Politics.

Liz Renner is pictured on Nov. 4, 2025, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She worked for the U.S. Fish and

Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on March 25, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo

Farmworkers gather produce near Hemet, Calif. The Trump administration is making it easier for farmers to employ guest workers from

Oitancan “Oi” Zephier, manager of KILI radio in Porcupine, South Dakota, works on the station’s 2026 budget on Nov. 13,

South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson testifies before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Appropriations on Feb. 11, 2025, at

President Donald Trump meets with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani n the Oval Office on Nov. 21, 2025. (Photo

A section of Blue Dog Lake shoreline before and after the implementation of a South Dakota state government program paying

South Dakota voters have low confidence in the U.S. presidency and Congress but high confidence in state government. Drilling into the numbers shows large partisan divides.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Oct. 31, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The

Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks at a town hall in downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Nov. 20, 2025. (Photo by

President Donald Trump prepares to speak after watching as members of the U.S Army participated in the 250th birthday parade

Cows stand side by side for milking at Boadwine Farms in Baltic, South Dakota. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

A homeless man smokes fentanyl in Seattle in 2022. The Trump administration has made deep cuts to the main federal

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in the East Room at

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., talks with reporters as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 20, 2025 in Washington,

State Sen. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, speaks on the South Dakota Senate floor on March 6, 2025. (Photo by Makenzie

Traders work as the market opens on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 18, 2025 in

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., amid fog on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley speaks at a forum on July 22, 2025, in Sioux Falls about the construction

Farmers will have to wait for the USDA to “crunch numbers” on recent trade deals as the department considers tariff

Booths stand ready for early city-school election voters in May 2025 at the Pennington County Administration Building in Rapid City.

Sky Roberts, left, brother of Virginia Giuffre, who was abused by Jeffrey Epstein, and his wife Amanda Roberts hold up

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks to supporters on Nov. 18, 2025, in Rapid City, South Dakota, after announcing his

An aerial view shows a data center situated near single-family homes in Stone Ridge, Va., last year. Local communities around

Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill

Women who say they were abused by disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein raise their hands as attorney Bradley

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Tim Brown/Getty Images) The Federal Aviation Administration early Monday lifted

Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore spent a few minutes sorting donated food before signing an executive order in late October

Members of the South Dakota Legislature’s Comprehensive Property Tax Task Force meet in Sioux Falls on June 25, 2025. (Photo

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks to media during an announcement at the St. Joseph Academy in Sioux Falls on

Planes line up on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport on Nov. 10, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer

Students attend class. (Courtesy of Sioux Falls School District) The South Dakota Department of Education deserves a failing grade, according

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, accompanied by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.Y., points to a poster depicting rising medical

A sign explaining delays in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during the government shutdown is displayed at a Sprouts grocery

Drinks advertised as THC- and cannabis-infused on the shelves of a Rapid City store in July 2024. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota

Furloughed federal workers stand in line for hours ahead of a special food distribution by the Capital Area Food Bank

The South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles hears from Department of Corrections staffer Stacy Cole on July 13, 2023,

A photograph of President Donald Trump and late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is displayed after being unofficially installed in a

The main campus of Monument Health in Rapid City, South Dakota, on a December day in 2022. Monument Health is

The new Sioux Falls facility has legislative authorization and support among voters surveyed. A rehabilitation task force will now focus on keeping people from reoffending.

A sign for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is displayed at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. (Photo

The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom) The U.S. Supreme Court has extended through

Relatives of the late U.S. Army Corp. Harvey Henle unveil a bridge dedication sign honoring him on Nov. 11, 2025.

Jeff Garland, right, gives a tour of Papa G’s Organic Hemp Farm in Crawford County, Indiana, on June 23, 2022.

