Argus Leader
Uncle, one other charged in case of Wendel’s death
She was missing for five days then found dead on March 19 in South Dakota, miles from home. Now her uncle has been charged in her death. On Thursday, June 18, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa announced after three months of...
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LOWER CRIME RATES AT RISK
The United States is experiencing one of the steepest declines in violent crime in modern history, including a murder rate at its lowest point in more than a century. Homicides across 35 major American cities fell 21% in 2025, amounting to 922 fewer...
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‘Time has come to say goodbye’
They started with a humble flyer on MySpace 20 years ago, printing pink and black shirts and empowering women in Sioux Falls to lace up their skates, call on their confidence and compete in bouts worldwide. After 50 recruits in their first year alone...
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Summer of events and a zoo fundraising milestone
The Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium announced on Monday, June 15, upcoming evening events this summer. While the zoo maintains momentum with its $50 million expansion campaign, seasonal events will include extended hours for families and after-hour...
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Mayoral candidates debate at Carnegie Hall
As the runoff election on June 23 nears, the two remaining Sioux Falls Mayoral candidates are becoming increasingly clear about how they view trending topics like childcare, public transit, homelessness and social justice. In the first and likely only...
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Leaders lobby for public education funding in D.C.
One of Sioux Falls’ most active school board members traveled to Washington D.C. this month to advocate for greater public funding for public schools. Dawn Marie Johnson, who was reelected for a second term on the board in the June 2 primary, went to...
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‘The Great Burns’
“He’s such a colorful individual, great sense of humor, really tenacious on the football field, the way he lit into his players,” Whitney said. “There are so many stories about him just striking the fear in his players, yet building this camaraderie...
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Views split on UFC event at White House
It was 2001, and mixed martial arts fighting was on the ropes. Banned in 36 states, booted from cable operators, derided as “human cockfighting” – it was such an outcast sport that it traded hands for $2 million. A song. The new owners of Ultimate...
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25M people lost Medicaid coverage after pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people covered by Medicaid rose month after month – an unusual pattern for the government’s insurance program for people with low incomes and disabilities. Why? A policy of continuous coverage during the...
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NWS says 5 tornadoes hit region on May 31
South Dakota has had seven confirmed tornadoes this storm season so far, data from the National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls states. And a newly available NWS report shows five of them happened in one night. Emergency management service...
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‘Get up and fight’
While on stage at the McGovern Day Dinner on Friday night, June 5, for the South Dakota Democratic Party’s largest fundraiser of the year, keynote speaker former President Joe Biden recalled a childhood moment of encouragement from his father. In...
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Whittier replacement, new elementary top of mind for district task force
Final recommendations from a facilities task force the Sioux Falls School District convened this spring to review more than $183 million in potential bond projects were released June 1. The 32-member group’s final priority list came together after...
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Senate narrowly OK’s $70B for ICE
Democrats don’t have much leverage in Washington these days – until they do. A small, but significant, political window opened up briefly this week as Senate Republicans worked to pass a roughly $70 billion funding bill for Immigration and Customs...
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House of Representatives votes to end war in Iran
In a severe political blow to President Donald Trump, the House of Representatives on June 3 voted for the first time to end the war in Iran. The 215-208 vote, which was mostly symbolic, marked a new period of congressional unease with the conflict in...
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‘The least bad option’
South Dakota Searchlight reporters visited polling places Tuesday to talk with voters about the primary election. Here’s a sampling of those interviews. Samantha Stobbe, 41, Republican, Sioux Falls Stobbe was an independent for years, but registered...
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‘Highly active summer’
Emergency management service officials in Minnehaha and Lincoln counties confirmed no significant damage after the final weekend in May yielded a second round of severe weather around the Sioux Falls area. On Sunday evening, May 31, residents of...
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Ads for GLP-1 drugs flooding the internet
If you watched the Super Bowl in 2026, you likely saw Serena Williams share her weight-loss journey on GLP-1 medications in a commercial. h Like millions of others around the country, if you’ve ever considered taking one of these drugs, you probably...
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China expands digital yuan footprint
China’s central bank is making a broad push to increase the use of digital yuan at home and abroad, several industry sources said, setting Beijing on a different – and potentially competing – path from the United States in shaping the future of...
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TenHaken says mayoral tenure was a ‘calling’ built to last
Alone in his prison cell, Sam wrote a two-page letter to the Sioux Falls Mayor. During his eight-year tenure, Paul TenHaken received plenty of notes, phone calls, social media posts – some to say Hello or Thank you, some begging him to get the hell...
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Potential Iran deal puts Trump in a bind
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump finds himself in a bind as he seeks to end the war against Iran: He is under pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and get U.S. gasoline prices down but at the same time faces a potential backlash from Iran hawks...
