South Dakota

SDHSAA state basketball tournament to returns to Sioux Falls in 2027

Published

1 month ago

January 28, 2026

SDHSAA state basketball tournament to returns to Sioux Falls in 2027

There won’t be any South Dakota high school state basketball championships in Sioux Falls in 2026, breaking a 65-year run of South Dakota’s largest city hosting one of the state’s premier high school sporting events.

The Class AA and A boys tournaments will be in Rapid City at The Monument, with the AA boys in the ice arena and the A boys in Summit Arena from March 19 to 21. The Class B boys will still be at the Barnett Center in Aberdeen on the same dates.

The AA girls will also be at Summit Arena at The Monument in Rapid City on March 12 to 14, the Class A girls will be at the Watertown Civic Arena and the Class B girls will be at First Bank & Trust Arena in Brookings.

The South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) updates its website to reflect the next year’s state tournament schedule, but the organization knew well in advance that Sioux Falls would be without a championship in 2026.

SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos, Ed. D., said the Denny Sanford Premier Center is the only venue in Sioux Falls that can hold 5,000 to 7,000 people for a basketball tournament. With a couple of extra events booked for 2026 and an existing contract with the Sioux Falls Stampede requiring Friday and Saturday nights to be saved, that squeezed out the high school state tournaments.

“March of 2026 is a unique year because we were awarded two NCAA events – D2 wrestling and also the NCAA (Division I) hockey regionals,” said Denny Sanford Premier Center General Manager Mike Krewson. “That has never happened in the history of the city before.”

The Summit League tournament is also scheduled for the first week of March. The Summit League is scheduled to be at the Premier Center through 2029, and the center is holding dates beyond in case of a contract renewal.

Swartos said this situation will also arise in 2028, and the success of the 2026 state tournaments will help determine the final plan for 2028. If this Rapid City experiment works out, that can be back on the table.

“We might have an opportunity to have some more casual fans out in Rapid City,” Swartos said. “For the people who are there, if they want to bop between venues for different games throughout the tournament, they’d be allowed to do that and see both classes at the same time.”

Swartos is also considering working with South Dakota State University to get First Bank & Trust Arena and the University of South Dakota for the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, but other logistical challenges arise from there.

The Premier Center is working with the City of Sioux Falls to diversify its events, including concerts, shows and sporting events, but sometimes there are just not enough weeks in a given month or year.

March is especially difficult for scheduling, with the Stampede’s season coming to a close, high school state tournaments taking place and NCAA winter sports seasons ending. That’s a lot of opportunities for the Premier Center to showcase Sioux Falls both in person and on broadcasts.

“Different events reach different people,” Krewson said. “We try to schedule in everything we can and be accommodating, but sometimes there’s not enough weeks in the month. Especially March, which is our busiest.”

The City of Sioux Falls benefits from some of the Premier Center events in more ways than getting people in town. Krewson recalled a curling event that was broadcast on Peacock and NBC Sports that included a promotional package for Sioux Falls that would have cost over $1 million if it were purchased.

“We look at it as revenue, exposure for the community, how is it going to do for tourism, those types of things,” Krewson said.

Krewson noted that the city bids on the NCAA events, then lets him and other Premier Center officials know, so the dates could be saved.

Both parties, the SDHSAA and the Premier Center, will continue their partnership in 2027 and beyond, with the AA boys basketball state tournament in Sioux Falls in 2027. The A boys will be in town in 2029, the AA boys will be back in 2030 and there are requests out for 2031.

Source link

Click to comment

South Dakota

Political Pulse: South Dakota Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff on data centers, property taxes and more

Published

12 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Political Pulse: South Dakota Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff on data centers, property taxes and more

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – State Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff joined Political Pulse over the weekend.

Mehlhaff weighed in on property tax proposals, data centers, and effort to repeal the death penalty and speculation that Kristi Noem could run for Senate.

The interviewed was taped on Saturday.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Source link

South Dakota

These 15 South Dakota counties will see DUI checkpoints this month

Published

24 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

These 15 South Dakota counties will see DUI checkpoints this month

The monthly law enforcement effort helps to reduce alcohol-related deaths on the road.

The South Dakota Department of Public Safety is raising awareness this month on the dangers of drinking and driving.

