Author

Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight

Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight

Joshua Haiar is a reporter based in Sioux Falls. Born and raised in Mitchell, he joined the Navy as a public affairs specialist after high school and then earned a degree from the University of South Dakota. Prior to joining South Dakota Searchlight, Joshua worked for five years as a multimedia specialist and journalist with South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

A graph shows the number of acres of grassland converted in the Great Plains and the Northern Great Plains each year between 2016 and 2021. The Great Plains is shown as a yellow line staying well above 1.5 million acres converted, while the Northern Great Plains is represented by a brown line fluctuating between approximately 750,000 and 900,000. The graph is superimposed over a grayscale photo of a person working on a harvesting machine in a large farm field.

Millions of grassland acres lost in Great Plains, new research report says
By: - October 27, 2023

The Great Plains lost 1.6 million acres of grasslands in 2021. That’s according to a World Wildlife Fund report released on Thursday, detailing the loss of grasslands in the U.S. and Canadian Great Plains. From 2012 to 2021, grassland conversion in the Great Plains totaled 32 million acres, or 50,000 square miles. The Plowprint report […]

South Dakota governor orders National Guard troops to border
By: - June 9, 2023

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem announced plans Thursday to deploy more South Dakota National Guard troops to the nation’s southern border this summer.

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