Nick Lowrey

Nick Lowrey, based in Pierre, is an investigative staff reporter for South Dakota News Watch. A South Dakotan for more than 20 years, he is a former editor of the Pierre Capital Journal.

Political journalists: After unprecedented election, a tumultuous transition lies ahead

The transition of power from President Donald Trump to President-elect Joe Biden will be unlike any other in modern America history and is likely to lead to significant turmoil, two of the nation’s top political journalists said in a Nov. 9 virtual town hall meeting hosted by South Dakota

Tribal COVID-19 precautions hurting businesses on South Dakota reservations

The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated small businesses on Native American reservations in South Dakota as tribal councils have mandated business closures, banned gatherings and told tourists to stay away to prevent COVID-19 from spreading in their vulnerable communities. Tribal governments took aggressive action against the spread of COVID-19 early on

SD election officials take new approaches to voting amid pandemic

Editor’s note: This article 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. South Dakota election officials are taking a wide range of steps — and implementing some creative measures — to ensure

Realtors seeing rush of relocations to South Dakota amid pandemic

Realtors in South Dakota have seen a steady influx of people seeking more affordable housing and more personal freedoms by moving to South Dakota amid the pandemic, even as the state has seen a sharp rise in the number of active COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Many new home buyers

How one Native American tribe in SD created its own wireless education network

Editor’s note: This article 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. This is the final segment of a two-part look at the education of Native American children in South

Pandemic brings new challenges to education system on Native American reservations in SD

Editor’s note: This is the first of two parts of a look at the status of Native American education in South Dakota amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Part 2, coming Oct. 7, will examine one school district’s successful efforts to build an online education network. The COVID-19 pandemic has

South Dakota criminal and civil traffic laws favor drivers over pedestrians in collisions

South Dakota traffic laws place more responsibility on pedestrians to be on the lookout for errant drivers than they do for drivers to watch out for walkers, joggers and cyclists when it comes to assigning liability in vehicle versus pedestrian accidents. The state criminal and civil laws are unique among