RAPID CITY, S.D. – 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.

In a project nearing full completion, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sioux Falls constructed 13 side-by-side twin homes that will serve 26 families on a cul-de-sac in northeast part of the city.

On the other side of the state, the Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity has purchased land and is starting development of 40 housing units in southeastern Rapid City that will be the largest housing project ever undertaken by a Habitat affiliate in South Dakota.

The efforts are more expensive and far more complicated than the typical home built by the nonprofit founded in 1976 to provide homeownership opportunities to families who help build and finance the homes they live in. Habitat now has a presence in 50 countries worldwide, including nine affiliates in South Dakota.

The move to take bigger swings at subdivision and multi-family housing developments is being driven by a challenging housing market in South Dakota, where affordable housing is hard to find. Rapidly rising construction costs and home prices have prevented many working-class families from achieving the dream of home ownership.

“We all know that the demand for starter homes is tremendous but also that those affordable homes are no longer available,” said Mike Keegan, resources development manager for Habitat of the Black Hills. “For recent graduates and young people branching out on their own, there’s nothing to be found at a price point that is reasonable.”

Response: ‘Starter homes’ for under $300,000

Habitat has operated in the Black Hills since 1990, built 140 news homes and helped dozens more homeowners fix up and maintain their homes during that 35-year history, Keegan said.

The East Creek project will be the first time the organization has entered the realm of buying land, installing infrastructure and constructing dozens of homes at once, he said.

“We’re dipping our toes into the theater of becoming developers,” Keegan said.

The East Creek Village property will include multi-family townhouses on 4.25 acres on the southwest corner of East Saint Charles Street and Creek Drive in southeastern Rapid City.

The majority will be for sale to income-qualifying people who participate in the Habitat program. That program requires them to undergo financial literacy and property management classes and to provide at least 200 hours of “sweat equity” by helping get the houses built, Keegan said.

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By obtaining grants and donations, Habitat is able to keep the homes at a price considered “affordable,” which in the current South Dakota real estate market is roughly $350,000 or less for a three-bedroom, two-bath home. Habitat hopes to get the price per unit in East Creek Village down to $300,000 or even $250,000 per unit if possible, Keegan said.

The organization also uses the outside funding to reduce the down payment and monthly mortgage costs required of future owners. Buyers must obtain private financing to buy the homes, but Habitat can also offer a zero-interest second mortgage to keep monthly payments below 30% of their overall monthly income, Keegan said.

“This way, we can provide affordable homes for ownership at a faster pace and a price lower than current market value,” Keegan said.

Evidence: Multiple funders supporting project

Habitat is using a hodgepodge of funding sources to pay for the $12.5 million project, including $3 million in a federal Congressional Direct Spending grant secured by U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, a $730,000 grant from the state and donations, Keegan said. The group is also asking local community funding agencies for grants to help.

The South Dakota Housing Authority provided Black Hills Habitat with the $730,000 Housing Infrastructure Financing Grant in December to help pay for land development on the East Creek Village project.

The grant was among the final payments made from a $100 million housing grant fund approved by the Legislature in 2022, using a mix of state money and federal funds from the COVID-19 era.

Much of a similar $100 million loan fund remains unused, according to Chas Olson, executive director of the nonprofit authority, known also as South Dakota Housing.

Taken together, those two programs have aided in the development of more than 13,000 housing units built through 85 projects completed in 40 South Dakota communities, Olson said.

Olson said the authority’s board supported the East Creek Village development in Rapid City because the state money would help Habitat develop more homes quickly and keep the prices down.

“What stood out to me and what is unique and special about the project is that it is a departure from what the typical Habitat affiliate is doing,” Olson said. “Usually, it’s one or two homes at a time and not to the scale they have with this project. And they’re really trying to keep the price point down to an affordable level.”

Insights: A project model for other communities

The development efforts in Sioux Falls and Rapid City are being seen as a model for how Habitat affiliates across the country can find the land, funding and local support to create more affordable housing faster and in greater density than ever before, Keegan said.

The project and its unique funding mechanism have caught the attention of the national chapters of Habitat for Humanity, Keegan said. Representatives from the Black Hills presented on the project at a national conference last year and will do so again in February and October of this year.

“Especially in terms of the rural or small market affiliates across the country, there’s great interest in what we’re trying to do here,” he said.

Partnerships were critical to completing Millard Acres, the Habitat of Sioux Falls project with 13 twin homes built on North Americus Circle, a cul-de-sac off East 34th Street West, a few blocks east of Cliff Avenue, said Rocky Welker, executive director of Sioux Falls Habitat.

Habitat received funding from South Dakota Housing and obtained a zero-interest loan for the land from the city of Sioux Falls, Welker said. Many of the homes are already occupied by families, he said.

Limitations: Land and funding at a premium

Habitat affiliates and other nonprofit groups face major hurdles to continuing efforts to build affordable housing, Welker said.

In many areas of South Dakota, land is so expensive and construction costs have risen so much that new homes must be sold at prices far beyond the affordable level in order for developers to make a profit.

In Sioux Falls, meanwhile, most new subdivisions contain restrictive covenants that require homes to be of a certain size and with required amenities that push Habitat out of the market to build homes that working families can afford, he said.

“Everything on the open market is at a price point that by the time you pay for the land and infrastructure, you need to see higher-priced homes to make it pencil out,” he said.

Engage South Dakota: Housing solutions

A list of entities and programs that can assist in developing or obtaining housing as well as links to News Watch reporting on housing solutions.

South Dakota News WatchBart Pfankuch

Bringing a single home project to completion, let alone a project with multiple housing units, will require more time and creativity to find available, affordable land and the increased funding to get a project off the ground, Welker said.

“That’s why you see a lot of nonprofits try to find alternative ways to build and provide affordable housing opportunities for people,” he said. “We didn’t do a project with 13 twin homes because we wanted to go and invest a lot more money and take on a bigger project with more responsibility. We did it because if we didn’t, we wouldn’t have had land to build on.”

Despite the challenges, Keegan hopes the success of the larger Habitat projects will spur development activities in other South Dakota cities with Habitat affiliates, including Aberdeen, Brookings, Fort Thompson, Huron, Mitchell, Yankton and Watertown.

“This is a project that we believe is scalable to any community size, including for the other affiliates in smaller cities across South Dakota,” he said.

South Dakota News Watch is an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories, donate and subscribe to stories at sdnewswatch.org. Contact content director Bart Pfankuch at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.

RAPID CITY, S.D. – As worldwide demand for rare earth elements and other similar minerals rises – as do tensions among the United States, China and now Greenland – South Dakota is experiencing its own debate over its reserves of what are known as “critical minerals.”

