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 First Amendment Committee
Social platforms: X/Twitter; LinkedIn
Archive of work: South Dakota News Watch
Bart Pfankuch
Total 337 Posts
Lawmaker: South Dakota can implement medical marijuana program by November
Despite failed attempts by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to delay implementation of a medical marijuana program, a legislative leader on marijuana issues believes the state can be ready to roll out its first prescriptions for legal pot by Nov. 18, 2021, as scheduled.
Noem said the state needed more
After tough 2020, SD tourism industry hopes for big bounce back in 2021
South Dakota tourism officials and operators are happy to see a tough 2020 in the rearview mirror, and even happier to look forward to what could be a banner year for visitors and spending in 2021.
Aside from some pockets of unexpected prosperity in 2020 — in tourist activities focused on
Special report part 2: Robotic milking is latest high-tech tool on SD dairy farms
LAKE NORDEN, S.D. – Dairy farmer Rodney Elliott stands in a small room where part of his $12 million robotic milking system is doing its job.
The robotic system is located inside a huge new barn on Elliott’s farm northeast of Lake Norden and is one of only a
Special report part 3: Take a tour of a $12 million robotic dairy in South Dakota
LAKE NORDEN, S.D. – The Drumgoon Dairy in Lake Norden is one of only a handful of dairies in the state to use a fully robotic milking system. Here are some basics on the operation run by Rodney Elliott, a native of Northern Ireland who has run one of South
Special report part 1: SD dairy industry growing fast to meet needs of cheesemakers
South Dakota dairy producers have undergone a rapid expansion in recent years to meet the milk needs of the state’s growing cheesemaking industry, bringing a burst of economic prosperity to farm families and farming communities throughout the eastern half of the state.
Milk production in South Dakota rose by
Legalization of marijuana could provide economic boost for SD Native American tribes
Legalization of marijuana in South Dakota could provide a new, lucrative economic-development opportunity for Native American tribes and tribal members who have historically struggled to find prosperity and stability in the state economy.
Voter-approved measures to legalize marijuana in South Dakota may be on hold or stalled for the time
Proposed health plan for SD farmers would fall outside state and federal regulations
South Dakota lawmakers have passed a bill that would allow agricultural industry groups to develop their own health-benefit plans that would be outside the purview and regulation of the state Division of Insurance and which would sidestep some federal consumer protections.
The measure is being pushed by the South Dakota