SEARCHLIGHT NEWS
A white-tailed buck roams South Dakota’s Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge in 2022. (Photo courtesy of Liz Julian/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
By Joshua Haiar
Reports of deer deaths from a viral disease have jumped by hundreds in recent weeks, prompting South Dakota wildlife officials to expand a program allowing hunters to return their licenses for a refund.
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Shane Merrill, chair of the South Dakota Democratic Party, speaks at the party’s election night watch party in downtown Sioux Falls on Nov. 3, 2026. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
By Meghan O’Brien
South Dakota Democrats gained ground in the Legislature after Tuesday’s election for the first time since 2008, bringing their numbers from eight to 12 out of 105 total legislators.
Shane Merrill, the state party’s chair, joined the Searchlight Report podcast to talk about what the legislative wins mean for the state party. Plus, hear from longtime South Dakota journalist Kevin Woster, who spent decades covering the Legislature.
FROM STATES NEWSROOM
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, 2026. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
By Jennifer Shutt and Shauneen Miranda
WASHINGTON — Voters may have given Democrats control of Congress in the midterm elections, but Republicans will remain in charge of both chambers during the lame-duck session that spans November and December.
D.C. NEWS
NATIONAL NEWS
Infant dies from measles as Wisconsin outbreak grows | Wisconsin Examiner
Former WV US Sen. Rockefeller, ‘a compassionate, decent, and true leader,’ dies at 89 | West Virginia Watch
Deep drought fueling White Mountains forest fire that has reached historic scale | New Hampshire Bulletin
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