Latest

11 billion-pound mystery: The chemicals South Dakota trains carry

11 billion-pound mystery: The chemicals South Dakota trains carry

Each year, trains carry nearly 11 billion pounds of chemicals through South Dakota’s cities and countryside, much of it on century-old tracks, a South Dakota News Watch analysis has revealed. Finding out which specific compounds are in those potentially toxic payloads is extremely difficult or even impossible for the

SDSU, USD rely heavily on state money and student fees to subsidize Division I athletics

As the clock struck zero at the 2012 Summit League basketball finals, South Dakota State University fans stormed the Sioux Falls Arena court to celebrate their men’s team’s first-ever bid to one of America’s most significant sports spectacles, the NCAA Division I tournament. Coupled with SDSU’s

Civil civics: Observers note more positive pulse in South Dakota politics

As it winds to a close, the 2023 legislative session in South Dakota will likely be remembered as the year of the great tax cut debate and for the somewhat surprising willingness of the GOP-led Legislature to reject several proposals from a popular Republican governor. But many observers and participants

South Dakota News Watch co-sponsors USD state of democracy conference

The state of American democracy, and the role the media play in creating an informed electorate, will be at the heart of a daylong conference to be held on the campus of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion on Friday, March 10. The annual Democracy Conference, sponsored by the

Exclusive: How South Dakota spent $14 billion of pandemic relief funds

South Dakota received nearly $14 billion in federal COVID-19 funding from March 2020 through January, according to an internal state fiscal report obtained exclusively by South Dakota News Watch. The document tallies the $13.84 billion intended to help governments, businesses, organizations and individuals survive and recover from a pandemic

Gov. Kristi Noem hides guest list at historic state-owned cabin in Custer State Park

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, her family, friends and guests are the only people who can stay in a state-owned historic cabin in Custer State Park, and it’s unclear if the rustic Valhalla retreat is being used for political purposes. Citing open records law, Noem’s administration won’t

Unexpected expenses: State project costs jump by millions

South Dakota taxpayers could pay millions of dollars in unexpected expenses caused by inflation and workforce challenges that are hitting the construction industry. Nine bills have been filed in the current legislative session in Pierre to increase funding for construction projects that were passed in prior years but have gotten