PIERRE, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – South Dakota Supreme Court Justice Janine M. Kern made an announcement on Wednesday that she will be retiring from the bench on Dec. 8, 2025.

Justice Kern was appointed to the South Dakota Supreme Court in 2014 by Governor Dennis Daugaard to represent the First Supreme Court District, which includes Custer, Lawrence, Meade, and Pennington counties.

“It is with a heart brimming with gratitude for the trust and confidence placed in me, which gave me the opportunity to serve the people of this great state, that I notify you of my retirement on December 8, 2025, nearly twenty-nine years to the day of my investiture as a circuit court judge,” said Justice Kern.

“Justice Kern has always had an unwavering commitment to justice, the integrity of the courts, and a deep compassion for the people we serve. Her passion for law and for people has impacted all of us and made the court system better,” said Chief Justice Steven R. Jensen.

Justice Kern was appointed a circuit court judge in 1996 in the Seventh Judicial Circuit, comprised of Custer, Fall River, Oglala Lakota, and Pennington counties.

Before serving as a judge, Justice Kern received a Bachelor of Science from Arizona State University in 1982 and her juris doctor degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1985.

She later worked in a variety of roles with the Attorney General’s office, such as the appellate division, drug prosecution unit, and as director of the litigation division.

Justice Kern is a member of the American Law Institute, the State Bar Association, the Pennington County Bar Association, the American Bar Association Fellows, and past president of the South Dakota Judges Association.

“She has been an incredible lawyer, prosecutor, and judge for 28 years. I work with several young attorneys who look up to her as a role model, so her steady hand on the court will be missed. As I review potential appointments to replace her on the bench, I will be hopeful that we can find a future Supreme Court judge of her caliber,” said Governor Rhoden.

Copyright 2025 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Throughout April, South Dakota community leaders Nikki Gronli and Julian Beaudion hosted town halls across the state allowing people to raise the concerns they have with the Trump administration.

Now they are back by popular demand with the next one coming up Wednesday evening.

Gronli and Beaudion have previously held town halls in Rapid City, Aberdeen, Vermillion and Sioux Falls, and every one saw a massive crowd.

Now the tour heads to Mitchell.

The popularity of the town halls resulted in changes in venues and people having to stand at meetings as attendees.

Panelists Nikki Gronli and Julian Beaudion delivered the 40-page report to South Dakota’s congressional delegation but only received feedback from Representative Dusty Johnson.

But both Gronli and Beaudion share optimism in the participation in political discourse throughout the state.

“What we saw from the citizens who attended these town halls is that there is still a lot of fight left in them, a lot of fight left in us, folks had no problem talking through some of the concerns,” Beaudion, a US Senate candidate said.

In previous meetings, attendees addressed concerns they had regarding cuts to Medicaid, the Department of Education, and from DOGE, as well as the effects of tariffs.

Now they are prioritizing town halls being more focused on one issue, this starts Wednesday in Mitchell at Dakota Wesleyan University.

“There’s a great farm community, so we decided we would do this one focused as opposed to the last town halls which we allowed people to cover whatever topic they wanted to, we thought we would switch it up and see what the response is like,” Gronli said.

Gronli expects a lot of questions as to what the next farm bill will look like and when it will be passed, the current one has been extended twice and passed in 2018.

She will have the help of another former USDA staffer to answer questions throughout the night.

“I also expect having Marcia Bunger there on stage as the former risk management lead that there will be conversations about crop insurance, the importance to our ag producers and what policies are being made around crop insurance,” Gronli said.

Dates haven’t been announced but town halls are planned for Brookings and Rapid City so far.

Dakota News Now reached out for comment to Senators Thune and Rounds and Representative Johnson, but we did not get a response in time for publication.

Copyright 2025 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.

The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at June 9, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from June 9 drawing

30-33-40-43-52, Powerball: 25, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from June 9 drawing

03-07-17-29-46, Lucky Ball: 15

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from June 9 drawing

06-14-35-44-49, Star Ball: 05, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America 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.

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.