Scouting Report | Chief Spotted Tail’s gifts, Ag weathering solar storms, return of the sei whale

A weekly digest of interesting local, state, national and even international developments

Frontier sodbusters had plenty to worry about when they hooked up their plows to teams of oxen at the start of spring planting season. Would enough rain fall? Would too much rain fall? Would a plague of locusts or crows descend upon and devour their crops? But solar storms were not on that list of calamities.

Fast forward to today. The most intense solar storm in two decades produced a dazzling northern light show – the one captured above was by Sioux Falls photographer Tom Dempster. But it also disrupted satellite systems, rendering modern farm tractors that rely on the satellites for precision planting not so precise. 

Amid political firestorm, Gov. Noem falls back to border and reservation criticisms

Bipartisanship carries S.D. judicial nominees through Senate votes