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The two candidates for South Dakota governor recently met for a final debate before the Nov. 3 general election, hosted by South Dakota Public Broadcasting and South Dakota News Watch. In this episode of Searchlight Report, host Meghan O’Brien recaps the debate, including disagreements on data center laws, school funding and how the state helps private companies. Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden took office in early 2025 after serving as former Gov. Kristi Noem’s lieutenant governor. Rhoden is a rancher from western South Dakota who served 16 years in the Legislature. Democratic challenger Dan Ahlers is a business owner from Dell Rapids who has served as executive director of the state’s Democratic Party and also served six years in the Legislature. Early voting for the election is underway and the deadline for voter registration is Oct. 19. To learn more about the candidates, check out the South Dakota Searchlight Voter Guide.

A question on the Nov. 3 general election ballot will ask South Dakotans to add language to the state constitution specifying that people who are not U.S. citizens are disqualified from voting. The state constitution already includes citizenship as a voting eligibility requirement. Two years ago, state officials discovered 273 non-U.S. citizens had accidentally been registered to vote in South Dakota while their driver’s license forms were being processed. Noncitizens can obtain a driver’s license or state ID if they are lawful permanent residents or have temporary legal status, and there’s a part of the driver’s license form that allows an applicant to register to vote if they’re a citizen. One of those 273 people voted, according to the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office. That was in 2016. All of the registrations were canceled after their discovery. State Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, supports Amendment J. She said it would close a loophole in the constitution. Rep. Erik Muckey, D-Sioux Falls, opposes Amendment J. He said the state already has laws in place that criminalize noncitizens voting. They both explain their views in this episode of Searchlight Report. A “yes” vote on the ballot question would add language to the state constitution specifying that noncitizens are disqualified from voting. A “no” vote would leave the constitution as is.

South Dakota has collected over $1 billion in unclaimed property over the years, from sources including abandoned cash, stocks, bank accounts and even gold teeth. Much of that money has gone into the state budget, because not all of the rightful owners come forward to claim their property. Yet they could come forward at any time. That’s why lawmakers decided to start putting those assets into a cash-flow fund, and use only the interest to help fund the state’s budget. To put the money in a trust fund earning higher returns, lawmakers need the approval of South Dakota voters. The question is part of a legislative package that passed last year. One of the bills, which was signed into law, gradually transitions all unclaimed property money into a cash-flow fund that generates a small amount of interest for the state budget. Amendment K, which is on the Nov. 3 ballot, would put the money in a higher-earning trust fund managed by the state Investment Council, like other state trust funds such as the retirement pool for public employees. State Treasurer Josh Haeder and state Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, joined Searchlight Report to explain their support for the amendment. No organized opposition to the ballot measure has surfaced yet.

One of four ballot questions voters will consider on Nov. 3 would make it harder for state constitutional amendments to pass. South Dakota lawmakers can place amendments on the ballot, and so can citizens if they collect enough signatures from registered South Dakota voters. Ballot questions currently need a simple majority from voters to pass, but Amendment L would change that. If it passes — ironically with a simple majority — future ballot questions would need 60% support from voters for approval. Supporters of the measure, including state Rep. John Hughes, R-Sioux Falls, say voters have been putting too much policy in the constitution, which should be reserved for the structure and functions of government. The Republican-dominated Legislature voted to place Amendment L on the ballot.  Opponents, including Dakota Rural Action’s Chase Jensen, say Republican lawmakers want to prevent voters from passing amendments — like one requiring Medicaid expansion, which passed four years ago — that the lawmakers don’t like. A “yes” vote on the ballot question will require all future amendments to receive 60% support from voters to be added to the state constitution. A “no” vote would keep the threshold at a simple majority.

Brian Bengs is an independent running in the Nov. 3 election against incumbent Republican Mike Rounds for a seat representing South Dakota in the U.S. Senate. Bengs, a veteran of the Air Force and Navy who has a law degree and formerly taught at Northern State University in Aberdeen, previously ran in 2022 as a Democrat against Republican Sen. John Thune, who’s now the majority leader. Bengs joined Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien to share what motivated him to join another Senate race, and what it could mean to have an independent representing South Dakota.

Former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s trepidation about being honored with a statue while she’s still alive, her potential political future, and her love for a horse were among the topics she spoke about publicly during her return to South Dakota’s capital city earlier this month, where she helped reveal a statue in her honor. The bronze statue of her and the front half of her favorite horse, Iceman, are included in the Trail of Governors that winds through the city of Pierre and honors all of the state’s former chief executives. Host and reporter Meghan O’Brien takes listeners to the statue’s unveiling to hear Noem’s speech, her answers to reporters’ questions, and more.

