South Dakota Searchlight • 26th September 2025

RFK Jr. has ‘some very interesting views,’ Thune tells South Dakota audience • South Dakota Searchlight

RAPID CITY — When John Thune disagrees with people, he tries to do it “in a respectful way,” he said Friday.
So his description of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might be as close as Thune gets to a put-down.
“He’s got some very interesting views,” Thune said.
The Republican U.S. Senate majority leader from South Dakota made the comments in response to an audience member at the Black Hills Forum and Press Club. The question came from Sherry Bea Smith, who identified herself as a nurse from Nemo, a small...

South Dakota Searchlight • 22nd September 2025

A pipeline, property taxes and a prison: Rhoden’s audition continues with a third big swing • South Dakota Searchlight

Larry Rhoden’s opponents should probably hope he doesn’t get his way Tuesday when he asks the Legislature to approve his $650 million prison construction plan.
If the legislation passes, it’ll be another big win for the Republican governor in only eight months on the job.
Whether you agree with Rhoden and his policies or not, he’s proven surprisingly effective at resolving disputes and achieving his goals, and at making himself look like a contender in next year’s election.
When Gov. Kristi Noem...

South Dakota Searchlight • 10th September 2025

Jackley calls for improved legal immigration policy while launching his campaign for Congress • South Dakota Searchlight

STURGIS — In a speech formally launching his campaign for Congress on Tuesday, South Dakota Republican Marty Jackley signaled a desire to bring workers into the country legally while preventing unauthorized immigration.
“We need to have a national immigration policy that considers public safety and the workforce,” Jackley said. “We need to have E-Verify and visas working. I promise you I’ll be committed to doing that as your congressman.”
E-Verify is a web-based system that allows employers to c...

South Dakota Searchlight • 7th September 2025

Trump-China trade dispute heightens harvest anxiety for South Dakota soybean farmers • South Dakota Searchlight

RAPID CITY — Jerry Schmitz is rarely at a loss for words about soybeans.
But when asked if farmers have faith in a good outcome from the Trump administration’s trade standoff with China, his gaze shifted and his brow creased momentarily as he thought about the best way to answer.
“Hope might be the better word over faith,” he said.
Schmitz, of rural Vermillion, is the executive director of the South Dakota Soybean Association and the South Dakota Soybean Checkoff. A checkoff is a fee that’s coll...

South Dakota Searchlight • 2nd September 2025

Judge blocks South Dakota from enforcing earlier ballot question petition deadline • South Dakota Searchlight

The state of South Dakota cannot enforce a new law that would shorten the window for circulating ballot question petitions by three months, a judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Camela Theeler filed a written order Friday that says the law is a violation of First Amendment rights. As a limitation on political speech, she wrote, moving the election-year deadline from May to February “arguably goes beyond merely inconvenient and enters the realm of severe.”
The filing deadline dictates the amount...

South Dakota Searchlight • 16th August 2025

Capitol restoration looms as a major expense for South Dakota • South Dakota Searchlight

As South Dakota lawmakers consider spending $650 million to build a prison, another major building expense is looming: the first full restoration of the state Capitol in nearly 40 years.
The state official in charge of planning the restoration is Darin Seeley, commissioner of the Bureau of Human Resources and Administration. When he briefed a committee of legislators during a public meeting Tuesday at the Capitol, one of them asked for a ballpark estimate of the cost.
Seeley stressed that he doe...

South Dakota Searchlight • 13th August 2025

South Dakota lawmakers endorse more video livestreaming, hear update on Capitol water damage • South Dakota Searchlight

A committee of South Dakota lawmakers endorsed a proposal Tuesday to provide more video livestreaming of the legislative process and heard how water-damaged technology could affect a special legislative session next month.
South Dakota Public Broadcasting — which is part of state government — already provides video livestreaming of state House and Senate floor sessions, as well as meetings of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. Other committee rooms are only equipped for audio livestream...

South Dakota Searchlight • 12th August 2025

Grand jury indicts suspect arrested in Sturgis with 207 pounds of meth • South Dakota Searchlight

The South Dakota Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday that the suspect in the recent seizure of 207 pounds of crystal methamphetamine has been indicted on two state felony counts and could face additional federal charges.
The office also identified the suspect as 42-year-old Alonso Molinacorona and said the arrest occurred Friday night on Interstate 90 in Sturgis, which was during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
“Meth of any amount is dangerous, but distribution of meth with a street valu...

South Dakota Searchlight • 12th August 2025

Traffic and injury accidents surged higher at 2025 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally • South Dakota Searchlight

Traffic and injury accidents were up while deaths and arrests were down during the recently concluded Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, according to data from state officials.
The 85th annual event began Aug. 1 and continued through Sunday. The increased traffic followed a trend of higher attendance in round-numbered anniversary years.
The South Dakota Department of Transportation’s automated traffic counters at nine locations in Sturgis logged 537,459 vehicles entering the city during the rally, which...

South Dakota Searchlight • 11th August 2025

South Dakota Highway Patrol makes record meth seizure, governor says • South Dakota Searchlight

The South Dakota Highway Patrol made its largest-ever seizure of methamphetamine when it discovered 207 pounds of crystal meth during a recent traffic stop, according to Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, whose Monday announcement said the subject is not a U.S. citizen and is “now in immigration proceedings.”
The estimated street value of the drugs is $12 million, the news release said.
Rhoden used the arrest as an opportunity to tout his Operation Prairie Thunder, which commits state government pers...