Exclusive: How South Dakota spent $14 billion of pandemic relief funds

South Dakota received nearly $14 billion in federal COVID-19 funding from March 2020 through January, according to an internal state fiscal report obtained exclusively by South Dakota News Watch.  The document tallies the $13.84 billion intended to help governments, businesses, organizations and individuals survive and recover from a pandemic

Gov. Kristi Noem hides guest list at historic state-owned cabin in Custer State Park

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, her family, friends and guests are the only people who can stay in a state-owned historic cabin in Custer State Park, and it’s unclear if the rustic Valhalla retreat is being used for political purposes.  Citing open records law, Noem’s administration won’t

Unexpected expenses: State project costs jump by millions

South Dakota taxpayers could pay millions of dollars in unexpected expenses caused by inflation and workforce challenges that are hitting the construction industry. Nine bills have been filed in the current legislative session in Pierre to increase funding for construction projects that were passed in prior years but have gotten

Supreme Court ruling won’t stop abortion pill provider near South Dakota

A Minnesota doctor who helps procure mail-order medication abortions for South Dakota women said she plans to continue that practice even if the U.S. Supreme Court outlaws or limits the use of mifepristone, one of the pills used in the process. “It’s business as usual,” said Dr. Julie

Tax break likely for South Dakota residents in 2023 — but who benefits and by how much?

A bipartisan consensus has emerged in the South Dakota Legislature that the time is right for some form of tax relief to be passed as part of budget negotiations in Pierre. But questions about which tax is reduced, and who will benefit, are still in debate and will be resolved

Back to school or off to jail: Legislators seek update to South Dakota juvenile justice assessment system

One of the key tenets of juvenile justice reform in South Dakota – keeping low-level youth offenders out of custody in favor of rehabilitative services and a return to public school attendance – is causing headaches for South Dakota education officials, who say they are not equipped to deal with habitual offenders

CEO of large SD non-profit agency remains in his job despite federal sexual harassment settlement

Editor’s note: This article is the result of a reporting collaboration between South Dakota News Watch Content Director Bart Pfankuch and Kristi Hine, editor of the True Dakotan newspaper in Wessington Springs. WAGNER, S.D. – The director of one of the largest non-profit social service agencies in South Dakota
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