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Pentagon spars with SpaceX over pricing
NEW YORK – As U.S. kamikaze drones guided by Elon Musk’s Starlink network began to make visible gains in the war against Iran, senior SpaceX officials reached a conclusion: The Pentagon should be paying more for access to their satellite Wi-Fi...
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A ‘nasty’ start to tornado season
One of this year’s first severe storm events tore across southeastern South Dakota on Sunday, May 17, 2026, leaving behind destruction, power outages, heavy rain, hail and high winds amidst an ominous sky. For one Wagner family, the turmoil also took...
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Free meals, camps or classes
Although the Sioux Falls School District had its last day of school May 20, the district still has a variety of summer programming available for students to access when school’s not in session, up until the first day back to school on Aug. 27. As many...
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See inside the 1976 time capsule
Mark Twain Elementary School alumni and former teachers have unearthed history in the form of a 50-year-old time capsule containing everything from Argus Leader clippings and toys to school picture photos, boots and playground balls. The time capsule...
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Summer reading starts at Siouxland Libraries
Siouxland Libraries kicked off its summer reading program Friday, May 22, which will run to Aug. 14 and encourages people of all ages to keep reading and learning over the summer. Readers can pick up four age-specific reading logs either at a library...
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‘There’s illness, family needs, unavoidable conflicts with work...’
The 101st South Dakota Legislature had what could be considered an off-year. In 2026, South Dakota’s legislative chambers saw a significant increase in missed representation compared with last year—more excused absences and more missed votes on...
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Hot Summer Nites moves event location to 8th & RR
Before the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally makes noise every August, a caravan of Corvettes first revs its way west in July for the Black Hills Corvette Classic. The night before, enthusiasts prep for the trip with Hot Summer Nites, a crowded show-and-tell...
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DeJong invites you to notice the trees in your neighborhood
Trees make time feel slow, but Paul DeJong knows better. Maybe we could control the pace of the day by paying attention to where we live, to whom we see and to what we smell, or being fascinated by a flower. In that pause, we feel comforted, as if...
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Sioux Falls expands nursing training as DWU moves sites
Mitchell-based Dakota Wesleyan University’s Sioux Falls nursing program has moved into a new, bigger location. DWU has had a presence in Sioux Falls for five years, and previously had its associate degree in nursing (ADN) program at 114 S. Main Ave.,...
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WAS DYING
It was kismet. She was a smalltown newspaper editor on her eleventh hour. They were new filmmakers in need of a story. Dan and Kari Elliott named their movie-making business Degaje, a Haitian word meaning “to make your own way,” to manage on your...
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What to know about the city’s 2026 outdoor pool season
Sioux Falls’ outdoor swimming pools open for summer at 1 p.m. May 29, but the season will be shorter than in years past, and swimming lessons will now use a lottery system instead of first-come, first-served registration. All outdoor pools will close...
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Northwestern Sioux Falls fire station breaks ground
City leaders, firefighters and community partners gathered on a blustery day, Thursday, May 14, in northwestern Sioux Falls to break ground at the future site of Fire Station 13, an imperative public safety service as the Foundation Park area continues...
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Class of 2026 seniors share why graduation is a big step for them
The path to high school graduation isn’t the same for everyone. h As five seniors from the Class of 2026 shared with the Argus Leader ahead of commencement, there were many obstacles to overcome, from family medical issues and personal struggles, to...
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Trump leaves Beijing visit with few wins
BEIJING – President Donald Trump left China on May 15 with no major breakthroughs on trade or tangible help from Beijing to end the Iran war, despite two days spent heaping praise on his host, Xi Jinping. Trump’s visit to America’s main strategic and...
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Artists chosen to design new murals at the Levitt
Levitt at the Falls announced Monday, May 11, two new art installations will be part of its campus expansion. Sioux Falls artist Les Cotton will paint an interior mural inside the new green room and dressing rooms, and San Francisco-based...
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Weather looks great for Bike to Work Day
Gas prices are getting too high: How about biking to work this week instead? The thriving Sioux Falls bike community will celebrate National Bike Month on Friday, May 15, with a Bike to Work Day challenge. Spoke-N-Sport will have “Energizer Stations”...
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Hantavirus on cruise ship renews concern
One viral outbreak on a cruise ship was already commanding worldwide attention last week when health officials reported another on a separate vessel. Oceanwide Expeditions’ MV Hondius was grappling with hantavirus cases that resulted in three deaths...
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Task force tours 3 middle schools in need of fixes
Members of the Sioux Falls School District facilities task force got an inside look at three middle schools Wednesday, May 6, to compare aging, midcentury and new facilities as they weigh upgrades and renovations needed across the district. Between...
