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The continued draw on the national propane supply that started in October has hit local pocketbooks in the midst of an extended cold snap. Read More »

The percentage of snowbirds in Dakota communities is quite small, if an informal survey of Dakotafire participating newspapers is any indication: Only about 1 percent of subscribers to those newspapers change their addresses for the winter. Read More »

The 19th-century explorer John Wesley Powell envisioned developing the political boundaries of the arid American West based on watersheds. More than 120 years ago, he predicted the potential for fights over water. Powell’s watershed boundary vision did not come to pass, but the conflicts he envisioned did—including here in the Dakotas. Read More »

The stories we tell ourselves are based in reality—but they are not reality. They are one interpretation of events, one way to look at what has happened to us and who we are. It’s not about “fact” versus “fiction”—facts themselves have little power over us. What shapes our lives are the stories we tell about those facts. Read More »

Are there hungry people in your community? Yes. But we may not see them because they look just like everybody else. Read More »

Many area communities now offer an option that until a few years ago was only available in larger communities: A place to exercise, with specialized machines and sometimes classes available—and no need to exercise in the cold and snow. Read More »

I was walking along a gravel road near my home recently, thinking about a phone call I had received the evening before. A representative for a power company had asked if my sister and I had thought more about the proposal he had showed us. I didn’t really know what to tell him. The Big Stone South to Ellendale transmission ... Read More »

By Heidi Marttila-Losure, Dakotafire Media Reporting by Doug Card, The Britton Journal; Bill Krickac, Clark County Courier; and Jessica Giard   Pushing crowds. General chaos. That’s the national image of Black Friday (and, with the change in store’s door-opening hours, Black Thanksgiving Evening). Area small-town retailers would like shoppers to consider another option: Skip the crowds, and stay home for ... Read More »

While health leaders warn of the effect of too much screen time for children, schools increase their use of technology. The key is how it's used, they say. Read More »

(NPN) – Though one of the most agriculture-dependent states in the nation, South Dakota is among a group of states that have the lowest percentage of schools participating in farm-to-school activities, according a new USDA report. Twenty-four percent of South Dakota school districts that reported to the USDA said they had some sort of farm-to-school activity. Only six schools or ... Read More »