Four South Dakota nonprofits are building on an effort started ahead of last year's voting to increase civic engagement and media literacy by holding televised and in-person events through the 2026 election.
South Dakota News Watch and South Dakota Public Broadcasting partnered to begin the effort. The Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota and League of Women Voters of South Dakota have joined.
The series of town halls, discussions and community gatherings will provide South Dakotans with information about the political process and what’s on the ballot and help them identify credible media sources so they can be informed.
Upcoming events
Here is a list of planned events, which will be updated.
6-7:15 p.m. CT Wednesday, Dec. 10, District 7 and 8 legislator meet and greet brown bag event at the Brookings Public Library (515 3rd St.): In a panel-style format, legislators will introduce themselves and share a priority they see as important for the community. After introductions, the moderator will start the conversation with a single question. Legislators will each have time to respond, and then the floor will open for audience questions. Audience members may submit questions in writing or verbally during the Q&A segment.
Wednesday, Jan. 21 (time TBD), presentation and Q&A session on the changing landscape of civics and media at the Yankton Community Library (416 Walnut St.): Presenting will be Doug Haar, Yankton High School government teacher, and Carson Walker, CEO of South Dakota News Watch. Members of the Southeast South Dakota League of Women Voters will be on hand to register people to vote.
8 p.m. CT Monday, April 6, live televised "Democratic U.S. House Candidate Forum" from SDPB in Sioux Falls, sponsored by SDPB and South Dakota News Watch
8 p.m. CT Thursday, April 9, live televised "Republican U.S. House Candidate Forum" from SDPB in Sioux Falls, sponsored by SDPB and South Dakota News Watch
8 p.m. CT Thursday, April 16, live televised "Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Forum" from SDPB in Sioux Falls, sponsored by SDPB and South Dakota News Watch
September, live televised forums on SDPB before the general election.
Past events
Here are some of the events that have been held and how to view them.
Rotunda town hall
Representatives from each branch of South Dakota's state government told an in-person and televised audience Sept. 18 how they keep each other in check.
The "Separation of Powers Town Hall" was held in the rotunda of the Capitol in Pierre. It included Gov. Larry Rhoden and Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen; Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Jensen and Justice Patricia DeVaney; Republican Rep. Scott Odenbach of Spearfish, House majority leader, Republican Sen. Carl Perry of Aberdeen, Senate assistant majority leader, Democratic Rep. Erik Muckey of Sioux Falls and Democratic Sen. Jamie Smith of Sioux Falls, assistant minority leader.
The 90-minute program can be viewed on the YouTube channel for SDPB, which produced the program with South Dakota News Watch. SDPB's Jackie Hendry and News Watch's Kevin Killough moderated.
South Dakota courts training
Journalists, students and others took part in an Oct. 10 training session that covered how to access South Dakota state courts.
It was held in person at SDPB in Sioux Falls and Rapid City and live online at sd.net. Unified Judicial System staff explained how the state court system works and how journalists and members of the public can access court documents and attend hearings.
The participants: Seventh Circuit Presiding Judge Robert Gusinsky, who was just appointed to the South Dakota Supreme Court; Pennington County clerk of court Amber Watkins; Second Circuit Judge Jon C. Sogn; Second Circuit court administrator Karl Thoennes; and UJS public information officer Alisa Bousa. The South Dakota Bar Foundation co-sponsors this twice-annual training.
Watch the entire session on SDPB's YouTube channel, where previous training sessions are archived.
Civic duties and responsibilities
Understanding government and knowing what's going on are among the civic duties and responsibilities of living in a democracy, said Julia Hellwege, director of the Chiesman Center and USD associate professor in political science.
"The more all of us all are engaged and informed, the more opportunity we have to be involved in the decision-making process," she said. "Otherwise we’re letting politics happen to us. If we’re concerned about the things happening to us, the best thing to do is to be involved in the process."
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Chiesman and South Dakota News Watch co-sponsor scientific polls twice a year. Chiesman also financially supports efforts like the civics and media series as part of its mission to promote civic education and civic engagement, Hellwege said.
Members of the League of Women Voters, who belong to both major parties, will answer questions about the political process and help people register to vote at many of the events.
"The League strives to educate the public on issues of importance to our democracy. And our purpose with this partnership is to start a conversation about the importance of a free press and how it affects our civic life," said Amy Scott-Stoltz, president of the League of Women Voters of South Dakota.
This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they're published. Contact Carson Walker at carson.walker@sdnewswatch.org.