Rare earth elements are naturally occurring metallic materials found in sub-surface rocks that have been found to possess unique properties that make them highly valuable and highly useful, particularly in a variety of new technologies.

While 17 elements are classified as rare earth, the U.S. government has identified 50 minerals overall that are labeled critical minerals, which also includes a number of other minerals that are seen as essential to economic and military strength of the nation.

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Of those 50 critical minerals, South Dakota is known to host reserves of 15 of them, none of which are rare earth minerals but which contain some of the same properties that make them valuable for industry and technology.

Critical minerals present in South Dakota

Critical minerals in the state include antimony, arsenic, barite, beryllium, cesium, fluorspar, graphite, lithium, manganese, niobium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, tungsten and vanadium, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Those minerals are located in the western South Dakota counties of Custer, Fall River, Harding, Lawrence, Pennington and Perkins as well as the central counties of Buffalo and Lyman, according to a 2024 analysis by the state Legislative Research Council.

Given its long history of mining, and based on new studies, the Black Hills region is well-known as a place where usable critical minerals are present, which is attracting exploratory mining, said Christopher Pellowski, a geology professor at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City.

Rare earth elements and other critical minerals can be abundant but are difficult to extract because they tend to lie within other minerals that must be mined and separated through chemical processes.

One example, Pellowski said, is that the common Black Hills igneous rock pegmatite can hold deposits of lithium. Pellowski said he doesn’t expect large-scale mining to occur in the Black Hills unless and until companies can find substantial levels of critical minerals that can be monetized.

“What they’re doing now is the homework to get their heads wrapped around what’s there.” – Christopher Pellowski, geology professor at South Dakota Mines

“Mining is important and it’s a real economic driver. … But I don’t see us at a point where we’re ready for a large commitment (of money and resources),” he said. “They’re just going to have to do this in steps. And what they’re doing now is the homework to get their heads wrapped around what’s there.”

Pellowski said modern mining can also be done with far less intrusion on the land than in the past when open pit and strip mines were the norm.

“Mining today is not the mining of 100 years ago,” he said. “It’s new and improved.”

Exploration underway in Black Hills

According to the LRC report and other state records, mining and exploration efforts are underway at several sites in South Dakota, including for graphite, lithium, niobium, tantalum, tellurium, tin and tungsten.

Exploration for lithium has seen the most activity in pegmatite ore near Hill City and Keystone. South Dakota was mined for lithium in the mid-20th century for use in glass, ceramics and grease. But the target products have shifted as technology has evolved.

Lithium is increasingly in demand for use in lithium-ion batteries in handheld technologies such as smartphones and laptops as well as in electric vehicles and for energy storage from wind farms and other electricity sources.

Four lithium exploration projects are now underway in the central Black Hills, the LRC report said.

A licensed pegmatite mine in Lawrence County is seeking ore that could contain critical minerals to include niobium, tantalum, tellurium tin and tungsten, according to the LRC report. Tantalum, tin and tungsten are also being sought in a separate exploration effort in the central Black Hills, the report said.

The most recent critical mineral exploration is being undertaken by Rapid City-based Pete Lien and Sons, which hopes to find reserves of graphite by drilling 18 holes roughly 1,000 feet deep on federal lands about 3 miles southwest of Rochford, according to U.S. Forest Service documents.

Graphite can be used in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, and in lubricants, brake linings, pencils and other products.

South Dakota lawmakers have made recent efforts to further regulate lithium mining, though none has been successful.

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In 2023 and 2024, bills were filed to reclassify lithium and add taxation to its production. In 2025, lawmakers tried but failed to increase permitting requirements on lithium mines.

Under current law, lithium mines can be classified the same as sand and gravel mines, which require far less public notification and input and do not require environmental and cultural impact studies that are mandatory for hard rock mines.

That same debate is raging now in Piedmont, where a proposed limestone mine fell under the sand and gravel permit laws and therefore required no notification of the city or its residents that a mine is coming.

Environmental concerns and opposition

A handful of Native American and environmental groups have taken strong stances against further mining in the Black Hills, be it for critical minerals or for uranium at proposed mine sites in the southern hills region.

Native American tribal officials and the NDN Collective political organization have registered opposition to uranium and lithium mining and the efforts by Pete Lien and Sons to hunt for graphite.

The proposed Lien mine site is very close to Pe’ Sla, a Lakota ceremonial site in the central hills. NDN has sponsored billboards in the Rapid City area urging the company to end its mining efforts.

The potential negative effects of mining on drinking water supplies is a major concern of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, which opposes further mining of any sort in the region.

Lilias Jarding, executive director of the alliance, said more than 250,000 acres of the Black Hills are already under active federal mining claims and can therefore be mined almost at any time.

“It’s an issue of both quantity and quality of water,” Jarding told News Watch. “We’re in a semi-arid area and mining uses huge quantities of water and makes the quality of the water worse.”

Any type of mining can be destructive to the Black Hills, she said.

“Wildlife is displaced and people can be displaced,” she said. “An open-pit mine destroys the landscape and contributes to global warming because mining creates 10% of the total carbon emissions worldwide.”

Jobs and revenue in eastern Wyoming

While direct comparisons to South Dakota aren’t suitable – because the state so far isn’t known to have rare earth elements – a project underway in eastern Wyoming shows the potential interest and investment associated with discovery of a strong reserve of a highly valuable material.

With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, the state of Wyoming and private investors, the firm Rare Element Resources has invested $170 million into a project to extract and separate rare earth minerals from rocks found in the Black Hills just west of the South Dakota border.

“As ridiculous as it sounds, this is Upton and Sundance, Wyoming, versus Beijing.” – Paul Bonifas, RER director of business development

The company has spent $100 million and is seeking final federal permitting to mine rocks from the Bear Lodge region of northeast Wyoming that it believes contain an “incredibly rich deposit” of NdPr oxide (Neodymium-Praseodymium oxide). The mineral is a key component of high-strength permanent magnets.

The company has obtained a 1,000-pound sample of rock from the Bear Lodge area that it will process soon to confirm its predictions, Paul Bonifas, RER director of business development, told News Watch.

To separate the NdPr oxide, RER has built a $70 million demonstration plant in Upton, Wyoming, where more than 20 full-time employees have been hired to process the minerals.

The mineral NdPr oxide is used in magnets that are part of a wide range of consumer and military machines and products, including electric vehicles, robotics, electricity turbines, computers and medical devices such as MRI machines.

“It’s no secret that China controls roughly 90% of rare earth processing, separation and production,” Bonifas said. “Because all of these things are essential to national defense, it is absolutely a national security imperative that we domesticate the rare earth supply chain.”

