The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Women’s basketball team is taking on the South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City, South Dakota this evening.

FIRST QUARTER –
UMC jumped out to a 4-0 lead with baskets from Willow Thiel (Fresh. Perham) and Nicole Hernandez (Sr. Oak Creek, WI). After a Mines basket, UMC responded with five more points with an Emma Miller (Jr. Albertville), another Thiel basket, and two free throws from Riley Jenkins (Soph. Galesburg, IL) for a 9-2 lead to start the game. Mines made another basket before Miller made a basket, and Thiel added two free throws for a 13-4 lead with 5:38 left in the opening quarter. Mines made a three-pointer before Thiel connected on a pair of free throws, and Miller made a layup for a 17-7 lead. Mines finally got the offense going and went on a 7-2 run to get within a 19-14 deficit with one minute remaining. UMC’s Miller made a basket before Mines finished the quarter with a three-pointer, and the Golden Eagles took a 21-17 lead into the second quarter. 

SECOND QUARTER –
UMC dominated the second quarter as Hope Dudycha (Soph. Austin) got things going with a three-pointer, and Jenkins added a free throw. After a Mines basket, it turned into the Jenkins and Thiel show as the two went on an 11-0 run on their own for a 36-19 lead with 18 seconds left in the half.  That is right. UMC held Mines to only two points over nine-plus minutes of the quarter. Mines made a three-pointer with four seconds left in the half, and UMC took a 36-22 lead into halftime. Mines only made two of 15 shots from the field in the second quarter and were 9 of 33 in the first half.

THIRD QUARTER –
Mines started the second half on a 7-2 run before Dudycha and Miller made baskets for a 42-39 lead. After Mines got within a 12-point deficit, UMC’s Jenkins made a three-pointer, and Dudycha scored six points for a 51-32 lead with less than four minutes left in the quarter. Mines chipped away at the deficit and got within a 54-41 score before UMC’s Miller ended the quarter with a three-pointer for a 57-41 lead going into the final quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER –
UMC led 60-45 when Dudycha made a basket, and Jenkins converted a three-point play for a 65-45 lead with 6:27 left in the game. Mines made a basket before Hernandez and Thiel scored two points apiece for a 69-47 lead. The teams played even the rest of the way and the Golden Eagles won 74-55.

UMC improves to 2-4 on the year and will travel to Minot State on Tuesday to start Northern Sun Conference play. Mines drops to 0-5 on the year.

Tags: Brynlea Mahlen, Emma Miller, Hope Dudycha, Kloe Wadd, Natalie Mikrot, Nicole Hernandez, Rayna Klejeski, Riley Jenkins, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Hardrockers, sports, Taryn Frazier, University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles Women’s Basketball, Willow Thiel

The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s decision that Summit Carbon Solutions is allowed temporary access to properties for surveying, because it is a pipeline company that would be transporting a hazardous liquid.

The case involved Kent Kasischke, a Hardin County landowner who refused to let Summit surveyors on his land to survey for their proposed pipeline that would transport carbon dioxide, primarily sequestered from ethanol plants, to underground storage in North Dakota. The pipeline route includes South Dakota.

The Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case in early October.

Kasischke argued Iowa Code section 479B.15, which allows a pipeline company to enter private land to survey, was unconstitutional because the invasion of property required compensation.

Justice Thomas Waterman, who issued the court’s decision, said Kasischke’s argument “fails.”

“He has no right to exclude the surveyor because section 479B.15 is a lawful pre-existing limitation on his title to the land,” the decision said.

Carbon pipeline company reapplies for South Dakota permit

According to the decision, this is consistent with rulings in “at least four” district courts, including the Iowa District Court for Hardin County that originally ruled in the case, and with Supreme Court decisions in North Dakota and South Dakota.

The decision in South Dakota, while it upheld the constitutionality of a similar statute in the state, was touted as win by those opposed to the pipeline because it said the company must prove it is a common carrier and said surveying was only constitutional if they were “minimally invasive superficial inspections that, at most, cause minor soil disturbances.”

A press release from the Iowa Easement Team and Bold Alliance, groups opposed to the pipeline that supported Kasischke, and his attorney, Brian Jorde, said the Friday Iowa Supreme Court’s decision “sidesteps” questions around surveying.

“Right now Iowa has no guardrails as to the level of invasive activity a pipeline company can do to private property as they can claim anything they want to do falls under ‘survey’ or ‘examination,’” the press release said.

Jorde, who has represented numerous landowners in cases against Summit, said “we will have to go back to the Court” to address the limitations, with a hope that Iowans will be granted the “same protections” as South Dakotans.

