As part of its in-depth look at the state of higher education in the state, South Dakota News Watch made contact with students who experienced learning during a pandemic close up. Here are three of their stories. Making frugal financial choices Sydney Becker, 19, is a graduate of Lincoln High

The COVID-19 pandemic has further lowered the ability of low-income and minority students in South Dakota, including Native Americans, to enroll in college, obtain a degree and gain the lifelong financial and upward mobility benefits that come with higher education. Education experts in South Dakota and around the country are

Colleges and universities across South Dakota were facing long-range financial, logistical and access challenges even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Enrollment was falling, state financial support for public universities was dropping, and rising tuition led to high loan burdens for many students and reduced access to obtaining a degree for

Ensuring widespread distribution, usage and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine in South Dakota will be challenging, health experts say, due to the rural nature of the state, the difficulty in storing and distributing doses of the vaccine and concerns that some people will be reluctant to be vaccinated. South Dakota

South Dakota’s largest hospitals are at or above their capacity to care for critically ill COVID-19 patients, forcing some of the sickest patients to be flown out of state to receive care. The strain of a months-long surge in coronavirus cases has reduced hospital capacity to care for those

One major concern of South Dakotans who opposed legalization of medical and recreational marijuana was that it could lead to an epidemic of youth use of the drug. Drug-abuse prevention advocates and law enforcement officials said greater availability of marijuana would almost certainly lead to an increase of use among