Rural

Rural towns like Plankinton, population 768, are growing their community services to fill needs.

With the 3rd-highest poverty rate in the country – behind only 2 other South Dakota counties – an organization based in Oglala Lakota County seeks to improve tribal sovereignty by teaching youth about finances.

While opinion of the president's aggressive policies is mixed among voters, some businesses and agricultural producers are put off by the volatility. "The uncertainty is what causes disruption," one rancher said.

South Dakota is No. 1 in hemp fiber production. But as its farmers and processors grow the industry, federal legislation threatens some sectors of it. 'We just want to know, where are we at?"

After 2 damaging derechos, 50 individuals and business owners donated $250K toward new housing with no promise of a return on their investment. 'Nothing creates buzz in a town like moving dirt.'

Can studying a region's past help to understand it in the present? The Lost Region Recovery Project attempts to answer that question for the Midwest, the only part of the U.S. without robust academic study dedicated to it.

After more than a decade, a financial incentive program in South Dakota has placed 36 lawyers in areas that lack access to critical legal services.