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"Surviving the '72 Flood"

Portraits and firsthand accounts from 27 survivors of the 1972 Black Hills Flood, published for the 50th commemoration.

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"Calvin Coolidge in the Black Hills"

The adventures, misadventures and legacy of a sitting president's three-month sojourn in the Black Hills.

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"The Black Hills of South Dakota"

A guidebook packed with maps, carefully curated recommendations, and everything else you need to simplify your trip-planning process.

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South Dakota Searchlight •

Defense secretary orders review of Wounded Knee Massacre medals • South Dakota Searchlight

The medals awarded to soldiers who participated in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre will be subjected to a review, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Wednesday.
The department said the review’s purpose is “to ensure no awardees were recognized for conduct inconsistent with the nation’s highest military honor.”
The move comes after years of activism by Lakota people — including descendants of massacre survivors — who want the medals rescinded. 
Oliver “OJ” Semans, a member of the Rosebud Siou...
South Dakota Searchlight •

Trump ‘honored the Constitution,’ Noem says in convention speech • South Dakota Searchlight

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem used her Monday evening speech at the Republican National Convention to praise former President Donald Trump’s devotion to the Constitution, without mentioning that he’s criminally accused of subverting it.
“I’ve been governor under both President Trump and Joe Biden, and people ask me all the time, ‘What’s the biggest difference?’” Noem said from the stage in Milwaukee. “And I tell them that President Trump honored the Constitution.”
A pending federal indictment ag...
South Dakota Searchlight •

Federal judge declines to intervene ‘at this time’ in fight over abortion ballot measure • South Dakota Searchlight

A federal judge is declining, for now, to stop a lawsuit in state court against South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure.
Judge Karen Schreier signed her order Friday. She said a state court should rule on a key issue in the lawsuit before she considers intervening.
But she added, “If the state court ruling contradicts a federal court order, this court will consider the issue at that time.”

The anti-abortion Life Defense Fund filed its lawsuit in state court last month. The group wants to...
South Dakota Searchlight •

Company applies to build 68-turbine, $261 million wind project in northeast SD • South Dakota Searchlight

An energy company has applied to construct another wind farm in northeastern South Dakota.
The company is Chicago-based Invenergy. It wants to build up to 68 turbines through its South Dakota subsidiary, Deuel Harvest Wind Energy South. The turbines would be spread across 54 square miles of privately owned land near the small town of Brandt in Deuel County. The project’s estimated cost is $621 million.
The “south” in the project’s name distinguishes it from the 109-turbine Deuel Harvest Wind Far...
South Dakota Searchlight •

Flood washes away Noem’s false veneer of leadership • South Dakota Searchlight

While the rain fell, she abandoned the state for a political conference and television interview.

When catastrophic floodwaters surged toward McCook Lake, her cursory appearance there — along with her lackluster crisis communications and departure for an out-of-state political fundraiser — left people without adequate warning about the danger they faced.

And after declining to use the National Guard for the flood preparations or response, Noem said activating the Guard would be “extremely expe
South Dakota Searchlight •

McCook Lake residents say their homes were sacrificed, and they want a new flood plan • South Dakota Searchlight

State and local authorities knew they were placing McCook Lake in the path of record high floodwaters but failed to adequately warn residents of the danger, according to some people who live in the flood-ravaged community.

Authorities rejected the criticism and said they executed a long-established flood mitigation plan that was simply overwhelmed by record amounts of water. They also defended their communications, saying they gave multiple warnings to residents before the floodwaters arrived.
South Dakota Searchlight •

Homes and roads in McCook Lake area ravaged by flooding • South Dakota Searchlight

Homes were ruined, roads were washed out, sinkholes opened up, a railroad bridge was destroyed, and rescuers worked through Sunday night into Monday morning to save people from rising floodwaters in the McCook Lake area of southeastern South Dakota.

“It looks like the Grand Canyon here, and it’s just pouring in. What a disaster,” said McCook Lake Association President Dirk Lohry while kayaking the lake and surveying the damage Monday morning. He waded through trash and navigated currents that h
South Dakota Searchlight •

Southeast SD flooding claims at least one life as focus shifts to Dakota Dunes • South Dakota Searchlight

Federal, state and local officials are focusing their efforts on a voluntary evacuation of Dakota Dunes and a levee construction project across Interstate 29 near McCook Lake as they continue responding to historic rainfall and flooding in southeast South Dakota that has claimed at least one life.

Gov. Kristi Noem led a press conference Sunday in North Sioux City. She shared news of the death but declined to provide any information about the person, circumstances or location, other than saying
South Dakota Searchlight •

Strained wastewater systems, swollen rivers remain threats in flooded southeast SD • South Dakota Searchlight

Sioux Falls is asking area residents to limit their contributions to the wastewater system, while state officials are warning of river crests that will arrive Monday and Tuesday as southeast South Dakota recovers from several days of historic rainfall totaling more than 17 inches in some locations.

Mayor Paul TenHaken said Sioux Falls is diverting wastewater into holding facilities that have never been used before, and those facilities are full.

“This is the most strained the system has ever b
South Dakota Searchlight •

Explaining the lawsuit against South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure •

A new court fight over South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure could hinge on a complicated answer to a simple question: Does a set of six-year-old petition requirements still exist?

The court fight started Thursday, when the Life Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in state court. The lawsuit challenges the legitimacy of a citizen-initiated Nov. 5 ballot question that would reinstate abortion rights. The Life Defense Fund is a ballot question committee organized to oppose the measure.

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