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.

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

Concerns arise over merger of SD agricultural and environmental agencies

PIERRE, S.D. – Some South Dakota farmers, ranchers and environmental advocates are concerned about Gov. Kristi Noem’s plan to combine the state Department of Agriculture and Department of Environment and Natural Resources into a single agency and are wondering what the new agency could mean for the state’s

South Dakota restaurants battle for survival amid pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit South Dakota restaurants harder than just about any other industry in the state. Six months into the pandemic, with the state economy mostly open for business, restaurants across the state are still struggling to make ends meet and keep their doors open as patrons and

As COVID-19 cases rise, experts question effectiveness of contact tracing in SD and across the US

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. PIERRE, S.D. – Public health experts are questioning the extent and effectiveness of contact-tracing efforts in South Dakota

Financially strapped renters in SD seek help to avoid eviction amid COVID-19 pandemic

Many people who rent homes or apartments in South Dakota are hurting financially during the pandemic, causing large numbers of renters to ask for public assistance or charitable help to stave off eviction and maintain a stable residence. More than twice as many South Dakotans have looked to taxpayers or

Experts: Wave of bankruptcies likely in SD as pandemic stifles incomes and aid runs out

The COVID-19 pandemic and the economic hardships it is causing will likely result in a wave of personal, farm and small-business bankruptcies in South Dakota and beyond in the coming months that will be both a result and a cause of a wider economic crisis spurred by the coronavirus. So

Update: 93 COVID-19 cases in outbreak at Camp Judson youth facility near Keystone

At least 93 cases of COVID-19 have been linked to Camp Judson, a popular Christian youth summer camp located in the Black Hills, the South Dakota Department of Health has confirmed. On Aug. 3, state health officials said that about one-third of the South Dakota residents who attended the high-school