MISSION, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – In rural South Dakota, miles often separate expectant mothers from healthcare.

“A lot of women out here are left without any maternity care options,” said Rachel Kocak.

In Mission, moms mark their due dates and calculate miles to the nearest delivery location. Rachel Kocak, expecting her third child, said one option just closed.

“We used to have a birthing unit, I think up until a couple of months ago, and they lost their OB. So, Winner is no longer delivering babies,” Rachel said.

Some mothers remember when they could reach the hospital within a five-minute drive.

“IHS, for tribal members, they don’t deliver babies out here or provide prenatal care,” Rachel explained.

Families hope to reach the hospital before the baby arrives.

“So women either have to drive to Valentine, which is about 30 to 35 minutes from Mission, they can go to Wanblee, which is on the Pine Ridge Reservation, or they have to go to Pierre, Rapid City, or Sioux Falls,” Rachel said.

And if the roads are bad.

“I think there are a lot of babies who are unintentionally born at home. So it’s a tough place, I think, for mothers,” Rachel said.

The March of Dimes breaks down government data, showing a large portion of rural South Dakota as a maternity care desert, requiring travel of 38 or more minutes to reach an appointment or delivery room. The infant mortality rate is higher among native American babies born, compared to other races.

Health Department maps show counties in medium blue have 56 infant deaths per 100,000 births. Dark blue counties have three times as many. Grants aim to increase the number of healthcare workers, and funding supports a doula workforce program.

Kocak would like to see doulas and midwives available.

“Great opportunity for anyone who wants to become a home-birth midwife out here. The birth rate is still, I’m not sure what it is, but it’s high. There’s still a growing young population, and just not enough people to help deliver the babies,” Rachel said.

If care were closer, the outcomes could be brighter.

“You know, having the support network can make a huge change in the lives of these young, you know, these babies and young mothers who are building new families,” Rachel said.

The South Dakota Department of Health released a statement to Dakota News Now, which can be read in full below.

The South Dakota Maternal and Infant Health Task Force was created in 2025 to bring partners together to help improve the health and wellbeing of mothers and infants across the state. Their 5-year strategic plan was recently released, which has three priority areas: postpartum care to improve maternal health; safe sleep education and prevention strategies to protect infant health; and systems of care work that improves access, coordination, and quality of care statewide. One of the strategic plan activities that is supported by Rural Health Transformation is the creation of Regional Maternal and Infant Health Hubs, which will create a hub-and-spoke network connecting hospitals, clinics, tribal health services, and community organizations. These hubs will improve care coordination, strengthen referral pathways, and expand access to services for families in rural and tribal communities.

While the race to secure the nomination for governor has dominated the headlines ahead of the June 2 primary, Republican voters will also choose a candidate for one of South Dakota’s two U.S. Senate seats.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, who is seeking a third, six-year term, holds a comfortable lead over his GOP primary challenger, Justin McNeal, a Navy veteran and business owner from Rapid City, according to the latest poll from News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy.

Here is a recap of the two candidates along with their thoughts heading into the June 2 election. The winner of the Republican primary will meet Democrat Julian Beaudion and Independent Brian Bengs in the Nov. 3 general election.

Hometown: Fort PierreAge: 71Occupation: Insurance broker; businessman; former governor (2003-2011); U.S. senator since 2015In their own words:

Rounds provided the following statement to News Watch:

“Working in the U.S. Senate, I’ve stayed focused on results that matter for our kids and grandkids. That means keeping the government off your back and out of your business and wallet. That means keeping our communities safe and creating a business climate that encourages job growth to keep our kids in South Dakota. And that means safety through a commitment to our men and women in uniform.

This past summer, we worked with President Trump to pass the Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts legislation. Without Congressional action, the average South Dakota family would have seen a $2,500 tax hike this year. Our legislation not only prevented the largest tax increase in American history, but it also provided additional tax relief for hard-working South Dakota families. That includes no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security for nearly 9 out of 10 seniors.

We’ve accomplished some great things, but our work is not done. I am running for reelection to continue bringing results back home to South Dakota.”

Hometown: Rapid City (born in Illinois and raised in Texas)Age: 42Occupation: Business owner (Dakota BioChar); Navy veteran (2001-2007)In their own words:

“I’m feeling the people in South Dakota are ready for a change. The challenge we are running into is that not enough people know who we are, but as soon as they know who we are, it’s an easy decision for them,” McNeal told News Watch in a phone interview. “I don’t have millions and millions of dollars. I’ve been largely self-funding this race up to this point.”

