South Dakota

8 things to know about UND football's next opponent South Dakota State

Published

1 year ago

November 7, 2024

8 things to know about UND football's next opponent South Dakota State

GRAND FORKS — The UND football program will try to snap out of a two-game road losing skid by returning to the Alerus Center to face the two-time defending national champions South Dakota State.

Here are eight things you need to know about the Jackrabbits.

1. Hagen, Preston on SDSU roster

Two former UND players are on South Dakota State’s roster in offensive tackle Sam Hagen and wide receiver Marcus Preston.

Preston, a senior, caught 29 passes for 285 yards across his first three seasons of college football at UND.

The Kansas native has never become a major factor in Brookings. He has one catch this season for 4 yards – a touchdown against Youngstown State on Oct. 12.

Hagen, a Fordville, N.D., native, transferred to SDSU after the 2023 season as UND lost its offensive line coach (Joe Pawlak to Montana) and offensive coordinator (Danny Freund to SDSU) in the offseason.

Hagen has been slotted as the starter for the Jacks all season, although he missed a few games with an injury in the middle of the season. He’s expected to play against his old team on Saturday.

2. Two coaches with UND backgrounds

The Jackrabbits will have two coaches with UND backgrounds in the Alerus Center this weekend.

Former UND quarterback and assistant coach Danny Freund now shares offensive coordinator duties for SDSU, while former UND running backs coach Robbie Rouse is a running backs coach for the Jacks.

After leaving UND, Rouse spent one season at Cal Poly before joining SDSU in 2023.

As a player, Freund was 16-6 as a two-year starter for the then-Fighting Sioux, finishing his career as the program’s most accurate passer (68.9 percent). He threw for 5,239 yards and 47 touchdowns.

Freund coached running backs (2011-12), quarterbacks (2013), wide receivers (2014-18) and was then elevated to offensive coordinator following the 2018 season.

Freund spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the associate head coach label.

3. Tip of the cap to Belquist

South Dakota State head coach Jimmy Rogers paid a compliment to UND wide receiver Bo Belquist during a weekly press conference in Brookings.

“I think they have arguably the best wide receiver in FCS football in Bo Belquist,” Rogers said. “He should be an All-American the way he competes and plays.”

Belquist, a fifth-year senior who became UND’s all-time receptions leader earlier this season, has 48 catches for 754 yards and nine touchdowns this season.

4. Gronowski poses dual threat

South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski is beating teams with his arms and legs – a trait that hurt UND in the latest back-to-back road losses.

Gronowski enters the weekend with his hand in 114 career touchdowns: 82 passing, 31 rushing and one receiving.

In 2023 in Brookings against UND, Gronowski threw for 167 yards and a touchdown and ran for a touchdown.

In 2022 at UND, Gronowski threw for 197 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for two touchdowns.

In a loss at UND in the spring of 2021, Gronowski threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns and was intercepted twice – the only two-interception game of the season.

South Dakota State has become an NFL pipeline in recent years with six former Jacks on opening day NFL rosters in 2024, led by tight ends Dallas Goedert of the Philadelphia Eagles and Tucker Kraft of the Green Bay Packers.

SDSU had two players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft with Mason McCormick taken in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Isaiah Davis taken in the fifth round by the New York Jets.

Davis has returned seven kickoffs for 179 yards this season. He has four carries for 18 yards.

6. SDSU expecting a hungry UND

UND enters the weekend coming off back-to-back losses and Rogers knows that could create a desperate opponent.

“They need this win, and they know that,” Rogers said. “We have to play with a certain edge. It’s a tough environment. We have to be prepared for a 60-minute game.”

The Jackrabbits trailed 14-0 the last time SDSU came to Grand Forks. The Jacks, however, used an interception return for a touchdown to flip momentum in a 38-21 victory.

7. Angel Johnson has home-run capability

With Isaiah Davis now in the NFL, SDSU has new opportunities in the backfield and Angel Johnson has emerged as a threat.

Johnson ran for a career-best 132 yards on just seven carries last week in a dominant win over Murray State. He scored on a 67-yard run late in the first quarter.

Of Johnson’s nine career touchdowns, six have covered 50 or more yards, including all three this season.

He scored on a 50-yard touchdown run against UND in 2023.

8. Wilde is the new go-to WR

South Dakota State’s 2023 standout wide receivers – Jadon and Jaxon Janke – have graduated, opening the door for a breakout season for sophomore Griffin Wilde.

Wilde had seven catches for 150 yards in the season opener at Oklahoma State.

Wilde had 10 catches the following week against Incarnate Word.

For the season, Wilde has 44 receptions for 571 receiving yards.

Wilde has cooled on his torrid start but still had three catches for 78 yards last week against Murray State.

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South Dakota

Sheridan Lake rescue prompts winter ice safety warning

Published

7 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Sheridan Lake rescue prompts winter ice safety warning

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – A harrowing scene at Sheridan Lake ended without serious injury Tuesday after a man, a woman and their dog fell through thin ice near the swimming beach, authorities said.

Keep pets on a leash and never attempt a risky rescue if someone falls through the ice, officials said. Call 911 immediately.

The South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks agency advises that ice three inches or less is unsafe. Four inches is generally considered the minimum for walking, ice fishing or skating.

Lt. Casey Kenrick of the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said the incident is a reminder to take extra precautions this winter.

“Usually at this time the ice is significantly thick on the lakes around the area, well, some aren’t even frozen all the way at this point. The temperatures have been up and down so much that the ice isn’t solid even though it may look like it is, so make sure you know the ice depth that you’re getting onto,” Kenrick said.

