South Dakota

South Dakota sheep producer is building the future of sheep genetics

Published

2 years ago

March 2, 2024

South Dakota sheep producer is building the future of sheep genetics

WHITEWOOD, S.D. — Black Hills Land Stewards in Whitewood is working to raise quality sheep while also finding ways to better track and improve sheep genetics.

Jeff Clark moved from California to South Dakota a few years ago and last year started raising pure breed registered Targhee sheep on his operation in western South Dakota.

During his time in California, Clark managed a large flock of commercial sheep, and by doing that he noticed that the sheep industry was lacking in methods to select genetic traits for their herds. They were able to breed for frame size and wool quality, but there were other areas that were insufficient.

“So, I talk about wool quality and frame size, that’s great, you know we get paid by the pound. However there are things that are very important that we were not able to select off of pre-collected data points,” Clark said.

Those traits include everything from fertility, stayability and efficiency.

“Just because those sheep were big did not mean that they made more than, you know, some medium range to more moderate counterparts,” Clark said.

He began looking to other states for sheep genetics.

“I wanted to be able to select against EPDs just like we did with our cattle operation out there, and there just wasn’t anything to choose from,” Clark said.

Sheep on pasture at Black Hills Land Stewards in Whitewood, South Dakota.

Ariana Schumacher / Agweek

Clark discovered the Montana Ram Sale, which is well-known for its Targhee sale. There is also a lot of data recorded about those animals.

“Everything from greasy fleece weight to microns to number of lambs born — it’s a pretty extensive list,” Clark said.

Throughout the sheep industry, genetic data point collection is a practice that is not extensively used.

“However, when you consider the value of an average animal, I understand it,” Clark said. “We aren’t selling bulls at a sale averaging $5,500 to $7,000 a head, right? So, collecting all of the data and more as we add in the progeny and number of lambs born and along with the fleece weight and micron and things of that nature, there’s a lot of data to collect to really do it right.”

However, data is something that has always interested Clark, and he is working to see advancements in sheep data collection.

“I have worked in the beef industry my whole life. This isn’t my full-time job, but it is a full-time passion,” Clark said.

One of the reasons he wants to see better sheep genetics is because they can be challenging animals to raise.

“There’s just so many things about sheep that make them harder to run than cattle, you know, from keeping them alive to marketing, and the sheep have always just kind of pulled me towards them because they aren’t easy to do,” Clark said. “I thought, well, if I am this passionate about it and I have a background on the cattle side of pulling these data points in together and producing a really good female, can I do that on the sheep side?”

Jeff and Everett Clark moving cattle through their pasture in Whitewood, South Dakota.

After moving to South Dakota, he started his own small sheep herd, where he is focused on tracking genetics, inspired by the data recorded from the Montana Ram Sale.

“How we are going to do this is by actually building our own proprietary index that is going to be an ewe profitability index. It is going to take into account everything from the actual maintenance requirements from feed intake, testing the ewes, to the progeny, feed efficacy in production, pull that back to fleece weight, and pounds weaned per ewe,” Clark said. “We are taking all those production records back and building a background index on all of our ewes in order to properly rank them for all of the economically relevant traits.”

His goal is to have a program that is not focused on single trait selection but rather is focused on raising well-rounded animals.

“Really what we are building is the efficient ewe, right? So, we want the highest grossing product, per pound maintained, but most importantly, per dollar of input,” Clark said. “So that’s really the direction of our program, and we know it will put more money in our pocket and more money in the producers’ pockets that acquire our genetics.”

This is something he believes more producers are also looking for in the industry.

“There’s got to be other larger-scale producers out there that are looking for maternal quality bucks but can’t find them anywhere,” Clark said. “You know, they are either too big, the wool is not fine enough, they don’t have the production data behind them, or they are not efficient; so that’s kind of why I jumped into this game in order to really provide the commercial guy with what he has been asking for.”

Clark is also working to get the next generation of producers excited about raising sheep. His 12-year-old son, Everett, is also involved with the sheep, through showing them, helping to care for the animals and attending sales. Everett wants to continue to grow the sheep business, as well as raise cattle and possibly even do some rodeo.

“I am hoping to get a bunch,” Everett said. “I want to do the same thing daddy’s doing.”

