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Major South Dakota Aquifers In Decline, Threatening Fresh Water Supplies [1]

"Geologists and hydrologists can use scientific charts and graphs to understand the increasing water challenges facing South Dakota, but it only takes a brief visit to Bear Butte State Park near Sturgis for a non-scientist to see the outcome of decreasing water levels."

Agriculture [2]
Climate Change [3]
Environmental Politics [4]
Infrastructure [5]
Natural Resources [6]
People & Population [7]
Water & Oceans [8]
Public [9]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Source: South Dakota News Watch [11], 11/03/2026
  • Read more about Major South Dakota Aquifers In Decline, Threatening Fresh Water Supplies [1]

Covering Native Connection to the Land [12]

Whether it's pipelines bringing leaks, coastal erosion and storms bringing displacement, or now, increasingly, data centers bringing loss of sovereignty, the central relationship that Indigenous communities have with place is under constant peril. Voices columnist Yessenia Funes urges fellow environmental journalists during Native American Heritage Month to refocus on the rich stories of Indigenous struggles and victories. 

SEJ Publication Types: 
Voices of Environmental Justice [13]
Topics on the Beat: 
Activism [14]
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [15]
Energy & Fuel [16]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Justice [18]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [19]
Journalism & Media [20]
People & Population [7]
Pollution [21]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [22]
Waste [23]
Water & Oceans [8]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [24]
Alaska and Hawaii [25]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [26]
Visibility: 
Public [9]
  • Read more about Covering Native Connection to the Land [12]

Water Quality And Cancer Concerns Top Of Mind For Iowa Voters [27]

"Amid the election-year debates, political advertisements and polls, one simple Iowa yard sign sums ups a core issue seen driving voter sentiment. It reads simply: “Fix the damn water.”"

Agriculture [2]
Chemicals [28]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Politics [4]
Laws & Regulations [29]
Pollution [21]
Water & Oceans [8]
Public [9]
National (U.S.) [24]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Source: The New Lede [30], 10/30/2026
  • Read more about Water Quality And Cancer Concerns Top Of Mind For Iowa Voters [27]

Decarbonizing Energy Systems With Clean Firm Power [31]

Solar and wind power are critical for combating climate change, but some energy experts warn they won’t be enough. Their vision for an emissions-free grid depends on technologies ranging from long-duration batteries to nuclear reactors. Journalist Nicolás Rivero on clean firm power’s potential, the challenges ahead and how Big Tech is driving the pursuit of always-on zero-carbon electricity.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Features [32]
Topics on the Beat: 
Climate Change [3]
Economy & Business [33]
Energy & Fuel [16]
Government [19]
Infrastructure [5]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [34]
Policy [35]
Pollution [21]
Science [36]
Technology [37]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [24]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [38]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [39]
Visibility: 
Public [9]
  • Read more about Decarbonizing Energy Systems With Clean Firm Power [31]

Wells Drying Up At South Dakota Homes And Ranches Due To Heat And Drought [40]

“We can’t do laundry or dishes or take showers other than with a little trickle,” said Connie Howie, 76. “Other times we have a little water because it seems to come and go.”

Agriculture [2]
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [15]
Environmental Health [17]
People & Population [7]
Water & Oceans [8]
Public [9]
National (U.S.) [24]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Source: South Dakota News Watch [41], 09/04/2026
  • Read more about Wells Drying Up At South Dakota Homes And Ranches Due To Heat And Drought [40]

Secret Plan to Dump Slaughterhouse Waste Blindsided Iowa Residents [42]

"Monona County officials and residents fear a repeat of the communication gaps and loopholes that left them caught off guard by a plan to import treated slaughterhouse manure."

Agriculture [2]
Consumer [43]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Politics [4]
Journalism & Media [20]
Laws & Regulations [29]
Pollution [21]
Waste [23]
Public [9]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Source: Inside Climate News [44], 08/25/2026
  • Read more about Secret Plan to Dump Slaughterhouse Waste Blindsided Iowa Residents [42]

Nebraska Feedlot: A Very American Invention, Pushed to an Extreme [45]

"In Nebraska, Blackshirt Feeders LP is building the country’s largest feedlot for 200,000 beef cattle on a square-mile slab of concrete."

Agriculture [2]
Biodiversity [46]
Climate Change [3]
Food [47]
Public [9]
National (U.S.) [24]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Source: Inside Climate News [48], 08/11/2026
  • Read more about Nebraska Feedlot: A Very American Invention, Pushed to an Extreme [45]

EPA Claims Omaha Cleanup As Success, But Many Yards Still Have Lead [49]

"The agency spent hundreds of millions on lead remediation in Omaha, home of the nation’s largest residential Superfund site. New soil tests by the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica show that many yards still have harmful levels of lead."