As proof of concept, and evidence of the high value of rare earth element and critical minerals mining, Bonifas pointed out that RER’s market value in January 2026 was nearly $440 million.

“This is much bigger than the Black Hills and just trying to get these projects going,” he said. “As ridiculous as it sounds, this is Upton and Sundance, Wyoming, versus Beijing.”

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they’re published. Contact content director Bart Pfankuch at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.

Yes.

Native American tribes from across the country have reported that some of their tribal members have been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Indian Citizenship Act in 1924 granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe, which is headquartered in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, said four tribal members were detained Friday in Minneapolis, according to a statement.

The day before, a 20-year-old Red Lake Nation descendant said he was struck on his face and neck by ICE agents even though he said he told them he was an American citizen.

In Iowa, an Arizona tribal member was almost deported after she was turned over to an ICE detainer by mistake in November.

The Navajo Nation said dozens of Native Americans had been questioned or detained, including one woman who said ICE agents thought her federal ID was fake.

This fact brief responds to conversations such as this one.

Source

Newsweek.com, ICE Detains and Holds Four Native Americans, Tribal Leader Says

Native American Rights Fund, Resources for individuals and nonprofits approached by ICE

MPR News, Twin Cities Native American community members share resources, support amid ICE operations

Indian Country Today, ‘I felt like I was kidnapped’: Ojibwe man recounts ICE detainment

AZ Mirror, Arizona tribal member nearly deported after Iowa jail issues ICE detainer by mistake

CBSNews.com, Dozens of Native Americans report being questioned or detained by ICE

Library of Congress, Indian Citizenship Act

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This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they’re published. Contact Michael Klinski at michael.klinski@sdnewswatch.org.

WATERTOWN, S.D. – 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.

Lake Area Technical College, which has two degree-providing programs in the energy sector, has seen students with renewed interest in the industry thanks to both its growth and opportunity in the state.

Brooks Jacobsen, energy department supervisor at Lake Area Tech, told News Watch that the Watertown school’s energy operations and energy technology programs have 100% job placement rates. According to Lake Area Tech’s website, the energy technology program has an average salary of $71,000 after six months of employment.

Jacobsen said that the exposure students get to various energy sectors, including hydroelectricity, coal, wind and solar energy, allows them to be more flexible when searching for the right career.

“They’ll go do an interview or a job shadow on (a specific energy sector) and they’ll just love it, and they never thought they would. We try to keep an open mind, try to pre-teach these students that there are these capabilities all over the state,” Jacobsen said.

News Watch spoke to three students about their decision to enter the energy sector and the opportunities that the state provides for their futures. Here are their stories.

Lakshan Sethuhewa: ‘Energy is everywhere’

Lakshan Sethuhewa, a 29-year-old student from Sri Lanka, came to Lake Area Tech after a tour that showed him the “sophisticated program.” Now in his second year, Sethuhewa said he already has a job as a refrigeration expert lined up at the soon-to-open CJ Schwan’s Foods production facility in Sioux Falls.

He said that all of his classmates have job prospects and that choosing energy was in part due to the vast employment opportunities the field offers.

Sethuhewa is a student in the energy operations program, which trains students to manage energy facilities and operate plants. He described the program as “hands-on and minds-on” and appreciated how his education could translate globally.

“You can practice energy everywhere in the world. Whether you want to go to Europe, South Asia, energy is everywhere,” Sethuhewa said.

Quincy Thu: ‘The only thing that I could envision myself doing in the future’

For Quincy Thu, energy runs in the family: His father began teaching energy technology at Lake Area Tech in 2022, which got Thu thinking about the opportunities of the sector.

Thu said that the proximity of the school to his home in Castlewood, as well as affordability, was his deciding factor. As he comes into his final year in the program, he said that he’s particularly interested in the wind energy sector, which has strong roots in the eastern side of the state.

Is SD’s percentage of clean energy the highest in the US?

A fact brief that refutes or confirms a claim with supporting information and additional evidence and context.

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“I’m trying to talk to people, interview people, find out where I want to go, find the best company that fits me,” Thu said.

But he plans on staying in the state for any future career ventures.

“I’m from South Dakota, I love it here,” Thu said.

Tate Sheehan: ‘The industry is growing at immense rates’

Tate Sheehan, a second-year student who is originally from Bird Island, Minnesota, said that his decision to enter the energy sector comes from the idea that the industry’s growth is not slowing down any time soon.

He said that a combination of in-class work and hands-on projects has allowed him to feel exceptionally prepared for his entry into the energy world.

Though he’s a few hundred miles from home, Sheehan said he plans to stay in South Dakota and find a company he can “settle down” with while continuing to climb the career ladder – a goal he credits to seeing firsthand how quickly the industry is growing.

“There’s a lot of great opportunities through the energy technology program and the energy operations program to prepare us for the real world and get us ready to go out there and make a difference working for them,” Sheehan said.

Read more about the energy industry in South Dakota at the links below:

Renewable energy industry powers new job growth in SD

With new wind farms leading the way, South Dakota and its strong technical college system have put the state on the forefront of training needed energy workers.

South Dakota News WatchBart Pfankuch

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This reporting is part of a collaboration between the Institute for Nonprofit News’ Rural News Network and Canary Media, South Dakota News Watch, Cardinal News, The Mendocino Voice and The Maine Monitor. Support from Ascendium Education Group made the project possible.

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email for statewide stories. Investigative reporter Molly Wetsch is a Report for America corps member covering rural and Indigenous issues. Contact her at molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org.

The concerns were as varied as the cities and towns they represent and ranged from pinpointing local problems to big-picture historical hurdles.

Some worried about how vacant or dilapidated downtown buildings were turning away potential new businesses and residents, while others sought ways to attract younger people who can build a community’s future.

But one overarching issue hovered over all the local challenges: a need for more and better housing to accommodate new residents who will create the backbone of any economic development initiative.

“People don’t follow jobs as much as jobs follow people,” Brian Blackford, a Ball State University professor of community development, told the group.

One major takeaway of the Thriverr session hosted in Murdo by the nonprofit Dakota Resources community development group was that to attract those people, almost every community in South Dakota needs more housing.

That sentiment was a critical factor that drove a new, coordinated effort in 2025 to highlight successful housing development programs across South Dakota.

Solutions-focused storytelling shares best ideas

The need for more housing, and a desire to share what is working in individual communities, underscored a partnership South Dakota News Watch launched in 2025 with Dakota Resources.

Dakota Resources is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution that has provided support to local communities in South Dakota for more than 25 years.

