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Businesses in the rural Dakotas struggle to fill seasonal and temporary jobs with young employees, whose summers are filled with camps, clubs and athletics. Read More »

New research on the workings of the teenage brain suggests that in certain situations, teens are under intense pressure from their own brains to make unsafe decisions, and the best strategy for parents is keeping kids out of those situations altogether. Read More »

The 2011 results of the South Dakota Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which was given to students in 9-12 grades, were released in early April. Here are some of the findings: 27 percent of students were bullied on school property in the past 12 months 20 percent had been bullied electronically during the past 12 months 18 percent seriously considered attempting ... Read More »

By Bill Krikac   The way we teach young people to become responsible drivers has changed over the past quarter century—sometimes for the better, and sometimes not. When I started teaching drivers education in the 1970s, the class was taught within the school curriculum, usually to sophomores.  It was often on a weekly basis for a semester, garnering the needed ... Read More »

Check out these stories from Dakotafire-participating newspapers, which may be of interest to others outside of the target community — some ideas to borrow, and some that may serve as cautionary tales. Read More »