Misinformation, fear and politics - how a South Dakota county drove away millions in solar energy

Colton Berens was looking forward to the added income from his farm, but armed with rightwing falsehoods, other Selby residents opposed the moveLike most of South Dakota, Walworth county is built on farming. To the east of Selby, the county seat, vast fields of soybeans and wheat grow between roads that run straight to the horizon. To the west, beyond the county line, the Standing Rock Indian Reservation spreads across miles of rumpled green prairie studded with creamy erratics and dark clumps of trees.Like many farming regions, Walworth's deeply conservative population has been steadily declining and aging, from roughly 8,000 in the 1960s to 5,200 today. The grain elevator that towers over Main Street in Selby is among the busiest in the region, but most of the squat brick buildings in its shadow are weathered and lifeless. Continue reading...