AI in South Dakota: Sen. Mike Rounds met with Anthropic leaders at South Dakota Mines to discuss AI’s upsides and risks for health care, education, the workforce and national security, while local critics questioned whether the public was shut out of the campus-only event. Native prairie restoration: Thunder Valley Community Development Corp. plans to release 50 bison into nearly 40,000 acres in Badlands National Park on Oct. 6, after years of baseline soil and biodiversity work and new fencing to support Lakota-led stewardship. Health care costs on the move: A new analysis of ACA marketplace changes finds enrollment down 4.9% and premiums up 19.7% for 2026, as more shoppers gravitate to cheaper coverage tiers. Cancer research hardware: South Dakota Mines’ assistant professor Tuğba Özdemir won “Coolest Thing Made in the Black Hills” for a filtration device that separates hyaluronic acid from blood to support less invasive cancer research. STEM outreach: SDSU Day brought engineering students and Sioux Falls middle schoolers together at Washington Pavilion, plus a public talk on lunar engineering. Rural workforce reality: A CNN look at a tiny North Dakota town highlights how immigrant workers are filling critical hospital roles. Energy affordability watch: A study projects federal energy-policy changes could raise household energy costs through 2040, with South Dakota among the states facing larger increases.