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, speaks at the Dakotafest agricultural trade show in Mitchell, South Dakota, on Aug. 20,

Katherine Ostler votes while her 8-year-old son, Henry, looks on in November 2024 in Salt Lake City. Ahead of the

A ‘We Accept (Food Stamps)’ sign hangs in the window of a grocery store on Oct. 31, 2025 in Miami,

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters while walking to his office on Nov. 10, 2025 on Capitol

The website of the South Dakota Department of Social Services displays a sample EBT card, which is what participants in

President Donald Trump attends inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, speaks via video at the fourth annual Summit on

People wait in line at a security checkpoint at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport  on Nov. 9, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Saturday Morning Market, in St. Petersburg, Florida, on April 14, 2012. (Photo by Lance Cheung/USDA) Following a late Friday

Testing equipment at the Native BioData Consortium laboratory in Eagle Buttle, South Dakota. (Photo by John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) Five

A sign for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is displayed at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. (Photo

South Dakota Republican congressional delegates, from left, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Sen. Mike Rounds and Rep. Dusty Johnson speak

The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom) The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked Friday night

Canceled flights are displayed on an arrivals board at San Francisco International Airport  on Nov. 0, 2025 in San Francisco,

Furloughed federal workers stand in line for hours ahead of a special food distribution by the Capital Area Food Bank

A November 2025 view of a portion of the Pete Lien & Sons Shooting Sports Complex, about 10 miles north

The entrance to a Big Lots store in Portland, Oregon. (Stock photo by hapabapa/Getty Images) The U.S. Department of Agriculture

Corrections staff dismantle the death row lethal injection facility at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif., in 2019

Sen. Adam Schiff of California, left, and Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, both Democrats, talk to reporters at the U.S.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill on Sept. 19, 2025. (Photo by

The website of the South Dakota Department of Social Services displays a sample EBT card, which is what participants in

People sit in front of windows looking out on the tarmac at Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake

Patients have their blood pressure checked and other vitals taken at an intake triage at a Remote Area Medical mobile

A sign in a convenience store along Barlowe Road in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Oct. 28, 2025, advertises that it accepts

U.S. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi appeared onstage during the 2025 Concordia Annual Summit at Sheraton New York Times Square

A tribal Head Start site for early childhood education in Agency Village on the Lake Traverse Reservation in northeastern South

Advocates who urged the Oregon legislature to increase child care funding in January 2024 hung onesies and other children’s clothes

A plane prepares to land at Newark Liberty International Airport. (Photo by Dana DiFilippo/New Jersey Monitor) U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks as his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom looks on during an election night gathering at the

Victor Schwartz, founder and president of VOS Selections, spoke to reporters outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, Nov. 5,

The reflection of Wayne Edmonds Jr. is seen as he prepares to testify before the South Dakota Board of Pardons

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters during a news conference on Nov. 5, 2025 on Capitol Hill

State Rep. Josephine Garcia, R-Watertown, listens to a presentation during a House Education Committee on Jan. 22, 2025, at the

A father holds his son’s hand during the Disability Pride Parade in New York City. Advocates fear changes made, or

Most enjoy high approval ratings, though national positions are weighing on a couple. Challengers struggle with name recognition.

President George W. Bush, right, and the late Vice President Dick Cheney in the Oval Office on Jan. 24, 2002.

Ismael Collazo of Brookings, South Dakota, planned to visit Washington, D.C., during the week of Nov. 3, 2025, to advocate

A store displays a sign accepting Electronic Benefits Transfer, or EBT, cards for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program purchases for groceries

Volunteers with the Capital Area Food Bank distribute items to furloughed federal workers in partnership with No Limits Outreach Ministries

The offices of the Rapid City Area Schools. (Kaylie Tupper/for South Dakota Searchlight) A state commission on Monday cleared the

The U.S. Capitol is pictured on March 14, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — Senior reporter Jennifer Shutt

First lady Sandy Rhoden, left, and Gov. Larry Rhoden volunteer at Feeding South Dakota’s Rapid City distribution center on Nov.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley speaks to reporters on Nov. 3, 2025, in Sioux Falls. Also pictured, from left,

A sign in a convenience store along Barlowe Road in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, advertises that it

The U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 2022. (Photo by Marisa Demarco/Source New Mexico) RAPID CITY —

The $30 billion plans would support production of more energy and wider growth in the region. “Transmission infrastructure supports all development.”

State Rep. Greg Jamison, R-Sioux Falls, listens to a speaker during an interim legislative committee meeting on Oct. 29, 2025,

A shopper who receives SNAP benefits slides an EBT card at a checkout counter in a Washington, D.C., grocery store

“I Voted Today!” stickers are laid out for Sioux Falls, South Dakota, voters on Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Makenzie

A marijuana plant at the Dakota Herb grow operation near Tea, South Dakota. (Photo by John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) A