News

A federal appeals court has ruled that consumers who want to know where their meat comes from will continue to see country of origin labels in the supermarket.

You can hear the story by clicking the play button below.  

To help commemorate South Dakota’s 125th anniversary of statehood, the Center for Western Studies at Augustana College in Sioux Falls invited artists to submit proposals for works reflecting on the state. More than 80 artists responded and the center’s art committee chose 40 pieces for the juried art exhibit and sale. The show “Observing the State’s 125th Anniversary" is up through September 27th.

School Administrators of South Dakota (SASD) reports about 25 percent of the state’s school superintendents entering the upcoming school year are new to the job. Those positions are often filled with principals who suddenly find themselves with a much longer job description and two or more full-time jobs.

Kevin Woster, KELO-TV Rapid City bureau reporter, and Roger Whittle, managing editor of the Watertown Public Opinion joined the Dakota Political Junkies this week. They discussed Attorney General Marty Jackley’s briefing to state lawmakers investigating the EB-5 program; Governor Dennis Daugaard’s concern over immigrant placements in South Dakota; a new poll showing Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rounds with a significant lead; and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rick Weiland’s new television ads. 

New numbers in Sioux Falls show the city is growing on pace with recent years. Leaders estimate that more than 2,000 new people call Sioux Falls home compared to one year ago. City planners consider building permits and recent census data to assess the trend.

Sioux Falls’ average population growth over the last decade shows 2,371 people move to the city each year. The latest local number shows a slightly slower increase in population since July of 2013. The new total indicates Sioux Falls has 166,700 current residents.

South Dakota lawmakers are reviewing what happened after an investigation revealed hundreds of thousands of state dollars went missing. Lawmakers spent 45 minutes with Attorney General Marty Jackley behind closed doors consulting about a possible legal situation. Otherwise Jackley and economic development leaders talked with legislators in an open meeting about the state and federal investigations.  

Members of Badlands National Park’s Tribal Youth Intern Program now have their own way to communicate with the public. The “Summer Intern Adventures” blog on the Badlands website allows the Native American high school students to share their thoughts about what they experience in the park on a daily basis.

“Reflections on Fossils”, “Environmental Stewardship” and comments from an “Aspiring Paleontologist” are just a few of the topics discussed on the “Summer Intern Adventures” blog.

For South Dakota Magazine's  July/August cover story, “Mayoral Likes,” the publication's staff spoke with mayors across the state from Aberdeen to Winner to find one thing in each community that might surprise or entertain travelers and readers.

South Dakota’s attorney general says his office had prepared a criminal complaint against Richard Benda just weeks before he died. The former Secretary of Tourism and Economic Development is linked to federal and state investigations into misconduct involving hundreds of thousands of dollars. The legislative Government Operations and Audit committee is evaluating results after officials discovered the missing money.

More than two years after the U.S. left Iraq, the country is falling into chaos and threatening to pull the Obama administration back into the conflict. Parts of Iraq including Mosul in the north and much of Anbar Province in the west are now under control of ISIS, or the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Meanwhile political leaders in Baghdad are struggling to keep the country together. “Losing Iraq,” a new PBS Frontline report airing Tuesday on SDPB-TV, explores how events reached this point. It explores the U.S.

Three months after Don Meyer's death, filming begins in Nashville in August on a new movie about the former Northern State University basketball coach. Over the course of a 38-year career spent mostly at Lipscomb University in Nashville and NSU in Aberdeen, Meyer had over 900 wins, making him one of college basketball’s most successful coaches.

SUGGESTED LEAD:  The group, “School Administrators of South Dakota,” reports about 25 percent of the state's school superintdents are entering their first year of service this year.

Those positions are often filled with principals, who suddenly find themselves with a much longer job description, and two or more full-time jobs.  That’s a concern to outgoing superintendents leaving that situation—and to those stepping in to the positions. 

The ongoing civil war in Ukraine is impacting some South Dakota companies that export to the Eastern Bloc.  Each year the countries of Ukraine and Russia do about $6-million in trade with  South Dakota businesses.  Despite the challenges some companies in the state are continuing to find ways to get their goods to the region.

Rock Nelson is the director of South Dakota’s International Trade Center.  You can find more information here.  

Science officials at the Sanford Underground Research Facility and art experts from Black Hills State University say there is a connection between art and science.
 

Officials from the Lab and the University are hosting a panel discussion exploring the notion titled “When Art and Science Collide.”
 

BHSU Photography Professor Steve Babbitt is one of the panelists. Babbitt has worked with scientists at the lab while photographing the transition of the former Homestake gold mine into a state-of-the-art research facility.
 

Nineteen South Dakota college students are the recipients of a brand new scholarship program for future teachers. The Critical Teaching Needs Scholarship Program covers two years of college tuition for people who commit to teaching in South Dakota in certain subjects. 

