As the biggest riser in the South Dakota Prep Media basketball polls this week, Wessington Springs is back in the top five of the Class B boys rankings.

Ranked No. 8 last week, the Spartans took down then-No. 2 Viborg-Hurley 55-47 at the DWU Classic on Saturday night. The victory boosted Springs back into the top-five for the first time since Jan. 19. Meanwhile, Viborg-Hurley slipped from No. 2 to No. 4 this week.

The Class B rankings were also shaken up by another top clash at the DWU Classic as Freeman dominated Wall 72-48. As a result, the Flyers climbed to No. 3 in the poll with two first-place votes, only behind No. 1 Castlewood and No. 2 De Smet. From No. 5 last week, Wall dipped to No. 8 this week.

Freeman and Wessington Springs are joined by two more Mitchell-area squads in the top 10: No. 7 Parkston and No. 9 Sanborn Central/Woonsocket, which entered the top-10 for the first time this season. Lyman is also receiving votes.

In the Class B girls rankings, Lyman and Parkston held firm at No. 1 and No. 2 following the Raiders’ 60-50 head-to-head win at the DWU Classic. Ethan moved up one spot to No. 4 on the heels of a 76-48 rout of then-No. 3 Bennett County, the reigning Class B champions. The Warriors slid to No. 5 this week, with No. 3 Colman-Egan rounding out the top five.

Here is a breakdown of the latest rankings.

The South Dakota Prep Media basketball polls for the week of Feb. 16, 2026, are listed below. First-place votes are indicated in parentheses and teams are ranked by total points received.

1. Sioux Falls Lincoln (20), 16-0, 100; 2. Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 14-2, 64; 3. Tea Area, 12-4, 45; 4. Huron, 13-4, 40; 5. Watertown, 13-3, 27.
Others receiving votes: Harrisburg 22, Spearfish 2.

Moved up: No. 3 Tea Area (from No. 5), No. 5 Watertown (from receiving votes).
Moved down: Harrisburg (from No. 3).

1. West Central (19), 18-0, 199; 2. Sioux Falls Christian (1), 15-1, 181; 3. Clark/Willow Lake, 15-2, 159; 4. Hamlin, 15-2, 137; 5. Lennox, 11-5, 110; 6. St. Thomas More, 12-5, 92; 7. Groton Area, 13-4, 78; 8. Vermillion, 13-5, 50; 9. Stanley County, 14-2, 39; 10. Mahpiya Luta, 15-3, 36.
Others receiving votes: Cheyenne-Eagle Butte 11, Sioux Valley 4, Pine Ridge 3, Dakota Valley 1.

Moved up: No. 7 Groton Area (from No. 9), No. 9 Stanley County (from No. 10).
Moved down: No. 8 Vermillion (from No. 7), No. 10 Mahpiya Luta (from No. 8).

1. Castlewood (17), 16-2, 197; 2. De Smet, 12-5, 169; 3. Freeman (2), 16-2, 165; 4. Viborg-Hurley (1), 15-3, 131; 5. Wessington Springs, 14-4, 110; 6. Aberdeen Christian, 14-2, 108; 7. Parkston, 15-3, 69; 8. Wall, 13-4, 66; 9. Sanborn Central/Woonsocket, 14-3, 23; 10. Sully Buttes, 13-5, 21.
Others receiving votes: Estelline/Hendricks 19, Deubrook Area 11, Lyman 10, Leola/Frederick Area 1.

Moved up: No. 2 De Smet (from No. 3), No. 3 Freeman (from No. 4), No. 5 Wessington Springs (from No. 8), No. 9 Sanborn Central/Woonsocket (from receiving votes).
Moved down: No. 4 Viborg-Hurley (from No. 2), No. 8 Wall (from No. 5), No. 10 Sully Buttes (from No. 9), Estelline/Hendricks (from No. 10).

