In the spring of 2022, South Dakota had more than 500 open teacher positions across the state, much higher than in previous years. South Dakota teachers take on a difficult job and are among the lowest paid in the nation. But now, many new and veteran teachers are leaving the field because they feel stress from increasing political and cultural criticism of what goes on in school classrooms.

Bart Pfankuch  |  South Dakota News Watch Back-to-school plans for this fall are taking shape in South Dakota and — so far, at least — it looks like most teaching will take place in person and masks and COVID-19 vaccinations will be optional for students, teachers and staff. But safety protocols could change quickly as public school officials keep a close eye on whether the highly contagious COVID-19 delta variant takes hold in South Dakota, a state with low vaccination rates among children and young adults.

Danielle Ferguson | South Dakota News Watch Healthcare professionals say vaccinating young people against COVID-19 this summer is critical to reaching herd immunity against the virus and to protect youth against potentially devastating long-term effects of the virus. 

Bart Pfankuch | South Dakota News Watch Part one of a three-part series.

Danielle Ferguson - South Dakota News Watch Child protection advocates are worried that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a spike in child-abuse cases in South Dakota and that the abuse of children was more severe than in the past.

Danielle Ferguson - South Dakota News Watch Rural ambulance services in South Dakota are having an increasingly hard time recruiting volunteers and generating revenues, putting the stability of the services at risk and making it more likely that rural residents will endure longer response times in emergencies or possibly lose ambulance service altogether.

Danielle Ferguson - South Dakota News Watch

Bart Pfankuch - South Dakota News Watch South Dakota health officials and medical providers have been near the top of the nation in administering COVID-19 vaccines as they become available, but a significant new challenge awaits as the state moves into a much larger, more difficult-to-define population of people who may qualify for a shot.<

Nick Lowrey, South Dakota News Watch South Dakota’s largest hospitals are at or above their capacity to care for critically ill COVID-19 patients, forcing some of the sickest patients to be flown out of state to receive care.

Nick Lowrey | South Dakota News Watch One major concern of South Dakotans who opposed legalization of medical and recreational marijuana was that it could lead to an epidemic of youth use of the drug.