The South Dakota High School Activities Association’s fourth year sponsoring softball is in the books, and there were plenty of standout performers during this season.

From Class AA to B, teams made leaps thanks to some top-tier players and were able to place at the state tournament because of them. 

Here is the first Argus Leader Starting 9, comprised of athletes from all three classes. They are broken down positionally, with a pitcher, a catcher, four infielders and three outfielders making up the team. 

The players are listed in positional order. 

Statistical key: IP-innings pitcher, K-strikeouts, ERA-earned run average, WHIP-walks and hits per inning pitched, K/7-strikeouts per seven innings, H/7-hits allowed per seven innings, BB/7-walks allowed per seven innings, AVG-batting average, OBP-on-base percentage, SLG-slugging percentage, OPS-on-base plus slugging, 2B-doubles, 3B-triples, HR-home runs, RBI-runs batted in, R-runs scored, SB-stolen bases 

ABERDEEN, S.D. – Businessman Toby Doeden, whose campaign for governor has hinged largely on the elimination of all property taxes, has links to real estate investment companies that would save more than half a million dollars annually under that plan, according to public records.

Though Doeden said his experience in business is his primary qualifier for governor, little was known about the extent of his ventures and wealth.

Searches of the Better Business Bureau, court records and the state of South Dakota’s consumer protection portal paint a generally positive picture: Doeden’s companies are in good standing and have not had any major outstanding legal or civil issues.

His current statement of financial interest submitted to the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office lists him as an owner, employee and shareholder, partner or shareholder of 24 companies.

Here’s a snapshot of Doeden’s business activities, based on public records:

• Doeden owns the Aberdeen Chrysler dealership in Aberdeen and Redfield Ford in Redfield. 
• At least 75 properties linked to his companies in Aberdeen and Groton have a current taxable portfolio value of more than $34 million and a property tax commitment this year of at least $558,129. Those properties include single-family homes, commercial buildings and multi-family buildings. Many of the mortgages for those properties were taken out on five-year terms. At least 20 of them have been fully satisfied, with several others partially paid. 
• Doeden was a partner in Plaza Rentals when the city of Aberdeen implemented a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district for several apartment buildings that the company purchased and redeveloped. 
• His Tenth Street Properties is the deed holder to the building housing Street Corner Urban Market – another LLC tied to Doeden – in Aberdeen, as well as Legends Liquor and Casino. Others are Grand Casino, Royal Casino, and Mulligan’s Sports Bar and Casino, which is also located in the complex owned by Tenth Street Properties. 
• One of his businesses was involved in the zoning of a building for 150 bitcoin mining units near his Aberdeen dealership. That zoning permit, which was issued to son Jackson Doeden and company Plaza Rentals, was initially granted in February 2022 for 70 units and was upgraded to 150 units in June 2022, according to Aberdeen News and minutes from the Aberdeen Board of Zoning meetings. Aberdeen Community Development planner Eric Miller told News Watch that as far as he knew, the mining operation was still active. Bitcoin mining units are large, complex computers that generate units of cryptocurrency through computing efforts. 
• Doeden also runs a charitable organization called the 4J Foundation.

Doeden touts his business experience as his biggest qualification for governor, often calling himself the “outsider” and the “businessman.”

Because no candidate received 35% of the vote in the June 2 primary, Doeden and Gov. Larry Rhoden will meet July 28 in a runoff election.

Doeden has largely self-funded his campaign by loaning it another $2 million this year, in addition to the $2 million he put up in 2025.

Doeden’s fast rise to success seems to have started roughly six years ago.

The South Dakota Secretary of State’s office shows that he took over Plaza Rentals as its registered agent in 2020. That’s also when he took ownership of the Aberdeen Chrysler Center after serving as general manager for nine years and gradually purchasing stock.

All but two of the 27 companies Doeden is linked to were incorporated in or after 2020. Doeden credits his innovative thinking to his success during the pandemic, citing a risk-taking approach and careful planning.

Doeden’s acceptance of a Paycheck Protection Program loan during the pandemic has come under scrutiny during the campaign. Federal records show Doeden’s company received $1.1 million for Aberdeen Chrysler Center, and Doeden said during a debate that 150 jobs were saved at his company from the program.

“I am extremely proud of the work my team and I have been able to accomplish over the years at Doeden Investment Group. Being able to give back to the people and state that have given me so much has been the honor of a lifetime,” Doeden said in a statement to News Watch, declining to answer specific questions for this story.

PIERRE, S.D. — A governor-appointed board unanimously approved higher prices and a higher income limit Monday for an affordable housing program.

The South Dakota

Governor’s House

program sells two- and three-bedroom homes built by inmates at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield that are shipped across the state to eligible buyers.

The program also offers daycare models, which can be owned by daycare providers or nonprofit organizations. For buyers in rural areas with less than 5,000 people, the authority provides

DakotaPlex

units intended to be used as duplexes, triplexes or quadriplexes.

Buyers are responsible for buying a building permit, finding a lot, laying the foundation and flooring, and hooking up utilities and appliances.

This year’s change is the “smallest price increase we’ve had in many, many years,” according to Mike Harsma, who heads the Governor’s House program for South Dakota Housing.

On July 1, the start of the new fiscal year, the homes will be priced as follows:

• Two bedroom: $89,000, up from $86,000, or a 3.49% increase.
• Three bedroom: $99,000, up from $96,000, or a 3.13% increase.
• Dakotaplex two bedroom: $99,000, up from $97,000, or a 2.06% increase.
• Dakotaplex three bedroom: $109,000, up from $106,000, or a 2.83% increase.
• Daycare: $99,000, up from $96,000, or a 3.13% increase.

Last year

, units increased at least 6%. The rise in prices this year is due mostly to increased fuel costs, according to Chas Olson, executive director of the South Dakota Housing Development Authority. The cost of delivery for a home is included in the total price of a Governor’s House.

“Whether we’re moving a Governor’s House from Springfield to Sioux Falls or we’re moving it across the state to Buffalo, South Dakota, we get the same amount for that moving fee,” Olson said. “The cost of fuel, where it is now and kind of the uncertainty around that, we had to build in a little bit of a cushion just to be sure that we weren’t taking too big a loss on the fuel.”

Buyers of Governor’s Houses must meet income requirements. The board approved a higher income limit, now at 100% of the state’s median income, regardless of household size.

Families that make up to $103,400 now qualify for the program. In previous years, buyers in one- to two-person households could qualify if they made $72,380 or less and households of three or more people could qualify if they made $82,720 or less.

“It’s hard to get people qualified at those income levels,” Olson said. It had been about 14 years since that limit was adjusted, he said, “and with the cost of everything now, I mean, it was just time.”

Board members also approved a program that’s modeled after a

piece of legislation

that failed earlier this year in the Legislature. It’s a mortgage assistance program for qualifying buyers of manufactured homes.

The authority also provides

down payment assistance

for traditional homes. Down payments for manufactured homes are often higher than a typical mortgage down payment, according to Amy Eldridge, of the authority.

A

manufactured home

is a mobile home that’s built on a permanent framework. The homes must have all required utilities, including plumbing and climate control.

Eligible buyers can apply for a low-interest loan of up to 50% of their mortgage down payment from the assistance program, with total assistance not exceeding $10,000. The income limit for the program is $124,080.

Olson hopes to see the program available to interested buyers within the next month.

“We just need more homes at lower price points,” he said, “and we need ways to get that done.”