Kevin Woster

Probably by this Sunday? That seems to be the time frame for John Thune to make an announcement on whether he will run for a fourth term in the U.S. Senate.

Last year at this time, SDPB's Kevin Woster was writing about the defeat of Hillary Clinton and how then President Trump's failure to admit defeat was impacting American democracy. In 2022, Woster is contemplating the changing nature of the Republican party, in the nation and in South Dakota. You can find his work online at SDPB.org/woster.

Watching former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle speak during the funeral service for former Sen. Bob Dole last week reminded me of a couple of things.

Kevin Woster joins us with thoughts from his conversation with U.S. Senator Mike Rounds regarding the loss of his beloved wife and his return to work in Congress.

COVID has created strange times for many South Dakotans. Kevin Woster joins us to talk about staying isolated from his wife, Mary, inside their home after she tested positive for the virus.

It was a strange Thanksgiving.We didn’t cook a turkey. Or dressing. Or potatoes and gravy.

"The other morning I went over to a neighbor’s house to get my shotgun.One of my shotguns, actually. I have nine. They’ve all been over at the neighbors, along with a rifle I own, since sometime last April, the day after I told Mary I felt like killing myself."

The Argus Leader newspaper in Sioux Falls is facing big changes as the organization plans to begin shifting the printing of the daily paper to a facility other than the iconic downtown Argus Leader building. Kevin Woster joins us for a look at big changes for the largest newspaper in the state and what it means for the state of news.

I’ve watched it happen at both the Sioux Falls Argus Leader and the Rapid City Journal, where I worked, between the two papers, for more than 30 years. I was deeply saddened a few years back when part of the Rapid City Journal building down on Main Street became a hair salon. I was further depressed to go upstairs to the old newsroom one day about that time to see that most of it was dark, unused, dusty — melancholy remnants of what once was and then wasn’t. Now isn’t.

Over the course of a news career that covered more than four decades, I’ve had some pretty cantankerous reactions to my journalism.But I’ve never been firebombed. I’ve never had my windows shot out. And I’ve never had an attempt on my life.