South Dakota

2024 SDHSAA State Oral Interpretation Results

Published

1 year ago

December 9, 2024

2024 SDHSAA State Oral Interpretation Results

The 2024 SDHSAA state oral interpretation festival took place from Sturgis Brown High School on December 6-7. Here are the results from the two-day event.

Results are listed by School, Performer(s), and Scores.

(* represents superior with distinction)

AA Non-Original Oratory
Harrisburg Katelyn Christopherson (6- 5- 10)
Brandon Valley Isabella Gibson 6 – 5 – 9
Pierre T.F. Riggs Chloe Bowers 5 – 6 – 9
Sioux Falls Washington Damien Deen 5 – 5 – 9
Brookings Finn Bartlett 5 – 5 – 9
Sioux Falls Jefferson Meridian Hailu 6 – 5 – 7

A Serious Reading
Deuel Sienna Martinell 7 – 8 – 7
Madison Isla Hennings 7 – 6 – 8
Stanley County Emily Hanson 6 – 7 – 8
Milbank Trixie Coalter 8 – 6 – 6
Little Wound Malik Eastman 7 – 7 – 5
West Central Sophia Prostrollo 6 – 7 – 5
Beresford Isabella Russo 6 – 6 – 5
Sioux Falls Christian Lauren Wimmer 5 – 5 – 6
*Hill City Anderson Frandsen 5 – 5 – 5
*St. Thomas More Isabelle Naasz 5 – 5 – 5

B Reader’s Theatre
Wolsey-Wessington (Moshe Richmond, Keaton Zomer, Caleb Richmond, Ashton Hill, Colin Hughes, 7- 9-7)
Gregory (Cruz Klundt, Dani Timanus, Madi Graber, Bo Brozik, Ella Sperl, 7 – 7 -8)
Corsica-Stickney (Cali Vanden Hoek, Max Vanden Hoek, Tanner Bartelt, Jaxson Muck, Peyton Denning, Jett Kemp 8 – 7 – 7)
Hoven (Taylyn Rausch, Addison Griese, Alyssa Kaup, Ava Hartung, Ava Griese, 8-6-7)
Chester Area (Ainsley Breu, Ivy Moyer, Maci Hahn, 7 – 5 -8)
Freeman Academy (Madelyn Anderson, Jada Buse, Arianne Fink, Armando Miller, Benjamin Clark, Jax Kaufman 6 – 6 -7)
Castlewood (Leah Aderhold, Kaden Davis, Bridgette Horn, Lilly Jacobson, Gabrielle Raasch, Kezia Mullen 5 – 5 – 7)
Rosholt (Madisen Pohl, Emma Shelstad, Lexi Vermillion, 5 – 6 -5)
*Estelline (Mackenzie Court, Whitney Court, Sydney Court, Colin Seidell, Lita Fryer, 5 – 5 – 5)

AA Serious Reading
Aberdeen Central Taylor Tullar 8 – 7 – 6
Brookings Poppy McElroy 8 – 5 – 7
Brandon Valley Bella Reif 6 – 5 – 7
Rapid City Stevens Euana Matute 7 – 5 – 6
Sioux Falls Jefferson Kyra Rivera 6 – 5 – 5
Harrisburg Lily Simonich 6 – 5 – 5
*Sioux Falls Washington Annan Musa 5 – 5 – 5

A Reader’s Theatre
Sioux Falls Christian (Elise Gammeter, Claire Jensen, Lauren Wimmer, Lizzy Ellis, Margaret Vogel, 6 – 7 -10)
Aberdeen Roncalli (Anya Unser, Lucia Gutenkauf, Amelia Duncan, 6 – 7 – 8)
Rapid City Christian (Taylor Swarthout, Tenley Joswiak, Joe Freeouf, Noah Fiester, Maeli Fiester, Anneka Rolfes, 7 – 6 – 8)
Great Plains Lutheran (Katy Dahlberg, Greyson Leins, Miriam Jarcik, 6 – 6 – 9)
West Central (Stone Loof, Andie Ingalls, Sophia Prostrollo, BreAnn Heider, Mason Kennedy, Taylor Cain 5 – 6 – 9)
Little Wound (Malik Eastman, Devon Brown, Nikolas Yellow Boy, Charlee Apple, 7 – 5 – 7)
Flandreau (Abe Streitz, Isabel Kulm, Abigail Lewis, Jillian Knippling, Benjamin Kulm, 6 – 5 – 8)
Beresford (Emma Andrews, Max Josko, Sophia Coe, Isabelle Beeson, Isabella Russo, 6 – 6 – 3)