State leaders identify four main areas of critical need in South Dakota schools for the scholarship: career and technical education, math, science and special ed.

Horticulture expert Norm Evers answered listener questions about seeding bare patches in lawns, cone flowers, bulbs and more. Norm Evers is Instructor Emeritus of Horticulture at South Dakota State University in Brookings and former manager of McCrory Gardens. He’s the owner of Norm’s Greenhouse and Nursery in Aurora.

Bill Gross comes from three generations of North Dakota farmers. But by the time he graduated from high school, his parents encouraged him to leave the farm. He went to college and now flies a 747 for UPS. However his heart never left the farm. As he flew across the country and looked at the farms below, he was concerned with the changing demographics of rural America and thought of ways he could help.

Gas prices have been falling in South Dakota and the nation over the past month. According to GasBuddy.com, the average price for a gallon of gas in South Dakota on Monday was $3.48. The national average was $3.50. A month ago South Dakotans were paying an average of $3.57 for a gallon of gas. The national average is at its lowest point since March of this year. Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, joined Dakota Midday and discussed the reasons for the mid-summer gas price decline.

Earlier this year, the United States Supreme Court ruled that law officers must obtain warrants before drawing blood in routine DUI arrests. Now the South Dakota Supreme Court is dealing with that ruling. In a recent opinion, the state’s high court says the decision in Missouri versus McNeely does not apply retroactively.

Earlier this year a team of spelunkers, about five hours from the entrance of Jewel Cave crawled their way into what’s being called the most significant find of the last decade. 

The explorers pushing the south western edge of Jewel came across a series of huge previously undiscovered corridors. Some of the new cave passageways reach more than five stories high, 15 feet wide, and over a hundred feet long, and they keep going.

SDPB’s Charles Michael Ray spoke with some of the explorers who are planning a return trip later this week.

South Dakota is celebrating 125 years of Statehood.  Throughout the celebration, we're sharing stories on the people, places and events that make our state the Land of Infinite Variety.   One of South Dakota’s most recognizable people didn’t let a very bad day on the world stage stop him from doing good in the world.

Susan Sanders, warning coordinator with the National Weather Service, spoke on the science of weather and weather safety during the Neutrino Day Science Cafe in . The presentation was recorded live from the Bumping Buffalo in Lead.

In an extended cut of the original story, SDPB's Charle Michael Ray shares more on the efforts of researchers near Wind Cave to save prairie dogs from the plague. Plus, SDPB's Kent Osborne reminds listeners of the upcoming Landscapes of South Dakota photo contest and presents a special challenge for this weekend.

In South Dakota prairie dogs have the plague.

The disease can kill off whole colonies and it hurts the effort to restore endangered species like the Black Footed Ferret.  

In order to preserve prairie dogs and ferrets in certain areas a new vaccine is being developed.  Researchers are now testing the vaccine in the field at Wind Cave National Park.

Domestic violence and homeless shelters in South Dakota are getting $513,761 in federal grants. Twenty different shelters applied for and are receiving federal money. Leaders can use the funds for renovations, everyday operations and homeless prevention efforts.

The South Dakota Housing Development Authority distributes the grants. Mark Lauseng is the executive director.

As part of SDPB's Landscapes of South Dakota series, Thursday's Dakota Midday broadcast live from the historic Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Depot in Redfield, South Dakota.

Chinese ring-necked pheasants were first successfully introduced in South Dakota in 1908 in Spink County. That was also where the state’s first pheasant hunting season took place.

Today pheasant hunting is big business in the state. According to the South Dakota Department of Tourism, pheasant hunting generates an estimated 223 million dollars annually. But pheasant numbers have been falling since 2007. Concern about the declining pheasant population and its statewide impact led Governor Dennis Daugaard to form a pheasant habitat task force.

SDPB's ongoing series called Landscapes of South Dakota highlights elements that set this state apart from anywhere else. Many of the stories on the radio, television and online feature people from the past and present who influence South Dakota. But as part of our celebration of 125 years of statehood, we're asking people to tell us about their perfect day.

SDPB's Kealey Bultena brings you this story centered on South Dakota's natural beauty as found in its state parks. 

When Mitchell’s first Corn Palace was built in 1892, it was only one of at least 34 grain palaces in the Midwest from the 1880s to the 1930s. The current Mitchell Corn Palace was built in 1921 and it’s the only one of the “prairie palaces” that’s survived. The familiar Moorish-style minarets and turrets were added to the building’s roof in 1937 to recreate the look of the earlier corn palaces.

When farmers first arrived in Dakota Territory, they assumed the growing season was too short for corn and it was planted as a sod crop. But an agronomist writing in a 1909 report said that men who once scoffed are now buying South Dakota farms on which they expect to grow corn. That year, farmers in the state planted over two million acres of corn with a harvest of 65 million bushels.