Stories

A group of pesticides known as neonicotinoids are heavily used in S.D. and across the world and have been shown in a groundbreaking study by scientists at South Dakota State University to cause deformities in deer. Now, the study is raising questions about the potential for harm to humans -- and ring-necked pheasants -- as well.

From small towns to reservations to urban centers, progress in improving poor dental health — now connected to serious illnesses including heart disease — has stalled in S.D. despite years of education, intervention and charity.

On-field safety measures increase dramatically as game adapts to new concerns and survey data showing that fewer parents and players are willing to accept the risk of potential injury.

Gov. Kristi Noem and state education secretary say improvements in education system are needed to boost test results that did not show a rise after teacher pay was increased.

With barely 20% of court-ordered restitution being paid in South Dakota, some experts wonder if requiring criminals to pay victims money they do not have is doing more harm than good for both sides of the equation.

South Dakota lags behind the nation in vaccination rates of children against the Human Papillomavirus, or HPV, the most common sexually transmitted disease in America that can cause cervical cancer in women and throat cancer in men later in life.

Eight major wind farms were approved in South Dakota in a recent 13-month period and two more are being considered by regulators. The rush of wind energy projects is driven by a need for more electricity, a lucrative federal tax credit, construction of two major power transmission lines and a push toward renewable energies.

A state-run debt collection program threatens debtors with the loss of driving, hunting and fishing privileges if they do not pay up. Though the program has collected $8.7 million in unpaid debts since 2016, critics and debtors say it disproportionately affects low-income people.

A new congressional study shows that despite years of efforts, South Dakota is still seeing its most highly educated residents flee for better jobs, higher pay and expanded cultural opportunities in other states. The so-called "Brain Drain" slows economic and entrepreneurial growth and causes greater political polarization.

Thousands of U.S. college graduates, including many in South Dakota, worry that they won't receive the debt relief they were promised as part of a federal program that encouraged them to work in public-service fields. This is the final installment of a South Dakota News Watch series examining the high college debt burdens on South Dakota college graduates.