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.

Municipal elections and SD presidential primary could be delayed due to COVID-19

Amid growing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, South Dakota lawmakers will consider a bill to postpone upcoming city elections in Sioux Falls, Brookings and other cities at least until June, and to allow Gov. Kristi Noem to delay the presidential primary from June 2 to July 28. The elections bill

Experts: SD health care system could be overwhelmed if COVID-19 takes hold

If the COVID-19 pandemic grows rapidly in South Dakota — as it has in other states and nations — the state’s hospital systems are likely to be quickly overwhelmed, according to medical experts in South Dakota and elsewhere. It is unknown if the state has enough ventilators or intensive-care beds, and

Matt McCaulley: Sioux Falls lawyer has become a behind-the-scenes power broker in Pierre

PIERRE, S.D. – For someone who doesn’t hold elected office, attorney Matt McCaulley of Sioux Falls has amassed a significant amount of political clout, and he is among the most influential people in Pierre during South Dakota’s annual legislative sessions. Throughout his more than 14 years of lobbying,

Municipal growth and rural utility rates at stake in SD electricity squabble

A long, simmering battle between electricity providers in South Dakota is coming to a head as the 2020 legislative session winds down, and at stake is the potential for faster economic growth in some cities versus the possibility of higher electric rates for rural residents. The debate is raging between

California energy firm will turn SD farm wastes into usable natural gas

A new industry launching in South Dakota will use manure from dairy farms to generate usable natural gas, creating a new income stream for some South Dakota farmers and reducing greenhouse gas emissions along the way. California-based renewable energy company Brightmark Energy announced plans on Feb. 5 to capture, refine

Concerns arise that new SD electronic bill monitoring system makes state government less transparent

A new online system for drafting, co-sponsoring and tracking bills through the South Dakota Legislature has some people concerned that the modernized system has made the legislative process less transparent and has removed some of the human element from lawmaking. State officials said the new system was needed to update

New elk hunting season proposed to reduce feed loss and property damage on S.D. prairies

North American elk are returning to the prairies of western South Dakota after more than 100 years of absence, a migration seen as a win for wildlife conservation but which has farmers and ranchers bothered by feed losses and property damage. The herding of Rocky Mountain elk as far east