B Humorous Reading
Ethan Coltyn Raymond 6 – 9 – 7
Florence Mia Jaeger 6 – 9 – 7
Bison Lila Besler 6 – 7 – 8
Dell Rapids St. Mary Megan Geraets 6 – 7 – 8
Kadoka Area Jace Fernandez 6 – 7 – 7
Lemmon Liam McCartney 5 – 7 – 8
Freeman Thor Aanenson 6 – 7 – 7
Bridgewater-Emery Oscar Fink 6 – 6 – 7
Henry Dylan Jensen 5 – 5 – 8
Castlewood Bridgette Horn 5 – 8 – 5
Estelline Mackenzie Court 5 – 5 – 6
*Northwestern Annie Dvorak 5 – 5 – 5

AA Reader’s Theatre
Harrisburg (Kian Leyro, Katelin Larson, Madison O’Brien, Layla Nelson, Breann Berns, 6 – 7 – 9)
Aberdeen Central (Sydnei Heinzen, Joey Johnson, Hayden Magee, Faith Waldner, 7 – 7 – 7)
Rapid City Stevens (Blixa Broussard, Mason Schumacher, Asher Homa, James Birch, Rhett Miller, Spenser Harris, 6 – 7 – 8)
Watertown (David Lechner, Josie Althoff, Tysen Canfield, Taryn Koehn , Silas Masar, Olivia Strandell 8 – 5 – 7)
Brandon Valley (Bella Reif, Julia Tinker, Olaf Lindquist, Ellie Sershen, 7 – 5 – 7)
Huron (Lily Halter, Isabella Schafer, Keara Gabriel, Landon Pomerico, Henry Van Scharrel, Charlie Bragg, 5 – 6 -8)
Sioux Falls Jefferson (Teonna Randle, Meridian Hailu, Kyra Rivera, Kairie “Kai” Rivera, Edom Hiruy, Elise Klein 6 – 5 -5)
*Pierre T.F. Riggs (Chloe Bowers, Maren Houdyshell, Lanie Stulken, Harper Reichling, Lillie Kellar , 5 – 5 -5)
*Sioux Falls Washington (Damien Deen, Olivia Hulscher, Kenzynique Wilson, Khady Diaw, Annan Musa, Rakiya Stocklin, 5 – 5 – 5)
*O’Gorman (Jacob Thomas, Sofia Izaguirre, Owen Tschetter, Isaac Solomon, Adud Arop, Kaylee Hulme 5 – 5 – 5)

A Storytelling
Lead-Deadwood Dylan Vincent 6 – 9 – 6
Dell Rapids Hannah Lundgren 7 – 7 – 6
Sioux Valley Melanie Molengraaf 7 – 6 – 7
Bon Homme Breece Slade 6 – 6 – 7
West Central Rylee Cawley 5 – 7 – 7
Aberdeen Roncalli Amelia Duncan 5 – 5 – 8
Rapid City Christian Joe Freeouf 5 – 7 – 6
Flandreau Benjamin Kulm 6 – 7 – 5
Wagner Presley Slaba 5 – 6 – 7
Sioux Falls Christian Toryn Kooima 5 – 6 – 6
Beresford Juliet Josko 5 – 5 – 6
*Vermillion Catie Naber 5 – 5 – 5

B Storytelling
Northwestern Allie Hoekman 7 – 7 – 10
Avon Kate Swier 8 – 7 – 6
Marion Harli Ross 7 – 5 – 9
Florence Aleah Jaeger 6 – 8 – 6
Castlewood Leah Aderhold 6 – 5 – 8
Ethan Anna Mellegaard 6 – 6 – 5

