South Dakota News Watch

Engage South Dakota — Creating a Housing Consortium

Carson Walker, Bart Pfankuch

South Dakota News Watch has reported for years on the lack of affordable housing in the state. In 2025, the newsroom went a step further, looking for and highlighting solutions instead of simply reporting on a problem. They called that effort Engage South Dakota. 

Over a year, reporter Bart Pfankuch visited several South Dakota communities to hear from local officials, nonprofit housing agency leaders and residents about the challenges they faced and “share specific efforts to expand housing that had [shown] success,” according to the publication’s nomination letter.

“We found that across the state, many housing agencies and leaders were finding unique paths to success, but that they tended to work in silos that prevented good ideas from spreading as much as they could,” the letter stated. 

South Dakota News Watch compiled those resources and ideas on a landing page for easy access. Later, they found that “News Watch reporting and storytelling had helped create a network in which housing leaders were talking to one another, sharing our stories and sharing ideas.”

The silos had come down. News Watch has been awarded grants toward continuing the project. 

Engage South Dakota “is a great example of what an organization can do when it pushes people outside of their silos and takes ownership/responsibility for being the convener of idea and resource sharing,” a judge said.

Read the Winning Work

How Wall is building a model to encourage housing growth July 14, 2025

Redfield rebuilds housing stock: 1 lot and 1 house at a time July 28, 2025

Housing solutions from across South Dakota Aug. 29, 2026

Chamberlain gives away land to spur new housing development Oct. 13, 2025

Salem residents invest own money in new subdivision Nov. 10, 2025

Residents stand ready to help plan the future of Watertown June 18, 2025

Resident-driven ideas at heart of Engage South Dakota Dec. 12, 2024