Paula Jensen, vice president of program development at Dakota Resources, told the Murdo gathering that idea sharing both inside and outside of communities is an important part of generating statewide momentum for continuing growth.

“So much of this just comes down to communication,” Jensen said.

Throughout 2025, News Watch embraced that concept by telling stories of successful housing development efforts in Redfield, Wall, Chamberlain and Salem. It previously featured stories from Mitchell and Aberdeen.

Known as Engage South Dakota, the ongoing reporting project highlighted a strong spirit of innovation and idea sharing among local housing agencies and nonprofits that seek to generate new housing opportunities in communities across the state.

Driving the project forward were the tenets of solutions journalism, a rising philosophy among some American news outlets to not only report on problems but to also highlight successes and solutions that can hopefully be duplicated elsewhere.

The ongoing housing projects across the state are often bolstered by public-private partnerships and investments of money, time and energy by local nonprofit organizations.

The Engage South Dakota effort will continue in 2026 and beyond, fueled in large part by a $100,000 grant from the South Dakota Community Foundation.

Engage South Dakota: Housing solutions

A list of entities and programs that can assist in developing or obtaining housing as well as links to News Watch reporting on housing solutions.

South Dakota News WatchBart Pfankuch

As part of that project, News Watch has developed an online landing page where published articles are posted along with a roster of resources that agencies and nonprofits can tap into to obtain funds, locate resources or get new ideas to spur further housing growth.

Focus is duplication of ideas that work

At the two-day meeting in Murdo in November, members of the Dakota Resources team provided attendees with a wealth of resources to generate new economic growth and housing opportunities.

Under the banner of “Using of Public Policy for Local Development,” the group provided a slate of speakers and statewide experts on hand to share their research but also to answer specific questions posed by local development officials.

A handful of economic officials from rural communities were tapped to share their successes and answer questions on how their efforts can be replicated elsewhere.

For example, Republican state Rep. Mike Weisgram of Fort Pierre shared details of how his community was able to implement a local hotel, motel and campground occupancy tax of $2 per night that opened the door to increased tourism promotion and community enhancements in the city of 2,200.

Another presentation provided attendees a road map to enacting an ordinance that uses the threat of fines to urge owners of vacant downtown buildings to either renovate or sell their properties that can become eyesores.

“It takes partnerships, it takes patience and it takes a fair amount of capital,” he said. “But (revitalizing) one building at a time can make a huge impact in your community.” – Jared Hybertson, economic development coordinator in Centerville

Jared Hybertson, economic development coordinator in Centerville, a Turner County city of 900 located about 40 miles southwest of Sioux Falls, said the city’s vacant building ordinance was aimed at preventing potential blight that can deter growth in a downtown district.

In 2014, before Centerville had the ordinance, there were 11 vacant buildings downtown, some of which had become eyesores due to long periods of vacancy.

Hybertson told the Murdo group that generating initial support for the ordinance among elected officials and the community at large is a big first hurdle.

“I know a lot of small towns struggle with this, and getting an ordinance off the ground is probably the hardest part,” he said.

Hybertson said the ordinance has created a few tense moments with property owners. But it has ultimately led to redevelopment of several downtown buildings and storefronts that are now used as businesses, community hubs and residences.

“It takes partnerships, it takes patience and it takes a fair amount of capital,” he said. “But (revitalizing) one building at a time can make a huge impact in your community.”

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they’re published. Contact content director Bart Pfankuch at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.

The program was originally announced by Gov. Larry Rhoden to take place from July 28 through December.

One portion of Operation: Prairie Thunder involves the state’s entrance into multiple 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allow ICE to delegate some authority to state and local law enforcement agencies.

That happened as immigration enforcement operations ramped up after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who nominated former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as the Department of Homeland Security secretary.

Under Trump and Noem, more than 500,000 people have been deported from the country, according to Homeland Security, which has not released state-by-state deportation numbers.

ICE arrest data indicates focus on Hispanic, male individuals

In South Dakota, ICE and Homeland Security have been visible, especially in small towns in the eastern part of the state.

In July, ICE confirmed an active investigation at the Trail King Industries Inc. manufacturing plant in Mitchell, though no further information has been released about whether that investigation resulted in arrests, detainments or deportations.

In May, Manitou Equipment and Global Polymer Industries in Madison saw eight people arrested on immigration charges.

And in October, Drumgoon Dairy near Lake Norden confirmed that the company had been subjected to an immigration audit by Homeland Security, which is not the same as an immigration raid. But it resulted in the forced termination of 38 employees with citizenship information that was outdated, inaccurate or incomplete.

While nationwide ICE arrests and deportations have targeted a wide variety of individuals from multiple countries – including in neighboring Minnesota, where Somalian people have been the most recent target of ICE operations – South Dakota arrests have involved nearly all Hispanic people.

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 and analyzed by South Dakota News Watch.

The project currently retains accurate state-based data from July 1 to Oct. 15. The data cannot accurately reflect any arrests prior to July 1 but can help to understand general arrest trends in South Dakota.

Hispanic people across the state have reported feeling less safe, said Ivan Romero, vice president of the South Dakota Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The Latino Festival and Parade, which is hosted in Sioux Falls by the South Dakota Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, was canceled this year due to safety concerns, Romero told News Watch in October.

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“That was unfortunate, but people just don’t feel comfortable coming to Sioux Falls at this point,” he said.

The vast majority of detainer requests from July 1 to Oct. 15 went to the Minnehaha County Jail in Sioux Falls, followed by the Pennington County Jail in Rapid City and the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.

The Deportation Data Project defines detainer requests as “all requests to state, county, and municipal jails and prisons either for a person to be held on a detainer or for a notification of release date and time. A detainer is a request to a local jail to hold someone for 48 hours beyond when they otherwise would be released so that ICE can make an arrest in the jail while the individual remains detained.”

ICE said that detainer requests are most often lodged against an individual in an agency’s custody that poses a “public safety threat.” Other Homeland Security agencies can issue detainers, but most come from ICE, according to the agency’s website.

Operation: Prairie Thunder focuses on drug operations

To date, ICE has signed more than 1,200 287(g) agreements with agencies in 40 states, including five with various South Dakota agencies enabling parts of Operation: Prairie Thunder.

Those agreements take three different forms:

• Task Force Agreement: The “force multiplier” program that allows law enforcement officers to adopt limited immigration enforcement duties, with ICE oversight. The South Dakota Highway Patrol signed this agreement on May 22 and the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigations signed it on June 11.
• Warrant Service Officer: Allows law enforcement officers to execute warrants on behalf of ICE on individuals in their agency’s jail. The South Dakota Department of Corrections signed this agreement on Aug. 28, the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office signed it on March 17 and the Hughes County Sheriff’s Office in Pierre signed it on March 7.
• Jail Enforcement Model: Allows law enforcement officers to identify and process individuals who may be in violation of immigration laws while they are serving time in their agency’s jail. The DOC signed this agreement on July 25.

