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5 North Dakota stories to watch in 2025 • North Dakota Monitor

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5 North Dakota stories to watch in 2025 • North Dakota Monitor


North Dakota will ring in the new year with a lot of unfinished business from 2024.

Many of the state’s biggest stories from last year — including those related to taxation, abortion and incarceration — remain unsettled. State leaders could reignite public discussion of these issues as early as the 69th legislative session, which starts Tuesday.

Here are five state government stories we’ll be watching this year:

Property taxes

The ballot measure to eliminate property taxes based on assessed value put a spotlight on the property tax issue in 2024. Although it failed in the statewide vote, Measure 4 got the attention of legislators.

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Expect several bill drafts related to property taxes in the 2025 legislative session that starts Tuesday. In November, Legislative Council reported it had already received dozens of requests to prepare bill drafts related to property taxes. Gov. Kelly Armstrong has also repeatedly said that property tax reform will be one of his administration’s top priorities.

The state is already taking applications for the second year of the primary residence property tax credit even though a bill authorizing the credit will need to be passed by the Legislature. The program, created by the Legislature in 2023, allowed most North Dakota homeowners to apply for $500 off their 2024 property tax bill. 

Abortion

A judge last year struck down North Dakota’s law banning most abortions, declaring it unconstitutional.

In a September order, South Central Judicial District Court Judge Bruce Romanick found that women in North Dakota have a right to seek abortions until the point of fetal viability. 

State Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, who sponsored the 2023 bill that created the ban, said after Romanick’s order that the focus should be on defending the law that the judge said was too vague.

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The ban made abortion illegal in all cases except rape or incest if the mother has been pregnant for less than six weeks, or when the pregnancy poses a serious physical health threat.

Rep. Eric Murphy, R-Grand Forks, has said he plans to bring a bill this session to allow women to receive abortions for any reason through week 15 of pregnancy in North Dakota. The bill would place restrictions on requests for later-term abortions, including review from committees of doctors.

The state is appealing Romanick’s decision to the North Dakota Supreme Court. The high court has yet to make a final decision on the case. 

Summit pipeline 

In 2024, Summit Carbon Solutions successfully obtained permits for the portion of its carbon dioxide pipeline and storage area planned for North Dakota. But the Iowa-based company still faces appeals from two North Dakota counties and a group of landowners. 

The state’s rules governing underground storage areas, also known as pore space, also are being challenged. 

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Summit has also received pipeline route permits in Iowa and for a small section in Minnesota, but was denied a permit from South Dakota where the main trunk of the 2,500-mile pipeline network is planned to run. Summit is trying again for a permit in South Dakota, so pipeline opponents and supporters will be watching the state closely this year. If built, the pipeline would connect 57 ethanol plants in five states to the underground storage area in western North Dakota. 

Summit calls the nearly $9 billion pipeline the world’s largest carbon capture and storage projects. 

Supporters say it will benefit the ethanol industry and the farmers who sell corn to the ethanol plants. Some opponents call it a taxpayer-funded climate change boondoggle and some landowner see it as an assault on property rights. 

A portion of property owners along the path of the proposed pipeline oppose the project, and refuse to provide easements to Summit. If Summit and the property owners are unable to reach an agreement, Summit may take the matter to court to seek eminent domain. 

Higher education

Bismarck State College, Dickinson State University and Lake Region State College will all be looking for new presidents in 2025, and the North Dakota University System also will be looking for a new leader. 

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Chancellor Mark Hagerott, who oversees the 11 colleges and their presidents, is stepping down at the end of 2025. 

Bismarck State’s Doug Jensen is done Thursday; Dickinson State has been using an acting president since Stephen Easton quit in July; and Lake Region’s Doug Darling will retire at the end of June. 

Inmate population 

North Dakota’s prison system has been over its capacity for men since July 1, 2023, resorting to using county jails and a waiting list for some prisoners to get into a state facility. 

The state Legislature will be asked to address the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation problem in the 2025 session.

Former Gov. Doug Burgum’s budget proposal included $6.5 million into pay equity for corrections employees, $127.3 million for a new 600-resident facility for the Missouri River Correctional Center, and $36.5 million to finish a building project for the Heart River Women’s Correctional Center in Mandan.

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Donnell Preskey, a government and public affairs specialist with the North Dakota Association of Counties, said counties are struggling to keep up, too, with several local jail expansions planned. 

She said the issue is related to high incarceration costs and property taxes,since property taxes are the primary funding source for jails.

