Livestock theft and prevention now high-tech endeavors in SD
SAINT ONGE, S.D. – Livestock theft is one of the oldest crimes in South Dakota, but the ways thieves operate and the methods ranchers and authorities use to catch them have both evolved into a high-tech battle of wits.
Modern trailers, cell phones, forged checks, online mapping and Internet classified
Behind prison walls: Women serve time in quiet, controlled setting
PIERRE, S.D. – The rolling barbed wire atop tall chain-link fences, the thick metal and glass entrances doors, and the cell blocks and entry points under constant guard by officers and cameras are all indicators of the intense security at the South Dakota Women’s Prison in Pierre.
Once inside
Meth epidemic, strict laws fuel dramatic growth in female inmate numbers
PIERRE, S.D. – The combination of epidemic meth addiction and strict drug laws have led to a dramatic spike in the rate of incarceration of women in the state, a South Dakota News Watch investigation has found.
The number of women in prison has increased 35 percent since 2013. By
Small SD towns struggle to repair and replace crumbling streets
EMERY, S.D. – It took eight years of planning, nearly $5 million and countless hours of paperwork, but this small town finally has new asphalt streets.
Residents of Emery – a Hanson County town of about 450 people and home to a crucial grain elevator – endured failing streets for decades, then
South Dakota governor hopefuls address river quality issues
As part of its ongoing Rivers at Risk project, South Dakota News Watch reached out to the two major party candidates for South Dakota governor to ask what each would do to reduce pollution and improve the quality of state waterways.
Here are statements emailed to News Watch by U.
Should South Dakota farmers be forced to improve pollution control methods?
As South Dakota and most other states rely on voluntary efforts by farmers to treat pollution and limit runoff – historically with only limited success – a new regulatory approach in Minnesota is showing that mandating water protection methods can make a significant difference.
A 2015 law that is now fully taking
Upgrading wastewater systems a $160M task in South Dakota
Fixing the aging, often overworked systems that treat municipal wastewater in South Dakota would cost nearly $160 million, a cost borne mostly by state residents whose drinking water could be at stake.
Officials with the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources said in an email to News Watch that