Chemicals [28]
Consumer [43]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Justice [18]
Environmental Politics [4]
Laws & Regulations [29]
People & Population [7]
Pollution [21]
Public [9]
National (U.S.) [24]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Source: Flatwater Free Press [50], 08/06/2026
  • Read more about EPA Claims Omaha Cleanup As Success, But Many Yards Still Have Lead [49]

Water Contamination From Ag Is a Top Issue in Iowa Midterms [51]

"With polluted waterways and rising cancer rates, many Iowa voters will be choosing candidates based on their plans to address the problem."

Agriculture [2]
Chemicals [28]
Environmental Health [17]
Environmental Politics [4]
Government [19]
Infrastructure [5]
Laws & Regulations [29]
Pollution [21]
Water & Oceans [8]
Public [9]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Source: Civil Eats [52], 07/28/2026
  • Read more about Water Contamination From Ag Is a Top Issue in Iowa Midterms [51]

Keystone Pipeline Owners Agree to Pay $26 Million for Spill [53]

"The owners of the Keystone Pipeline System entered into a settlement Friday with the Environmental Protection Agency and Kansas under which they agreed to pay more than $26 million in damages for a 2022 oil spill."

Energy & Fuel [16]
Environmental Health [17]
Infrastructure [5]
Pollution [21]
Public [9]
National (U.S.) [24]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Source: Bloomberg Environment [54], 07/13/2026
  • Read more about Keystone Pipeline Owners Agree to Pay $26 Million for Spill [53]

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Source URL:https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains

Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/headlines/major-south-dakota-aquifers-decline-threatening-fresh-water-supplies [2] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/infrastructure [6] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land [7] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [9] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [10] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains [11] https://apnews.com/article/south-dakota-drought-water-challenges-6c23848646927937666b2b068a735f54 [12] https://www.sej.org/publications/voices-environmental-justice/covering-native-connection-land [13] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/voices-environmental-justice [14] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/activism [15] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [16] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy [17] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [18] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-justice [19] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/government [20] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [21] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [22] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/religion-faith-and-spirituality [23] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/waste [24] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [25] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/alaska-and-hawaii [26] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northeast [27] https://www.sej.org/headlines/water-quality-and-cancer-concerns-top-mind-iowa-voters [28] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [29] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [30] https://www.thenewlede.org/2026/10/as-election-day-looms-water-quality-and-cancer-concerns-top-of-mind/ [31] https://www.sej.org/publications/features/decarbonizing-energy-systems-clean-firm-power [32] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/features [33] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business [34] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/nuclear-power/radiation [35] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/policy [36] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/science [37] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/technology [38] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-lakes [39] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic [40] https://www.sej.org/headlines/wells-drying-south-dakota-homes-and-ranches-due-heat-and-drought [41] https://apnews.com/article/south-dakota-black-hills-drought-wells-water-413de6072627a89dffc13d0ce17057c2 [42] https://www.sej.org/headlines/secret-plan-dump-slaughterhouse-waste-blindsided-iowa-residents [43] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer [44] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22082026/iowa-loess-hills-slaughterhouse-waste/ [45] https://www.sej.org/headlines/nebraska-feedlot-very-american-invention-pushed-extreme [46] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/biodiversity-1 [47] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/food [48] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09082026/blackshirt-building-nations-largest-beef-feedlot-in-nebraska/ [49] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-claims-omaha-cleanup-success-many-yards-still-have-lead [50] https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-epa-heralds-its-omaha-cleanup-as-a-success-but-we-found-many-yards-still-have-toxic-levels-of-lead/ [51] https://www.sej.org/headlines/water-contamination-ag-top-issue-iowa-midterms [52] https://civileats.com/2026/07/27/water-contamination-from-ag-is-a-top-issue-in-iowa-midterms/ [53] https://www.sej.org/headlines/keystone-pipeline-owners-agree-pay-26-million-spill [54] https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/keystone-pipeline-owners-agree-to-pay-26-million-for-oil-spill [55] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains?page=1 [56] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains?page=2 [57] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains?page=3 [58] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains?page=4 [59] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains?page=5 [60] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains?page=6 [61] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains?page=7 [62] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains?page=8 [63] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains?page=46