Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - The Watertown City Council on Monday night will take up the first reading of Ordinance No. 26‑32, a zoning text amendment intended to clarify how the city’s “clear view triangle” rules apply to garages, driveways, alleys, fences, landscaping, parking lots, and signage. The item appears on the regular agenda and is submitted by City Manager Alan Stager.

Nearly half of South Dakotans worry they cannot afford necessary healthcare in the coming year, according to a comprehensive new national survey that highlights persistent problems with medical costs and access across the state.

Federal tariffs imposed in 2025 added seven-tenths of a percentage point to consumer inflation by September, increasing costs for South Dakota households already squeezed by sluggish economic growth, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research study released this month.

Northern Plains News is launching a new election-analysis project that uses modeled simulations to show how South Dakota’s major 2026 races behave under shifting turnout and support patterns.

South Dakota has allocated all of its nearly $694 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for water infrastructure, and now officials are racing to spend it before a 2026 federal deadline.

Sanford Health is calling on the public to help track ticks across Minnesota. Residents can collect ticks found on themselves or their pets and submit them as part of the Tick Inventory via Citizen Science project, according to a news release from Sanford Health.