While Operation: Prairie Thunder’s immigration enforcement prong has been well-publicized in the state, the majority of the program’s activity comes from enhanced traffic monitoring and drug enforcement, according to data released from the governor’s office.

According to a press release from Operation: Prairie Thunder, 260 of 406 – 64% – of individuals currently in custody as a result of Operation: Prairie Thunder have a drug charge and 156 have been cited with a drug charge and released. More than 2,000 traffic citations have been issued.

The “ICE Contacts” section of Operation: Prairie Thunder’s most recent dataset said that 89 people had been contacted in ICE-related situations since the program was announced. A representative from the Department of Public Safety told News Watch in a statement: “The intent of (Operation: Prairie Thunder) is to reduce crime in our communities.

“It is important to note that any ICE contacts are incidental contacts – we aren’t seeking out illegal aliens during the saturation patrols. However, the 287(g) agreement allows us to coordinate swiftly with ICE if a stop uncovers undocumented individuals. Those undocumented, non-citizens, are the people counted as ‘Individuals Contacted.’ Not all of those found to be undocumented are taken into custody, per ICE guidance, therefore the ‘Contacts’ and ‘Arrests’ sections differ.”

The program, which initially concentrated most of its efforts in Sioux Falls and the surrounding area, has started other efforts across the state.

Operation: Prairie Thunder most recently carried out operations in Belle Fourche, Huron and Yankton, where 75 individuals were taken into custody, 42 with a drug charge. Twenty-seven people were identified as ICE contacts.

The city of Brookings issued a statement on Dec. 12 that the operation would be coming to town Dec. 17-19 and that the city “would not be participating.”

Josie Harms, Rhoden’s press secretary, said the ongoing arrest and citation statistics indicate successful crime-fighting efforts.

“Our results remain impressive, and it is clear that this operation is keeping South Dakota strong, safe, and free — so we are going to keep it up,” Harms said in a statement.

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email for statewide stories. Investigative reporter Molly Wetsch is a Report for America corps member covering rural and Indigenous issues. Contact her at molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org.

Editor’s Note: This post is from our data newsletter, the Rural Index, headed by Sarah Melotte, the Daily Yonder’s data reporter. We will be taking the next edition off as we head into Christmas. Subscribe to stay in touch with us during the New Year.

Compared to their urban and suburban counterparts, a greater share of the rural population lives in states with the most restrictive abortion legislation, according to my analysis of data from the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that focuses on reproductive rights. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June of 2022, it became harder for women to access reproductive care, but the burden often disproportionately hurt rural women.

About 46% of nonmetropolitan, or rural, Americans live in states with either ‘most restrictive’ or ‘very restrictive’ abortion legislation, representing 21.3 million people. Approximately 35% of metro Americans live in these states, representing roughly 99.1 million people. 

State-level abortion legislation is complex; it’s rarely as simple as an outright ban or permit. Abortion policies can include stipulations like waiting periods, ultrasound requirements, gestational duration bans, insurance coverage bans, telehealth bans, and more. To deal with some of this complexity, the Guttmacher dataset groups states into one of seven categories that broadly captures the state’s access to abortion: 

• Most Restrictive
• Very Restrictive
• Restrictive
• Some restrictions/protections
• Protective
• Very Protective
• Most Protective

Click here for the interactive map.

Seventeen states make up the ‘Most Restrictive’ category, and 13 of those states have enacted full bans with few exceptions. Those states include Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. The rural population in those states equals about 15.8 million people. 

Rurality Exacerbates Access Challenges

In the Post-Roe landscape, pre-existing rural challenges are exacerbated by restrictive abortion legislation, a change that has led to increased maternal mortality, particularly for women of color. The new state of abortion in America means people often have to travel much further to get the care they need, often out of state.

An ABC special that featured women who had to travel for abortions highlighted the story of Idaho resident Jennifer Adkins, who was excited when she found out she was pregnant with her first baby. But a 12-week ultrasound showed that continuing her pregnancy would put her life in danger. With financial help from family and friends, Adkins had to travel to the nearest clinic in Oregon to receive the care she needed. 

My previous analysis of abortion data showed that rural travel to abortion clinics increased from 103 miles on average in 2021 to 159 miles on average after Roe v. Wade was overturned. But travel distance varies by state, with women in parts of rural South Texas having to travel up to almost 800 miles to receive care. 

In rural Louisiana, where all the bordering states have also issued abortion bans, the distance to a clinic has increased by almost 400 miles since Roe was overturned. The average rural Louisianan is about 492 miles away from the nearest abortion clinic. The data for that analysis came from the Myers Abortion Facility Database.

In 2024, approximately 12,000 Texans traveled to New Mexico to receive an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute data. Nearly 7,000 Texans traveled to Kansas, and another 4,000 traveled to Colorado. Texas enacted a near total ban on abortions in July of 2022.
In Idaho, which enacted an abortion ban in August of 2022, 440 people travel to Washington and 140 travel to Oregon for abortions in 2024. (Visit the Guttmacher’s interactive map of abortion travel by state to explore the topic in more detail.)

Abortion and Rural Voters: More Complex Than You Might Think

Every time I write something about how rural people suffer from GOP policies, I get comments and emails from readers saying some version of, “They voted for this.” I take issue with this response for many reasons. It’s unkind, and it erases the thousands of rural voters who don’t support these policies. While some people are going to say you get what you deserve, here’s another way to look at it.

In a previous analysis of voting data from the nine states that had abortion on a ballot measure in 2024, I found that support for Trump didn’t always line up with support for abortion restriction. In 2024, approximately 73% of rural voters supported Trump, but only 61% voted to restrict abortion access. 

While 61% is still a majority vote, the 12-point gap between support for Trump and support for abortion restriction demonstrates that abortion access is a complicated issue for many Americans across the geographic spectrum. This data shows a rural voting base that is willing to split with the broader Republican platform on key issues. 

“All voters are complex,” said Nicholas Jacobs, rural sociologist. “People voted for [Trump], even if they wanted more access to reproductive care or were disappointed that a national standard was lifted by the courts.” 

The post The Stats on Abortion Access in Rural America appeared first on The Daily Yonder.

Churches are working to provide Spanish language services and interpretation technology. The town’s elementary school is one of the few of its size in the state to have an English as a Second Language (ESL) education program. And non-Hispanic residents, at a recent city council meeting, said they are looking into starting adult Spanish classes to “reach out more effectively with our Hispanic neighbors.”