After a bruising South Dakota primary season in which 16 incumbent Republican legislators lost and four Republicans battled for the governor nomination, the party is at a crossroads. South Dakota’s House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, was voted by his peers into his leadership position in 2024, after major turnover in the lawmaking body that year. Odenbach spoke with Searchlight Reporter Joshua Haiar about what this year’s primary results mean for the party and the state.  Odenbach also responded to a recent Searchlight Report episode featuring Republican political commentator Pat Powers of the South Dakota War College blog, in which Powers said the populist movement in the Republican Party is in decline.

Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota joins Searchlight Report to talk about his friendship with the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, a request for more information about a Wounded Knee Massacre medals review, his support of "clandestine" efforts to investigate Postal Service problems, and the future of water pipeline projects in the state.

Republican political commentator Pat Powers joins Searchlight Report once again — this time to give his takes on Tuesday’s runoff election for the Republican nomination for governor. Powers has been writing about South Dakota campaigns for more than 20 years on his South Dakota War College blog. South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden won 71% of the vote Tuesday and will continue campaigning to keep his job until the November election. He’ll face Democratic nominee Dan Ahlers, a former state legislator, in the Nov. 3 general election.

South Dakota’s first statewide runoff election is Tuesday. Leading up to the polls opening, Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien takes listeners back to the beginning of the campaigns for the Republican nomination for governor, through debates and polling and to the final days leading up to Election Day. After a close four-way race, political outsider Toby Doeden received 31% of the vote in June, and Gov. Larry Rhoden finished second with 25% of the vote. Because neither candidate secured 35% of the vote, a state law pushed the two into a runoff election. To learn more about the candidates, check out profiles on Toby Doeden and Gov. Larry Rhoden, past Searchlight report interviews with Doeden and Rhoden, and South Dakota Searchlight’s voter guide.

Reporter and Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien climbed nearly 100 feet up into the South Dakota State Capitol dome with artists from the restoration firm Conrad Schmitt — project foreman Philip Atilano and Alyssa Johnson, one of the painters on Atilano’s crew.  They’re restoring decorative paint in the Capitol to its original glory — after some decades-old touch-up work they say was done with a Sharpie — and adding some flourishes of their own.

After three years, $14 million in funding from state lawmakers and $2 million from donors, the museum at South Dakota’s Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre opened its doors again to the public this week. The renovations include upgraded museum exhibits and additional space for the State Historical Society to continue collecting for decades to come. The South Dakota Historical Society Foundation is still hoping to raise another $2 million for more new exhibits. Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien got a first-look tour with Museum Director David Grabitske and Curator of Collections Katy Schmidt to learn more about the new ways visitors can interact with South Dakota history — including a “masterwork of Native American art” that is now more prominently displayed, and a collection of traditional Native American clothing that had a remarkable journey to the museum.

While many people are looking ahead to next week’s celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday, including a fireworks display with President Trump at Mount Rushmore, many Native Americans on the Great Plains have been focused on a different anniversary this week: the 150th commemoration of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Also known as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, it was a major Native American victory during the United States’ encroachment on their land after gold was discovered in the Black Hills — an area that now includes Mount Rushmore. In this episode, Searchlight Report Host Meghan O’Brien and numerous sources break down how the two anniversaries and the fireworks spark diverse emotions in different people. This episode has been updated to clarify Trina Lone Hill's position in tribal government.

Nathan Sanderson, executive director of the 4,000-member South Dakota Retailers Association, wants to “make state government boring again.” He joins Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien to explain why, and to talk about how another major turnover in South Dakota’s Legislature — including the recent ousting of 16 incumbents — could help make it happen.

Republican political commentator Pat Powers has been writing about South Dakota campaigns for more than 20 years on his South Dakota War College blog. He joins Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien to break down what he calls “the fatal error” in the race for the Republican nomination for governor.  After four Republicans sought their party’s nomination, none succeeded in getting the 35% needed to win outright. Instead, the top two candidates — Gov. Larry Rhoden and businessman Toby Doeden — will face each other in the state’s first runoff election for a statewide office. Advance voting for the runoff is underway, voter registration is open until July 13 and the runoff election is July 28. The winner will face Democrat Dan Ahlers in November. To learn more about the top two Republican candidates, check out our prior episodes on Rhoden and Doeden.