News

Do a good deed this weekend in Jeremy Deutsch’s memory.

As part of our public service mandate, the Beacon and Brookings Radio offered interviews with all candidates for local office. The following is our interviews with five candidates for two spots on the Brookings City Council: Incumbents Brianna Doran and Lisa Hager and challengers Al Austreim, Shawn Hostler and Wade Wantoch.

Optimism abounds as one of the biggest annual events in Eastern South Dakota arrives this weekend.

Years ago, while many pioneers decided on their own to make a new life for themselves in Dakota Territory, others had to be talked into it by territorial officials and railroads chugging westward.

Neubauer wins library award; Trick-or-treat at The Neighborhoods; Rotary hears about dairy industry; Craft show set for this weekend; County grass fire contained; Parenting classes

As part of our public service mandate, the Beacon and Brookings Radio offered interviews with all candidates for local office. The following is our interviews with both candidates for Brookings County Sheriff: Dave Biteler, the Republican nominee, and Manny Langstraat, running as an independent.

Carol Holm thinks — and acts — globally and locally.

It’s time to empty my pocket and make room for more old and badly scribbled facts and figures I’ll probably stumble upon in future weeks.

There has been a “greening of religion,” mostly in response to environmental concerns and recognition that the role of religion in society includes creation care.

Birding Club meeting set; Historic group workshop set; Arrests made in field damage case; Rotary hears form SDSU soccer coach; Farm diesel OK’d

Michael Iversen has spent the past three months doing anything and everything he can to prevent another workplace nightmare like the one inflicted upon him and his staff on July 4.

Citizen observers could play an especially important role in the Nov. 3 general election, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota.

Jewel thief gets 10 years; Audit shows mail problems are real; Tea time at public library; Get started with genealogy; Volleyball coach talks with Rotary; Fall harvest bazaar and supper set

This year is the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the National Wildlife  Federation, which has been called “The Guardian of the Wild.”

The Brookings City Council has taken official steps to repurpose Dacotah Bank Center into a mixed-use site for events and recreation, primarily targeted at space for youth sports.

Brookings Police Chief Michael Drake gave a long and impassioned defense of Flock cameras at last week’s City Council meeting, but eight citizen speakers also spoke against them and the council took no official action

Triangular lot’s story woven into fabric of Brookings

Editor’s note: As part of joint Brookings Radio and Brookings Beacon election coverage, we sat down with Brookings City Clerk Bonnie Foster and Brookings County Finance Specialist Jenna Baker to discuss the Nov. 3 election.

One word on a lichen-covered tombstone in the northwest corner of Greenwood Cemetery piqued my interest: Murdered

Navy vet challenges Mike Rounds, talks like Teddy Roosevelt.

For a few years now, the Wildlife Federation members have gotten to know several outdoorsman football players and have followed their college careers.

Fall harvest bazaar and supper set; Kiwanis Pancake Day scheduled; Johnson inducted into SDHOF; Hospital upgrades surgical suits; Rotary hears from Jacks WBB coach; New signs, not new parking rules

City outlines new plan that involves green space and necessitates the demolition of the Old Armory.

Modest dip as State contacts with ‘demographic cliff’

The Brookings Arts Council is searching for a new executive director after Rachel Funk announced she was leaving the position after more than four years.

City Manager Paul Briseno gave the City Council and public a first look at the proposed Brookings budget for 2027.

The late Norm Emily was without a doubt Brookings County’s most prolific bootlegger.

Library pet parade set for next week; rotary hears form Dan Jackson; More crop damage in county; United Way begins fundraiser

A federal judge will decide whether South Dakota’s secretary of state is violating the U.S. Constitution with allegedly misleading letters to voters registered as federal-only, and by allegedly failing to tell them how to change their status.

Brookings museum joins with national group, Nickelodeon.

BHS names its 2026 Homecoming Court

Rising costs, lack of financing doom hotel project.

Henry Heintz of Elkton is remembered for his failed attempt to invent an airplane three years before Orville and Wilbur Wright’s famous Kitty Hawk flight.

Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden and Democratic challenger Dan Ahlers both criticized President Donald Trump on Saturday during a debate at the South Dakota State Fair.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Basketball Association have requested information from Brookings-based electronic sign manufacturer Daktronics as part of their ongoing investigations into wrongdoing by player Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers team.

“Turtles are biting today” said one of the anglers at the Lake Campbell fishing pier.

First thing Monday morning, the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of intentional damage to a corn field that reportedly happened over the long holiday weekend.

Facing a deadline, locals rally to push projects across finish line.

Birding club meeting tonight; Rotary hears form men’s hoops coach; United Way begins fundraiser; Kids run free at Jack 15; Ash trees can go now yera-round

On learning from an incredible writer, human.

City Council hears from anti-Flock camera citizens.

Struwe had unanimous support from county commission, but gets none in vote at city council.

Writing newspaper headlines is an art, although it’s easier since the computer arrived in the newsroom.

Brookings is getting out of the big concert business, youth sports should get some needed space and a membership-style public rec center has been ruled out — as has a pool.

The Great Sunflower Project is more about bees and other pollinators than sunflowers.

Poetry event planned; Rotary hears about data centers

The Brookings City Council unanimously rebuked the Brookings County Commission on the record this week after the commissioners sent the mayor and council a candidate for a volunteer board they did not approve.