It’s indicative of a larger trend in South Dakota, where diversity in rural communities grows as job opportunities flourish, in part due to new agricultural processing plants popping up in the central part of the state. It also demonstrates how non-Hispanic community members are embracing the new diversity in their towns.

Huron, 60 miles north of Plankinton, is the seat of Beadle County, which has the highest percentage of Hispanic residents in the state. But Plankinton’s Aurora County, which has just one-seventh of Beadle’s population, is the second-highest.

Hispanic population gains in rural counties spark South Dakota growth

South Dakota’s Hispanic population more than doubled over the past 12 years and now helps keep many small towns vibrant, a trend seen in other rural areas of the U.S., according to census data and experts.

South Dakota News WatchStu Whitney

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.

More statewide interpretive and other Spanish services

Ivan Romero, vice president of the Sioux Falls-based South Dakota Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said that statewide, people are seeing the benefits of increased diversity – even in small towns like Plankinton.

“In the past, it was really difficult for people to get services in their language. Going to the doctor you would need an interpreter and it would be difficult to find one. Daily necessities became difficult because of the language barriers that might’ve been there. But now, we do have a larger Hispanic population and not just people that cook. We also have people that are working professionals,” he said.

“There’s attorneys, real estate agents. There are doctors that speak Spanish, whereas a few years ago, even five years ago, we didn’t see that. So that makes people comfortable. To have somebody that understands their culture and their language and is able to interact with them on a professional level. We have CPAs, we have accountants, we have just all kinds of folks that do speak Spanish, and are Hispanic as well, providing services through the wider community.”

Worship services a key site of community gathering

Herman Perez has called South Dakota home for over a decade. A native of Puerto Rico, he’s served missions across Central America, most recently in Mexico, but rural South Dakota has ended up an unexpected place for Spanish-language support needs.

Iglesia Renuevo, which means Renew Church in English, Perez’s Spanish-language church service, has partnered with Sunnycrest United Methodist Church in Sioux Falls and the United Methodist Church of Plankinton to offer regular services in Spanish.

Perez said that the services in Plankinton have drawn in people from surrounding communities of White Lake, Mount Vernon and Stickney as well as town residents.

“Sometimes we have 10, 15 people, but we sometimes have up to 80 people in one service,” Perez said. “Plankinton is a really small town. But they’ve got a really, really big population of Hispanics, and that’s why we took advantage of that, started to open a service there once a week, and it’s just a blessing for everybody.”

Interpretive services have been available in larger cities for a while. But in more rural areas, gaps still exist.

Plankinton, because of its large community and availability of Spanish-friendly services, has become somewhat of a gathering space for Hispanic people from nearby communities where the population is smaller, Perez said.

Rural and reservation health providers face major hurdles in South Dakota

Patchwork system of health care in rural and reservation areas of South Dakota complicates care. This is the second of a two-part series on rural and reservation health care.

South Dakota News WatchBart Pfankuch

“Almost all of the people (in Plankinton) are very welcoming. You go to Mount Vernon, and they only have one Spanish family,” Perez told News Watch. “You know, all of the little cities, like Kimball only has two families. But most of the people in the community (of Plankinton) are very welcoming, so they go there.”

Romero said that, while the population is growing across the state, there are still barriers to be faced regarding the community’s integration into conversation across the state. He said that many Hispanic people want to see greater collaboration between Hispanic and non-Hispanic people – even outside of important cultural times like Hispanic Heritage Month and Día de los Muertos.

“What I would want people to understand is that we are part of the community, we’re not just an add-on to the community. We are the community,” Romero said.

“People want our voice and our number at that moment when it’s needed and convenient, but then after that we get forgotten. That’s the biggest thing, is that we also sit at the table because we are in the same kitchen.”

Immigration enforcement casts shadow, but ultimately brings community together

Immigration enforcement efforts have ramped up across the country in the past several months. In July, Gov. Larry Rhoden announced Operation: Prairie Thunder, a collaborative initiative focusing on both broadly targeting crime and working with immigration officials.

That operation was originally announced to run from August to December. But a spokesperson from the governor’s office told News Watch that, “Our results remain impressive, and it is clear that this operation is keeping South Dakota strong, safe, and free — so we are going to keep it up!”

The majority of foreign-born people in South Dakota are Latin American, though other populations are not far behind, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The title “foreign-born,” though, does not indicate citizenship or other legal immigration status.

While those circumstances have caused some fear among residents, it has mostly created a sense of unity among the community that he serves, Perez said.

“People are in fear, but they cannot live in fear. In our case, we hear of more people coming to church after (immigration activity) happens,” he said. “Churches are a very safe place for people, and they feel very welcomed and very safe there. When things get difficult, it’s where they go.”

Romero said that Hispanic-owned businesses have told him that they are seeing a decrease in business activity, as their community members leave the house less for leisure activity. He hopes that other people living in areas with Hispanic-owned businesses step in to support the business owners who have been feeling the pinch for several months.

“I’d just ask that people come out and support local Mexican restaurants, Hispanic restaurants, ethnic restaurants because the traffic is down. So not only is that gonna hurt the business owner, but it also hurts the employees that are not getting their hours. And then it’s a ripple effect because now those people can’t come to the hair salon and get a haircut. People are cautious about going out. They’re also cautious about sharing information online, just because they don’t want to get in trouble.”

Immigration crackdown comes to South Dakota

Impact also includes misinformation, fears and rumors about ICE raids. “People are terrified.”

South Dakota News WatchBart Pfankuch

Romero said that while the day-to-day activities of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce have changed, the mission remains the same: to uplift the Hispanic community in the state and provide services that allow businesses to thrive.

“We’re playing a different role now. We’re out advocating and trying to drum up more business. We’re playing a different role than we were six months ago, for sure.”

For Perez, towns like Plankinton remind him of the need to expand services in more areas of the state. He said that Iglesia Renuevo is looking to expand farther west in the coming months. But he hopes Plankinton’s Hispanic community will continue to appreciate the services it provides.

“What a blessing, working with people in Plankinton,” Perez said.

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email for statewide stories. Investigative reporter Molly Wetsch is a Report for America corps member covering rural and Indigenous issues. Contact her at molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org.

PIEDMONT, S.D. – Three lawmakers who represent this Meade County city hope to change weak state mining laws that allowed a proposed limestone mine to be sited without notification or input by any local officials or residents.

The plan by Simon Contractors to begin mining limestone on 300 acres within the city of Piedmont and in the surrounding Black Hills came as a shock to locals, who only learned of the mine project through an October notice in a local newspaper.

