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 384 Posts
New project illustrates SD's love-hate relationship with solar power
While power companies and state officials show interest in the renewable power source, opposition from neighbors dims the shine on some ventures.
South Dakota T. rex fetches $50 million at auction
"Gus" was found in 2021 on a Harding County ranch.
Homeowners near sinkhole lose state Supreme Court case
The ruling against a group of 160 homeowners affected by a large sinkhole that opened into an underground mine is the latest and perhaps last rejection they've faced in the six-year legal case.
Water shortage hampers growth north of Sioux Falls but solution near
After turning away numerous projects and potential employers in Dell Rapids, two eastern South Dakota water systems partner on a $170 million expansion to accommodate growth.
Opposition arises to rebuild of US 85 through the Black Hills
The DOT says the highway needs major safety improvements, but concerns over potential impacts on the environment and scenery are driving significant project opposition.
Spearfish affordable housing project 1st to tap new fed funds
The apartments, to be built by a Sioux Falls construction firm, could rent for as low as $600/month with utilities included in a Black Hills city where market rate rents can top $1,600 a month.
How a hospital is helping solve a hometown housing shortage
After years of enduring a stifling housing shortage, a rural hospital in Hot Springs is investing in a subdivision project that will benefit the entire community.