Rural Life & Outdoors

No neighboring state is as liberal as South Dakota when it comes to traveling with loaded guns and hunting on, along or over roads. 

A country music star renowned for giving back and a psychologist at the forefront of improving mental health access are among this year’s 10 inductees into the South Dakota Hall of Fame. 

As fairs across the state struggle with funding to keep the rides running, one event remains immune: the Turner County Fair in Parker, South Dakota. Here's how it stays relevant.

Pandemic-related construction delays and cost overrides have hampered Kristi Noem's vision of a new South Dakota State Fair expo complex after the previous building was destroyed by fire in 2020.

For more than a decade, beekeepers in South Dakota and around the country have been fighting against historically high annual colony loss rates of more than 30%. It's affecting roughly 100 crops, which could raise food prices while decreasing food availability.

Hyde County lost a higher percentage of population (6%) than any other South Dakota county from 2020-22, and it was one of just four counties to see double-digit percentage declines from 2010-2020.

For more than a year, a highly divisive debate has raged in South Dakota over two proposed carbon dioxide pipelines. Here's News Watch's previous coverage on the controversial issue.

Nearly two-thirds of South Dakota farmers are at least 55 years old. In 2017, nearly 4,100 principal producers were over the age of 75. As the number of young farmers remains low and those nearing retirement age grows, some worry about the future of the state’s No. 1 industry.

Farmers in South Dakota and across the U.S. will likely take home less income this year because of increasing input costs and decreasing commodity prices. However, optimism remains halfway through the growing season.

Experts say prairie rattler bites are usually not fatal but warn that ongoing development into once-natural areas will increase encounters.