AA Humorous Reading
Harrisburg Breann Berens 8 – 7 – 7
Sioux Falls Jefferson Kairie Rivera (Kai) 8 – 5 – 7
Tea Area Brody Miller 9 – 5 – 6
Yankton Noah Harrell 8 – 5 – 6
Brookings MacKennzie Anderson 7 – 6 – 6
Sturgis Brown Aaron Gray 8 – 5 – 5
Brandon Valley Julia Tinker 7 – 5 – 5
Pierre T.F. Riggs Adem Ballew 7 – 5 – 5
Sioux Falls Lincoln Jackson Klawonn 5 – 6 – 6
Sioux Falls Washington Damien Deen 6 – 5 – 5
Rapid City Stevens Blixa Broussard 6 – 5 – 5
*O’Gorman Owen Tschetter 5 – 5 – 5

AA Storytelling
Sioux Falls Lincoln Lauren Huber 9 – 6 – 7
Brookings Catherine Michna 6 – 9 – 5
Brandon Valley Brooke Peterson 5 – 9 – 5
Pierre T.F. Riggs Lanie Stulken 5 – 8 – 5
Tea Area Ella Cambier 5 – 7 – 6
Harrisburg Kian Leyro 6 – 6 – 5
Sioux Falls Jefferson Kairie “Kai” Rivera 6 – 5 – 5
O’Gorman Isaac Solomon 5 – 6 – 5
*Watertown Sonny Rader 5 – 5 – 5
*Sioux Falls Washington Annan Musa 5 – 5 – 5

A Duet Interpretation
Little Wound Loius McBride IV, Quade Levaldo 6 – 6 – 12
Bon Homme Reese Hejna, Olivia Kaul 7 – 7 – 9
St. Thomas More Ava Barthel, Isabelle Naasz 6 – 7 – 7
Mobridge-Pollock Sophia Overland, Mystic Erickson 7 – 6 – 7
Dell Rapids Noah Larson, Charlie Prasek 7 – 5 – 7
Great Plains Lutheran Greyson Leins, Katy Dahlberg 7 – 5 – 7
Madison JayLynn Makert, Isla Hennings 6 – 5 – 7
Beresford Isabelle Beeson, Sophia Coe 6 – 5 – 6
Britton-Hecla Oliver Moeckly, Jerod Nebrida 5 – 6 – 6
Flandreau Abe Streitz, Benjamin Kulm 5 – 5 – 6
West Central Stone Loof, Austin Skrovig 5 – 5 – 6
*Sioux Falls Christian Claire Jensen, Nathan Rayhons 5 – 5 – 5

A Non-Original Oratory
Madison Delilah Maxwell 5 – 7 – 9
Bon Homme Adley Scheuerman 6 – 7 – 8
Deuel Gabriel Mattson 7 – 6 – 8
Milbank Carlos Olivares Zuniga 7 – 7 – 7
Britton-Hecla Oliver Moeckly 7 – 6 – 7
Great Plains Lutheran Sam Powers 5 – 7 – 8
Beresford Laney Andrews 6 – 7 – 6
Little Wound Jaida Jacobs 5 – 7 – 7
Flandreau Abigail Lewis 6 – 6 – 7
Sioux Falls Christian Abigail Ondricek 5 – 7 – 6
Rapid City Christian Taylor Swarthout 5 – 6 – 6
West Central Andie Ingalls 6 – 5 – 5

B Duet Interpretation
Gregory Piper Bartlett, Madi Graber 10 – 7 – 6
Lemmon Max Anderson, Will Penfield 7 – 6 – 9
Kimball Kimber Rasmussen, Delilah Rasmussen 9 – 5 – 7
Plankinton Harlee Guindon, Sadie Schurz 9 – 6 – 6
Woonsocket McKenzie Baruth, Oscar Anderson 7 – 6 – 8
Northwestern Abigail Schnell, Shelbey Fortin 8 – 7 – 6
Viborg-Hurley Brinlee Smith, Syndil Radio 8 – 5 – 7
Mitchell Christian Owen Kopfmann, Denairic Lieber 7 – 5 – 7
Alcester-Hudson Natalie Moore, Olivia Moore 6 – 6 – 6
De Smet Samuel Gigov, Sophia Gigov 6 – 6 – 6
Estelline Mackenzie Court, Whitney Court 5 – 6 – 5
Florence Mia Jaeger, Aleah Jaeger 5 – 6 – 5
*Avon Abby Gretschmann, Ella Hamilton 5 – 5 – 5

