News

Editor’s note: Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote this open letter to local clergy from a jail cell in Brimingham, Alabama in 1963. He began writing it in the margins of a newspaper — the only paper he had access to at the time. It is presented here slightly abridged from its’ original 7,000 words.

No one was injured in fire on Faculty Drive Saturday

BHS Principal named; Library book club offered; Former SDSU coach indicted and more

Socks help prevent numerous ailments

Event benefits Habitat for Humanity

Author V.J. Smith Introduces New Book Featuring “The Greatest Generation”

Also shows most diets lacking in fiber, vitamins

Governor pledges transparency in funding decisions that lawmakers might vote to take away
Legislators to debate bill that would remove governor’s sole authority over Future Fund

BPD Chief Drake will do two jobs amid campus shakeup

On being a neighbor and sharing tea

With a slate of hot-button policy issues on the table and limited funding to work with, state Sen. Jim Mehlhaff of Pierre said it is difficult to predict how the 2026 legislative session will play out in the Capitol this year.

Briefs from around the Brookings area

More than 200 people showed up at the downtown post office on Friday night for a vigil for Renee Good, a woman killed in a confrontation with a masked Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis last week.

An ICE officer fatally shot a woman driving an SUV through her car window in south Minneapolis on Wednesday morning.

Roger DeGroot briefed Brookings Rotary members on the upcoming session in Pierre.

People planning to testify at legislative committee hearings during the 2026 South Dakota legislative session must pre-register

Republican governor candidate Dusty Johnson wants to give first-time homebuyers two years without property taxes

Three different programs to encourage improvements to downtown buildings and businesses will continue in 2026, the city of Brookings announced this week.

Brookings Area United Way’s annual campaign is making its final push through the month of January.

Small fire at Prairie AquaTech put out with no injuries

Timothy Heaton appears in court on animal cruelty charges

Noelle Ira Stangle is the first baby born in Brookings County in 2026.

By Josh Linehan The Brookings BeaconBROOKINGS COUNTY — A 28-year-old Milbank man was hospitalized in Sioux Falls after a single-car rollover accident on I-29 last night, according to local authorities. The Brookings County Sheriff’s Office responded to the accident shortly after 8 p.m. on Jan 1 near mile marker 144 nearest White. According to a…

 BROOKINGS — In recognition of National Blood Donor Month, Community Blood Bank will host a blood drive at Brookings Health System on Tuesday, Jan. 6, from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. All those donating blood will receive a $15 Scooter’s gift card as a thank you gift. To schedule…

The need for more and better housing persists throughout the state

More than just houses, Branch Creek means to create a neighborhood. A place for people to live in community with each other, a place for people who want to work here but can’t currently find housing and a place for people who simply want to live in Brookings.

City Councilors voted unanimously to reject all bids for a proposed water project at Edgebrook Golf Course after they came in over budget.

A fire on Sunday afternoon off South Main in Brookings led to the likely destruction of a mobile home.

County Commission restores library funding

Homegrown chef’s new spot hopping busy to start

First off, I need everyone to take several deep breaths.

Present company very much included.

BROOKINGS — The questions present themselves here in various orders, but circling back to: Who would write a piano piece that took 7.5 hours to play — and who would then, more than 80 years later, pick up that piece and not only record it, but insist on playing the entire thing live?

By Josh Linehan The Brookings Beacon BROOKINGS — A South Dakota State Highway Patrol law enforcement saturation action is coming to Brookings Dec. 17 through 19, according to a Friday news release from the City of Brookings. The ongoing patrols, dubbed “Operation: Prairie Thunder” by Gov. Larry Rhoden’s office, began in Sioux Falls and have…

The annual event, which currently is celebrating its tenth anniversary, has gone from a twinkle of an idea to a shining star in the Brookings holiday calendar.

By Josh Linehan The Brookings BeaconBROOKINGS — Bob Fishback, third-generation member of the pioneering bank family that began First Bank & Trust, died Sunday, Dec. 7, at the age of 89.A lifelong resident of Brookings, Bob began his career at the bank at age 25 after achieving undergraduate and graduate degrees in business finance and…

On being just and fearing not

Bantam A team wins pair at home

New Beginnings Birth Center at Brookings Health System is enhancing local maternity care by launching the TeamBirth program, becoming the first maternity unit in South Dakota to implement the nationally recognized initiative

Letters to the editor

By Bob Burns For The Brookings BeaconAs we prepare to celebrate 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, many in our nation are fearful that the very future of the United States of America is being threatened by national governing failures, disregard for constitutional safeguards and heightened political conflict among our citizenry.…

Religion column

By Josh Linehan The Brookings BeaconEditor’s note: This story first appeared on the Brookings Beacon Substack on Oct. 1. ALONG DERDALL DRIVE — Look, I know even as I write this. The moment you start getting nostalgic about trees, you’re an old man.Still, here we are. The boulevard along the south side of Derdall Drive,…

Brookings service industry volunteers planning free community dinner for Dec. 20

On courage and wisdom in the face of heartache.

Sean Leary, a stand-up comic who was born and raised in Brookings and who organizes the comedy nights at Wooden Legs in town, will appear on a new showcase for comedians on CBS next week.

With SNAP benefits in limbo, local groups step up to feed the hungry.