As part of its ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s decision that Summit Carbon Solutions is a pipeline company and fits the definition under Iowa Code by transporting a hazardous liquid.

Kasischke argued the supercritical carbon dioxide that would be transported in the pipeline was not a liquid.

Waterman’s written decision said the court relied on testimony from the district court trial for its decision, though he noted that since the district court trial, the Iowa Utilities Commission (then the Iowa Utilities Board) “determined that supercritical carbon dioxide is a liquefied carbon dioxide.”

The CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions, Lee Blank, said in a statement Friday the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision was a “win for infrastructure projects across the state and the nation.”

“It underscores the importance of balancing landowner rights with the need to advance critical infrastructure that benefits communities, agriculture, and the broader economy,” Blank said.

The press release said the ruling “confirms” the company has met “all statutory requirements” and it supports infrastructure “vital to enhancing economic competitiveness and ensuring energy and agricultural sustainability.”

Opponents of the pipeline project said in their press release, the ruling “did not conclude” the proposed 2,500 mile pipeline is a public use, nor that the company is a common carrier.

However, Summit was granted use of eminent domain in August when the Iowa Utilities Commission approved its permit.

A final element of the case was whether or not Kasischke had a tenant on the property who would have impacted Summits’ efforts to provide adequate notice of their plans to survey his property.

Waterman wrote the court agreed with the district court’s credibility analysis calling Kasischke’s testimony on the issue “evasive and not credible.”

Jorde and the Iowa Easement Team called this “puzzling and disappointing, but a minor issue to the appeal.”

The Iowa justices affirmed that Summit complied with notice requirements and the district court’s ruling and injunction.

Missouri State football will play its final game as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and as an FCS program when it hosts the two-time defending champion this weekend.

FCS No. 18 Missouri State (8-3, 6-1 MVFC) will host FCS No. 3 South Dakota State (9-2. 6-1 MVFC) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Plaster Stadium. The game will be the Bears’ finale as they are ineligible to qualify for the postseason because of NCAA rules regarding their move to the FBS.

South Dakota State continues to be a national championship contender with their lone FCS loss this season coming Oct. 19 in a 13-9 loss to FCS No. 1 North Dakota State. The Jackrabbits also lost on opening day in a 44-20 defeat at FBS Oklahoma State.

Missouri State has an outside chance at still winning a share of the MVFC. The Bears would have to beat SDSU while requiring North Dakota State to lose to FCS No. 4 South Dakota.

South Dakota State football features star QB Mark Gronowski

SDSU senior quarterback Mark Gronowski had both power conference and large NIL offers after earning the Walter Payton Award last season. He opted to stay at South Dakota State to try and lead it to its third straight title.

Gronowski isn’t putting up the same numbers he did last year, averaging about 28 fewer yards while already surpassing his season total in interceptions in four fewer games, but he’s still among the FCS’ elite.

He’s a 62% passer and is a capable runner and hasn’t thrown a pick over his last four games.

SDSU football has an elite rushing attack

Ranked third in the FCS in rushing, the Jacks are averaging nearly 250 yards per game with four different backs gaining 50 or more yards per game.

South Dakota State doesn’t have a Joplin-area running back leading the team in rushing this year as it has in the past (Joplin’s Quin Renfro is redshirting after Isaiah Davis was drafted in the fifth round by the New York Jets). But Amar Johnson is getting his turn as the leadback after being an all-purpose weapon last year. He’s averaging just 77.5 yards, but is an explosive play waiting to happen.

The Jackrabbits continue to have one of the best offensive lines in the subdivision. Slowing this down will be a challenge for the Beas, having given up 215 or more rushing yards in three of the last four weeks, including a season-worst 364 yards to North Dakota State last week.

South Dakota State has the best defense in the FCS

Only ranked behind a pair of Pioneer and SWAC schools and a 4-6 Saint Francis team, it’s safe to say South Dakota State has the best defense in the subdivision, considering who it’s faced.

SDSU has a top-20 defense in every category and is first in points allowed, allowing just 12.7 points per outing. The Jacks haven’t given up more than 17 points in a game since the season’s first two weeks.

Score prediction: South Dakota State 34, Missouri State 17

Missouri State hasn’t been capable of stopping the run against the elite offensive lines it’s faced this year. South Dakota State might have the best ground game out of anyone the Bears have faced and that will be trouble heading into their final test.

South Dakota State will play this game motivated by potentially earning the No. 1 overall seed in the FCS Playoffs, hoping South Dakota can knock off North Dakota State. The Bison’s game starts an hour before the Bears-Jacks game, maybe opening the door for SDSU to rest some starters in the second half if they have the game put away.