Searchlight reporter wins A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism
May 02, 2026 | 10:32 am ET
Description
South Dakota Searchlight's awards from contests administered by the South Dakota NewsMedia Association, for work published in 2025. (Photo by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
South Dakota Searchlight Reporter Joshua Haiar was the first place winner of the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism, and Searchlight won a total of 12 awards Friday at the South Dakota NewsMedia Association’s annual convention.
The A-Mark Prize includes $5,000 for Haiar and $2,500 for Searchlight.
Haiar was honored for his reporting about the connections between state government and a company known as CJ Schwan’s, which is building a $550 million, 650-employee food production plant in Sioux Falls.
Haiar’s news stories detailed a total of $69 million worth of state tax rebates, grants and loans benefiting the company. He also revealed that the state’s former economic development commissioner, Steve Westra, was involved in the first award of state aid before leaving state government to work for CJ Schwan’s. Haiar additionally revealed that the state Board of Economic Development’s longtime chairman, Jeff Erickson, serves on the corporate board of CJ Schwan’s and is part of a corporation that rents office space to the company.
The A-Mark Prize is sponsored by the A-Mark Foundation. The award is open to all news media organizations based in South Dakota and their staff members, including newspapers, broadcast outlets and digital-only platforms. Freelance journalists based in the state whose reporting is published or aired by South Dakota news media organizations are also eligible to enter.
Searchlight’s additional awards came from the South Dakota NewsMedia Association’s annual Better NewsMedia Contest. The association consists of more than 100 members, including newspapers and digital news outlets. Awards for work published in 2025 were announced Friday during the association’s annual convention, held this year in Deadwood.
Searchlight competes in the contest’s Division 3, for outlets in cities with a population greater than 15,000. The contest’s other two divisions are for outlets based in smaller cities.
A complete list of results is available on the SDNA website.
Searchlight’s awards
- First place, Joshua Haiar, A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting: Company that hired state’s former head of economic development benefits from $69 million in aid; SD economic development chair has multiple ties to food company receiving millions in state aid.
- First place, Seth Tupper, Best Editorial Writing: The simple solution for South Dakota’s budget woes: Restore the sales tax rate; ‘Big, beautiful’ funding for Trump statue garden could put an ugly blemish in the Black Hills; Political leaders too often enable violence after saying they condemn it.
- First place, Dana Hess, Best Local Column: Democrat’s effort fails, and the death penalty lives on in ‘pro-life’ South Dakota; Noem has some explaining to do, so let her speak; Welcome to South Dakota’s newest news desert.
- First place, John Hult, Best Local Government Story: End of FEMA program affects drinking water, building code updates, tornado shelter in SD.
- Second place, Makenzie Huber, Best News Series: Rising Alternatives.
- Second place, Makenzie Huber, Best Portrait Photo: Ukrainian immigrant with child.
- Second place, staff, Best Publication Website: southdakotasearchlight.com.
- Second place, Joshua Haiar, Best Spot News Photo: Trial defendant enters court.
- Second place, Makenzie Huber, Best Spot News Story: Wind blows a path of destruction across southeastern South Dakota.
- Second place, Makenzie Huber, Best State Government Reporting: SD election office publishes voter list labeling thousands as public assistance applicants.
- Third place, Makenzie Huber, Best Spot News Photo: Storm recovery photo.
- Third place, Joshua Haiar and Seth Tupper, Best Spot News Story: ICE makes 8 arrests in South Dakota city where Noem was subjected to a protest three days earlier.
Other award highlights
A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism
Morgan Matzen of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader was the second-place winner in the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism, for her reporting about private funds and taxpayer money used by universities and associated foundations to purchase property in and outside of South Dakota. Luke Hagen of the Mitchell Republic and Patrick Lalley of Sioux Falls Live were the third-place winners for their ongoing reporting about criminal charges and other issues related to Legion baseball in Mitchell.
Second place includes $3,000 for the journalist and $1,500 for the news organization; third place includes $2,000 for the journalist and $1,000 for the newsroom.
Outstanding Young Journalist
Matzen also won the Outstanding Young Journalist award. Journalists under the age of 30 are eligible for the honor. Former winners include South Dakota Searchlight’s Seth Tupper and Makenzie Huber.
Strengthening Civil Society Award
The winners of the Strengthening Civil Society Award, sponsored by the John T. Vucurevich Foundation in cooperation with the Black Hills Area Community Foundation, were South Dakota News Watch journalists Carson Walker and Bart Pfankuch for their comprehensive coverage of housing shortages in the state and the role of nonprofit organizations helping to solve those problems. Each journalist won $500.
Honorable mention awards and cash prizes in the same category were presented to Wendy Pitlick ($250) of the Black Hills Pioneer at Spearfish and Randy Dockendorf ($125) and Cora Van Olson ($125) of the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan. Pitlick reported on the finances of a nonprofit organization providing recreational services for the city of Lead. Dockendorf and Olson reported on the financial struggles and challenges for various nonprofit organizations in the Yankton community.
The Strengthening Civil Society Award honors exceptional reporting about the nonprofit sector.
General Excellence and Sweepstakes
The top non-individual prizes in the Better NewsMedia Contest are General Excellence and Sweepstakes. General Excellence recognizes news organizations for overall quality work in news, editorial, advertising, design, digital and social media. The Sweepstakes category honors news outlets that garner the most points through awards won in categories within their respective divisions.
The SDNA General Excellence winners for 2025 are:
- Division 1 (cities under 3,000): Hamlin County Republican, Castlewood.
- Division 2 (cities 3,000 to 15,000): Madison Daily Leader.
- Division 3 (cities over 15,000): Aberdeen Insider.
The SDNA Sweepstakes winners for 2025 are:
- Division 1 (cities under 3,000): Hamlin County Republican, Castlewood.
- Division 2 (cities 3,000 to 15,000): Madison Daily Leader.
- Division 3 (cities over 15,000): Black Hills Pioneer, Spearfish.
Pierre, SD
