Health

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

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved a final report on a massive COVID-19 outbreak at the Smithfield Foods plant in Sioux Falls, then retracted that report and redid a second final report with much less stringent worker-safety recommendations. The first report was dated April 21, 2020, and

In March 2020, the sheep-farming industry in South Dakota — the sixth-largest in the country — was humming along nicely. After a few sluggish decades, prices for meat and wool were at or near all-time highs and markets were stable. Fine-dining restaurants and the cruise-line industry continued to fuel strong demand for

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

South Dakota public school teachers are largely on their own when it comes to building and installing protective barriers for their classrooms that may reduce the spread of the coronavirus among their students and themselves. With no statewide policy in place, and little or no guidance from individual school districts,

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

A growing body of medical research shows that cigarette smokers and possibly e-cigarette users face a significantly higher risk for serious complications from COVID-19 than non-users. Medical professionals across the country are also worried that smoking or vaping may increase a person’s chances of getting COVID-19 in the first