Health

More South Dakota students going hungry after federal free meal program ends

Thousands of schoolchildren across South Dakota are facing new barriers to getting proper nutrition at school due to the end of a pandemic-era federal program that provided free meals to all students regardless of parental income. Parents in South Dakota, meanwhile, are facing new financial challenges as they try to

An artist's rendering of a Sanford research building showing about three floors with lots of glass construction.

Experts: Timing is right for Sanford Health’s $350M expansion in telemedicine

For those who have watched the slow but steady evolution of telemedicine in South Dakota and across the U.S., the recent announcement by Sanford Health that it is building a $350 million virtual health center in Sioux Falls might seem a bit perplexing. After all, the telemedicine services provided

Burn pit legislation passed by Congress, but challenges await veterans needing care

Burn pit legislation passed by Congress, but challenges await veterans needing care

Combat veterans in South Dakota are encouraged by new legislation in Congress to expand treatment and benefits for soldiers exposed to toxic burn pits during deployment overseas, but questions remain about the federal government’s ability to effectively provide the needed health care. Those questions partly explain why Republican senators

New, more contagious COVID-19 variant pushing infection rates back up in South Dakota

The emergence of the latest COVID-19 variant, which makes up nearly 80% of new cases nationally, is raising additional health concerns due to its ability to infect people even if they are vaccinated or have had a prior infection, and health officials are increasingly recommending precautions such as masking indoors

Updated: Concerns over dueling Medicaid ballot measures leads to compromise

Update: One ballot measure dropped in wake of News Watch story On July 11, Dakotans for Health co-founder Rick Weiland withdrew Initiated Measure 28 from the November ballot and announced that his group will join South Dakotans Decide Healthcare in pushing for the passage of Constitutional Amendment D. Both coalitions

A Dell Rapids High School counselor talks to a student at the school in her office.

School counselors in SD playing larger role amid student mental health crisis

DELL RAPIDS, S.D. – Sara Holmberg’s job as a counselor at Dell Rapids Middle School has never been more challenging. As fallout from the pandemic creates what the U.S. Surgeon General calls a “youth mental health crisis,” school counselors like Holmberg find themselves providing not just academic and

South Dakota veteran denied benefits after exposure to toxic burn pits

WEBSTER, S.D. – When President Joe Biden mentioned the term “burn pits” while discussing health benefits for military veterans during his State of the Union address March 1, many Americans heard of the issue for the first time. Congress is crafting legislation to assist post-9/11 combat veterans exposed to