South Dakota
South Dakota lawmakers address workforce needs as Gov. Noem pitches tax cuts in legislative session
Workforce needs, the budget and tax cuts will be on the minds of South Dakota lawmakers when the Legislature convenes Tuesday for a two-month session.
Republican Gov. Kristi Noem will address the GOP-controlled Legislature on the session’s opening day. Last month, she presented her vision for the budget to the Legislature, and now it’s up to lawmakers to craft a plan for the next fiscal year, among other measures.
Republican House Majority Leader Will Mortenson said South Dakota’s short session — 38 days spread over about two months — “helps keep us focused on only the most important topics.”
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“I tell my caucus often that our only two jobs we absolutely have to do are passing a budget and getting the hell out of there,” Mortenson said.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem takes part in a panel discussion on Nov. 15, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has outlined her budget proposal for the Legislature, emphasizing tighter spending amid rising inflation. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
Republican majority leaders largely support Noem’s agenda, in part because of South Dakota’s strong finances. State revenues have exceeded the Legislature’s 2023 forecast by 11%, or $115 million, from July through November, the first five months of the fiscal year, according to a state Bureau of Finance and Management comparison.
Republican priorities are new prison construction, college affordability, workforce needs and the sustainability of long-term care in rural communities. They expect to be working with less money after years of COVID-19 pandemic-era federal aid.
Democrats are focused on child care needs, pre-K education and teacher pay.
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Noem has emphasized a lean budget amid rising inflation, proposing a nearly $7.3 billion plan for fiscal year 2025. She called for 4% increases for the state’s “big three” priorities of K-12 education, health care providers and state employees.
Budget writers will review the 4% proposal in the context of the entire budget, Mortenson said.
“I was encouraged that the governor focused the vast majority of our ongoing dollars on core priorities,” he said.
Noem also has proposed making a temporary sales tax cut permanent. The four-year reduction was approved in 2023.
Republican state Rep. Chris Karr has filed a bill to make that change, citing years of state revenue surpluses.
“Government collects taxes to provide certain services. When those services are provided, any excess dollars should go back to the people because that’s who it belongs to,” Karr said. Sales taxes are the main driver of South Dakota’s state revenues.
Mortenson predicted House Republicans will coalesce around a permanent sales tax cut.
Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree said Senate Republicans will consider other potential tax cuts, possibly including property taxes.
“I think the conversation is what do we cut and how much do we cut going forward,” he said.
Workforce needs loom large, Mortenson said. South Dakota has more than 20,000 job openings advertised online and had a 2% unemployment rate as of November 2023, according to the state Department of Labor and Regulation.
Mortenson also sees college affordability as “absolutely critical for our state’s future,” to keep young people in South Dakota and attract others from out of state.
Democrats, who hold 11 of 105 seats, are pursuing bills “that really directly help working-class people,” Senate Minority Leader Reynold Nesiba said.
He listed proposals to lengthen the period for people to file a worker compensation claim if injured at work, and to incrementally raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, as voters did in neighboring Nebraska in 2022.
Advocates for LGBTQ and voting rights expressed concern about possible lawmaker actions.
Samantha Chapman, advocacy manager for the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, called recent legislation restricting gender identity a “misuse of the way our government is supposed to work, to constantly be passing bills that are clawing away at a small portion of our population’s rights.”
Crabtree said that when discussions of those issues arise, “you’re going to see common sense prevail.”
Dakotans for Health co-founder Rick Weiland said he is leery of the Legislature potentially trying to raise the bar for ballot initiatives, citing a defeated 2022 measure that sought to require 60% of voters to support certain spending or tax measures for the initiatives to pass.
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Republican state Rep. Jon Hansen, who sponsored the measure, said in a 2021 floor session that certain money issues deserve more support than a simple majority vote.
“I think each and every time they try to mess with the will of the voters and direct democracy, they get themselves in trouble,” Weiland said.
He is leading efforts to put two measures on the 2024 ballot: one to place abortion rights in the state constitution, and another to repeal the state’s grocery tax.
South Dakota outlaws all abortions but for life-saving circumstances. Weiland called it the most extreme abortion law in the country. Noem campaigned for reelection in 2022 on repealing the grocery tax, but the Legislature went a different route with the temporary sales tax cut of $104 million annually.
Noem is in her second term as governor. Once seen as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, she has embraced former President Donald Trump’s reelection bid, endorsing him at a rally last year.
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 4, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 4 drawing
03-08-13-38-47, Lucky Ball: 02
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
- Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
- Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.
