President Donald Trump has wasted little time fulfilling a campaign promise to cut the size and cost of the federal workforce, with the assistance of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.
The changes are happening fast and furious across numerous agencies and departments, including in South Dakota. But very little official information about the cuts is being provided to the press or public.
In an effort to help readers understand the impact of the cuts, South Dakota News Watch compiled this article showing what cuts are known and their ongoing or potential impacts.
LSS resettlement funding remains in limbo
Funding for South Dakotas primary refugee resettlement program remains uncertain after it was identified for cuts in early February.
On Feb. 3, Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota president and CEO Rebecca Kiesow-Knudsen responded to social media messages from Musk and former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn falsely claiming that Lutheran organizations, including ours, have illegally receivedfederal payments and engaged in money laundering.”
Kiesow-Knudsen added in that statement to News Watch that the messages indicated an intention to defund our organization as a result. These accusations are completely baseless and inaccurate.
Kiesow-Knudsen declined comment on Feb. 25.
LSS helps resettle immigrants and refugees through its Center for New Americans. Its an affiliate of Global Refuge, a nonprofit organization formerly known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.
According to its annual report, LSS helped resettle 386 refugees in South Dakota in fiscal year 2024, up from 206 the previous year. Nationally, the number of resettled refugees was 100,034 in fiscal year 2024, up from 60,014 the previous year.
The most common countries of origin for refugees resettled by LSS in South Dakota in 2024 were the Congo (97), Venezuela (57), and Somalia and Sudan (42 each).
The Trump administration’s plan to freeze federal grants and loans is on hold while being litigated in federal court, leaving organizations such as LSS in limbo in terms of the services they can provide.
Organizations submit payment requests that are reimbursed by the federal government. Not knowing when or if those reimbursements are coming could lead to changes in strategies or services rendered.
On Feb. 25, a federal judge in Seattle blocked Trumps effort to halt the nations refugee admissions system through executive order.
The ruling came in a lawsuitbrought by major refugee aid groups,who argued that Trumps executive order suspending the federal refugee resettlement program ran afoul of the system Congress created for moving refugees into the U.S.
Lawyers for the administration argued that Trumps order was well within his authority to deny entry to foreigners whose admission to the U.S. would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.
A proposed law in the South Dakota Legislature would require LSS and all resettlement agencies to report to the Legislature on an annual basis. HB 1106 passed the House by a vote of 56-12 on Feb. 6 and will next be heard in the Senate.
CDC information freeze could slow disease communication
South Dakota state epidemiologist Joshua Clayton said cuts to positions and programs at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could reduce communication on critical diseases in the U.S.
Clayton told News Watch he is aware of cuts by DOGE and what he said is a “communication freeze” at the agency. So far, he doesn’t believe the cuts have hampered South Dakota’s ability to track or prevent infectious diseases.
But the potential exists, Clayton said, that information sharing between the federal agency and states in both directions could be hampered if the CDC is unable to track infectious diseases and inform states of updates as usual. The lack of communication is likely to make it more difficult for states to keep abreast of fast-moving diseases, such as avian flu or the measles outbreak in the Southwest, Clayton said.
“The communications freeze does make it difficult sometimes to hear about things that we should have awareness of at the state health department level,” Clayton said.
Stalled USDA, NRCS programs could limit farm innovation
Rodney Koch, who raises soybeans and other crops north of Garretson, in eastern South Dakota, hopes the federal government will reopen funding for agricultural conservation programs that have helped him modernize and improve the health of his farm.
Koch, 38, has previously taken advantage of grants and training provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Stewardship Program and Environmental Quality Improvement Program, both of which are now halted under Trumps freeze on almost all federal grant and loan programs.
Koch said he has also been told that a few employees have lost their jobs at South Dakota offices of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which administers several USDA programs.
With new knowledge and some grant funding from USDA, Koch has been able to improve soil health on his farm, reduce runoff, lower pesticide use and diversify the crops he grows.
Ive seen what these changes have done for us and Id like to see that continue, Koch told News Watch on Feb. 20.
Doug Sombke, president of the South Dakota Farmers Union, said “we’ve got a lot of pain” with NRCS layoffs and also the uncertain status of Farm Service Agency loan officers, who help administer programs and loans for farmers and ranchers.
