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Shining a light on South Dakota
Site URL: southdakotasearchlight.com/
Feed URL: southdakotasearchlight.com/feed
Posts: 34
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Trump couldn’t send troops to the polls without approval of Congress under Dem bill
Published: June 18, 2026 18:50
U.S. Senate Democrats introduced legislation on Thursday to require Congress to sign off on any deployment of federal troops to the polls, as President Donald Trump and his administration refuse to rule out the idea. Fears of troops or other federal agents…
Midwest senators tout new study calling biofuels a ‘catalyst’ for agriculture
Published: June 18, 2026 13:30
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and other Midwest senators celebrated the findings of a new biofuels study Tuesday during a Capitol Hill briefing in Washington, D.C. The new report, published by S&P Global and commissioned by the U.S. Farmers and Ranch…
Wounded Knee descendants vow to keep pressing for medal revocations as Senate committee seeks info
Published: June 17, 2026 22:22
For Violet Catches, the Defense Department’s decision not to rescind the Medals of Honor awarded to soldiers who were at the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre was a gut punch. “I cried,” said Catches, a descendant of survivors and a member of the Cheyenne River…
White House discloses outline of deal to end Iran war, open Strait of Hormuz
Published: June 17, 2026 22:08
WASHINGTON — The White House on Wednesday read to reporters a 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran to stop the ongoing war and allow for further negotiations, but did not release the exact text. The 60-day MOU outlines the opening of the Strait…
FEMA nominee pressed on whether Trump favors disaster funding requests from GOP states
Published: June 17, 2026 21:28
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency testified before a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday that if confirmed he would ensure natural disaster recovery efforts are “objective” and “fair.” Cameron…
Lawmakers demand info on Trump use of national park fees to pay for D.C. repairs
Published: June 17, 2026 21:16
WASHINGTON — U.S. House and Senate Democrats, mostly from Western states, are demanding transparency from the Interior Department after media reports revealed the Trump administration redirected roughly $90 million in national parks fees to help fund…
Rounds releases list of South Dakota priorities in US Senate defense bill
Published: June 17, 2026 16:31
The version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027 approved by the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee this week includes South Dakota priorities such as a combined $43.7 million for National Guard construction projects in Sioux…
Local election officials reel over ‘logistical nightmare’ of Trump’s vote-by-mail order
Published: June 17, 2026 13:30
As election officials across the country steel themselves for the midterm elections in less than five months, President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail threatens to upend their preparations. The executive order instructs the U.S.…
Federal agencies and tribe partner to clear Pine Ridge Reservation’s ballistics testing backlog
Published: June 16, 2026 22:07
RAPID CITY — Federal law enforcement agencies and the Oglala Sioux Tribe have partnered to add the ammunition casing signatures of more than 500 firearms seized in criminal investigations on the Pine Ridge Reservation into a federal weapons database. In…
Republicans in US Senate left in dark by Trump on Iran deal, but want details and a vote
Published: June 16, 2026 21:35
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators from both political parties said Tuesday they had yet to see the text of the deal Trump administration officials struck over the weekend to end the war in Iran, though several indicated any final agreement will require their…
Special ed, civil rights to be shifted out of Trump’s shrinking Department of Education
Published: June 16, 2026 21:29
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education announced sweeping efforts Tuesday to outsource its special education programs and civil rights enforcement to other agencies, in another major step by President Donald Trump’s administration to dismantle the…
Proposed Black Hills uranium mine gets approval to start building infrastructure on portion of site
Published: June 16, 2026 21:26
A controversial uranium mining proposal on the edge of the Black Hills received approval from the federal Bureau of Land Management to begin constructing “ancillary infrastructure,” according to a press release from the agency Monday, although the project…
One US-made drug treats congenital syphilis, and the country is running short
Published: June 16, 2026 13:30
The United States has a shortage of the only first-line medication recommended for pregnant women with syphilis to prevent passing it to their baby, even as congenital syphilis rates have been skyrocketing. Last July, drug manufacturer Pfizer issued a…
Kennedy Center facade blocked from public view by tarp after Trump’s name removed
Published: June 15, 2026 23:15
Days after President Donald Trump’s name was removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a large tarp and scaffolding was still blocking the building’s facade from public view Monday afternoon. Construction crews took Trump’s name off…
Board approves higher income limit, higher prices for inmate-built affordable housing
Published: June 15, 2026 23:10
PIERRE — A governor-appointed board unanimously approved higher prices and a higher income limit Monday for an affordable housing program. The South Dakota Governor’s House program sells two- and three-bedroom homes built by inmates at Mike Durfee State…
Q&A: Term-limited Sioux Falls mayor reflects on Republican fractures, conflict with legislators
Published: June 15, 2026 22:45
Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken aired some of his frustrations Monday during a public Q&A with the Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary Club. Asked to share advice for the next mayor of South Dakota’s largest city, TenHaken suggested building a competent staff…
Bloody UFC cage match on White House lawn marks Trump’s 80th birthday
Published: June 15, 2026 18:25
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump celebrated his 80th birthday Sunday cageside at a multimillion-dollar bloody mixed martial arts event staged on the White House South Lawn, punctuated by fighter jet flyovers, a live military band and fireworks to mark…
With Iran peace agreement to be signed Friday, Trump says ships moving in Strait of Hormuz
Published: June 15, 2026 15:42
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Monday that oil barges were moving through the Strait of Hormuz, less than a day after he said the United States and Iran had brokered an end to the war. “Ships are starting to move, many loaded up with Oil,…
Republican voters declare their freedom from the Freedom Caucus
Published: June 15, 2026 10:00
As someone who is lucky enough to offer commentary about South Dakota politics, I must note that the recent Republican primary has made my job tougher. The state’s Republican voters, without any regard for my feelings, kicked out most of the members of the…
Silos are disappearing from the landscape. One woman wants to hunt them down before they do.
