Searchlight Report

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.

Longtime South Dakota journalist and Searchlight commentary writer Kevin Woster joins Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien to discuss the race for South Dakota’s Republican nomination for governor. The race is headed for South Dakota’s first-ever top two runoff in a statewide contest. No candidate reached the 35% of voters needed to secure a win Tuesday night.Advance voting for the runoff will begin June 10. Voter registration is open until July 13. 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 Gov. Larry Rhoden and businessman Toby Doeden. You can read Woster's commentary on the four-candidate race now at southdakotasearchlight.com.

In this episode of Searchlight Report, host and reporter Meghan O’Brien talks with Samantha Chapman of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota about the things voters need to know for the primary election: why they might have something to vote on even if they think they don’t, what to do when their rights are questioned, what to know about new laws regarding citizenship, why it’s smart to bring a sample ballot, and more. The Republican nominations for governor and U.S. House and Senate are all up for grabs, and many voters will have other items on their ballot such as legislative primaries and races for city, school and county offices.The primary election is Tuesday, June 2. Voters can use the secretary of state’s Voter Information Portal to find their polling place and view a sample ballot. Voters can also track their absentee ballot through the portal. More information is available in South Dakota Searchlight’s Voter Guide.

In this special edition of the Searchlight Report, host Meghan O’Brien interviews U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, one of four people running for the Republican nomination for governor of South Dakota.In a series of four episodes, O’Brien asked all four candidates the same set of questions 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.South Dakota’s primary election is June 2.

In this special edition of the Searchlight Report, host Meghan O’Brien interviews Jon Hansen, speaker of the state House and one of four people running for the Republican nomination for governor of South Dakota.In a series of four episodes, O’Brien asked all four candidates the same set of questions 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.South Dakota’s primary election is June 2.EDITOR'S NOTE: Hansen's campaign said a noticeable irregularity in the quality of his voice during this episode was due to "minor technical difficulties."

In this special edition of the Searchlight Report, host Meghan O’Brien interviews Gov. Larry Rhoden, one of four people running for the Republican nomination for governor of South Dakota.In a series of four episodes, O’Brien asked all four candidates the same set of questions 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.South Dakota’s primary election is June 2.

In this special edition of the Searchlight Report, host Meghan O’Brien interviews Toby Doeden, an Aberdeen businessman and one of four Republicans running for their party's nomination for governor of South Dakota.In a series of four episodes, O’Brien asked all four candidates the same set of questions 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.South Dakota’s primary election is June 2.

This week’s episode of Searchlight Report features Reporters Joshua Haiar and Makenzie Huber and Editor Seth Tupper in conversation with host Meghan O’Brien about their series on how and when South Dakotans will be impacted by new laws that use higher sales taxes to reduce property taxes.

In this week’s episode of Searchlight Report, reporter and host Meghan O’Brien takes listeners through the expense and unease surrounding a fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore, including an ongoing drought and potential harm to endangered species, as well as resistance from Indigenous groups in the Black Hills. Also, a final debate between the state’s four Republican gubernatorial candidates hosted by Sioux Falls Live and The Dakota Scout features disagreements about education, and the state’s only Democratic candidate for governor responds.

In this week’s Searchlight Report podcast episode, host Meghan O’Brien talks to both sides in a dispute over proposed drilling for uranium in South Dakota’s Black Hills. She also explains Gov. Larry Rhoden’s $10 million in grants to spur defense contracting and bring a gunsmithing program to the state, plus a legislative board’s decision to raise the pay of the state investment officer despite concerns about underperformance. And she shares audio highlights from the second debate in the race for the Republican nomination for governor.

This week, reporter and Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien brings listeners the key moments — courtesy of KELO-TV — from the first debate in the race for South Dakota’s Republican nomination for governor. She also has highlights from the Legislature’s Veto Day, including the fate of legislation on lab-grown meat, in-home care and a deteriorating dam. 

In the 10th episode of Searchlight Report, reporter and host Meghan O’Brien has interviews from the streets of Pierre during a No Kings protest against the Trump administration. She also explains what new voters in South Dakota will need to know about proving their citizenship for the upcoming election. Reporter Makenzie Huber spoke with a state lawmaker about what was neglected in this year’s legislative session. Plus, “a South Dakotan everyone can be proud of.” 

A white-knuckle drive around a state training course highlights the end of the 101st South Dakota legislative session in this week’s episode of the Searchlight Report. Lawmakers also approve the state’s budget, finding money to increase funding for education, Medicaid providers and state employees — the state’s “big three.” Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden approves two major bills in a property tax relief plan, trading lower property tax for higher sales tax. Reporter and Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien visits a different kind of legislative event at the Emergency Vehicle Operation Course, and catches sound from the ringing in of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, with South Dakota’s own liberty bell.

As the 2026 South Dakota legislative session winds down, the push for property tax relief is coalescing around plans to provide that relief with money from higher sales taxes, after lawmakers reduced sales taxes just three years ago. But how did we get here? Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien takes a look back at what pushed the state toward the need for property tax relief in recent years, the various ways lawmakers and leaders have tried to address the problem, and how the conversation about property taxes has consistently revolved around sales taxes.

In this special episode of Searchlight Report, journalists Meghan O’Brien and Joshua Haiar recap an unusually chaotic and contentious week in the South Dakota Senate, including a failed search for state Sen. John Carley during a key day of the session, resulting in the defeat of a pair of data-center related bills.

In the sixth episode of Searchlight Report, Meghan rounds up the fight to incentivize or restrict data centers, and the flurry of property tax relief bills that are moving through the Legislature. An education committee advances a bill that would allow charter schools in the state, and a major Sioux Falls meatpacking plant is finding a new home in the city. Also, a bill that would have established data collection for “assisted reproductive technology” founders in the state House of Representatives, and the state Senate welcomes a “guest gaveler” with plenty of gusto.

The South Dakota legislative session crosses the halfway mark in the fifth episode of Searchlight Report. Meghan covers the governor’s veto of a lab-grown meat ban, updates on dueling lawsuits over an abortion-rights advertising campaign, and a new proposal that would require schools to show a prenatal development video. One lawmaker wants employers to use E-Verify to check all employees’ citizenship, while another wants to allow health care providers to refuse to perform services that violate their conscience. Also, the Democrats have a new candidate for governor, and lawmakers have more money for the state budget than they thought.

In the fourth episode of Searchlight Report, Meghan chronicles the fate of South Dakota legislative bills dealing with alternative COVID-19 treatments, a 50-year sales tax break for data centers, guns at colleges and schools, and lab-grown meat. Also, Republicans suspend one of their own for remarks about Democrats and God, and Gov. Larry Rhoden talks about that time he forgot his twin’s birthday.

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.

This week in the Legislature, lawmakers discussed hemp and kratom regulation, an ethics bill based on South Dakota Searchlight reporting and an eminent domain issue that could end up on the ballot in November. A committee meeting was interrupted by a disagreement about seating arrangements. Gov. Larry Rhoden announced a bill to increase the punishment for threats or acts of violence that disrupt religious services. And an old hydroelectric plant in Spearfish Canyon could become a new museum for visitors to the area.

In the first episode of Searchlight Report, South Dakota Searchlight audio reporter Meghan O’Brien dives deeper on the first moves made in the 2026 legislative session, on issues including property rights, medication abortions, the state’s controversial Future Fund and an ethics bill inspired by Searchlight reporting. Meghan also shares archival audio from Don Barnett, who died recently at age 83. Barnett is the former mayor who guided Rapid City’s recovery from a 1972 flood that killed 238 people.