South Dakota
SD resource for deaf and hard of hearing community
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, it may be difficult to know where to find resources that can help.
Bir Gurung was just 14 years old when he came to America.
“I didn’t know American Sign Language when I moved here, and I didn’t know how my language in Nepali sign language would translate as well as English,” Deaf, Bir Gurung said.
It wasn’t until he found SD DROP that his life changed, and he was able to learn American Sign Language, also known as ASL.
“I thought it was crucial to do that if you’re going to be in America. I didn’t want this communication breakdown that I’ve experienced for so long. And so I wanted to make sure that I knew what was going on. And now that I know the language, that’s crucial and I got that through them,” Gurung said.
South Dakota Deaf Resources and Outreach Programs, also known as SD DROP, used to be known as Communication Service for the Deaf.
“We serve deaf and hard of hearing individuals from birth, wherever. It’s primarily like social work, independent living, peer support. We work in groups or one on one. We work under the state’s Department of Human Services. We’re funded through them. And then we run the programs for them, primarily the communication assistance,” co-director of SD DROP, Lance Sigdestad said.
“We have deaf mentoring where we’ll bring in a mentor to help teach a family sign language. They have a new baby who has been diagnosed as deaf. And so we can come in and start teaching that family right away so that they can start reading stories to their baby in sign. So it’s all through the life span,” co-director of SD DROP, Katie Peterson said.
SD DROP helps people like Gurung in a variety of different ways.
“Our communication assistance program provides anything from maybe a deaf person will come in with a letter they don’t quite understand all the jargon of, and so we can just sort of explain that or advocacy we call in and help them get an interpreter for an appointment. It can really be so many different things,” Peterson said.
The nonprofit’s work reaches beyond just the deaf community.
“We also do work with individuals who have really any communication barrier and the good example, people with Down’s syndrome or speech delays, it’s just a way for them to learn, sign and open up more opportunities for communication,” Sigdestad said.
“We work with people who are hard of hearing and just have maybe don’t hear as well as they’d like to on the telephone. So we may not be talking about sign language for them, but giving them tools like the idea that you can pull out your phone and open an app and it will caption everything that somebody’s saying or over the phone,” Peterson said.
Helping people in the deaf community have access to resources that weren’t always there.
“I have the knowledge to share with them and be ready to empower that next generation. So that’s because I had that experience of not having it. I want to make sure that the next generation has that. So that’s what drives me to do what I do,” Sigdestad said.
“It’s a necessity to help me learn and now they’ve helped me find a job. They’ve helped me be able to go and get a car and learn how to drive and become a citizen, which that is something that’s very important to me,” Gurung said.
Click here to learn more about SD DROP’s resources and how they can help you.
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Feb. 26, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from Feb. 26 drawing
03-14-22-50-57, Bonus: 04
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.
State Sen. Sydney Davis, R-Burbank, speaks in the South Dakota Senate at the Capitol in Pierre on Feb. 10, 2026. Davis is sponsoring a bill that would ban the use of SNAP benefits for soda purchases. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
By: John Hult
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – The question of whether South Dakota moves to ban the use of government food assistance for sugary drinks is in the hands of Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, who has signaled his opposition to the bill all through the 2026 legislative session.
The state Senate voted 27-6 on Wednesday to endorse House Bill 1056, after the House passed it earlier 58-11. Assuming the same levels of support, both margins are wide enough to overcome a Rhoden veto, should he choose to issue one.
The bill directs the Department of Social Services to ask for a federal waiver to allow the state to bar the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for the purchase of soft drinks.
SNAP is a federal program, managed by the state, through which people with low incomes get a monthly allowance for food through a debit-like card that can be used at most stores to buy nearly any consumable grocery item save alcohol and prepared foods.
Representatives from Rhoden’s office testified against the bill in House and Senate committees, arguing that the administrative costs would be too high. A fiscal note attached to the bill between its passage in the House and its appearance on the Senate’s Wednesday calendar estimated that implementation would cost $310,000 through the first two years. Those costs would come from hiring an extra employee and contracting for software to track sales, file reports and help retailers determine which drinks are banned.
Backers see long-term savings to the state, though. A high percentage of SNAP recipients are also on Medicaid, a taxpayer-funded health insurance program open to disabled and income-eligible people.
On Wednesday, Burbank Republican Sen. Sydney Davis noted the connection between excess soda consumption and health problems like obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. Medicaid dental costs alone add up $51 million a year, she said.
Mitchell Republican Sen. Paul Miskimins, a retired dentist, told the body he once counted 32 cavities and seven abscesses in the mouths of 2-year-old twin boys who were covered by Medicaid.
He attributed the tooth decay to sugary beverages.
“I don’t know if that first visit was more traumatic on the boys or on my dental staff and myself,” said Miskimins.
Tamara Grove, R-Lower Brule, was the lone senator to speak in opposition on the Senate floor. She argued that some stores might stop accepting SNAP payments due to the administrative burden of sorting barred products from the rest of their inventories, and pointed out that the bill wouldn’t do a thing to prevent SNAP recipients from loading up on sugary foods like ice cream or snack cakes.
“It gives this look as if there’s going to be this big, huge change in the way that people buy products, but it’s really not going to be,” Grove said.
Some surrounding states, including Nebraska, have moved to ask for a waiver to ban soda sales through SNAP. Such waivers are now an option, as President Donald Trump’s administration is willing to consider granting them. Former President Joe Biden’s administration was not.
Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, the South Dakota bill’s prime sponsor, got a letter last week from Trump administration officials expressing support for her proposal.
In response, Rhoden spokeswoman Josie Harms told South Dakota Searchlight that the governor “has always been supportive of the Trump Administration’s efforts to Make America Healthy Again,” using a reference to the policy agenda branding used by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“We have met directly with his Administration on this issue, and at no point has our opposition been directed at President Trump or his efforts to reform SNAP,” Harms said. “Our focus has always been on ensuring the implementation of SNAP reform works effectively for our state.”
Harms said Wednesday that Rhoden would answer questions about the bill at a Thursday press conference.
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