Nationwide shortage mitigated by local donors.

On why we need to do our own work to grow.

The other SDSU in San Diego, California, conducted research this summer on the growing use of what it termed “political swearing.”

The 2026 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally produced 448,166 vehicle entries, according to the South Dakota Department of Transportation, 16.6 percent fewer than last year’s 85th anniversary Rally and below the 462,182 counted during the pandemic Rally in 2020.

Arrest made for burglary; Scout changes website; Growth Alliance moves downtown; Ahlers, Gronli at Dems picnic; Rotary hears about conservation

Here’s “the rest of the story” of the Federal Duck Stamp and South Dakota’s involvement in this highly successful conservation program.

The Brookings County Museum has stepped into the modern age with the establishment of the first ever museum podcast featuring interesting stories about the history of Brookings County and the surrounding area.

Scrutiny falls on Flock cameras, data collection in town.

An incident Friday night during a boys soccer game between Brookings and Rapid City Central at Fishback Soccer Park led to a Rapid City Central player’s ejection and possibly facing criminal charges.

Stubble Mulch – August 19, 2026

Negotiations over whose budget carries what weight of paying school resource officers in Brookings spilled into public last week.

Statistics show sharp uptick in home gardening of medical weed.

The King of Catfish recently returned to my Lake Campbell dock and produced another remarkable fish catch — here’s the story.

County reinstates burn ban; Names released in I-29 fatal wreck; One hurt when truck rolls; Teen injured in one-vehicle wreck; Rotary leader speaks to locals; DeSmet company gets state loan

Dr. Andrew Konechne letter to Brookings City Council regarding Flock cameras

As we prepare for the school year, it’s time to welcome new international faculty, staff, students and their families to the Brookings community.

Band’s new trailer allows more elaborate show this fall.

Remnant of bygone era.

Suit against media outlets, American Legion ended by judge.

It takes only a brief drive through the streets of Sturgis during the 2026 motorcycle rally to realize that three-wheeled cycles have become a hot new trend in the biker world.

The common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is a remarkable fish, revered around the world as a game fish and a food fish, but, alas, the carp’s reputation is lacking in the United States.

Fourth warden in five years is out as shakeups continue at state prison.

Numerous local organizations coordinated with the Family Back 2 School Project last Wednesday.

Brookings woman killed in wreck; Pair hurt in interstate rollover; 9/11 remembrance event planned; Urgent need: Blook drive at Hy-Vee; Hazardous waste disposal event

Longstanding local band set to play pair of shows.

Turnout down while Doeden loses ground from four-way race.

August is a time when hunters begin purchasing hunting licenses and writing the dates for the first days of hunting on the calendar.

Hospital named to Forbes list; Rotary hears about Tanzania school; FB&T scholarships awarded to locals; Man hurt in one-bike accident

By Seth TupperSouth Dakota Searchlight South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden won the Republican Party’s nomination for governor Tuesday in a runoff election, earning the chance to seek his own four years in office after filling out the remainder of former Gov. Kristi Noem’s last term.The Associated Press called the race at 8:08 p.m. Central. Complete returns several hours…

Joan Hogan to be honored by alma mater in October.

Tome traces history of autos in South Dakota.

Multi-million dollar paydays are in store for the company that excavated the Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil that sold last week for $50.1 million, the rancher whose western South Dakota land it was found on and the firm that conducted the public auction.

Don’t rush to Sioux Falls on Interstate 29. Take a scenic route to visit your properties — the public land where you can walk on an open prairie of native grasses and flowers, and see wetlands and wildlife.

Federal legislation pending to help with cost of project.

Local blood drives planned; Rotary hears about Vietnam trip; Sleep labs gets accreditation; Stroke care award

With purchase, city now holds 4.7 acres of downtown.

Former workshop repurposed as spot to host.

Money raised would go directly to property tax relief, by new law.

Target has announced July 26 as the official opening of its 129,000-square-foot store at the Brookings Marketplace just east of I-29 and north of Sixth Street.

Made millions on payday loans, gave away billions in later years

OLLI plans fall social meeting; Rotary hears data center research; Hwy patrol check-points planned; Man killed in skid steer accident

Lake residents are happy to have the FBI on the job at area lakes — but not the famous Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Fifteen ballons will launch from Fishback Complex.

A somewhat meandering look at Midwest Nice.

The God Squad is a group of seven Presidential Cabinet-Level appointees that decide whether or not to enforce the 1973 Endangered Species Act. The God Squad has been convened only four times.

Closed primary opens door to voters making temporary change

Rotary hears about science fair; UTV raffle returns; Arlington Days set; Pool tourney to benefit local man

The Fly-In Breakfast offered pancakes and “Discovery Flights” with SDSU flight instructors.

South Dakota’s court system intends to merge the Fourth and Seventh judicial circuits, creating one that will cover nearly a third of the state’s land area.

Brookings Summer Arts Festival set for this weekend.

Local control returns to airwaves over Brookings.

The Brookings Arts Festival starts this weekend. I always try to spend some time with the antique dealers.

A dozen Republicans who are seeking or hold elected statewide office and the mayor of South Dakota’s most populous city have endorsed the incumbent governor in South Dakota’s Republican gubernatorial runoff.