1. Brandon Valley (20), 16-0, 100; 2. O’Gorman, 16-1, 80; 3. Sioux Falls Washington, 12-3, 60; 4. Rapid City Stevens, 13-4, 32; 5. Aberdeen Central, 11-5, 26.
Others receiving votes: Mitchell 1, Spearfish 1.

Moved up: None.
Moved down: None.

1. Mahpiya Luta (20), 180, 200; 2. Hamlin, 16-1, 178; 3. Lennox, 15-3, 150; 4. Wagner, 15-2, 140; 5. Sioux Falls Christian, 15-4, 121; 6. Sioux Valley, 15-2, 97; 7. Clark/Willow Lake, 15-2, 85; 8. Aberdeen Roncalli, 14-4, 39; 9. West Central, 14-4, 36; 10. St. Thomas More, 13-5, 21.
Others receiving votes: Rapid City Christian 19, Mobridge-Pollock 12, Lakota Tech 2.

Moved up: No. 8 Aberdeen Roncalli (from No. 9), No. 9 West Central (from No. 10).
Moved down: No. 4 Wagner (from No. 3 tie), No. 10 St. Thomas More (from No. 8).

1. Lyman (19), 17-1, 197; 2. Parkston, 16-2, 159; 3. Colman-Egan (1), 18-0, 154; 4. Ethan, 16-1, 151; 5. Bennett County, 15-3, 111; 6. Centerville, 16-2, 108; 7. Chester, 15-2, 79; 8. Harding County, 17-1, 50; 9. Waubay/Summit, 17-2, 27; 10. Gayville-Volin, 14-3, 25.
Others receiving votes: Highmore-Harrold 13, Corsica-Stickney 10, Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 10, Wall 6.

Moved up: No. 3 Colman-Egan (from No. 4), No. 4 Ethan (from No. 5), No. 9 Waubay/Summit (from No. 10 tie), No. 10 Gayville-Volin (from receiving votes).
Moved down: No. 5 Bennett County (from No. 3), Sanborn Central/Woonsocket (from No. 9), Corsica-Stickney (from No. 10 tie).

REDFIELD, S.D. — Gianna Schieffer doesn’t need data or stories from other parents to prove the point that this central South Dakota city has a worrisome shortage of day care options.

Schieffer, executive director of the Redfield Area Development Corp., has for the past couple years led an effort to obtain grants and loans, solicit donations and host fundraising events to get the money to convert a former bank building into a large child care center in downtown Redfield.

As a working mother of two, including an energetic toddler, Schieffer can point to her own situation as evidence of the shortage and the stress it can cause. On a recent day in February, the in-home child care provider Schieffer relies on came down with the flu, leaving her and several other parents with nowhere to drop off their children.

Schieffer’s husband runs a ranch supply store located well out of town. But fortunately, Schieffer works alone in a downtown office and was able to bring 2-year-old Maya with her to work.

“This is exactly the kind of situation we’re hoping to avoid with the new day care, where we could offer a drop-in service for parents on a daily or emergency basis,” Schieffer said. “If you want to work as a parent, you have to take your kids somewhere.”

The lack of child care is a common problem in cities both large and small across South Dakota and creates ripple effects beyond the immediate uncertainty for working parents.

Combined with a shortage of affordable housing, the dearth of day care is stunting potential economic and population growth as schools, government agencies and businesses are in some cases unable to hire employees because workers cannot find care for their children.

The problem is worse in dozens of small, rural communities that are often isolated from large population centers with more options.

The community has embarked on a three-year campaign to raise the roughly $1 million needed to buy a former Wells Fargo bank building in town and convert it to large child care able to hold 51 children upon launch and eventually more than 90 children.

Redfield does not have a center-based day care operation and has seen the number of small, at-home providers fall from 10 in 2023 to seven in 2026. Some of those remaining providers are nearing retirement age and are likely to stop providing the service in the coming years, Schieffer said.

