‘Woke’ money, wildfires and more from the Legislature’s third week; plus: ‘The Data Center Divide' episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 30, 2026 · 22 MIN

‘Woke’ money, wildfires and more from the Legislature’s third week; plus: ‘The Data Center Divide'

from Searchlight Report · host Meghan O'Brien

In this week’s episode of Searchlight Report, Meghan recaps criticisms of “woke” grant funding that derailed a pretrial program, a resolution asking South Dakotans to pray for the state, and a proposal to limit the liability utilities face for wildfires. Meanwhile, former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem continues to appear in national headlines, and her successor continues to back her actions. Searchlight Reporter Makenzie Huber explains a series of stories examining the impact, barriers and concerns regarding efforts to build data centers in the state.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jan 30, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

‘Woke’ money, wildfires and more from the Legislature’s third week; plus: ‘The Data Center Divide'

0:00 22:18

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Searchlight Report?

This episode is 22 minutes long.

When was this Searchlight Report episode published?

This episode was published on January 30, 2026.

Can I download this Searchlight Report episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!