McNeal, who is a licensed pilot, said he has flown his small plane to events throughout the state in an attempt to get his name out.

“I talk to people about the issues that matter and I tell them the biggest thing you can do to help me is tell 10 people about me and to go vote June 2. We need about 50,000 votes to win the primary,” he said.

McNeal is not critical of Rounds and conceded “he is very popular” but said Rounds has not done enough to tackle the country’s growing fiscal deficit.

“I don’t think Mike is doing a bad job. I’m just concerned with the federal debt and the people that got us into that mess are not going to be the ones to get us out of it,” McNeal said.

“This is going to cripple the country. It just seems like politicians are focused on what they can bring to their home district or home state. And the problem with that is every member of Congress is doing the same thing, so everyone is taking and taking without making sure we can pay for it.”

South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at sdnewswatch.org. Contact politics and statehouse reporter Alexander Rifaat: 605-736-4396/alexander.rifaat@sdnewswatch.org.

by South Dakota Searchlight, ICT
May 28, 2026

This story was originally published by South Dakota Searchlight.

Makenzie Huber
South Dakota Searchlight

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gutted a key provision of a voting rights law won’t affect South Dakota’s legislative districts until 2031 — but Native American voting rights advocates aren’t waiting to worry.

The decision in Louisiana v. Callais dismantled guardrails protecting the electoral power of Black, Hispanic and other racial minority voters enshrined in the Voting Rights Act, a 1965 law barring racial discrimination in voting.

The 6-3 decision effectively nullified a provision called Section 2, which had required states to draw electoral maps giving racial minorities a fair chance to elect their preferred candidates.

Greg Lembrich, legal director for Four Directions, a South Dakota-based Native American voting rights advocacy organization, is concerned about the ruling.

“It’s a layer of protection that’s now been taken down by the U.S. Supreme Court and makes it that much easier to deprive minority voters of the full weight of their voting rights,” Lembrich said, “and a lot harder for voters with diluted voting rights to challenge those decisions in court.”

South Dakota has a strained relationship with the federal law. Some of the state’s redistricting changes in the last 50 years stem from requirements enforced at the federal level — and a majority of Native Americans who’ve earned seats in the Legislature have been elected from districts influenced by the law.

What the ruling means for South Dakota

The Supreme Court ruling has already set off redistricting battles in some states that have multiple members of the U.S. House of Representatives. That won’t happen in South Dakota, where the state’s small population entitles it to only one member of the House.

But the Legislature is required by the state constitution to redraw its districts every 10 years after the census. When that happens next in 2031, advocates will lose the legal tools they used to create and defend Native-majority districts. Under the old Section 2 standard, a map could be challenged by showing it had a discriminatory effect — even without proving intent. Now, challengers must prove lawmakers deliberately discriminated.

“It’s very hard to prove intentional discrimination,” Lembrich said. “People who are doing something to intentionally discriminate usually don’t admit that’s what they’re doing.”

In South Dakota, Section 2 caused the creation of split districts — single districts divided into subdistricts, each electing one state House member, with both sharing one at-large state senator. Districts 26 and 28, which include the Rosebud, Lower Brule, Crow Creek, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock reservations, are split districts.

The structure gives Native American voters the power to elect a candidate of their choice without stripping non-Native voters of the same opportunity, Lembrich said. District 27, which includes the Pine Ridge Reservation, has a majority Native American voting population.

Former Republican lawmaker Jim Bolin, who represented the Canton area, served on the 2011 and 2021 redistricting committees — both of which produced district maps that avoided litigation. He said lawmakers on the committees in both years went “out of their way” to include Native American voters and “ensure the Native American population would be able to win an election.”

In 2011, the Legislature expanded District 26 to include the Crow Creek and Lower Brule reservations.

In 2021, the Legislature consolidated a large urban Native population in northern Rapid City into one district rather than splitting it, and a Democrat was elected from District 32 for the first time in 18 years. The Legislature also expanded District 26 to follow Crow Creek reservation lines rather than county lines, and the voting population for Native-heavy districts was kept lower to avoid diluting Native voters.

Lembrich isn’t sure legislative leaders will feel compelled to redraw those districts dramatically in 2031. Although many of the Native Americans who have been elected to the Legislature have been Democrats, Republicans currently hold 97 of the Legislature’s 105 positions.

“Republicans consistently have a super majority in both chambers,” Lembrich said. “They don’t need the extra seats. It may not be worth the PR and the lawsuits of trying to change it.”

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