Advertise on podcast: Searchlight Report

Though they didn’t win any statewide seats, South Dakota Democrats gained ground in the state Legislature after Tuesday’s election for the first time since 2008, bringing their numbers to 12 out of 105 total legislators.  Shane Merrill, the state party’s chair, joined the podcast to talk about what the legislative wins mean for the state party and how it can use the momentum it’s getting from the blue “ripple” in South Dakota, as compared to the “tsunami” that swept Democrats into power in Congress. Plus, hear from longtime South Dakota journalist Kevin Woster, who spent decades covering the Legislature. He breaks down how the Democratic numbers got so low and where the party could go after Tuesday’s wins.

Amid failed attempts to restrict mail-in voting by President Donald Trump, who has alleged “mail-in ballots are inherently corrupt,” South Dakota Searchlight reached out to mail-in voters across the state to learn why they vote by mail and why the option is important to them. Host Meghan O’Brien also explains the recent scrutiny of casting a ballot from home, and the American Civil Liberties Union’s Samantha Chapman breaks down what people should know about the process in South Dakota.  Nearly 6,000 South Dakotans have voted by mail so far in the runup to the Nov. 3 general election, accounting for 13% of all advance ballots cast in the state. Advance voting, including in-person voting at county offices, continues until Election Day.

South Dakota’s Republican Attorney General Marty Jackley is running for the state’s only U.S. House seat. He joined host Meghan O’Brien and Senior Reporter John Hult to talk about his priorities on policies involving tech regulation, immigration reform, agriculture and more. Jackley faces Democrat Nikki Gronli on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. To learn more about Gronli, check out her interview with Searchlight Report. Jackley and Gronli are competing for a seat that will be vacated by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for governor in the June primary election. Early voting is underway and the voter registration deadline is Monday.

Nikki Gronli, a Democrat running for South Dakota’s lone U.S. House seat, joins this episode of Searchlight Report. Gronli is a former U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development state director for South Dakota under then-President Joe Biden. Host Meghan O’Brien and Senior Reporter John Hult ask Gronli to explain her policy priorities on immigration reform, regulating artificial intelligence and social media, and how the federal government can support agriculture. Gronli faces Republican Marty Jackley on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. To learn more about Jackley, check out his interview with Searchlight Report. Gronli and Jackley are competing for a seat that will be vacated by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for governor in the June primary election. Advance voting is underway and the voter registration deadline is Monday.

In the Nov. 3 election, South Dakota voters are considering four proposed amendments to the state’s constitution, all placed on the ballot by the Legislature. One of the questions, Amendment I, would repeal the expanded Medicaid eligibility requirement in the state constitution if the federal government’s share of funding for the expansion drops below 90%.  There’s a dispute about whether the amendment would trigger an immediate termination of expanded Medicaid if federal funding declines, or whether the amendment would merely give lawmakers the opportunity to consider eliminating the expansion in the event of reduced federal funding. Medicaid is a federal-state healthcare insurance program for people with low incomes. In 2022, South Dakota voters expanded Medicaid eligibility to adults with incomes up to 138% of the poverty level, to capitalize on a federal funding match included in the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. The expansion is part of the state constitution and can only be altered by voters. The state Department of Social Services reported in August that about 143,000 South Dakotans were enrolled in Medicaid, including 31,000 who were enrolled through expanded eligibility.  A yes vote approves the amendment and repeals the Medicaid expansion requirement from the constitution if federal support declines. A no vote leaves the constitution as it is. Supporters of the measure, including state Rep. Will Mortenson, R-Fort Pierre, say it’s fiscally responsible. Opponents, including Deb Fischer-Clemens, a nurse and former state lawmaker, worry it could leave thousands of people without health insurance. In this episode, Mortenson and Fischer-Clemens explain their positions to Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien.

In this week’s episode, Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien interviews Dan Ahlers, the Democrat running against South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden in the general election. O’Brien asked Ahlers the same set of questions she posed to Republican candidates before the June primary election, on topics including abortion, relationships with tribal nations, climate change, taxes and Medicaid. She also asked each candidate to share a “big idea” for South Dakota. Click here to listen to Rhoden’s interview from May. The general election is Nov. 3. Early voting is underway and the voter registration deadline is October 19.

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.