South Dakota Searchlight • 17th May 2025

Gold production increases at mine in South Dakota’s Black Hills • South Dakota Searchlight

Production at South Dakota’s only active, large-scale gold mine climbed to its highest level in eight years, according to a new 2024 annual report.
The Wharf Mine, owned by Chicago-based Coeur Mining, is near the city of Lead and the Terry Peak Ski Area in the northern Black Hills. The mine produced 98,042 ounces of gold last year — nearly 5,000 ounces more than the prior year.
The mine also produced 232,013 ounces of silver, which is a lesser-value “co-product” of the gold mining process. Silve...

South Dakota Searchlight • 13th May 2025

ICE makes 8 arrests in South Dakota city where Noem was subjected to a protest three days earlier • South Dakota Searchlight

U.S. immigration officials conducted a “worksite enforcement action” that resulted in eight arrests Tuesday in Madison, three days after their boss, Kristi Noem, was subjected to a protest in the same South Dakota city.
At least one of the two targeted businesses, Manitou Equipment, was awarded financial support from the state while Noem was governor.
The media office for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a written statement that the agency’s action was at Manitou and also at Global Po...

South Dakota Searchlight • 13th May 2025

International student recounts ‘numb’ feeling after receiving email about her potential deportation • South Dakota Searchlight

RAPID CITY — Priya Saxena was staying up late to read comments about her doctoral dissertation around 1 a.m. on April 7 when she saw the message in her email.
“I was numb at the time,” she testified through tears Tuesday in a Rapid City courtroom, where she continued her fight to remain in the country.
The email from U.S. immigration officials said her visa was revoked. Saxena called some friends and holed up in her bedroom.
“I was scared,” she said, “and I had no idea what to do next.”
Her fear...

South Dakota Searchlight • 10th May 2025

Noem’s honorary degree sparks protest; meanwhile, a student she’s trying to deport earns a doctorate • South Dakota Searchlight

An international student in western South Dakota overcame Kristi Noem’s attempt to stop her from graduating Saturday, while hundreds of people protested on the other side of the state where Noem received an honorary degree and delivered a commencement speech.
The international student is Priya Saxena, from India. She received two degrees from South Dakota Mines in Rapid City: a doctorate in chemical and biological engineering and a master’s degree in chemical engineering.
Noem’s U.S. Departm...

South Dakota Searchlight • 9th May 2025

AmeriCorps cuts are ‘devastating’ for nonprofit Native American school in South Dakota, lawsuit says • South Dakota Searchlight

The Trump administration’s decision to abruptly cut AmeriCorps funding has had a “devastating impact” on a nonprofit school for Native American children in South Dakota, according to a lawsuit.
Red Cloud Indian School Inc., which operates schools under the Lakota name Mahpiya Luta, is one of more than a dozen plaintiffs that jointly filed a lawsuit this week challenging the funding cut.
“Red Cloud schools, their programs, and the prospects of their students and of Lakota youth who participate in...

South Dakota Searchlight • 23rd April 2025

South Dakota wins concessions for itself and for universities nationwide in settlement with NCAA • South Dakota Searchlight

South Dakota won special terms for itself and financial concessions for universities across the country while settling a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association, according to a Wednesday announcement from state Attorney General Marty Jackley.
The NCAA is the governing body for the highest level of college athletics. Jackley and the South Dakota Board of Regents sued the NCAA last year. The lawsuit alleged that a proposed $2.8 billion nationwide agreement to compensate athlet...

South Dakota Searchlight • 1st April 2025

Ballot group sues state over shorter petition circulation window • South Dakota Searchlight

A ballot question committee is suing South Dakota’s top election official over a new law that shortens the window for petition circulation by three months.
Dakotans for Health filed the lawsuit Tuesday in federal court against Secretary of State Monae Johnson.
“This new law is just another effort to silence the voices of South Dakotans and deny them the right to make decisions that impact their lives,” said Dakotans for Health Chairman Rick Weiland in a news release.
South Dakota’s Republican-d...

South Dakota Searchlight • 31st March 2025

Legislature sustains veto of geographic signature requirement for constitutional amendment petitions • South Dakota Searchlight

Petitioners hoping to put state constitutional amendments on the ballot won’t need signatures from each of South Dakota’s legislative Senate districts.
After the governor vetoed a bill containing the requirement last week, the state Senate sustained the veto Monday at the Capitol in Pierre. The House voted earlier Monday to override the veto, but agreement from both chambers is required to overturn the governor’s action.
Michael Rohl, R-Aberdeen, was among the senators who opposed the bill and s...

South Dakota Searchlight • 28th March 2025

State loan brings help to school preparing for Air Force base growth, but unknowns remain  • South Dakota Searchlight

BOX ELDER — A new state law brought a degree of certainty Friday to a situation filled with unknowns for the Douglas School District.
The law, signed by South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, authorizes a $15 million, zero-interest loan to the district from the state’s housing infrastructure fund. The money will help pay for the construction of a third elementary school.
The extra school is needed because the federal government is developing B-21 stealth bombers, and some of them will be sta...

South Dakota Searchlight • 26th March 2025

Noem’s successor hits ‘reset’ after she insisted there was ‘No Going Back’ • South Dakota Searchlight

For a condemnation of Kristi Noem’s performance as governor, just look at what her former lieutenant governor is doing.
You won’t get him to admit that, of course. Larry Rhoden insists Noem did “great things” for South Dakota.
Yet Rhoden has also positioned himself as Governor Reset after taking inspiration from a Native American tribal leader, Chairman J. Garrett Renville of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate.
Noem’s departure to serve in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet was imminent when Renville del...