Hemp absorbs carbon as it grows, and we can lock the carbon into the various materials produced.” By Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight Ken Meyer’s boots imprint the fine layer of dust settled over the concrete floor as he walks through South Dakota’s first industrial hemp processing facility.

VALLEY CITY, N.D. — When June storms demolished three grain bins that Dean Bjornson had planned to use to store much of this year’s crop, his reaction was to bag it instead. He ordered 14 grain storage bags — long plastic tubes that have become more common on North Dakota farms in recent years — to replace the lost storage.

Ranchers across North Dakota are increasingly looking to add value to the cattle they raise. Some do that through marketing their beef as grass-finished, or minimizin

SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO.com) — There’s a surge in tick bites in South Dakota and across the Midwest this summer. Emergency departments say it’s one of the busiest peak seasons for tick bites in recent years, according to a report by Northern Plains news. Health experts say the pattern matches a broaders national trend.

Another inmate died this week in the custody of the South Dakota Department of Corrections, continuing a trend of higher-than-average prison deaths. South Dakota tracks in-custody deaths by state fiscal year.

"So sorry about the aggressive maneuver, it caught me by surprise. This is not normal at all," the pilot told passengers.

South Dakota is teaming up with federal immigration officials to crack down on violent criminals and drug dealers. Attorney General Marty Jackly says ICE has agreed to partner with the state’s Division of Criminal Investigation.

For now, the few thousand acres of hemp grown in South Dakota pale in comparison to about 6 million acres of corn and 5 million acres of soybeans. But advocates believe that could change rapidly if hemp processors and manufacturers move in, and the U.S. government backs the vision.