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Six School board candidates debate opt-outs, test scores
The six candidates on the ballot for the Sioux Falls School District Board of Education debated opt-outs, student test scores and the district’s biggest challenges in a forum Thursday, May 7, hosted by the League of Women Voters. In the boardroom,...
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‘Symbol of America’
Boom went the dynamite on a rock in 1927 until the faces of four presidents appeared. OK, not exactly, but the masterpiece in the Black Hills seems impossible enough to speak of in jest. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum (1867-1941), who previously completed...
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SUPPORT BEYOND THE SYLLABUS
A three-year pilot partnership bringing more mental health therapists into five different schools in the Sioux Falls School District is already seeing positive returns. First announced in September, the “Rooted in Schools” partnership has integrated a...
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South Dakota still 46th in teacher pay rankings
South Dakota ranks 46th in the nation in a new report on average teacher salaries, the same as last year. The state’s standing is its highest since the National Education Association started ranking states in 1943, according to the South Dakota...
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How a new crosswalk keeps neighborhood connected
One student’s request to the mayor is keeping a whole neighborhood connected. Zoe Quinn, a sixth grader at Ben Reifel Middle School, sent a letter to Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken this fall to ask for a safer way to cross Sycamore Avenue between...
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DC Hilton attack spotlights security
NEW YORK – The suspect charged with storming a security checkpoint and firing a shotgun near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on April 25 mocked security measures at the Washington Hilton that allowed him to get close to President...
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Microplastics could be overestimated
It seems like every day a new study finds tiny plastic particles called microplastics where they should not be: in our bodies and our food, water and air. h Yet finding and identifying microplastics is extremely challenging, especially given their...
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Avera Race Against Cancer set for May 9
Thousands of participants are expected to lace up their shoes as the 38th Annual Avera Race Against Cancer returns Saturday, May 9, with events across eastern South Dakota and southwest Minnesota. Avera Race Against Cancer running and walking events...
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Q&A: Board candidates on priorities, big picture
Six people are running for three available seats on the Sioux Falls School District Board of Education in the June 2 election. Incumbents Marc Murren, Dawn Marie Johnson and Gail Swenson are running to keep their seats on the board, and are endorsed...
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A ‘Giant’ reward
On April 26, 2025, the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra made history in Sioux Falls, as Maestro Delta David Gier became the first conductor to resurrect a long-lost, Pulitzer-winning opera. Now, Gier’s years-long effort to excavate the original,...
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‘We need reform’
County and city law enforcement provided a small update Tuesday, April 28, about an afternoon shooting the day before near 13th Street and Lyons Avenue, where an officer was shot “multiple times.” The officer is currently in the hospital “in stable...
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How bus connects students with dentistry care at school
Every once in a while, there’s a different kind of bus sitting out front at a school – the Delta Dental Mobile. The Delta Dental Mobile program began visiting Sioux Falls School District schools in 2005, and discontinued services in January. But, a...
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A ‘STARRY NIGHT’
It was a “Starry Night” on Friday, April 24, on the north end of Sioux Falls at Laurel Ridge Barn when dozens of teens came together for Homeschool Prom. The event marks the approach toward the end of the K-12 homeschool journey for many of Sioux...
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Sioux Falls schools consider $191 million in renovations
Sioux Falls School District officials shared millions of dollars’ worth of upgrades, renovations and improvements that school leaders are considering on Wednesday, April 22, during the district facilities task force’s second meeting. The biggest...
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Wave of the future
Sioux Falls leaders, community members and a group of Oscar Howe Elementary fifth-graders gathered Tuesday, April 21, for the groundbreaking of the new Kuehn Park Aquatic Center — a project that city officials say will transform the city’s only outdoor...
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‘Incredible’ work
Twenty Sioux Falls School District art teachers have their own original pieces on display at the Washington Pavilion’s University Gallery now through May 31. h The “Teachers as Artists” exhibit showcases their work not just as educators, but as artists...
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‘PARTY LIKE IT’S HALLOWEEN’
The Department of Justice dropped its criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve and its chair, Jerome Powell, on April 24, likely clearing the way for his nominated successor Kevin Warsh’s Senate confirmation. U.S. Attorney for the District of...
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DOC hosts groundbreaking for new prison near Benson Road
With a hole already deep in the ground, wind gusts kicking up dust on a spring day in the Midwest, city and state officials met on Wednesday, April 22, to celebrate what will become the new site for the South Dakota State Penitentiary. Officials...
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Donations cover $134K in student meal costs across South Dakota
Hungry Hearts has donated more than $134,000 to help feed public school students across South Dakota so far this school year. That includes $100,000 to the Sioux Falls School District, $25,000 to the Harrisburg School District and $4,500 each to the...
