SEARCHLIGHT NEWS
South Dakota’s candidates for governor, Democratic nominee Dan Ahlers, left, and Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden chat with attendees at the South Dakota State Fair in Huron on Sept. 5, 2026. (Photos by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
By Joshua Haiar
HURON — Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden and Democratic challenger Dan Ahlers both criticized President Donald Trump on Saturday during a debate at the South Dakota State Fair, with Rhoden saying he agrees with Trump on other issues but could not support the president’s decision to import more foreign beef.
“I thought he was wrongheaded in his logic, and the things that came out of that administration trying to defend it, I think, were weak,” Rhoden said.
COMMENTARY
Legislators listen to Gov. Kristi Noem present her annual budget address in the South Dakota House of Representatives on Dec. 5, 2023. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
By Dana Hess
According to a recent South Dakota Searchlight story, legislators could get a 4% raise when they gather in Pierre this January. Legislator pay is set at 20% of the state’s household median income as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The median household income is expected to go up this year, bumping annual legislative salaries from $15,970 to $16,608.
FROM STATES NEWSROOM
Members of Virginia Professional Firefighters association hold signs during their biannual convention in May to protest Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s veto of collective bargaining legislation. New research found a significant spike in labor union membership, but growth is highly dependent upon state politics. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)
By Kevin Hardy/Stateline
Labor union membership continues to climb in the United States, though the increase remains sharply divided by the politics of individual states.
Last year, the nation added more than 411,000 union members — the largest annual growth since 2008, according to a study published just ahead of the Labor Day holiday by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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Rhoden Not a Fan of Trump’s Beef Import Plan | Watertown Radio
The future of Flock cameras discussed in Summerset | Rapid City Post
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Petition Campaign Gathering Signatures To Refer Clay Co. Sales Tax Ordinance | Vermillion Plain Talk
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