SEARCHLIGHT NEWS

A meadowlark habitat decal is affixed to a South Dakota habitat conservation license plate. The optional decal purchase is what helps to fund habitat conservation, and some people don't take the extra step. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

By Joshua Haiar

Thousands of South Dakota drivers who have habitat conservation license plates have not actually made a financial contribution to protect habitat for wildlife.

That’s because unlike some other states, where drivers’ habitat contributions are collected during license-plate transactions, South Dakota dispenses the plates and then asks drivers to separately donate to habitat conservation later by ordering habitat-themed decals and affixing them to the plates.

By Jack Dura/North Dakota Monitor

The only fair housing organization in the Dakotas has furloughed some of its staff due to the delay of a crucial federal grant.

The Grand Forks-based High Plains Fair Housing Center has been awaiting the $425,000 Fair Housing Initiatives Program grant since May.

By Searchlight staff

The South Dakota Board of Economic Development approved a total of $1.4 million in state assistance for projects in Sturgis, Yankton, the Sioux Falls area and Clear Lake, according to a news release Wednesday from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

FROM STATES NEWSROOM

President Donald Trump speaks on the first day of the 2026 Republican National Convention at the American Airlines Center on Sept. 9, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

By Ashley Murray

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump headlined the first night of the first Republican midterm convention Wednesday, seeking to rally his base ahead of the November elections and dangling a “Trump dividend” to voters if his party retains control of both congressional chambers.

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