Kenrick said those precautions could mean the difference between a close call and a tragedy.

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South Dakota

A day in South Dakota history

Published

19 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – On Jan. 7, 1995, William Janklow began his third of four terms as governor. From statehood until 1972, governors served two-year terms. Voters then approved a constitutional amendment in 1972 allowing governors to serve two consecutive four-year terms.

Janklow served from 1979 to 1987 and again from 1995 to 2003. His 16 years are the longest stint of any governor in South Dakota history

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South Dakota

As South Dakota’s student population shrinks, more choose homeschools

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

As South Dakota’s student population shrinks, more choose homeschools

South Dakota’s K-12 population dropped slightly this year, along with public and private school enrollment, but enrollment in alternative instruction grew once again.

That’s according to headcount numbers taken Sept. 26, 2025, and released by the South Dakota Department of Education by Dec. 31.

All totaled, there are 163,053 K-12 students across the state, with 83% of those students attending public schools, 9% enrolled in nonpublic schools and 8% in alternative instruction.

There are 934 fewer K-12 students across the state than last year’s count of 163,987, a 0.5% decrease.

Public school enrollment decreased by 1,736 students statewide. Across 147 public school districts, there were 135,577 K-12 students this fall, down from 137,313 in last year’s fall count, a decrease of slightly more than 1%.

Private school enrollment decreased by 142 students statewide, totaling 15,043 students in nonpublic schools accredited by the SDDOE across the state, down from last year’s count of 15,185, a decrease of 1%.

Nonpublic school enrollment includes 9,462 students in private schools, 5,072 in tribal/BIE schools, 268 in special population schools, 175 in coop/multi-districts, 26 in community-based service providers, 21 in the South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and 19 in alternative schools.

Alternative instruction enrollment increased by 944 students statewide, totaling 12,433 students in alternative instruction or homeschooling this fall, up from 11,489 in last year’s count, an increase of 8%.

In the Sioux Falls metro area, there are 52,325 K-12 students, with 85% attending public schools, 9% enrolled in nonpublic schools and 6% in alternative instruction.

Sioux Falls area public schools

The state’s largest public school district, the Sioux Falls School District, shrunk by 171 students this fall, down from last year’s count of 24,221 K-12 students to this year’s count of 24,050.

Sioux Falls’ neighboring public K-12 school districts saw the following enrollment changes this year:

Harrisburg, the state’s third-largest district, grew by 173 students, from 6,182 last year to 6,355 this year.
Brandon Valley, the state’s fourth-largest district, grew by 82 students, from 5,073 last year to 5,155 this year.
Tea Area grew by five students, from 2,509 last year to 2,514 this year.
West Central shrunk by 32 students, from 1,418 last year to 1,386 this year.
Lennox grew by 14 students, from 1,119 last year to 1,133 this year.
Tri-Valley grew by 41 students, from 952 last year to 993 this year.
Dell Rapids shrunk by 32 students, from 965 last year to 933 this year.
Canton shrunk by 23 students, from 888 last year to 865 this year.
Baltic grew by three students, from 539 last year to 542 this year.
Garretson shrunk by 10 students, from 468 last year to 458 this year.

All totaled, there are 44,384 K-12 students in Sioux Falls area public schools, a growth of 50 students or 0.1% from last fall’s count of 44,334.

Sioux Falls area private schools

Sioux Falls’ three largest private K-12 school systems saw the following enrollment changes this year:

Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools, the largest private school system in the state, shrunk by two students, from 2,224 last year to 2,222 this year.
Sioux Falls Christian School shrunk by nine students, from 1,447 last year to 1,438 this year.
Sioux Falls Lutheran School grew by 41 students, from 336 last year to 377 this year.

Other local nonpublic K-12 school enrollments include:

221 students at St. Mary’s School in Dell Rapids;
130 students at Children’s Home Society of South Dakota;
125 at East Dakota Educational Cooperative;
119 at LifeScape;
49 at McCrossan Boys Ranch;
45 at Good Shepherd Lutheran School,
43 at Westside Christian School,
23 at Bethel Lutheran School;
Four at Southeastern;
Three at Baan Dek Montessori;
One at 605 Prep;
One at DakotAbilities.

All totaled, there are 4,801 K-12 students in Sioux Falls area nonpublic schools, a growth of 24 students or 0.5% from last fall’s count of 4,777.

Sioux Falls area alternative instruction

Though it’s the second-largest public school district in the state, Rapid City Area Schools saw the largest number of students opt out of public school and into alternative instruction and homeschooling once again this year, with 1,839 students, followed by the largest district, Sioux Falls, with 1,793 students.

Sioux Falls-area schools had the following alternative instruction enrollment shifts this year:

1,793 in Sioux Falls, an increase of 131 from last year’s count of 1,662;
379 in Harrisburg, an increase of 78 from last year’s count of 301;
350 in Brandon Valley, an increase of 67 from last year’s count of 283;
111 in Tea, a decrease of four from last year’s count of 115;
105 in Lennox, an increase of two from last year’s count of 103;
97 in West Central, an increase of six from last year’s count of 91;
87 in Dell Rapids, an increase of 11 from last year’s count of 76;
79 in Canton, a decrease of two from last year’s count of 81;
73 in Tri-Valley, an increase of seven from last year’s count of 66;
42 in Garretson, an increase of 10 from last year’s count of 32;
24 in Baltic, a decrease of one from last year’s count of 25.

All totaled, there are 3,140 students in alternative instruction in the Sioux Falls metro area, an increase of 305 students or 10.7% from last year’s count of 2,835.

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