South Dakota Searchlight • 28th February 2026

Whatever lawmakers do about property taxes, it’s too late to save us from the price of ‘Freedom’ • South Dakota Searchlight

A state senator recently offered an insightful opinion on South Dakota’s property tax conundrum.
He was arguing, unsuccessfully, for a bill incentivizing data center construction. But his comments made a broader point.
“What’s happened in South Dakota is we get people moving here for freedom, and that’s great,” said Sen. Steve Kolbeck, R-Sioux Falls. “But then they work from home. And there is no large commercial building paying property tax.”
In other words, people need public services such as...

South Dakota Searchlight • 25th February 2026

A missing senator, a failed search and two dead data center bills: The SD Senate’s chaotic day • South Dakota Searchlight

PIERRE — A member’s unexplained absence and an unsuccessful search for him contributed to the defeat of two bills intended to incentivize data centers Tuesday during a chaotic afternoon for South Dakota state senators.
“It’s not a good look for the Senate,” said Sen. Tim Reed, R-Brookings. 
The absent senator was John Carley, a Republican from Piedmont and an opponent of both bills. As the fate of the data center legislation hung in the balance due to a close margin of support and opposition, se...

South Dakota Searchlight • 18th February 2026

County sales tax idea moves ahead as effort to prolong statewide sales tax reduction fails • South Dakota Searchlight

A proposal to let counties reduce homeowner property taxes by charging a sales tax advanced Wednesday at the South Dakota Capitol in Pierre, while an effort to maintain a lower statewide sales tax rate failed.
The county sales tax plan is from Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden. It would let counties levy up to a half-percent sales tax and use the money to offset the county’s portion of property taxes on owner-occupied homes, in the form of credits to property owners.
The Senate Taxation Committee vot...

South Dakota Searchlight • 12th February 2026

Lawmakers endorse adding school coaches as mandatory reporters of abuse and neglect, but not clergy • South Dakota Searchlight

Debates about which types of authority figures should be mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect ended in one proposal’s failure and another’s advancement Wednesday at the South Dakota Capitol in Pierre.
The state House of Representatives approved a bill that would add coaches of school activities to a list of mandatory reporters in state law that includes teachers, health care providers, child care workers and others. The bill’s next stop is a state Senate committee.
The legislation’s sp...

South Dakota Searchlight • 5th February 2026

South Dakota Republican leaders argue about economic development in front of reporters • South Dakota Searchlight

PIERRE — The divide in South Dakota’s Republican Party over the government’s role in economic development spilled into public view Thursday at the state Capitol as two of the party’s top leaders argued in front of reporters.
The back-and-forth happened during the Republican legislative leadership team’s weekly press conference. Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff, R-Pierre, was answering a question about proposals for a moratorium on construction or expansion of large data centers.
Backers of a...

South Dakota Searchlight • 3rd February 2026

Controversial SD House member Phil Jensen suspended for two weeks from Republican caucus • South Dakota Searchlight

PIERRE — South Dakota House Republicans have suspended Rep. Phil Jensen from their caucus meetings for two weeks because of his remarks about Democratic votes on legislation dealing with religion.
Jensen, of Rapid City, is no stranger to controversy. 
Last month, leaders changed his committee assignments and publicly scolded him after he protested the seating arrangement in the House Education Committee. Last year, leaders stripped his vice chairmanship of that committee after he filed legislati...

South Dakota Searchlight • 2nd February 2026

Bills to loosen gun restrictions fail in SD committee after on-target questions from lawmaker • South Dakota Searchlight

PIERRE — A pair of questions that struck the bullseye contributed to a South Dakota legislative committee’s uncharacteristic rejection of two bills to roll back concealed gun laws Monday at the state Capitol.
The first bill would have relieved college students of the requirement to obtain a permit before carrying a concealed pistol on campus.
The questions came from House Education Committee member Jim Halverson, R-Winner, who opposed the bill. He directed the questions to Nathan Lukkes, who tes...

South Dakota Searchlight • 29th January 2026

The clearest critique of Noem’s conjecture about a shooting is, unwittingly, from her successor • South Dakota Searchlight

For yet another reminder of what a poor job Kristi Noem is doing, just ask her handpicked replacement as governor of South Dakota.
Not directly, mind you. Larry Rhoden will defend her to the hilt if asked about her by name.
But ask him indirectly, or just let him talk awhile, and he’ll criticize her actions without even realizing he’s doing it.
That happened often during the beginning of his tenure as governor, when he spoke repeatedly about the need for a “reset” on nearly every important issue...

South Dakota Searchlight • 16th January 2026

For Don Barnett, the 1972 flood was 'tattooed on my brain and on my soul' • South Dakota Searchlight

Don Barnett, who died Monday at age 83, was the 29-year-old mayor of Rapid City when it was struck by a flood that killed 238 people on June 9, 1972. He received widespread praise for leading the recovery and helping to ensure that the city never again overbuilt in the Rapid Creek floodplain.
Barnett was photographed by Johnny Sundby and interviewed by Seth Tupper — now the editor of South Dakota Searchlight — for a 2022 book, “Surviving the ’72 Flood,” and a South Dakota Public Broadcasting doc...

South Dakota Searchlight • 3rd January 2026

A New Year’s resolution for South Dakota: Stop flushing dollars, then pinching pennies • South Dakota Searchlight

There was nothing under the tree this Christmas for South Dakota’s schools, state employees and health care providers.
Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden proposed no funding increase for them in the next state budget.
“Because our revenues haven’t grown much, we have to keep them flat this year,” Rhoden said during his annual December budget address.
Hearing that news so close to the holidays, I was reminded of the climactic movie scene in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” when a wife takes her...