Sobriety checkpoints take place statewide every month, usually hitting about 15 counties, in hopes of reminding motorists to “make responsible choices and avoid driving after drinking alcohol, whether or not a checkpoint is planned in their area,” says DPS communications director Brad Reiners.

DPS also announces ahead of time which counties will be monitored, most often Codington, Lincoln, Meade, Minnehaha and Pennington counties.

What is a sobriety checkpoint?

A sobriety checkpoint is a law enforcement effort that stops vehicles at pre-determined locations to identify and arrest impaired drivers as necessary.

These police stops are not based on unrelated violations of the law (ie., speeding, reckless driving, no seatbelt). Rather, officers are stopping any vehicle in a set pattern in a highly visible location that a driver will approach and must comply with.

Beyond arrests for driving under the influence (DUIs), including breathalyzer tests (PBTs) to determine blood alcohol level (BAC) as needed, the systematic effort is designed to “reduce impaired driving and improve roadway safety,” Reiners said.

South Dakota counties where checkpoints will take place in March include:

Beadle
Brookings
Brown
Clay
Codington
Day
Hughes
Hutchinson
Jones
Lawrence
Lincoln
Lyman
Meade
Minnehaha
Pennington

How many sobriety checkpoints took place in Minnehaha County in 2025?

Other than confirming counties ahead of time, Reiners says time, day and exact location of each checkpoint cannot be confirmed.

Here’s a look at totals from sobriety checkpoints in Minnehaha County in 2025.

Reiners says the number of vehicle stops is merely based on how many happen to drive through a checkpoint that day:

January: 30 vehicles stopped, 3 PBTs, no DUI arrests
February: 18 vehicles stopped, 1 PBT, no DUI arrests
March: 150 vehicles stopped, 9 PBTs, no DUI arrests
August: 49 vehicles stopped, 1 PBT, no DUI arrests
September: 105 vehicles stopped, 14 PBTs, no DUI arrests
November: 63 vehicles stopped, 2 PBTs, 2 DUI arrests

How many fatal, alcohol-related car accidents are there in South Dakota?

According to the South Dakota Department of Health, among 365 alcohol-related deaths in 2024, 19% were because of a transportation/machinery accident, the second-most common cause.

The leading cause of alcohol-related deaths in 2024 was poisoning/toxic effects, at 24%.

Counties that most often experience overall alcohol-related deaths include Buffalo, Mellette, Corson, Oglala Lakota and Dewey counties.

Overall, males make up 65% of alcohol-related deaths in South Dakota from 2015-2024, almost two times higher than the female rate, with ages 30-69 at the highest risk.

Operation: Prairie Thunder not involved in sobriety checkpoints

DPS officials say the S.D. Office of Highway Patrol, the South Dakota Highway Patrol (SDHP) and local law enforcement agencies support DUI checkpoints, which are funded by the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety (SDHS).

Although Operation: Prairie Thunder (OPT) recently completed its 11th saturation patrol in Watertown on Feb. 26-27 – missions that bring together the SDHP with the city, county and federal law enforcement partners – SDHS officials stated last week that “sobriety checkpoints are not conducted as part of Operation: Prairie Thunder.”

Rather, OPT consists of targeted saturation patrols focused on criminal activity in a variety of communities.

Since its inception in August of last year, here’s a look at where total numbers stand for OPT, provided by the DPS.

Ongoing Operation: Prairie Thunder running totals

443 arrests
281 individuals in custody with a drug charge
162 in custody without a drug charge
473 individuals with a drug charge
192 charged and released

Operation: Prairie Thunder criminal drug apprehension totals

1,109 drug charges
318 felony drug charges
791 misdemeanor drug charges
81 felony warrants
168 misdemeanor warrants

Operation: Prairie Thunder ICE contacts

93 contacted
95 interviewed
71 in custody
9 apprehended for cartel / gang
10 identified for cartel / gang
No human trafficking arrests
No recoveries

Operation: Prairie Thunder traffic enforcement

42 DUIs
5 reckless driving
2,244 citations
2,725 warnings

The South Dakota governor’s office announced last December that operations will continue into 2026.

Source link

South Dakota

SD Lottery Millionaire for Life winning numbers for March 8, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at March 8, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 8 drawing

01-31-32-45-52, 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.

Source link