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Reporter and host Meghan O’Brien works with other South Dakota Searchlight journalists to take listeners inside politics and policy in The Mount Rushmore State, including the annual legislative session.
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Recent Episodes
S1E21 The ‘fatal error’ in the Republican governor primary campaign, and a look ahead to the runoff
Republican political commentator Pat Powers has been writing about South Dakota campaigns for more than 20 years on his South Dakota War College blog. He joins Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien…
S1E20 Previewing South Dakota’s first-ever statewide runoff election with journalist Kevin Woster
Longtime South Dakota journalist and Searchlight commentary writer Kevin Woster joins Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien to discuss the race for South Dakota’s Republican nomination for governor.…
S1E19 What South Dakotans need to know about new laws and their rights before they vote in the primary election
In this episode of Searchlight Report, host and reporter Meghan O’Brien talks with Samantha Chapman of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota about the things voters need to know for the…
S1E18 How governor candidate Dusty Johnson says he would ‘strike the right balance’ on data centers
In this special edition of the Searchlight Report, host Meghan O’Brien interviews U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, one of four people running for the Republican nomination for governor of South Dakota.In a…
S1E17 Governor candidate Jon Hansen calls state’s approach to economic development a ‘breeding ground of corruption’
In this special edition of the Searchlight Report, host Meghan O’Brien interviews Jon Hansen, speaker of the state House and one of four people running for the Republican nomination for governor of…
S1E16 ‘We owe it to society’ to rehabilitate inmates, Gov. Larry Rhoden says amid campaign debates about prisons
In this special edition of the Searchlight Report, host Meghan O’Brien interviews Gov. Larry Rhoden, one of four people running for the Republican nomination for governor of South Dakota.In a series…
S1E15 How governor candidate Toby Doeden says he’ll phase out property taxes
In this special edition of the Searchlight Report, host Meghan O’Brien interviews Toby Doeden, an Aberdeen businessman and one of four Republicans running for their party's nomination for governor of…
S1E14 Higher sales taxes for lower property taxes: How South Dakotans will be affected
This week’s episode of Searchlight Report features Reporters Joshua Haiar and Makenzie Huber and Editor Seth Tupper in conversation with host Meghan O’Brien about their series on how and when South…
S1E13 Big concern and big bucks for fireworks, a final debate for GOP governor candidates, and a Democratic candidate’s take
In this week’s episode of Searchlight Report, reporter and host Meghan O’Brien takes listeners through the expense and unease surrounding a fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore, including an…
S1E12 Uranium drilling concerns, state money for defense and guns, and highlights from another governor debate
In this week’s Searchlight Report podcast episode, host Meghan O’Brien talks to both sides in a dispute over proposed drilling for uranium in South Dakota’s Black Hills. She also explains Gov. Larry…
S1E11 One candidate’s tax cut is another’s increase, Noem gets mixed reviews, and more governor debate highlights
This week, reporter and Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien brings listeners the key moments — courtesy of KELO-TV — from the first debate in the race for South Dakota’s Republican nomination for…
S1E10 A No Kings protest in SD’s capital, voting citizenship changes and the Legislature’s ‘quickly forgotten’ topic
In the 10th episode of Searchlight Report, reporter and host Meghan O’Brien has interviews from the streets of Pierre during a No Kings protest against the Trump administration. She also explains…
S1E9 Landing the ‘budget plane,’ slamming the gas (literally) and other sights and sounds from the final legislative week
A white-knuckle drive around a state training course highlights the end of the 101st South Dakota legislative session in this week’s episode of the Searchlight Report. Lawmakers also approve the…
S1E8 How a sales tax roller coaster could lead to property tax relief for South Dakotans
As the 2026 South Dakota legislative session winds down, the push for property tax relief is coalescing around plans to provide that relief with money from higher sales taxes, after lawmakers reduced…
S1E7 The search for a state senator: a Searchlight Report special edition
In this special episode of Searchlight Report, journalists Meghan O’Brien and Joshua Haiar recap an unusually chaotic and contentious week in the South Dakota Senate, including a failed search for…
S1E6 Lawmakers torn over tax bills and data centers, all about that odor in Sioux Falls, and gaveling with gusto
In the sixth episode of Searchlight Report, Meghan rounds up the fight to incentivize or restrict data centers, and the flurry of property tax relief bills that are moving through the Legislature. An…
S1E5 Lab-grown meat, prenatal videos, and other highlights of the Legislature’s halfway point
The South Dakota legislative session crosses the halfway mark in the fifth episode of Searchlight Report. Meghan covers the governor’s veto of a lab-grown meat ban, updates on dueling lawsuits over…
S1E4 The lawmaker who takes ivermectin, a Republican rift over data centers, and more from legislative week 4
In the fourth episode of Searchlight Report, Meghan chronicles the fate of South Dakota legislative bills dealing with alternative COVID-19 treatments, a 50-year sales tax break for data centers,…
S1E3 ‘Woke’ money, wildfires and more from the Legislature’s third week; plus: ‘The Data Center Divide'
In this week’s episode of Searchlight Report, Meghan recaps criticisms of “woke” grant funding that derailed a pretrial program, a resolution asking South Dakotans to pray for the state, and a…
S1E2 God, ice cream and tea: Legislature’s second week brings hemp debate, committee kerfuffle and more
This week in the Legislature, lawmakers discussed hemp and kratom regulation, an ethics bill based on South Dakota Searchlight reporting and an eminent domain issue that could end up on the ballot in…
Frequently Asked Questions
Searchlight Report has published 21 episodes since January 2026, covering topics in News, Politics.
Searchlight Report is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 19m.
Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Searchlight Report, including email and social media links.
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