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Powerball, Lotto America winning numbers for March 4, 2026

Published

11 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 4, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 4 drawing

07-14-42-47-56, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 4 drawing

33-38-39-47-51, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from March 4 drawing

02-18-22-30-32

Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 4 drawing

12-13-36-39-58, Bonus: 03

Check Millionaire 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.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

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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South Dakota

South Dakota lawmakers push bill criminalizing deepfakes nearer to governor’s desk

Published

23 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

South Dakota lawmakers push bill criminalizing deepfakes nearer to governor’s desk

John Hult
| South Dakota Searchlight

PIERRE — A bill from South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley to criminalize the creation or sharing of deepfakes was amended this week to more clearly define what constitutes nudity before it reaches Gov. Larry Rhoden’s desk.

The amendment, added on the floor of the House of Representatives, came in response to concerns about unintended consequences.

Senate Bill 41 creates a class of felony crime for the creation or distribution of images digitally altered to depict a person in a state of nudity or involved in a sexually explicit act, commonly referred to as deepfakes.

In testimony in the House Judiciary Committee on Monday in Pierre, Jackley pointed to the case of Mark Rathbun, a former Division of Motor Vehicles employee who is accused of taking images of women and girls from state databases and creating sexual images.“This is real, and it’s something that we unfortunately are seeing happen in our state,” Jackley said.

The judiciary committee voted 8-3 to send the bill to the House floor but not before a discussion on its potential to criminalize political memes.

The bill’s definition of nudity originally encompassed a partial state of nudity. Fort Pierre Republican Rep. Will Mortenson asked Jackley if that would include a fabricated topless photo. Jackley said yes. Then Mortenson asked if a fabricated image of Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker without a shirt, if shared by President Donald Trump on social media, would put the president in line for felony charges.

Jackley said a Pritzker image wouldn’t qualify because Pritzker is male, but Mortenson pushed back.

He noted that partially nude fabrications would be a felony if done with the intent to “self-gratify or alarm, annoy, embarrass, harass, invade the privacy of, threaten, or cause emotional, financial, physical, psychological, or reputational harm to that individual.”

Nothing in the bill specified that a person in a digitally fabricated topless image must be female.

“We just said that half-nude is a state of nudity, and so now he’s shirtless, and the point of this is to embarrass this guy,” Mortenson said of his topless Pritzker meme scenario.

Mortenson voted against the bill in committee but brought an amendment Tuesday to define nudity as inclusive of male or female genitalia, buttocks or the female nipple.

The amendment passed, but it did not address every concern about the bill.

Democratic Rep. Kadyn Wittman of Sioux Falls asked Jackley during the bill’s committee hearing why he didn’t use it to enhance penalties for people who film others in states of undress or participating in sexual activity against their will.

That behavior is a felony if it involves the recording of a minor, or if it happens repeatedly. The new penalties for deepfakes would be added to the same chapter of South Dakota law.

“Why is the first time hidden recording a misdemeanor generally, but a digitally fabricated image would automatically be a classified felony,” said Wittman.

Jackley said he feels that the creation of digitally manipulated sexual images, even if they aren’t shared, signals “significant criminal intent.” He told South Dakota Searchlight after the committee meeting that he’s open to addressing that issue, but that SB 41’s primary purpose was to target deepfakes.

On the House floor, Wittman was one of two representatives to say the bill’s felony penalties could be unnecessarily harsh in instances where young people make “a stupid decision” and create a deepfake.

“I feel like, in a lot of situations, this bill covers behavior that could be covered by a lower level of offense,” Wittman said.

Supporters countered that the creation of fake nudes can do real psychological damage to real people, and that the state needs to clearly signal that doing so is a serious crime.

“It’s only fun and games until it happens to you,” said Rep. Mary Fitzgerald, R-St. Onge.

The bill passed the House 60-6. It now moves to the state Senate, which passed the bill 32-0 on Jan. 16. The Senate would need to approve the amended version of the bill before it could be delivered to Gov. Larry Rhoden to sign or veto.

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Mega Millions, Millionaire for Life winning numbers for March 3, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 3, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 3 drawing

07-21-53-54-62, Mega Ball: 16

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 3 drawing

09-10-13-25-54, Bonus: 05

Check Millionaire 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.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

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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