Government.

The U.S. Education Department directed its federal student loan servicers to restart interest accrual on Aug. 1 for participants in

Susan Monarez, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies during

South Dakota State Engineer Stacy Watters, left, and Vance McMillan of JE Dunn testify to the Project Prison Reset task

Respiratory therapist Joanna Bielski checks on a COVID-19 patient in the ICU at Rush University Medial Center on Jan. 31,

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivers remarks to staff at the Department of Homeland Security headquarters on Jan. 28,

President Donald Trump is displayed on a television screen as traders work on the floor of the New York Stock

Robert Arnold announces his campaign for governor in June 2025 at the state Capitol in Pierre. (Courtesy of Robert Arnold)

A gun on display in 2023 at Caso’s Gun-A-Rama in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Aristide Economopoulos/for NJ Monitor) There’s only

President Donald Trump holds up the “big, beautiful bill” that was signed into law as during a Fourth of July

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, announces his 2026 campaign for governor during an event on June 30, 2025, at

The U.S. Capitol as lawmakers worked into the night on the “big beautiful bill” on July 2, 2025. (Photo by

Susan Shumaker, a paramedic for Humboldt Fire and Ambulance, pictured in November 2022. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) Back in February,

A Humboldt ambulance in November 2022. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) Motorized cots and chairs, emergency medical technician training and life

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr wears a “Make Towers Great Again” hat during an event to announce his “Build

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters before heading to the House chamber for a procedural vote

The U.S. Capitol on June 30, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — The final “big beautiful bill” approved

Lance Russell speaks to voters in Sturgis during a 2018 campaign for attorney general. (Courtesy of Lance Russell) A county

Hughes County Deputy Josh Larson guides Lonna Carroll into the courthouse in Pierre on April 2, 2025. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota

Republican Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Thune of South Dakota, Mike Crapo of Idaho and Lindsey Graham of South

Former South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard endorses U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson’s 2026 run for governor on June 30, 2025, in

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters as returns to his office from the Senate chamber at the

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, speaks with students on May 19, 2023, in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight) Dusty

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem delivers her 2025 State of the State address to lawmakers at the Capitol in Pierre

The U.S. Capitol on Sunday, June 29, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans’ revised tax

Ilona Biliaze plays with her 7-month-old son Brian in their Watertown home on May 12, 2025. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Lutheran Social Services State Refugee Coordinator Dana Boraas poses for a photo in June 2025 in the LSS Center for

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, June 28, 2025. Hawley said he

The U.S. Capitol pictured on March 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom) I may be best-known

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine discusses the mission details of a strike on

U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, speaks to the Brandon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 26, 2024, in

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, left, and Republican South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley. (South Dakota Searchlight photos) With

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) A Friday decision by the U.S. Supreme Court set

Educational materials on sexual assault in prisons, produced by the South Dakota Department of Corrections and paid for by federal

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) The U.S. Senate is

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., left, listens as Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, speaks to reporters outside of the

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters at the Capitol as lawmakers work on the “One Big

The National Public Radio headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.  (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON —

Members of the Comprehensive Property Tax Task Force meet in Sioux Falls on June 25, 2025. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

A makeshift memorial for DFL State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, is seen at the Minnesota State

Susan Monarez, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies during

The Project Prison Reset group meets on April 3, 2025, at the Military Heritage Alliance in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South

Former Gov. Steve Bullock, D-Montana, (left) and former Gov. Larry Hogan, R-Maryland, (right) said that current governors may be missing

Linsey Sapp, who wears an “Inmate Rights” shirt and whose husband is incarcerated, speaks to lawmakers at an Initial Incarceration,

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, speaks to Rotary members on April 17, 2025, at the Elks Lodge

South Dakota Speaker of the House Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, speaks at a meeting of the Project Prison Reset work

Flowers, notes and American flags adorn a makeshift memorial for Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks to the media during a press conference on March 13, 2025, at the Capitol

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during her confirmation hearing before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Capitol

Signs stand at the entryway to a Sept. 26, 2024, public forum hosted by Neighbors Opposed to Prison Expansion, which

A B-2 Stealth Bomber performs a fly over before the NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore

A rendering of a state-owned shooting range under construction north of Rapid City. (Courtesy of South Dakota GF&P) A list

Nikki Gronli, former USDA Rural Development state director, speaks at a state Department of Social Services public hearing regarding cuts

The Senate floor at the state Capitol during the 2024 Legislature. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) South Dakota legislative leaders recently

Bullet holes are seen in the door outside the home of state Sen. John Hoffman on June 15, 2025, in

A crowd listens to a presentation on June 17, 2025, at Mitchell Technical College about the possibility of constructing a

Rodney Scott, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be chief of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, prepares to testify during his

(Getty Images) The number of reported measles cases has grown to four in South Dakota, according to a Wednesday news

From left, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Minnesota Democrats. (Courtesy photos.) WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar

A sign displays the names of South Dakota’s three elected public utilities commissioners outside of their Pierre office in January

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, accompanied by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.,

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, speaks on the Senate floor on June 17, 2025, about how he was

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivers remarks to staff at the Department of Homeland Security headquarters on Jan. 28,

The U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — U.S. senators emerged from a briefing with federal law enforcement

Reid Rasner, who says he’s pulled together a $47.45 billion bid for TikTok, speaks on May 23, 2025, at Dakota

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — Republicans and

Sioux Falls Rotarian Kersten Johnson, left, moderates a panel discussion including Applied Digital’s Nick Phillips on June 16, 2025, at

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., right, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., hold a press conference

U.S. Capitol Police officers stand guard outside of the U.S. Capitol on June 16, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by

Law enforcement stage in a neighborhood on June 15, 2025, in Green Isle, Minnesota, while searching for a suspect in

A sign for the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation at its Sioux Falls office in June 2025. (Makenzie

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump stand together at the end of the U.S Army parade on

Demonstrators hold signs during a No Kings protest on June 14, 2025, in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) With

Speaker emeritus Rep. Melissa Hortman talks to colleagues during a special legislative session June 9, 2025, at the Minnesota State

A voter shows identification to an election judge. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — A Massachusetts federal judge on

Nicole Preble holds a sign during a protest against the Trump administration on April 23, 2025, in Rapid City. (Seth

Demonstrators protest outside a downtown jail in Los Angeles following two days of clashes with police during a series of

Union members and supporters rally in Grand Park calling for the release of union leader David Huerta, who was arrested

South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks during a press conference Feb. 6, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre with

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., holds up an Elmo toy while the chamber debates a bill that would

The Sioux Falls One Stop houses offices for several state departments, including Health, Social Services and Revenue. It hosted a

Senator Alex Padilla, D-Calif.,  speaks at a Biden-Harris campaign and DNC press conference on July 18, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

(Getty Images) The students who earned their certificates of library management this month with the aid of the South Dakota

U.S. Army soldiers work on an assortment of M1 Alpha a3 Abrams tanks, stryker armored vehicles, and M2 Bradley fighting

People hold signs at a protest on May 23, 2025, at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. (John

The Hughes County Courthouse in Pierre, pictured in November 2022. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) Another person has been sentenced for