South Dakota Searchlight

An explosion of data center facilities, including the one pictured here in northeast Oregon on May 18 have been built along the Columbia River Gorge during the last few years. (Photo by Jordan Gale/Oregon Capital Chronicle)Officials in Page, Arizona, a small city near the Glen Canyon Dam, passed a land sale agreement last fall that establishes a framework for future construction of a data center. The sale of the 500-acre parcel about a mile away from the Colorado River’s Horseshoe Bend

Balconies of an apartment building are seen Sept. 8, 2026, in Bismarck, N.D. (Photo by Jack Dura/North Dakota Monitor)The only fair housing organization in the Dakotas has furloughed some of its staff due to the delay of a crucial federal grant. The Grand Forks-based High Plains Fair Housing Center has been awaiting the $425,000 Fair Housing Initiatives Program grant since May. Executive Director Michelle Rydz said she and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development were getting ready t

The South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)A South Dakota state agency requests an average of 249 driver’s license suspensions per month as part of its efforts to collect debts owed to state government, a legislative oversight panel heard Tuesday. The figure hasn’t changed much in recent years, and many of the debtors enter a payment plan before their license is suspended. It’s an effective way to push debtors who’ve ducked multiple attempts to co

Facebook owner Meta agreed to pay nearly $18 billion to an array of U.S. states over claims its platforms intentionally addicted teens. (Photo by Anne-Marie Caruso/New Jersey Monitor)South Dakota is set to receive at least $52.6 million from Meta, with the total potentially reaching $73.5 million. The money will be paid over the next decade because of the harm social media platforms have caused young people. Now comes the question that will determine whether this settlement changes their lives:

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)The hotly contested U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting usurps Congress’ authority, as well as states’ power to administer elections, more than 250 current and former members of Congress said in a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. All 47 members of the U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus, 199 current House Democrats and 15 former House Republicans signed the friend-of-the-court brief opposi

President Donald Trump has targeted Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier in his trade war with Canada. In this photo, an Air Canada Express Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft departs Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (Photo by Getty Images/Yassine Bahammou)WASHINGTON — Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods kicked in Tuesday, escalating a trade war with one of the largest U.S. trading partners that President Donald Trump continued to antagonize over the holiday weekend. Trump poste

Fall River and Oglala Lakota County State's Attorney Lance Russell addresses the South Dakota Republican Convention on June 27, 2026, at The Monument events center in Rapid City just prior to winning the party's nomination for attorney general. (Photo by Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)Lance Russell will be South Dakota’s next attorney general whether you vote for him or not.  At the Republican state convention in June, Russell earned the party’s nomination to seek the job of the stat

Inmates assist with the cleanup effort at the South Dakota State Fairgrounds in Huron in early July 2026 after a tornado and windstorm hit the area. (Courtesy of the South Dakota Department of Corrections)State leaders are breathing a sigh of relief that the Trump administration’s threats to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency have subsided.  But experts say there’s still confusion about President Donald Trump’s decisions to approve or deny disaster declarations, leaving states wit

Members of Virginia Professional Firefighters association hold signs during their biannual convention in May to protest Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s veto of collective bargaining legislation. New research found a significant spike in labor union membership, but growth is highly dependent upon state politics. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)Labor union membership continues to climb in the United States, though the increase remains sharply divided by the politics of individ

Legislators listen to Gov. Kristi Noem present her annual budget address in the South Dakota House of Representatives on Dec. 5, 2023. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)According to a recent South Dakota Searchlight story, legislators could get a 4% raise when they gather in Pierre this January. Legislator pay is set at 20% of the state’s household median income as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The median household income is expected to go up this year, bumping annual legis

South Dakota's candidates for governor, Democratic nominee Dan Ahlers, left, and Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden chat with attendees at the South Dakota State Fair in Huron on Sept. 5, 2026. (Photos by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)HURON — Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden and Democratic challenger Dan Ahlers both criticized President Donald Trump on Saturday during a debate at the South Dakota State Fair, with Rhoden saying he agrees with Trump on other issues but could not support the presiden

Jose Palma holds the work authorization cards of a Salvadoran member of the National TPS Alliance. The individual has renewed work permits 14 times since Temporary Protected Status was granted for El Salvador in 2001, submitting a background check and fingerprints with each renewal cycle. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)WASHINGTON — For years, Jose Palma has advocated for immigrants with Temporary Protected Status who hail from countries deemed too unstable for return. But as the Trump

Election workers sort ballots at Contra Costa County's election operations facility on May 27, 2026 in Martinez, California. (Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)A U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting, like the executive order from President Donald Trump that spurred it, is unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said in a Friday order extending a freeze on the policy. The Trump administration quickly appealed the order to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Talw

Sioux Falls resident Kayla Essem poses for a photo underneath the Eighth Street bridge downtown. Essem participated in the Minnehaha County adult diversion program to dismiss drug-related charges. Over a year after her arrest, Essem is sober and leads Narcotics Anonymous groups in the city. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)Kayla Essem prayed she’d get arrested. The 32-year-old from Sioux Falls said she had been on and off drugs since she was in high school — fentanyl, cocaine, h

Olympian David Hearn, center left, walks out of District of Columbia Superior Court with his attorneys after a hearing on Sept. 4, 2026. (Photo by Ariana Figueora/States Newsroom)WASHINGTON — A District of Columbia Superior Court judge Friday seemed inclined to bar any new felony charges against former Olympian David Hearn, after the Trump administration accused the Maryland man of damaging part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman raised concerns about

Democratic nominee for governor Dan Ahlers, left, will face Republican nominee Gov. Larry Rhoden in the Nov. 3 general election. Their first debate is Saturday at the State Fair. (South Dakota Searchlight photos by Joshua Haiar and Makenzie Huber)South Dakota’s 2026 general election debate season begins Saturday at the State Fair in Huron. The South Dakota Farmers Union is hosting a debate between Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden and Democratic nominee for governor Dan Ahlers at 1 p.m. Central time

State Rep. John Hughes, R-Sioux Falls, left, sponsored a resolution to add a question to the ballot which, if successful, will raise the bar for changing the state constitution. Dakota Rural Action's Chase Jensen, right, opposes the ballot question. (Hughes photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight; Jensen photo courtesy of Dakota Rural Action) Searchlight Report is a podcast from South Dakota Searchlight. Reporter and host Meghan O’Brien works with other Searchlight journa

Three states this year have enacted laws that require or allow schools to use panic alarms to quickly summon emergency responders. Ten other states have such laws and a dozen more are considering them. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)Three states this year have enacted laws that require or allow schools to use mobile, wearable, wireless or silent panic alarms to quickly summon emergency responders. The new laws in Illinois, Virginia and West Virginia bring the number of states with

The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to overturn a lower court and allow it to enforce a U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting. The trial judge, Indira Talwani of the U.S. District of Massachusetts, prejudged the rule before it was final when she issued a temporary restraining order last month and upheld it last week, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote. The rule o

Grass sways in the breeze in a ditch outside of Union Center, South Dakota, on June 26, 2026. A field of sweet clover blooms in the distance. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)South Dakota farmers are sending Washington a message with their acres. It deserves attention.  This year, producers offered nearly 290,000 South Dakota acres for Conservation Reserve Program enrollment. About 54,000 acres were renewals and 237,000 acres were new land. The U.S. Department of Agriculture acc