Title: Content Director
Contact: 605-937-9398 / bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org
Language spoken: English
Demographic expertise: South Dakota, including the Rapid City area, the Black Hills, rural towns and reservations
Topic expertise: agriculture, state government, education, rural issues, Indigenous people, poverty
Potential conflict of interest: Pfankuch serves on the board of the Oyate Prevention Coalition in Rapid City, which works to prevent substance abuse among Native American youth. He will recuse himself from reporting on the organization.
Biography: Pfankuch (pronounced FAN-cook) is Wisconsin native and former editor of the Rapid City Journal. He has worked for more than 30 years as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Wisconsin, Florida and South Dakota, including as reporter or editor at the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram and Capital Times in Wisconsin, and at the Florida Times-Union and Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Florida. He also is a syndicated writing coach who has presented at newspaper conferences across the country. Pfankuch has won more than four dozen state, regional and national journalism awards, including, while at News Watch, agricultural writer of the year from the North American Agricultural Journalists association in 2020, 2021 and 2023 as well as first-place reporting awards in the Great Plains Journalism Awards sponsored by the Tulsa Press Club and South Dakota NewsMedia Association. Pfankuch lives in Black Hawk.
Professional memberships: Investigative Reporters and Editors, North American Agricultural Journalists, South Dakota NewsMedia Association First Amendment Committee
Archive of work: South Dakota News Watch
Bart Pfankuch
Total 391 Posts
'Citizen warriors' form backbone of South Dakota National Guard
In advance of the federal Veterans Day holiday on Wednesday, Nov. 11, News Watch spoke with the leader of the South Dakota National Guard about its evolving mission, its personnel and the attempt to bring a new fighter jet to Sioux Falls.
Republicans Rhoden, Jackley and Rounds win
Gov. Larry Rhoden earns his first election as governor. Longtime prosecutor Marty Jackley heads to the U.S. House. And U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds gets a third term. GOP's candidate for Secretary of State's Office also won.
Major aquifers in South Dakota in decline, threatening fresh water supplies
"We’ll reach a point where all the currently available water supply will all be in use, and in that case, the next family or business that comes to South Dakota will have to bring their own water."
Pine Ridge solar nonprofit trains workers for high-paying jobs
Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center houses and trains students to work in the solar power industry, and the nonprofit was recently given a national award for its efforts.
After decades without a new house, Tripp developing its own
The small town south of Mitchell had no new homes built in nearly 30 years, stalling potential growth. But now, a coordinated local effort is leading to new houses and new opportunities.
Housing solutions from across South Dakota
A list of entities and programs that can assist in developing or obtaining housing as well as links to News Watch reporting on housing solutions.
Lessons learned from recent SD cyberattacks
Pennington County suffered a serious cyberattack in July, leading to security upgrades and a desire to help others learn from the experience. Mitchell also was hit.