers want to maintain their

South Dakota rejects federal food funding despite 25,000 children going hungry

South Dakota rejects federal food funding despite 25,000 children going hungry

“Federal money often comes with strings attached, and more of it is often not a good thing."

As Sturgis Rally attendance slows, planners try to build for the future

As Sturgis Rally attendance slows, planners try to build for the future

STURGIS, S.D. – Jayda Hammer is precisely the type of person that Sturgis Motorcycle Rally managers are targeting as they try to develop the next generation of rally attendees to keep the event rolling for another 50 years or more. Hammer is a 19-year-old woman from Aberdeen whose extended family

Carbon dioxide pipeline proposals in South Dakota: What you need to know

Carbon dioxide pipeline proposals in South Dakota: What you need to know

For more than a year, a highly divisive debate has raged in South Dakota over two proposed carbon dioxide pipelines that would capture the toxic gas from ethanol plants and carry it to North Dakota and Illinois for disposal underground. The stakes are extremely high on both sides of the

Gov. Noem’s claims of transparency called into question

Gov. Noem’s claims of transparency called into question

For more than 40 years, South Dakota journalist Kevin Woster has produced material for the state’s two largest newspapers, its largest TV station and for South Dakota Public Broadcasting, where he remains a writer and commentator. Now semi-retired, Woster continues to report on a variety of statewide topics. And