Darsha Dodge

Darsha Dodge is an award-winning journalist and photographer from Fayetteville, Arkansas.

She is a 2018 graduate of the University of Arkansas and a former member of the Razorback Marching Band Color Guard.

Darsha spent some time living in Germany and traveling around Europe before moving to Rapid City, South Dakota. She also completed a trek to Everest Base Camp (17,598 feet) and a summit of Kala Patthar (18,519 feet) in Nepal.

Darsha got her start in journalism at KNBN NewsCenter1, Rapid City’s local NBC affiliate. She was able to develop her skills as a reporter in the diverse Black Hills, doing everything from providing live coverage of wildfires to traveling with local veterans to Washington, D.C., and going door-to-door with advocates fighting to reduce crime in their communities.

After two years as a reporter and weekend anchor, she traded in her microphone for a voice recorder and went to work at the Rapid City Journal, South Dakota’s largest newspaper.

During her time at the Journal, Darsha served as city editor, interim editor-in-chief and staff photographer, winning multiple awards.

She was even invited to be live on the BBC Evening News to talk about the impacts of Winter Storm Diaz on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

While in South Dakota, Darsha was also a volunteer first responder with Pennington County Search and Rescue, where she served the community on numerous high-angle rope rescues, backcountry rescues and vehicle extrications.

She was also nominated as Outstanding Young Journalist of the Year for 2023 and to Rapid City’s 40 Under 40 for the Class of 2025.

In her off time, Darsha is an avid rock climber, photographer, hiker and runner.

She has a cat named Pumori, an obsession with Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” and a mild Diet Coke addiction.