Published: June 14, 2026 17:05
McHENRY COUNTY, Ill. — Silos — tower-like structures on farms that hold fermented feed for livestock — have dotted the Midwestern landscape for 150 years. But they’re threatened by development and old age. One “silo hunter” in northern Illinois has been…
Anti-tech push influences secretary of state race as conventions make state officer nominations
Published: June 13, 2026 10:30
Monae Johnson became South Dakota’s top election official with the help of people who allege elections are rife with fraud and that ballots should be hand-counted, but they’ve been disappointed that she hasn’t implemented some of their proposals. Now…
Details on removal of nuclear materials from Iran to be worked out as deal to end war nears
Published: June 13, 2026 01:07
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration still needs to determine how it will remove nuclear materials from Iran after officials from both countries sign documents to end the war, a senior official said Friday. “This is very combustible stuff, very volatile…
Before you ‘Save South Dakota,’ show us the fire
https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2026/06/12/before-you-save-south-dakota-show-us-the-fire/
Published: June 13, 2026 00:25
South Dakota is being told it needs saving. Not tuning. Not reform. Saving. That word isn’t a diagnosis. It’s a marketing slogan — the kind you roll out when you need voters to believe they’re living in a disaster movie and only one man has the script.…
Judge allows UFC cage matches to go ahead on White House lawn
Published: June 12, 2026 20:43
The Ultimate Fighting Championship cage matches set to take place on the White House South Lawn on Sunday will go on as scheduled, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled Friday. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta denied an emergency petition from two…
Judge blocks Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund until government agrees it’s been dissolved
Published: June 12, 2026 16:00
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia issued a preliminary injunction Friday halting the Trump administration’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for one week, giving the government time to sign a “clear,…
Corporate logos abound on White House grounds in prep for fights by Trump-allied UFC
Published: June 12, 2026 14:36
WASHINGTON — Advertisements for Polymarket and Bud Light lined an eight-sided cage on the White House grounds Thursday ahead of a series of mixed martial arts fights scheduled for Sunday, President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, and billed as a celebration…
Podcast: The ‘fatal error’ in the Republican governor primary, and a look ahead to the runoff
Published: June 12, 2026 14:24
Republican political commentator Pat Powers has been writing about South Dakota campaigns for more than 20 years on his South Dakota War College blog. He joins Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien to break down what he calls “the fatal error” in the race…
What you need to know about the flesh-eating New World screwworm
Published: June 12, 2026 13:51
The New World screwworm has arrived in the United States. For years, ranchers across Southern states have prepared for a potential invasion of the flesh-eating parasite that can wreak havoc on livestock, pets and even humans. Though the United States went…
As AI use in schools grows, lawmakers and districts scramble to set up guardrails
Published: June 12, 2026 13:50
With many students and educators already using widely available artificial intelligence tools, state lawmakers and school districts are playing catch-up on AI policies. In Maryland, for example, AI usage policies for K-12 schools are “all over the map,”…
State Supreme court deems turn-signal stop ‘unreasonable’ in DUI case
Published: June 11, 2026 21:15
The South Dakota Supreme Court has overturned a drunken driving conviction that was predicated on a driver’s failure to use his turn signal 100 feet before reaching a stop sign. In a 5-0 decision, the high court ruled that the Aberdeen police officer’s…
Federal government to pay North Dakota $28M for Dakota Access Pipeline protests
Published: June 11, 2026 20:46
North Dakota will receive roughly $28 million from the federal government in compensation for costs the state incurred during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests as part of a settlement announced Thursday. The amount is the same as was awarded to North…
American Prairie, conservation groups appeal bison grazing decision
Published: June 11, 2026 20:41
American Prairie and other conservation organizations have filed appeals in the federal government’s decision to terminate bison grazing leases on Bureau of Land Management parcels in Montana. As a result of the lease cancellation, American Prairie has…
Trump says ‘great settlement’ of Iran war in the works, signing ceremony soon
Published: June 11, 2026 20:36
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Thursday that administration officials were close to brokering an end to the hostilities with Iran and predicted there could be a signing ceremony in Europe as soon as this weekend. “We just made a great…
South Dakota lawmaker charged with felony for allegedly damaging public road on purpose
Published: June 11, 2026 20:24
A Republican state lawmaker from Newell was indicted and arrested on a felony charge of intentional damage to a public road this week. Rep. Travis Ismay, 48, was arrested Wednesday morning and released on a $500 bail bond. The crime he’s accused of…