Join the Spearfish Area Chamber of Commerce at the 31st Annual Taste of Spearfish on Monday, April 28th. This is your opportunity to try many local specialties all in one convenient location. Bring your friends and family and come hungry! Several of your favorite local food and beverage purveyors will be set up in t...

From aging rural bridges to water systems in need of modernization, South Dakota confronts major infrastructure challenges requiring substantial investments and novel approaches across virtually every sector. Northern Plains News has drawn these conclusions from research on the state's infrastructure. Rural Trans...

South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds has joined a bipartisan effort to ensure AM radio remains available in all new vehicles, citing the medium's importance for rural communities and emergency communications. Rounds is among 60 senators now co-sponsoring the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which would require automakers to...

The South Dakota Board of Regents announced the state's public university system will implement a 2.9% tuition increase at nearly all of their institutions for the upcoming academic year-after remaining nearly flat for the last five years-while continuing to prioritize affordability and access for students statewide. ...

The effort to require AM to remain in vehicles sold in the U.S. has passed another legislative checkpoint. The bill that would ensure dashboards offer AM has secured the necessary 60 supporters in the Senate, ensuring it could overcome any potential hold on a floor vote. The milestone came in bipartisan fashion, as Sen...

Governor Larry Rhoden announced a new plan Monday, March 31, 2025 to help South Dakota homeowners pay less in property taxes. The proposal would allow counties to add a small sales tax to offset lower property taxes. "The people of South Dakota deserve a real property tax cut," said Governor Rhoden at a...

The Spearfish Restricted Use Site (RUS) will be waiving fees for residents of the City of Spearfish and Lawrence County from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 18, and Saturday, April 19. Household waste will not be accepted. Regular fees apply to appliances containing freon and tires without rims. Refrigerators and fre...

Our April "Artists of the Month" are local quilters that have their quilts on display at the Sturgis Public Library all month long. Stop in and vote for your favorite! Thursday, April 3 Armchair Travelers Book Club will be discussing books by Anne Tyler and Joyce Carol Oates Sturgis Public Library's Lush...

South Dakota Republican Senator Mike Rounds criticized officials for leaking information on Signal during a military operation in Yemen. Rounds spoke with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room" on Thursday. The senator, who serves on the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, addressed the inciden...

President Trump said Tuesday during a White House meeting that he'd be happy to see public broadcasters National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service lose their federal funding, Fox News reports. "Well, I would love to do that," Trump told a reporter who inquired about the DOGE Subcommittee Hearing...

There is a loud and clear message from broadcasters that Congress needs to take two steps during the current session to help local radio thrive and allow stations to continue serving their communities with emergency alerts, trusted news, and local sports. State broadcasters' associations representing all 50 states, the...

From territorial-era embezzlement to modern credit card controversies, South Dakota's $7.3 billion government operation faces recurring questions about accountability despite new reform efforts. While recent allegations of fraud are in the news, the state's history is peppered with controversies over stolen money an...

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced plans to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency during a Cabinet meeting on Monday, sparking controversy and raising questions about the future of disaster response in the United States. Noem made the brief statement while discussing various Department of ...

Gov. Larry Rhoden reset several major state initiatives after the Legislature rejected key proposals from former Gov. Kristi Noem in the 2025 session. The policy shifts span prison funding, property taxes, and eminent domain as Rhoden navigated a Legislature increasingly influenced by populist, pro-landowner Republi...

The 2025 Spearfish Municipal Election will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8th at the Senior Citizen's Center, located at 1306 North 10th Street, with elections for Mayor and City Councilors in Wards 1, 2, and 3. The Spearfish City Council members whose 3-year terms expire in 2025 include: Ward 1...

The annual cleanup day at Rose Hill Cemetery is Tuesday, April 1, when cemetery staff will be picking up decorations around the monuments in preparation for the summer. They will collect items that are protruding past the foundation of the monuments, in the ground surrounding the monuments, or items that have become un...

The City of Spearfish Public Works Department will be completing work on the East Colorado Boulevard Roadway Improvements Project #2304 beginning April 1, 2025. The project will extend from 700 feet west of Aurora Avenue east through the intersection with Colorado Loop and includes widening for turn and bike lanes, sto...

The state of South Dakota prepares an Annual Drinking Water Report for all community public water systems throughout the state, and the 2024 Drinking Water Report for the City of Spearfish is now available online. Copies are also available at City Hall. This report is done in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water ...

The Coeur Wharf Sustainable Prosperity Fund granted $20,000 to the City for the new skate park, set to be constructed this spring into summer at Spartan Park. "We thank Coeur Wharf Sustainable Prosperity Fund for their support on this project," Parks and Recreation Director Tyler Ehnes said. "This gra...

South Dakota's unemployment rate stayed at 1.9 percent in January, well below the national average of 4.1 percent, according to a report released Friday by the state Department of Labor and Regulation. The state's workforce grew to 491,500 people in January. That's up 0.2 percent from December and 1.5 percent higher...