B Poetry Reading
Waverly-South Shore Elizabeth Meyer 9 – 7 – 7
De Smet Samuel Gigov 8 – 6 – 7
Colman-Egan Sadie McCorkle 7 – 6 – 6
Faith Melody Olugbenga 6 – 7 – 6
Mitchell Christian Makayla Strong 7 – 5 – 5
James Valley Christian Belle Niederbaumer 5 – 6 – 6
Irene-Wakonda Duncan Sharples-Schmidt 5 – 5 – 6
*Canistota Malachi Weber 5 – 5 – 5

AA Duet Interpretation
Brookings Nevaeh Hintz, Clare Overby 9 – 7 – 7
Sioux Falls Washington Folomaina David, Adriana David 7 – 6 – 8
Pierre T.F. Riggs Lanie Stulken, Maren Houdyshell 5 – 5 – 9
Sioux Falls Lincoln Jackson Klawonn, Kaci Buckneberg 6 – 6 – 7
Aberdeen Central Jasper Longoria, Kyle Duarte 5 – 6 – 7
Sioux Falls Jefferson Meridian Hailu, Teonna Randle 7 – 5 – 5
*Brandon Valley Bella Reif, Ellie Sershen 5 – 5 – 5
*Watertown David Lechner, Tysen Canfield 5 – 5 – 5
*O’Gorman Isaac Solomon, Kaylee Hulme 5 – 5 – 5

AA Poetry Reading
Brookings Jessica Martin 7 – 7 – 8
Tea Area James Hitzemann 7 – 8 – 7
Sturgis Brown Wynter Thomason 6 – 7 – 8
Sioux Falls Washington Olivia Hulscher 8 – 6 – 7
Watertown Josie Althoff 6 – 7 – 7
Pierre T.F. Riggs Harper Reichling 6 – 6 – 6
Harrisburg Sarah Jenson 6 – 6 – 6
Sioux Falls Lincoln Kaci Buckneberg 5 – 6 – 6
Huron Lily Halter 5 – 5 – 7
*Brandon Valley Julia Tinker 5 – 5 – 5
*Sioux Falls Jefferson Teonna Randle 5 – 5 – 5
*Yankton Conner Brunick 5 – 5 – 5
*O’Gorman Adud Arop 5 – 5 – 5

A Humorous Reading
Stanley County Edward Zachrison 6 – 7 – 9
Webster Area Blaize Larson 6 – 7 – 8
St. Thomas More Ava Barthel 7 – 6 – 7
Deuel Miles Decker 5 – 7 – 7
Great Plains Lutheran Greyson Leins 7 – 7 – 5
Wagner Jackson Rolston 7 – 5 – 7
West Central Taylor Cain 5 – 7 – 6
Sioux Falls Christian Nathan Rayhons 6 – 6 – 6
Beresford Max Josko 5 – 5 – 6

A Poetry Reading
Sioux Falls Christian Liz Powers 7 – 9 – 6
Chamberlain Toree Mosel 6 – 9 – 7
Mobridge-Pollock Isis Leon Leon 9 – 7 – 6
Vermillion Katelyn Oyen 7 – 6 – 8
Lead-Deadwood Briar Rose 7 – 6 – 8
Dell Rapids Paislee Dammer 8 – 7 – 5
West Central BreAnn Heider 5 – 7 – 8
Hamlin Aili Leonardi 6 – 7 – 7
Custer Makenna Allen 6 – 7 – 6
Madison JayLynn Makert 6 – 5 – 5
St. Thomas More Gabi Johnson 5 – 6 – 5

