Leadership & Business Recognition: Prairie Business named seven regional executives as 2026 Leaders & Legacies honorees, spotlighting leadership across healthcare, banking, real estate, engineering, transportation, communications and more. Energy & Data Centers: Rapid City’s grid is under pressure as drought expands statewide, while Sequitor Edge plans a 15-megawatt data center at the Black Hills Industrial Center, pitching a lower-energy design. Construction & Infrastructure: Pierre is installing an overheight detection (“clanker”) system on both sides of a train bridge, with road detours and testing planned in about 10 days. Storm Recovery Funding: FEMA approved $4.3M for Dakotas disaster recovery and hazard mitigation, including major work in Chamberlain and repairs to electric poles and transformers. Agriculture & Fertilizer Costs: USDA unveiled a $500M plan to boost domestic fertilizer production, aiming to ease rising input prices for South Dakota farmers. Consumer Protection: AG Marty Jackley warned South Dakotans to watch for storm-repair scams, urging written quotes, contractor verification and avoiding full upfront payments. Food Safety: FDA classified a nationwide recall of Zapp’s and Dirty potato chips at the highest risk level over possible Salmonella contamination. Local Travel & Tourism: Travel South Dakota won two Telly Awards for “Into the Roundup” and “Unexpected South Dakota.” Road Work in Sioux Falls: City projects starting July 6–7 include lane closures and concrete repairs affecting South Kiwanis Avenue and East Red Oak Drive.