When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.
GRAND FORKS — UND senior guard Garrett Anderson had shot 1-for-7 from the field before he pulled up for a deep 3-pointer in overtime.
It was a make-or-break shot for the Fighting Hawks, who trailed South Dakota State by two points with 20 seconds remaining.
Anderson’s triple fell. On a Saturday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center where several Hawks provided clutch shots late, it was his 3-pointer that iced the victory.
Gabe and Reed Uelmen / Grand Forks Herald
“That was a huge three by Garrett,” UND head coach Paul Sather said. “Happy for him, because you feel it with him — when that floodgate opens a little bit of confidence, and not just as a scorer but just as a player, he keeps fighting for it, keeps working for it, keeps keeping the right mindset.”
UND won 90-87, earning its third-straight win over the Jackrabbits and improving to 2-0 (8-10 overall) in Summit League play.
South Dakota State, hot off the heels of a commanding New Year’s Day win over Omaha, fell to 1-1 in conference (8-9 overall).
“These two first league games, you need to protect your home court if you want any chance to be in play at the end of this year,” Sather said. “It’s a great way to start. But you also need to go on the road and win some games. And as I tell the guys, it’s not who, when or where, it’s how you show up to play. And having that mentality, it’s not home and road, it’s ‘Are you ready to go today?’”
The Hawks needed just about everyone to stave off SDSU.
Redshirt sophomore guard Zach Kraft and freshman guard Anthony Smith III led the way with double-digit point totals in a first half that was a high-scoring, fast-paced affair.
Gabe and Reed Uelmen / Grand Forks Herald
UND shot 64.3%, South Dakota State 55.6%. By halftime, the Hawks had a slight 50-45 lead.
The shooting cooled down in the second half and in overtime. In those final two frames, the Hawks turned to a variety of players, from the starting lineup to the bench, to keep up with the Jackrabbits.
“It’s hard to sustain that for 40 minutes, but we were able to kind of get ourselves back,” Sather said. “Our bench was fantastic in that first half. … We sustained it, we got back in, we stayed there within distance of it, and guys made plays. We had opportunities to make plays and close the game, but we had plays that were made to get us into overtime and win in overtime.”
Redshirt freshman Greyson Uelmen finished with a team-high 17 points and nailed the final two free throws in overtime to seal the win.
Gabe and Reed Uelmen / Grand Forks Herald
Kraft, who ended with 14 points, splashed a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left in regulation to take a 79-77 lead.
Junior forward George Natsvlishvili came off the bench and tied up the game just minutes earlier with a clutch second-chance layup. He also nabbed a key basket with 1 minute, 56 seconds left in overtime.
Before South Dakota State managed to rally back for its first lead of the second half, a free throw and a layup from Smith kept the Hawks’ offense on pace with the visitors. He finished with 16 points.
UND’s bench contributed 39 points.
Gabe and Reed Uelmen / Grand Forks Herald
“I felt like our bench won the game today,” Kraft said. “In the first half, (Smith) came into the game, knocked down that three at the end of the half, and then Wylee (Delorme) in the second half, five rebounds, scoring off the offensive rebounds, it’s huge for us.”
Delorme put together his best game as a Hawk in the win. The sophomore guard from Devils Lake constantly attacked the offensive glass, flexing some creativity with slick drives to the rim.
He earned a season-high 12 points.
Gabe and Reed Uelmen / Grand Forks Herald
“We’ve seen him more of a shooter (in practice), I haven’t really seen the behind-the-back, step-through and float,” Anderson said. “That was kind of new, that was a tough move. But he’s gotten to it in practice for sure.”
Kraft, Uelmen, Smith, Delorme and senior guard Eli King all finished with 12 or more points.
“We just relied on our guys that make those tough shots and are built for those moments,” Delorme said. “Seventh, eighth man off the bench — like Marley (Curtis), Marley can have a double-digit day too. All of us can go for 10 points, but it’s just a matter of making the easy plays and just using each other.”
UND will face its first road test of the conference slate this Thursday, when it travels to Omaha.
Gabe and Reed Uelmen / Grand Forks Herald
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 3, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 3 drawing
18-21-40-53-60, Powerball: 23, Power Play: 3
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 3 drawing
01-02-28-30-43, Lucky Ball: 07
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from Jan. 3 drawing
03-04-05-25-42, Star Ball: 03, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Dakota Cash numbers from Jan. 3 drawing
07-13-17-28-30
Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
- Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
- Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.
When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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