B Non-Original Oratory
James Valley Christian Audri Hohm 8 – 7 – 7
Northwestern Abigail Schnell 8 – 6 – 7
Arlington Preston Singrey 7 – 5 – 9
Avon Erica Cahoy 6 – 5 – 8
Lemmon Will Penfield 6 – 5 – 6
Freeman Thor Aanenson 5 – 5 – 7
Faulkton Area Morgan Demery 5 – 5 – 6
*Summit Andreea Filippov 5 – 5 – 5

B Serious Reading
Arlington Emerson Siebersma 7 – 7 – 8
Mitchell Christian Vienna DeWitt 6 – 8 – 7
Woonsocket Andie Aughenbaugh 6 – 7 – 8
Chester Area Ainsley Breu 7 – 8 – 6
Warner Laura Robinson 8 – 7 – 5
Menno Ervin Schrock 8 – 7 – 5
Canistota Brenen Brandenburg 5 – 8 – 6
Northwestern Shelbey Fortin 5 – 6 – 8
Kimball Sami Pringle 5 – 5 – 8
Gregory George Timanus 6 – 7 – 5
De Smet Sophia Gigov 7 – 6 – 5
McLaughlin Jestice High Cat 6 – 5 – 5

Team Excellence Awards
Brandon Valley AA Gina Koehn
Pierre T.F. Riggs AA Melinda Frank
Sioux Falls Jefferson AA Shannon McMackin
Watertown AA Corrine Kallemeyn
Sioux Falls Washington AA Michelle McIntyre
Brookings AA Carrie Oorlog
O’Gorman AA Teresa Fester
Sioux Falls Lincoln AA Aubrey Windish
Harrisburg AA Kit Rodgers
Beresford A Ann Tornberg
Madison A Matt Groce
Vermillion A Mary Begley
Little Wound A Dan Snethen
Britton-Hecla A Christina Bosse
Bon Homme A Amy Humpal
Lead-Deadwood A Courtney Pierce
Stanley County A Bryan Bonhorst
St. Thomas More A Anthony Flores
Deuel A Karan Domina
Aberdeen Roncalli A Cate Knapp
Rapid City Christian A Sue Larson
Dell Rapids A Sharon Mitchell
Flandreau A Kristi Fischer
Great Plains Lutheran A Eric Martens
West Central A Kim Schmidt/Cindy Schumacher
Milbank A Natasha Karels
Sioux Falls Christian A Alecia Juelfs
Wagner A Mieke Slaba
Mobridge-Pollock A Molly English
Kimball B Patti Konechne
Avon B Sara Hento
Gregory B Ronda Graber
Mitchell Christian B Kendra Nydam
Ethan B Karen Freeman
Estelline B Laurie Troth
Woonsocket B Danielle DeGreef
Chester Area B Christina Moyer
Lemmon B Delilah Heil
De Smet B Lacey Holt
Canistota B
James Valley Christian B Jill Mendel
Northwestern B Laurie Richards
Florence B Mary Kay Black
Arlington B Tammy Holzer
Castlewood B Jennifer Rudebusch
Freeman B Kristina Sage

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South Dakota

South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance formed to increase NA tourism

Published

6 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance formed to increase NA tourism

John Hult
| South Dakota Searchlight

South Dakota has a rich Native American history, but its nine tribal nations see little economic benefit from tourism.
The South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance was formed to help tribes develop and market authentic tourism experiences.
The alliance recently won a $175,000 grant to help expand its efforts across the state’s geographically spread-out tribal nations.

Few states can boast of a culture and history as closely tied to its Native American heritage as South Dakota.

The state has the nation’s fourth-highest per capita population of Native Americans, and about one in ten of the residents in its second-largest city — Rapid City, gateway to Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills for millions of annual visitors — are Native American.

The state can claim historical Native American luminaries like Crazy Horse and Sitting Bill and modern ones like the late activist Russell Means, Olympian Billy Mills, author Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve and Mato Wayuhi, an actor, composer and performer who wrote the score for Hulu’s “Reservation Dogs.”