Piedmont is located along Interstate 90 about midway between Rapid City and Sturgis.

Piedmont residents shocked by new mine coming to town

A lax state mining law and lack of county land-use regulations allowed the operation to be approved without input from the public or local government.

South Dakota News WatchBart Pfankuch

Simon, a French-owned, Wyoming-based mining and materials company, said it has acquired state approval and private landowner agreements to allow limestone mining on 10 parcels of land in and around Piedmont. The mine is expected to start running in August and operate through 2043, according to Simon.

Simon followed lax state mining laws that allow mining of sand, gravel and limestone without a formal permitting, notification and public input process required of more invasive hard rock mining operations. The lack of zoning ordinances in Meade County also enabled the mining company to develop its plans without county input.

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. More than 700 people have signed up for regular emails about the project.

“We have rights, even if they tell us we don’t have rights,” said Chris Greenberg, who recently retired to Piedmont. “I can’t come into your yard and dump a load of garbage, but yet they can come in and tear up the land, and bring dust and noise and blasting?”

The three Republican lawmakers from Meade County – Rep. Kathy Rice, Rep. Terri Jorgenson and Sen. John Carley – have teamed up in an effort to support Piedmont residents and to prevent similar mining operations from popping up suddenly in other communities around the state.

“There’s a lot of mining to be done and the question is, ‘Does it have to be done right next to houses, and does it need to be put in after the homes are already there?’” Carley said. “If you moved into a community and there’s already a mine or industrial or commercial operation, you get to make that conscious decision. (But) this is a very different situation because there’s already a community established, and (the mine) is in a very visible, dust-oriented area.”

So far, the lawmakers said they hope to file bills in the 2026 legislative session that would increase public notification requirements, require environmental impact statements for sand and gravel mines and tighten up state regulations that allow some mining operations to proceed without a permitting process.

Seeking environmental impact data

Rice told News Watch that she is investigating two options to help Piedmont residents now and to strengthen sand, gravel and limestone mining laws in the future.

Rice said she realized that any laws passed in the 2026 legislation will likely be enacted too late to help Piedmont residents who are opposed to the limestone mine.

Yet Rice said she’s looking into whether a state law could be passed to require an environmental impact statement for gravel mines just as the state requires them for more extensive gold or silver mining.

“We need to know how it’s going to impact our water and our air and the communities that are there,” she said. “We can’t just tear apart a hill and not know what it’s going to do to the community that’s there.”

Rice said she isn’t sure yet whether she will file a bill but plans to contact the Legislative Research Council to determine how such a bill could be drafted.

“They (mining companies) can afford an impact study,” Rice said. “There’s millions of dollars in minerals in the Black Hills, so it shouldn’t just be a $100 license fee for the whole state and you can do as many mines as you want.”

Rice said she also intends to contact the landowners who have agreed to allow Simon to mine for limestone on their land and perhaps persuade them to change their minds.

“Simon has the license but does not have lease agreements,” Rice said. “So I wonder, what would make them stop from signing the agreements?”

Packed house at public meeting

The latest discussion of how to respond to the limestone mining plans came during a crowded public meeting held Nov. 20 at the Elk Creek Resort in Piedmont that drew about 250 residents.

Carley, who hosted the meeting at the resort he manages, said he intends to file legislation that would require greater public notification of proposed sand, gravel and limestone mines.

Under current state law, more invasive hard rock mines, including for silver and gold, require a full state permitting process that includes environmental studies, public notification and public hearing processes as well as approval by the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The proposed limestone mine in Piedmont fell under state sand and gravel mining laws that allow a mine company to obtain a state license that enables them to mine anywhere in the state where they own land or have landowner permission. That law does not require prior notification of neighbors or local governments and does not require a public hearing or state or county permit.

Carley said he is researching a bill that would require notification of proposed mining operations to all property owners within a certain distance of the mine.

The Simon Contractors limestone mine also was not subject to county zoning ordinances that could have restricted where it was built. Meade County voters have rejected prior ballot measures to enact zoning ordinances.

Some residents suggested the county might need to revisit the possibility of creating zoning guidelines that could provide protections or distance setbacks for communities or individual landowners. 

Carley said the Meade County legislative delegation also plans to seek regulatory changes within the DANR that would further protect existing homeowners.

During an hourlong discussion on Nov. 20, attendees brought up a number of questions and concerns regarding the mine and the process of approval. Among them:

• Will property values fall and will it be harder for mine neighbors to get property insurance?
• How much noise will mining operations create?
• How will air quality be affected by dust and will drinking water wells be contaminated?
• Are mining operations expanding in the Black Hills and in the Northern Hills in particular?
• Why does Simon have a relatively small surety bond requirement for mine reclamation?
• Can watershed protection rules be used to block this mine or other proposed mines?

Two chairs were set aside at the front of the room to accommodate Simon Contractors representatives who were invited, but both seats were left empty throughout the meeting because they didn’t show up. Simon did not return a call from News Watch seeking comment.

Some neighbors have hired Yankton attorney Nick Moser, who represented dozens of East River landowners in their mostly successful battle to stop the Summit Carbon Solutions carbon pipeline from being built on their land.

Attorney pushes grassroots pressure

Moser praised the residents for attending the meeting and urged them to continue to reach out to state and local officials to take action to prevent the mine from opening.

“Keep the pressure on and make your voices heard,” he said. “Be engaged, talk to your elected officials and encourage them to make reasonable policy that (prevents) things like the mine that is being proposed right in your backyard, (because) that’s not reasonable and that’s not what you want.”

Carley said he is hearing from concerned residents frequently but noted that most are not opposed to mining in general but want greater controls that protect neighbors and communities.

“Many of the calls go this way, ‘You know, I’m not against mining, mining is an important industry in South Dakota that is doing well in this state,'” Carley said. “I’m against the mining when it’s in my backyard or when it’s going to cause noise or dust or watershed problems. That’s what I’ve heard the community is concerned with.”

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they’re published. Contact investigative reporter Bart Pfankuch at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.

An organization that 15 years ago helped to open the first federally insured bank on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation now offers several programs that teach young people how to manage money.

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.

“The whole thing is pushing those goals to where we don’t have to rely on the government, where we can get out there and be the working class,” said Tawney Brunsch, executive director of Lakota Funds, a Native Community Development Institution based in Kyle.

It recently began its second year of the Tokeya Financial Education Program teaching financial literacy to young people on the Pine Ridge reservation. The program, which is entirely self-funded by Lakota Funds, hopes to teach self-reliance.

