Alex Milan Tracy for Underscore
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The dozens of independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan news organizations that make up the Rural News Network are developing the broadest news alliance reporting on rural America. These newsrooms are pursuing coverage that provides a more complete picture of what it means to live and work in these communities.
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LATEST NEWS FROM THE NETWORK
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South Dakotans’ biggest needs, according to 211 calls
February 04, 2026
The Helpline Center began making its data on caller needs and geographies available to the public on its data dashboard three years ago, a few years after the line became available to all South Dakotans.
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Habitat for Humanity leads nation in subdivision efforts
February 02, 2026
After decades of building one home at a time for families in need of affordable housing, South Dakota’s two largest Habitat for Humanity affiliates have embarked on efforts to develop multiple houses in a single project.
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Reserves of critical minerals driving mining interest in SD
January 28, 2026
South Dakota’s untapped critical mineral reserves highlight both economic opportunity and environmental debate in the nation’s push for domestic sources.
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Fact brief: Have ICE agents detained Native Americans?
January 13, 2026
The Indian Citizenship Act in 1924 granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States.
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Student interest in SD energy programs on the rise
January 02, 2026
In South Dakota, where the state’s proportion of clean energy production is the highest in the country, students are taking advantage of growing energy workforce needs.
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The one issue South Dakota towns agree is holding them back
December 24, 2025
One overarching local challenge hovers above all else: a need for more and better housing to accommodate new residents who will create the backbone of any economic development initiative.
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ICE’s year in SD, from small towns to Operation: Prairie Thunder
December 22, 2025
Most recent ICE arrestees in South Dakota are citizens of Mexico and Central America, with the majority coming from Mexico and Honduras, and 98% are male, according to government data obtained via a FOIA request from the Deportation Data Project.
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Hispanic population thrives in one small SD town
December 08, 2025
As diversity in rural areas increase, community members have come together to provide services that benefit those who speak Spanish as their primary home language.
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Legislators plan bills to help Piedmont residents in mine fight
December 01, 2025
Opposition to the mine has crystalized quickly in Meade County, where residents have held meetings and created a Facebook page that had 700,000 page views in its first month.
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Financial literacy aims to boost tribal sovereignty on Pine Ridge
November 19, 2025
Lack of financial institutions and financial literacy are among many factors that have had long-term effects that can lead to higher rates of debt, lower credit scores and low financial mobility for reservation residents.
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Major power line expansions will fuel future growth in SD
November 03, 2025
The new transmission lines in and out of South Dakota should open the door to future development of energy in the state, especially in regard to sustainable sources such as wind and solar.
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‘Real-life science experiment’ fills critical legal gaps in rural SD
October 31, 2025
In 2013, South Dakota became the first state in the country to institute the RARP, a program that financially incentivizes lawyers to live and practice in rural areas.
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Piedmont residents shocked by new mine coming to their city
October 24, 2025
Piedmont consists mostly of homes and small ranches, several churches and a few commercial properties that include a gas station/convenience store, a couple bar/restaurants, a butcher shop and a campground.
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Chamberlain gives away land to spur new housing development
October 13, 2025
This picturesque city on the shore of the Missouri River is so eager to encourage development of new housing that it bought a tract of land and is giving away lots to anyone who promises to build a home.
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Tariffs and trade war bring volatility to SD ag industries
September 24, 2025
President Donald Trump’s trade war with China is almost exclusively negative for row crop growers, but his multitude of new tariffs are lifting some sectors, livestock producers in particular.
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