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

Dairy section at a grocery store

Grocery tax opposition remains high in South Dakota: Poll

A new statewide poll co-sponsored by South Dakota News Watch showed that 60.6% of registered voters support a proposed statewide ballot measure that would eliminate the 4.2% state sales tax on groceries.

A racoon in a cage

South Dakota predator bounty program to continue despite opposition

Despite data or evidence, state is 'confident that this bounty program is enhancing nest success.'

A fully grown Bourbon Red heritage tom turkey stands in a pasture at Bear Butte Gardens in South Dakota.

Demand remains high for 'heritage turkeys' grown in South Dakota

A few South Dakota organic farms are raising smaller heritage turkeys, and interest is rising. “Once that breed is gone, they’re gone and gone forever.”

Flooded cropland in South Dakota

$8.3B in crop insurance payouts to South Dakota farmers: A cost of climate change

Nearly 65% of federal crop insurance premiums are subsidized with federal funding.

Workers look at documents at the Wall Meat Processing plant in Wall, South Dakota.

South Dakota beef industry sees potential in small, local meat plants

A new trend in South Dakota agriculture could fundamentally change the economic landscape for the state's $1 billion annual beef cattle industry

New Native American mentoring program in South Dakota builds lifetime bonds

New Native American mentoring program in South Dakota builds lifetime bonds

A South Dakota branch of Friends of the Children pairs paid, full-time professional mentors with thousands of at-risk children to help them grow into stable teenagers and eventually successful, well-rounded adults.

$100 million in food benefits lost when South Dakota ended pandemic emergency

$100 million in food benefits lost when South Dakota ended pandemic emergency

South Dakotans who rely on food stamps missed out on $100 million for groceries because the state declared an end to the COVID-19 emergency while federal funding was still available.