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Reckless drivers
With the weather warming up and more people enjoying patios and walking trails, officials with the Sioux Falls Police Department are urging safety on the roads and sidewalks “now more than ever.” Lt. Andrew Siebenborn with the traffic section said...
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Protecting one of our ‘most valuable natural resources’
The City of Sioux Falls and the nonprofit, Friends of the Big Sioux River, are partnering up for the city’s largest annual litter-removal effort, The Big Sioux River Greenway Cleanup on Saturday, April 25, as part of a broader slate of Earth Day...
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A look inside Sioux Falls’ first middle school Unified Sports basketball game
In a close 23-22 game, the Ben Reifel Middle School Bison Unity basketball team beat the Washington High School Best Buddies on Thursday, April 16. Ben Reifel is the first middle school in the Sioux Falls School District to have Unified Sports, which...
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Primordial rock formations a climber’s delight
It’s an ominous, enchanting scene right in the middle of farmland: 50-foot, gothic rock formations with a clear-water creek running through it. h Maybe it’s just another campground in South Dakota, but if you kayak in the canyon, scale the spires or...
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BARGAIN BLISS
The Kingswood Rummage Sale returns to Sioux Falls this month, reaching nearly a half century of bargain bliss. The 49th annual sale, known as the largest organized rummage in the state, will be April 29 through May 2, rain or shine. Registrations for...
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The high cost of U.S. health care
In announcing its “Great Healthcare Plan” in January, the Trump administration became the latest in a long history of efforts by the U.S. government to rein in the soaring cost of health care. h As a physician and professor studying the intersection of...
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Drug sparks overdoses
A designer drug described as 10 times more potent than fentanyl is causing an uptick in U.S. overdoses, according to health officials in multiple states. Known as cychlorphine, the synthetic opioid is relatively new, having first been identified...
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Politics looms over potential retirement
WASHINGTON – When Donald Trump was asked about the prospect of conservative Justices Samuel Alito or Clarence Thomas retiring, the Republican president voiced his support for the U.S. Supreme Court’s two oldest members to remain on the bench. “I hope...
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SFSD task force looks at growth trends
The Sioux Falls School District facilities task force held its first meeting April 8 and discussed how growth trends in the metro area will impact the district over the next decade. Superintendent Jamie Nold said the task force is looking at what...
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Concerns persist as fireworks return to Mount Rushmore
When Cheryl Schreier learned of plans for fireworks this summer at Mount Rushmore, she thought about the behind-the-scenes planning it takes to host thousands of people at the national memorial she formerly oversaw. “It’s like having a rock concert in...
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U.S. Education Secretary visits S.D. schools
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden and South Dakota Department of Education Secretary Joe Graves visited Colman-Egan High School, Flandreau Indian School and McCrossan Boys Ranch on April 8 as part of McMahon’s...
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Mayor proclaims April 9 as Local News Day
It was a revelatory sight to see in the conference room of City Hall on Thursday, April 9. A Proclamation Day was about to happen. Mayor Paul TenHaken had in his hand the same pen Gov. Larry Rhoden used to sign a bill last month that now allows...
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‘It’s gonna be a rough judgement’
Presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham spoke about President Donald Trump’s place in U.S. history at South Dakota State University’s Daschle Dialogues event April 7. The talk came at a moment of uncertainty in U.S....
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‘A second opportunity’
Americans embraced the bald eagle as a national symbol, nearly drove it to extinction and narrowly pulled it back from the brink in what has become one of the most remarkable success stories in conservation. Yet Kentucky’s rebounding eagle populations...
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USPS delivery improves, regional hubs pose issues
Although the United States Postal Service (USPS) mail service in Sioux Falls is now delivering packages at more than 90%, according to U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, regional “choke points” still pose significant issues overall. In Sioux Falls and South...
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Public defender shortage ripples across legal system
The Oregon Supreme Court on Feb. 5 issued a ruling that will have a wide impact. More than 1,400 criminal cases had to be dismissed, the justices ruled, due to lack of adequate counsel available for defendants. Like other states, Oregon must provide...
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Augustana students brew ale for 20th anniversary of Arboretum
Two Augustana University students have brewed a new beer to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum. Gracen Juffer and Madelyn Sliper, seniors studying brewing & fermentation at AU, worked on the beer as part of their capstone...
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How to enjoy the history and recreation of Falls Park
As Sioux Falls’ namesake, Falls Park is known as “the heart of the city” along the Big Sioux River. Folks stop by for family photos, first dates and picnics by the waterfall. It’s as romantic as it is nostalgic and has brought a huge bump in tourism...
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‘Celebrate our extraordinary cultural democracy’
The Levitt’s annual All My Relatives event, a free music festival that honors the multi-generational Indigenous community every summer, will get national attention this year. h Representatives with the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., announced...
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