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Mega Millions, Millionaire for Life winning numbers for March 10, 2026

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

Here’s a look at March 10, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 10 drawing

16-21-30-35-65, Mega Ball: 07

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 10 drawing

03-27-43-45-49, Bonus: 04

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.



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Trading property tax for sales tax: Legislature moves forward with parts of homeowner relief package

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Trading property tax for sales tax: Legislature moves forward with parts of homeowner relief package


PIERRE — Two pieces of a property tax reduction package prepared by South Dakota’s legislative leadership and the executive branch are moving forward, but one bill failed during votes on Monday as lawmakers began the final week of the annual legislative session.

The House of Representatives voted

42-27

in support of

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Senate Bill 245

, which would pull future revenue from a scheduled sales tax increase from 4.2% to 4.5% next year into a relief fund for homeowner property taxes, and use nearly $56 million in one-time money to seed the fund before the sales tax increase.

The Senate supported

House Bill 1323

, which would reduce the number of petition signatures needed to force an election on a local government’s decision to levy property taxes beyond limits set by the state. The Senate passed the bill 19-15.

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Both bills have to return to the opposite chamber for consideration of amendments.

The Senate rejected

House Bill 1253

, which would cap annual assessment growth for owner-occupied homes and commercial properties at 5% annually and reset assessments back to market value every five years. The bill failed with a 9-24 vote.

The bills are part of a broader,

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five-bill legislative package

targeted at property tax relief.

Another bill

in the package, which would allow counties to implement a half-percent sales tax with proceeds going to homeowner property tax credits, is awaiting the governor’s signature after he proposed it and it received both chambers’ approval.

The legislative budget committee is scheduled to consider a fifth piece of legislation in the package on Tuesday.

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The bill

would reduce maximum property tax levies for school districts.

Sales tax bill overcomes concerns about future budget needs

SB 245 would capture revenue from the impending sales tax increase to deposit into a “homeowner property tax reduction fund” meant to reduce property taxes levied by school districts. The Legislature and then-Gov. Kristi Noem reduced the state sales tax rate three years ago but scheduled the reduction to sunset in 2027.

House Speaker Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, told lawmakers on Monday that the bill would be an “investment in the people,” because it’ll give South Dakota homeowners more money to spend as they choose. Hansen, the bill’s sponsor and a candidate for governor, said that would lead to more spending and, therefore, more sales tax revenue. The state relies on sales taxes, while counties and schools rely on property taxes, and cities receive revenue from property taxes and sales taxes.

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Some opponents said the legislation would favor wealthier, property-owning South Dakotans rather than lower-income renters.

Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, speaks on the House floor at the Capitol in Pierre on March 9, 2026.

(Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, worried that automatically diverting future state revenue to reduce homeowner property taxes would come at the cost of other priorities, such as annual funding increases for state employees, Medicaid providers and public schools — which are known as the “big three” budget priorities. Lawmakers often

aim

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to increase funding for the groups by 3% or inflation, whichever is less. An inflationary increase this legislative session would be 2.5%, according to the state Department of Education.

“We are just clawing to get 1.4% for the big three,” Weisgram said. “I don’t think any of us are proud of that.”

Hansen said the decision “is not an either-or” situation.

“We can help the property taxpayers in the state who desperately, desperately need it,” Hansen said, “and then I trust fully that this state is going to continue to grow and that we are going to be able to meet the needs of our core obligations of this state.”

The bill was introduced as an amendment to placeholder legislation last week, and it will head to the Senate for approval. The Senate narrowly rejected a

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similar proposal

earlier this legislative session.

Senate approves lower signature threshold to force election on excess taxes

The version of House Bill 1323 that passed the Senate would set the number of petition signatures needed to force an election on an excess tax levy (often called an “opt-out”) for a local government at 2,500 or 5% of registered voters within its jurisdiction, whichever is less. The current threshold to refer decisions by a local government is 5% of registered voters in the district, without a 2,500 signature cap.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, said it will still be difficult to refer decisions by a local government to voters.

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“You’re talking dozens and dozens of volunteers, weeks of organized effort,” Howard said. “There’s not a lot of people that have been through that and can even organize that kind of effort. So it’s not a trivial bar.”

Because the bill was amended since it last appeared in the House, it’ll now go to the House for approval.

HB 1253 intended to provide South Dakota homeowners and commercial property owners predictable increases in their property assessments, which factor into property taxes they pay, over five year periods.

But opponents said the change would shift the property tax burden onto farmers and ranchers and surprise homeowners every five years when assessments would be re-based on market value, which could lead to double-digit increases in assessments.

This story was originally published on

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SouthDakotaSearchlight.com.

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

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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.

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