Jake Dawson is a father to two pre-school age children and feels lucky that he and his wife are able to drop their children off at an in-home day care in Redfield while he works the farm and his wife works in town.

Dawson used to run a John Deere dealership in Redfield and said he often heard from employees or prospective employees that obtaining child care was a challenge. Dawson said he knew of at least two parents who had to drive 50 miles each way either to Miller or Aberdeen in order to drop off their children during the workday.

Dawson, who serves on the board of the Redfield development group, said it is clear that a dwindling number of child care openings is holding the city back.

Bart Pfankuch / South Dakota News Watch

“From an economic development standpoint, having day care available is a huge asset,” he said. “In today’s world, I think young families are looking for smaller towns to start a family. And having day care allows a community to grow by attracting talented young people to town.”

Dawson said he has been impressed with how the city has pulled together to raise the money to support development of the community child care center. He said that once the first-floor day care is established, the second floor of the bank building could be turned into a community center or some other hub of activity for local children.

“I’m really happy that the city’s stepped up and made this a priority,” he said. “I’m hoping the community continues to rally behind this project to expand this into something more for kids of all ages.”

— This story originally published on southdakotanewswatch.org.

A major announcement Monday by Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken and Gov. Larry Rhoden is expected to include details about Smithfield Foods, The Dakota Scout has confirmed.

Monday’s announcement at the Canopy by Hilton is being billed by the city as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

“People across the country will be paying attention to this defining moment in Sioux Falls and South Dakota,” the city said in a press release Friday.

Smithfield employs more than 3,100 people and is the fourth largest employer in the city behind Sanford Health, Avera Health and the Sioux Falls School District. The company has owned the pork processing facility since its purchase from the John Morrell & Co. in 1995. The original Morrell plant opened in 1909.

Smithfield sits on approximately 80 acres near Falls Park. In December, the city unveiled a proposed master plan for Falls Park that would make improvements and changes at the park over the course of the next three decades.

The presentation included the acquisition of more land next to Smithfield for an urban fishery. But Smithfield itself remained on the presentation slides.

“It takes decades for these sort of large grand visions to be established,” Mike Patten, the Parks Department planning and projects manager told the City Council. He noted that the current features at Falls Park were planned back in the 1990s.

Smithfield made news in January with its purchase of Nathan’s Famous, which makes all-beef hotdogs. Smithfield, based in Virginia, is a subsidiary of the world’s largest pork producer. Smithfield had held the exclusive license to manufacture, distribute and market Nathan’s Famous hotdogs, sausages, and corned beef in the United States and Canada.

Smithfield paid $450 million for all issued and outstanding shares of Nathan’s.

“The Nathan’s Famous acquisition is a meaningful step in the progression of Smithfield Foods allowing us to own all of the top brands in our packaged meats portfolio and unlock new growth opportunities for our largest segment,” said Smithfield President and CEO Shane Smith. “Since entering into our licensing agreement in 2014, we have made significant investments to build and grow the Nathan’s Famous brand. With our manufacturing scale, marketing strength, product innovation capabilities, and retail and foodservice channel expertise, acquiring Nathan’s Famous will allow us to take the brand to new heights.”

According to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, the Sioux Falls plant has been a historical manufacturer of Nathan’s hotdogs.

Besides its pork processing plant, Smithfield also owns nine farms in South Dakota, the company reported in its most recent annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company also warned in the report that proposed regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency could require investments into wastewater treatment systems at plants including Sioux Falls. The EPA was considering more stringent Effluent Limitrations Guidelines for meat processing facilities.

“Significant upgrades related to our direct and indirect wastewater discharge streams, including to treatment systems at our Sioux City and Denison, Iowa, Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Tar Heel, North Carolina centers, would be required to meet the standards as proposed, which we estimate would require material capital expenditures in the aggregate,” the company wrote in its annual report.

TenHaken and Rhoden will be joined by state and local business leaders.

This story was originally published on

TheDakotaScout.com.