Fish and Wildlife biologist loses ‘dream job’
Until last month, Liz Renner, a graduate of Augustana University in Sioux Falls, was rising quickly in her chosen career path as a wildlife biologist.
Not long ago, after a stint working the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department, Renner had landed her “dream job” as a researcher with the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service in Yankton. Renner was working on pallid sturgeon conservation on the Missouri River from the Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery and Aquarium.
In a lengthy and emotional public Facebook post on Feb. 17, Renner said she was told on Feb. 14 that her probationary position in the agency had been eliminated.
Renner wrote that after losing her job, she is moving in with her grandmother to help on the farm, and may also tend bar or substitute teach to get by. “To say I’m devastated doesn’t even scratch the surface, she wrote.
Lower Brule company loses BIA contract
The oldest agency within the Department of the Interior is the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which provides services to predominantly Native American communities, commonly through contracts and grants.
One of those contracts, awarded to Akicita Cyber LCC of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, was cancelled recently as part of federal funding audits conducted by the Trump administration.
The original contract was for $434,024 to provide translation services as part of business support services. The end date was changed from Sept. 3, 2029, to Feb. 13, 2025, meaning the funds provided decreased from 81% from $434,024 to $81,757.
Oglala Sioux Tribe ‘barely surviving’ as budget cuts loom
Native American tribal leaders in South Dakota are bracing for economic impact as Congress negotiates a new budget that is expected to include significant cuts across federal programs and services.
Some of the primary concerns center around Medicaid funding, Head Start programs, health programs and public safety.
“These programs are barely surviving on what they get now,” John Long, chief of staff of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, told News Watch.
Frank Star Comes Out, president of the 54,000-member tribe, testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee on Feb. 25 in Washington. He addressed concerns about treaty obligations and reductions in law enforcement on the Pine Ridge reservation, a subject of past legal disputes with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
“I believe those treaties are being violated and challenged today with this current administration, and I’d like to see that change,” Star Comes Out told committee members. “We’re a huge tribe with a large population and lots of area to cover as far as roads and schools, and on top of that, we have to come here and fight for funding for our people.”
Nearly 1,000 Indian Health Service (IHS) employees nationally were laid off as part of an executive order Feb. 14, but the order was later rescinded.
VA official: Cuts made in SD but no service impacts
The DOGE cuts of probationary employees has included elimination of some staff positions at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facilities in South Dakota, according to Eve Derfelt, a deputy director in the VA public affairs office.
The VA has three South Dakota hospitals in Sturgis, Hot Springs and Sioux Falls and operates nine regional clinics, two veterans help centers and three national cemeteries, according to the VA website.
The VA facilities in South Dakota dismissed a small number of probationary staff, Derfelt said in an email to News Watch. This decision will have no negative effect on veteran health care, benefits or other services and will allow VA to focus more effectively on its core mission of serving veterans, families, caregivers and survivors.”
Derfelt said she could not provide further information about specific personnel moves due to privacy concerns.
On a national level, Veterans Affairs leaders dismissed more than 1,400 probationary employees on Feb. 24, thesecond round of mass layoffsat the department this month, according to Military Times.
National park visitors will feel impacts of job cuts
After DOGE job cuts and an ongoing staffing shortage, former National Park Service employee Sydney Hansen isn’t sure whether anyone will be available to lead popular cave tours at Jewel Cave National Monument in the Black Hills moving forward.
Hansen, 24, was hired as a physical science technician at Jewel Cave in June and was using her master’s degree in geology to do research on caves, rocks and soil at the national monument site. She also led discussions, protected habitat of endangered species and managed invasive species.
On Feb. 14, Hansen received an email saying she had been terminated from her position.
“My heart just dropped,” she recalled in an interview with News Watch. “We were told we were safe if we had a good employee evaluation, so I felt pretty good.”
According to recent reports, the park service has eliminated 1,000 jobs and accepted 700 early retirement offers from employees as part of the DOGE employment crackdown. The effects of the cuts are being felt around the country, as visitor centers closed at sites in Arizona, some parks restricted open hours and patron wait times have increased.
“Its only going to get worse, and I cant even imagine how some of these busy parks are going to operate this summer,” she said. “They’re going to be hurting.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story, which was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they’re published. Contact Bart Pfankuch at [email protected] and Stu Whitney at [email protected].
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