Title: Reporter / Report for America Corps Member
Contact: 605-531-7382 / molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org
Languages spoken: English, some Spanish
Topic expertise: Indigenous people, rural communities, business, education
Biography: Molly Wetsch was born and raised in South Dakota. Wetsch previously served as an editorial intern for Forbes in New York City, working on the contributor network and specializing in consumer technology. At Forbes, she also wrote breaking news and contributed to the Forbes "50 Over 50 list." Wetsch began her career in journalism at Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, where she wrote a monthly column and covered local business news as an intern and contributing writer for SiouxFalls.Business. She is a graduate of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, where she received a degree in global business. There, she served as deputy editor of the University Times, the university’s newspaper, and deputy editor of the Trinity Business Review. Report for America is a national service program that responds to challenges faced by local news by placing journalists in newsrooms across the country. As a Report for America corps member, Wetsch travels the state covering rural and indigenous communities. Her family comes from rural South Dakota and the Cheyenne River Reservation, so she understands the issues that are unique to both communities.
Archive of work: South Dakota News Watch; Muck Rack; SiouxFalls.Business; Forbes
Molly Wetsch
Total 83 Posts
Heard in South Dakota / ZIP 572: People and issues from the northeast
Unique glacial lake landscape brings unique qualities to northeast South Dakota, though many small towns face similar issues.
Smithfield move: How to preserve rural areas as metro grows
How the addition of a pork processing plant to the state's largest industrial park has sparked conversation about "responsible growth" in the Sioux Falls metro area.
More South Dakotans now vote early
It's part of a national trend that could have been impacted by a federal ruling on mail-in ballots. Voters in the state also do a better job of staying "active."
Explainer: Automatic license plate readers (Flock cameras)
How the technology attracting privacy concerns is being used in South Dakota, and how it may soon be regulated.
SD postal problems largely unchanged as Congress weighs legislation
U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds began his pressure on the U.S. Postal Service in December. Among the feedback received: Post office employees asked to hide piles of mail.
Explainer: What conditional use permits are, why Crooks residents sued
The lawsuit over a conditional use permit reflects a longstanding tension between residents, often of rural areas, and those who make decisions about how the land around them gets used.
Ahlers announces lt. gov. pick, finalizing November ballot for SD Democrats
Steven McCleerey is a farmer and former legislator from Sisseton seeking the Democratic office of lieutenant governor for Ahlers.