south dakota

A student unearthed a Triceratops skull fragment in North Dakota's Hell Creek Formation. The fossil, named Alice, was found quickly during a planned excavation. This site is famous for fossils from the late Cretaceous period. The discovery adds to our understanding of dinosaurs before their extinction. It shows a childhood fascination becoming real science.

Two hikers in south dakota's Badlands stumbled upon a massive fossil discovery in 1994. This led to the 'Big Pig Dig,' unearthing over 19,000 fossils. Scientists believe the site was a prehistoric watering hole where animals perished during a severe drought 34 million years ago, offering crucial insights into ancient environmental changes.

Google's Search isn't a search engine anymore. At I/O 2026, the company officially rebuilt its 25-year-old product around Gemini 3.5 Flash—a box that now accepts photos, files, and video, generates custom interactive pages on the fly, and deploys AI agents to monitor the web indefinitely on your behalf. With AI Overviews at 2.5 billion monthly users and AI Mode crossing one billion, Google isn't pitching a future. It's documenting a shift that already happened.

Democrats in red states are backing independent candidates to counter their party's toxic brand, a strategy quietly supported by national party figures. This approach aims to win seats by bypassing traditional Democratic nominees, though some question its long-term impact and the independents' future allegiances. The move reflects a pragmatic effort to break partisan gridlock and gain representation.

The US Education Department has ended agreements protecting transgender students in six institutions, reversing prior interpretations of Title IX. This move, criticized by advocacy groups, removes requirements for staff training on preferred pronouns and bathroom access based on gender identity. Some districts are rolling back protections, while others reaffirm their commitment to LGBTQ+ students.

Firefighters have stopped a wildfire from spreading in the western North Dakota tourist town of Medora, where its 100 residents were forced to evacuate, officials said.

south dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been confirmed by the US Senate to head the Department of Homeland Security. As a longtime Trump ally, Noem pledges to secure the southern border and fix the broken immigration system while ensuring national security and disaster response.

U.S. News has ranked nearly 25,000 U.S. public high schools, including those in south dakota. The top 15 schools in the state show a mix of high graduation rates and college readiness scores. Notably, Lincoln High School leads with strong college readiness, while smaller schools like Warner and Gettysburg excel in graduation rates but lack college readiness data.

A railroad bridge collapsed during flooding in the Midwestern US amidst a vast heat wave, causing evacuations and at least one death. The bridge connected North Sioux City, south dakota, with Sioux City, Iowa, and was a crucial rail link, impacting transportation routes.

Donald Trump has chosen south dakota Governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Noem, currently serving a four-year term, gained attention for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her appointment follows the selection of Tom Homan as 'border czar,' signaling a focus on immigration enforcement in the upcoming administration.

While the nationwide rate at which patients - who had not already been taking opioids - received an opioid prescription after arthroscopic knee surgery was found to be more than 70 percent across the United States between 2015 and 2019.

south dakota Governor Kristi Noem's recent congressional hearing has reignited national attention on her leadership and immigration policies. Her journey from a family farm to heading the Department of Homeland Security highlights a career shaped by personal resilience and evolving political influence. This scrutiny underscores her prominent, yet often debated, national standing.

A new WalletHub study, highlighted by Newsweek, ranks the top 10 hardest-working states in America for 2025. North Dakota leads with near-total employment and long workweeks, followed by Alaska, south dakota, Texas, and Hawaii. Virginia, New Hampshire, Wyoming, Maryland, and Nebraska complete the list, each reflecting a distinctive yet unyielding culture of productivity and perseverance.

In a surprising twist, reality TV icon Taylor Frankie Paul finds herself in hot water as her highly anticipated venture, 'The Bachelorette,' has been abruptly shelved due to the surfacing of a controversial assault video.

Highly pathogenic bird flu has reappeared in commercial poultry flocks in the US. Two turkey farms in south dakota and Utah have been affected. This is the first reported outbreak since April, when two turkey farms in the Dakotas were hit. Infected flocks are typically destroyed to prevent the spread of the flu.

In the US, TikTok has been extremely popular with millions of users. However, a US state has issued an order that bans employees from using the app on their official devices.

The president, in remarks Friday night at the south dakota landmark, offered a discordant tone to an electorate battered by a pandemic and seared by the recent high-profile killings of Black people. He zeroed in on the desecration by some demonstrators of monuments and statues across the country that honor those who have benefited from slavery, including some past presidents.

Priya Saxena, an Indian PhD graduate in south dakota, has been granted a preliminary injunction against deportation after her visa was unexpectedly revoked by DHS over a minor traffic violation from 2021. The court's decision protects her right to remain in the US and apply for Optional Practical Training.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is in the news, linking a recent D.C. National Guard shooting to potential radicalization of an Afghan national admitted by the Biden administration. Amidst this, Noem's personal life, including her 33-year marriage and rumored affair with Corey Lewandowski, is also drawing attention. The article details her political career and family life. Read below to know more!

The American work ethic, rooted in centuries of ambition, continues to define the nation’s identity, often at the expense of rest. According to the World Economic Forum, Americans work 1,805 hours annually, far exceeding many peers. A 2025 WalletHub analysis ranks North Dakota, Alaska, and south dakota as the nation’s hardest-working states, reflecting enduring diligence amid growing burnout concerns.

An area stretching from Montana into western Nebraska and Colorado was under blizzard warnings, and the National Weather Service said that as much as 2 feet (61 cm) of snow was possible in some areas of western south dakota and northwestern Nebraska. Meanwhile, ice and sleet were expected in the eastern Great Plains.