It’s the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre, but also the American Indian Movement of the 1970s and its occupation of Wounded Knee. More recently, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe drew international attention to protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline just north of the South Dakota border and etched the phrase “Water is Life” into the cultural lexicon.

Those tribal ties help draw tourists. A survey from South Dakota Tourism in 2018 found that around 80% of visitors want a Native American “experience” during their stay. Yet the state’s nine tribal nations typically don’t see much from the billions in economic impact that tourism delivers to the state.

The South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance formed in 2019 to help bridge that divide. The nonprofit organization trains tour guides, plans tribal tour itineraries and works to develop tourism infrastructure in tribal communities.

Recently, it secured one of 10 J.M. Kaplan Innovation Prize awards, earning it $175,000 and connecting it with other early stage nonprofits across the U.S. for collaboration and guidance.

South Dakota Searchlight recently spoke with Rhea Waldman, South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance’s executive director, and Sarah Kills In Water, a Rosebud Sioux tribal member and member of the group’s board of directors.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What can you tell us about what you’ve done so far? Can you give us an update on your economic catalyst tours?

Kills in Water: We worked with Destination America and developed multi-reservation tours, a multi-day tour that started in the Black Hills. They came through Pine Ridge, spent two days on Rosebud and went up to Standing Rock. They ended up marketing that itinerary to a company called Trafalgar, which operates heavily in South Dakota. So that was one major win.

Our tour guide training came up out of a need for another initiative that we worked on, helping the Sicangu Oyate Treaty Council and the Wild Foundation host the Wild 12 conference last year. They brought in people from all over the world, and they wanted to hear from our youth on questions like “How is the mining in the Black Hills going to impact your youth for the next seven generations, for the foreseeable future?”

So we went to engage with the Sicangu Youth Council, and they jumped on the opportunity. They provided a tour experience for a group of 50 international visitors at Bear Butte State Park. The kids were excited, and they were wanting to expand and do more, and so I brought them into my Trafalgar itinerary this year. They actually do the tours on Rosebud when Trafalgar comes through.

What’s lacking in the tourism landscape today that your organization aims to improve upon?

Kills In Water: The cultural piece is so important. Having these experiences with us, provided by us, told in our voices, our stories, everything, it makes it more personal, and I think it brings the realization to our visitors that these people are still here. After all the years of government oppression and everything that’s been done to them, they’re still here, and they’re still vibrant.

Tribal people sometimes have a really bad idea when they think about tourism. They think we’re selling our culture, but that’s not what we’re doing. All we’re here to do is help tribal nations define what stories they want to tell. What do you want to share with your visitors?

Waldman: South Dakota Tourism has been a great partner for us, and really helped us, because obviously they have a lot of data. One of those data points is that over 80% of people want to have a Native American experience when they visit South Dakota. Not even half of them actually do, though. So why don’t they do that? It’s because people don’t know where to go, where to find information.

What are the hidden gems that are already there that you point people to?

Waldman: Every tribal nation has their own gems. The tribes along the river have some of the most beautiful scenery you can imagine. Cheyenne River has one of the biggest buffalo herds in North America. There are cultural centers that have phenomenal art, that are showcasing local artists and the breadth of the history that Native Americans have experienced.

One of the challenges comes when you think about the great American road trip. When you’re on Interstate 90 between Sioux Falls and Rapid City, none of the reservations really are right there. I live in Pierre, and even though we’re the state capital, it is actually hard to get people out here. It’s because we are 35 miles from the interstate, so it takes you at least an hour and a half to travel there and back. So how much can you see here in order for people to come? That’s even worse for the reservations, because they are not the capital, and people don’t necessarily know all the things they can do.

What is it that this grant in particular might help you do?

Kills in Water: The nine tribal nations in our state are so geographically spread out. We don’t always have the resources to get out and go to these tribal nations ourselves. I live in Rosebud, and unless there’s gas money or something tied to it, sometimes I can’t just go to Flandreau. Pine Ridge is close enough where I can volunteer my time, because they’re only an hour and a half from us. With these funds, I see us increasing our partnerships with each tribal nation and really strengthening our efforts that way at the grassroots level.

