Politics

Preparations for legalization of pot picking up pace in Pierre

After a slow start in 2021, South Dakota lawmakers and state officials are taking increasingly aggressive steps toward building a framework for the growing, packaging, selling, taxation and use of legal medical and recreational marijuana in the state. A major piece of legislation was filed Feb. 3 that sets the

SD lawmakers off to slow start in regulating legal weed, but industry ramping up

Entrepreneurs across South Dakota are already taking steps to claim a share of the state’s soon-to-be-legal marijuana market, but legislators and regulators are off to a slow start in crafting laws and rules to govern the controversial new industry. The sale, possession and use of recreational and medicinal marijuana

Legalization votes bring worries of increased youth marijuana use, but evidence remains murky

One major concern of South Dakotans who opposed legalization of medical and recreational marijuana was that it could lead to an epidemic of youth use of the drug. Drug-abuse prevention advocates and law enforcement officials said greater availability of marijuana would almost certainly lead to an increase of use among

Poll: Women less supportive than men of Gov. Kristi Noem and state virus response

Poll: Women less supportive than men of Gov. Kristi Noem and state virus response

While a majority of South Dakotans continue to approve of the overall performance of Gov. Kristi Noem, a new poll shows that women are far less supportive than men of the governor, her handling of health-care issues and the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The poll results come

Poll part 2: SD women express support but also criticism of Gov. Kristi Noem

A new statewide poll shows that women are less supportive than men when it comes to almost every aspect of the performance of Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican who is the state’s first female governor. The poll of 600 residents was conducted from Oct. 22-28 and sponsored by South

Political journalists: After unprecedented election, a tumultuous transition lies ahead

The transition of power from President Donald Trump to President-elect Joe Biden will be unlike any other in modern America history and is likely to lead to significant turmoil, two of the nation’s top political journalists said in a Nov. 9 virtual town hall meeting hosted by South Dakota

SD election officials take new approaches to voting amid pandemic

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. South Dakota election officials are taking a wide range of steps — and implementing some creative measures — to ensure