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.

Damaging debt: College grads stung by broken promises of federal loan forgiveness program

Hundreds of South Dakota residents are caught in financial limbo wondering if the tens of thousands of dollars they owe on student debt — and which they were promised would be forgiven if they entered public-service careers — will actually ever be eliminated. Those South Dakota residents include teachers, police officers, employees

Damaging debt: SD college graduates weighed down by heavy student debt

South Dakotans owe more than $1.5 billion to the federal government on loans they took out to finance their educations and many borrowers are finding themselves crushed under the weight of their college debt, even many years after they graduated. About 52,000 South Dakotans have some debt from

Damaging debt: Three SD grads share stories of struggling to pay college costs

Thousands of South Dakota residents are living under a cloud of uncertainty and worry created by outstanding loans acquired in order to get a higher education. The high monthly payments and seemingly insurmountable principal amounts carry an emotional toll, but also limit their ability to live out their dreams and

State officials scramble to respond after zebra mussels found in Lake Sharpe

Lake Sharpe has become the second major Missouri River reservoir in South Dakota to be infested with invasive zebra mussels, raising fears that millions of dollars in mitigation may be needed and that new restrictions could be placed on those who use the lake for boating, fishing and recreation. The

Juvenile drug arrests rise in SD despite reform efforts

Over the past decade, South Dakota saw a significant increase in the number of juveniles arrested for drug crimes, and officials see few signs that the arrests will fall anytime soon despite recent reforms of the state juvenile justice system. According to state crime data, the number of youths arrested

Aging SD dams creating potential for destruction

The last 12 months have been the wettest in South Dakota in more than a century and as a result, dams across the state have suffered significant damage, creating the potential for flooding, loss of life, destruction of property and the need for expensive repairs. Across South Dakota and the

SD has high rate of death due to liver diseases

South Dakota ranks second in the nation for the rate at which its residents die of liver diseases, and the fatality rate is rising overall with many experts now blaming poor lifestyle and eating habits in addition to heavy alcohol use as causes of the illnesses. While heavy alcohol consumption