Reaching youth a key factor in mass financial literacy

The Family and Child Education program (FACE), which was instituted in 1990 by the Bureau of Indian Education, allows parents on rural reservations to join their young children in their educational settings, which the BIE said enhances parent-child relationships and improves educational outcomes.

Two schools on Pine Ridge, the Little Wound School in Kyle and Pine Ridge School in Pine Ridge, have active FACE programs.

Last year, Lakota Funds began the Tokeya Financial Education Program in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. That program collaborates with the FACE curriculum at the Little Wound School to provide financial literacy programs to both parents and children.

“The whole thing is pushing those goals to where we don’t have to rely on the government, where we can get out there and be the working class.” – Tawney Brunsch, executive director of Lakota Funds

Lakota Funds also started the Tokátakiya matched savings program at the Little Wound School last year. Through the program, families participating in FACE will have the opportunity to, in addition to taking financial literacy classes, work on establishing their own savings accounts with assistance from Lakota Funds.

Tokátatiya means “towards the future” in Lakota, said Nicole Pourier, who leads the financial education program.

“When I look at our littles (the children participating in the matched savings program), we’re planting the seed. And once we plant the seed, we get to watch it grow. And so what Tokátakiya means is we get to watch them grow and bloom through the future, and we’re going to be a part of their lives for the next couple of years,” she said.

FACE allows parents not just to help their children learn but to learn alongside them as well, Pourier said. For many parents – some of whom are working toward their GED certificate or other education milestones – it’s also the first time they are being exposed to certain financial concepts.

“It’s so fun to be doing two different lesson plans where they mean the same thing at different age levels that they can take home together. They’re learning the banking world, money, all the financial stuff. And it’s so exciting,” Pourier said.

At the end of the program, families that participated in the Tokátakiya program will be able to start a certificate of deposit with the Lakota Federal Credit Union, the reservation’s first federally insured financial institution, which Lakota Funds helped open in 2013.

High school seniors at Crazy Horse School in Kyle are also getting monthly personal finance lessons and saving for their class trip in the spring through the Tokeya program.

“It’s so fun to be doing two different lesson plans where they mean the same thing at different age levels that they can take home together. They’re learning the banking world, money, all the financial stuff. And it’s so exciting.” – Nicole Pourier, education programming leader

Pourier checks in with their progress each month and helps them plan out what needs to be saved to reach their own goals. This month, seniors will learn about paychecks and W-2s as well as other employment-related finance principles.

“I figured if I could reach 10 kids at one high school, that’s a win, you know? And then next year we can build on and figure out a way to make it work in the future,” Pourier said.

While there are challenges that come with teaching the next generation, connecting with them through her own life experience growing up on Pine Ridge often proves successful, she said.

“Your success is already impacting the next generation. That’s what we want for our families who are participating in this. It’s not just about the dollar amount in the matched savings. It’s about sharing that story because maybe no one else is sharing that kind of story,” Pourier said.

Brunsch told News Watch that creating an environment where financial education is part of everyday life is critical to earning tribal sovereignty, a goal that’s reflected in the group’s vision/mission statement: “sovereignty through self-reliance.”

Lakota Funds sees similar challenges, but renewed opportunity, 40 years later

Lakota Funds, which was the first Native Community Development Institution in the country and sponsored the LFCU upon its opening, began providing business loans and assisting in job creation and business establishment in 1987.

Its work focuses on eliminating barriers to economic development on the reservation, which include access to capital, business networks, infrastructure and technical assistance.

On the Pine Ridge reservation, about 48% of residents live below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Brunsch, who has served as executive director of Lakota Funds since 2008, told News Watch that while the organization has evolved since its creation, many of its goals remain the same.

Boys and Girls Clubs innovating after budget shortfalls

“Yes, the funding has been cut, but so what? These kids are getting it done anyway, and the Boys and Girls Club isn’t going anywhere.”

South Dakota News WatchMolly Wetsch

“I feel like a lot of the needs are still the same, that there hasn’t been a lot of change in some areas. There’s still that need for financial awareness for this idea of self-reliance, there’s still a lot of families out there that are dependent and have been for many generations, on support,” Brunsch said.

“We have definitely more resources and a whole new subset, if you will, of youth, that do understand what the possibilities are and that are taking steps to to move forward with their secondary education or trade school or a trade or a job now.”

Lakota Funds’ work, in addition to loan and financial programs, also extends into community development through education and workforce access initiatives like its construction internship program, which has paired over 100 interns with local builders.

Future goals reflect current commitment to self-sufficiency

While the financial education programs are, for now, limited to Crazy Horse and Little Wound Schools, executives at the Lakota Fund said they hope to see similar programs expand to the rest of the reservation and to other tribal communities in the state.

Because the program is self-funded, there are certain limits to growth. But that also allowed for a level of freedom that grant-based programs do not always have, Brunsch said.

“The fact that this was self-funded is part of the reason that we were able to move forward with it because Lakota Funds’ lending is doing well. We’ve been pursuing self-sufficiency and sustainability without any federal support for years,” Brunsch told News Watch.

“…I hope that this is just one little building block to get to where we have the sovereignty for self-reliance, that we have the ability to allow these kids to stay home and grow and build and shape our future, our communities.” – Ellen White Thunder, deputy director of Lakota Funds

“We’re hoping that through this program, we are starting to establish a bit more self-reliance and establish a bit more sovereignty in our families, in our communities, through asset development and through wealth building.”

Ellen White Thunder, deputy director of Lakota Funds, said the future for the program is broad and could involve adding new forms of education into their outreach programs. And, hopefully, the effects will cascade down to permanent improvements in quality of life on the reservation, she said.

“I would love to see more STEM somehow incorporated into this and really tied together with the framework that’s already there. I would love to see our children have the knowledge and understanding of the opportunities that are in the different career fields, career paths,” White Thunder said.

“Beyond that, I would hope that in 15, 20 years that we have our own high-level jobs (on the reservation). And I’m not saying that we don’t have high-level jobs but a variety of high-level jobs here. And I hope that this is just one little building block to get to where we have the sovereignty for self-reliance, that we have the ability to allow these kids to stay home and grow and build and shape our future, our communities.”

Pourier, who has lived on the Pine Ridge reservation her entire life, said that programs like Tokeya allow her to remind students that they are capable of doing great things.

“The stuff that I tell my parents and my students is that we’re gonna face this, we’re gonna face challenges. We’re gonna climb mountains. We got to. But it’s hard. I’m not saying it’s easy, it’s hard, but we can get there if we’re determined,” Pourier said.

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email for statewide stories. Investigative reporter Molly Wetsch is a Report for America corps member covering rural and Indigenous issues. Contact her at molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org.