Waldman: The grant is unrestricted, and that is huge. We’re all aware of travel reimbursement after the fact, but if you’re living in a place where you’re maybe living paycheck to paycheck and you don’t have a thriving business yet, waiting for travel reimbursement can take a while. If you do something like gift cards for gas, that is definitely not something that you can reimburse with federal grants.

And we’re not only getting money. There are 10 different organizations that receive this innovation grant, and we are meeting with them frequently. We can learn from those other amazing entrepreneurs. In addition, the entire team at the JM Kaplan Fund are there to help us succeed, because they know they are funding early stage nonprofits. They’re there with us every step of the way. Yes, money is great and we still need more, but having people that rally for you, that are there for you, that are your family and want to see you succeed, that is really special.

This Q&A was originally published on South Dakota Searchlight. South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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South Dakota

Iowa football lands explosive running back L.J. Phillips Jr.

Published

19 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Iowa football lands explosive running back L.J. Phillips Jr.

IOWA CITY — South Dakota transfer running back L.J. Phillips Jr. has committed to Iowa football, he announced on Jan. 11.

Phillips had a breakout 2025 season, rushing for more than 1,900 yards, along with 19 touchdowns. He also added 28 catches for 195 yards receiving and one touchdown. Phillips was named a second-team FCS All-American by Phil Steele.

Phillips, listed at 5-foot-9 and 225 pounds, will come to Iowa with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

After rushing for more than 4,100 yards in his high school career, Phillips spent three seasons at South Dakota. During his time with the Coyotes, Phillips rushed for nearly 2,220 yards, along with 23 touchdowns. A majority of that production came in 2025. Phillips rushed for 96 yards while maintaining his redshirt in 2023 and then 176 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2024.

But his numbers exploded last season with some ridiculous performances. Phillips rushed 35 times for 301 yards and two touchdowns against Northern Colorado. He had four rushing touchdowns in two separate games. That includes a 244-yard, four-touchdown outing against Murray State. Phillips finished the season averaging 6.5 yards per rush.

Iowa has seen a pair of departures via the transfer portal in its running back room — Jaziun Patterson and Terrell Washington Jr. Patterson ranked third on the Hawkeyes in rushing yards during the 2025 season with 296.

Iowa still projects to have a talented running back room for the 2026 season. Kamari Moulton, who led Iowa with 878 rushing yards last season, still has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Nathan McNeil showed potential in his true freshman season. Xavier Williams tallied 285 yards on the ground as a redshirt freshman.

And now, Iowa adds another weapon to that room in Phillips. The Hawkeyes’ running back unit looks to be stacked entering the 2026 season.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com

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South Dakota

Pictures of semi-truck, name of woman released in Minnehaha County fatal crash

Published

1 day ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Pictures of semi-truck, name of woman released in Minnehaha County fatal crash

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The South Dakota Department of Public Safety has released the name of the woman who was killed in a fatal crash in Minnehaha County last week.

64-year-old Patricia Archambeau of Mitchell died on January 5 due to her injuries in a crash that took place in the early hours of Saturday, January 3.

Archambeau’s 2012 Chevrolet Traverse was traveling eastbound on I-90 near mile marker 379, about four miles west of Humboldt, when she attempted to pull off on the side of the road.

At the same time, the Traverse was struck by a semi-truck, also traveling eastbound, and pulling a trailer. The truck continued driving east after the crash and has yet to be located.

On Sunday, the South Dakota Highway Patrol released two images of the semi-truck suspected of hitting Archambeau’s Traverse. The two photos were taken on I-29 near 41st Street in Sioux Falls at 2:25 a.m., about 12 minutes after the crash west of Humboldt.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol has released two images of a semi-truck believed to be involved in a fatal crash that took place last Saturday in Minnehaha County.(South Dakota Highway Patrol)

Highway Patrol is seeking more information about a red Freightliner Cascadia semi-truck, missing its passenger-side headlight. If anyone has information, they’re asked to contact Highway Patrol at 605-367-5700.

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