South Dakota
A Sporting Oasis At South Dakota’s Sutton Bay
A bird’s eye view of Sutton Bays dramatic lodge and surrounding landscape.
Few states have managed to brand an outdoor activity any better than South Dakota has with its famous pheasant hunting. For an introduced game bird that didn’t take hold in America until the late 1800s, the ring-necked rooster has found a welcomed home in the state where more than 130,000 hunters took roughly 1.2 million of the birds last year. The state estimates that the roughly three-month pheasant season generates some $400 million in economic impact including seasonal salaries. For a state with fewer than one million people, that’s not chicken feed.
A ring-necked pheasant flushes from the wealth of native grasses surrounding Sutton Bay.
According to state estimates, there are nearly 300 pheasant lodges and guide services across the state catering to mostly out-of-state hunters, places where sportsmen and women from across the country descend to pay homage to one of America’s favorite game birds. Come October, the South Dakota grasslands look like animated pumpkin patches as orange-clad hunters line up and march through cover to unearth the colorful roosters within shotgun range. South Dakota native son and fellow pheasant hunter Tom Brokaw describes opening day of pheasant season here as a religious holiday.
The rolling terrain of the Missouri River breaks makes for beautiful and productive pheasant cover.
And if there’s one cathedral where pheasants are especially revered it’s Sutton Bay, a sprawling resort community located atop the rolling hills of the Missouri River breaks, a dramatic landscape overlooking the big water created by the Oahe Dam, completed in 1962 near the capital city of Pierre. Lake Oahe is one of the largest reservoirs in the U.S., some 231 miles long and is home to some of the best walleye and smallmouth bass fishing in the country.
The author, Norden and Orzi celebrate the end of a productive pheasant hunt at Sutton Bay.
In addition to hosting a remarkable fishery, the lake provides a spectacular backdrop to Sutton Bay’s massive lodge and cabin complex. Drive across mostly empty prairie for an hour and come upon Sutton Bay and the place feels nearly surreal. Surrounding the dramatic lodging is a sprawling golf course carved out of the breaks and overlooking the big waters of Oahe. It’s a long way from anywhere and that’s just the way members like it. If the apocalypse happened, this is as close to a safe haven as you’re likely to ever find.
I traveled here chasing rumors about the place and its unrivaled setting and epic sporting activities—pheasant hunting, fishing and golf—but my November focus was the property’s abundant and fast-flying pheasants. Joining me was dog trainer Domenico Orzi, an Italian expat who made his way to America after a lengthy stint in South Africa. Orzi owns a kennel full of classic Old-World pointers, slightly smaller than their American counterparts and famous for their pleasant dispositions and keen noses.
The sunset view from the main lodge of Sutton Bay.
Guiding Orzi and me is Sutton Bay’s Jeff Norden, the resort’s hunting director who happens to own one of the finest Labrador retrievers I’ve ever encountered. While the traditional South Dakota pheasant lodge experience entails a line of hunters walking fields of corn, milo or sorghum, we opted to focus on native cover with emphasis on working the dogs through ribbons of cattails and grasses.
Sutton Bay has nearly 5,000 acres of habitat that holds a mix of wild and early released pheasants, so it’s difficult to tell the difference in bird behavior because all of them launch like feathered rockets—especially late in the season when they’ve survived their share of gunners and their dogs.
Orzi intercepts a rising rooster, one of many encountered daily at Sutton Bay.
Unlike most of the relatively flat Dakota prairie, the Missouri breaks that make up much of Sutton Bay’s landscape create an assortment of coulees with cattail bottoms, perfect lairs to hide the shifty late-season pheasants. Norden’s Lab, however, had an especially effective knack for flushing the birds from the dense cattails, sending the roosters past Orzi and me as we paralleled the dog on either side of the draws. The Lab provided the one-two punch of flusher and retriever and seldom missed marking and fetching the downed birds. For many bird hunters, watching a skilled dog work is the highlight of the experience, and Norden’s Lab was the marquee attraction.
Gourmet dining is also a part of the Sutton Bay experience.
Following each hunt, we returned to Sutton Bay’s main lodge to enjoy gourmet meals that made certain; despite hiking the better part of each day, we didn’t lose weight on the visit. While enjoying Sutton Bay’s hospitality, we learned about the rich history of the property.
The Sutton Ranch began in 1896 when Ed Sutton purchased roughly 1,500 acres from a Chicago land company. Long before the Suttons settled the land, however, many Native American tribes thrived in the area. In 1804, intrepid explorers Lewis and Clark camped near what would become the Sutton Ranch as they searched for a waterway to the Pacific. Highway 1804, located near the ranch, is named in honor of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Norden and his world class gun dogs.
While South Dakota might be flyover country to many, for tens of thousands of American hunters the state is a dream destination, the kind of place any bird hunter aspires to visit at least once in their lives. For the 400 members of Sutton Bay, however, South Dakota is more than a bucket list stop, it’s become a seasonal home. One visit here and you’ll understand why.
A group of North Dakota landowners is appealing the state’s approval of an underground carbon storage area for Summit Carbon Solutions, the company attempting to build the world’s largest carbon capture and storage project.
The group represented by Bismarck attorney Derrick Braaten on Thursday filed the appeal in Burleigh County District Court, asserting that the North Dakota Industrial Commission withheld information and violated state law in approving the storage permit plan on Dec. 12.
The permanent underground carbon storage sites in western North Dakota are a key piece of Summit’s planned five-state pipeline network (including South Dakota) capturing greenhouse gas emissions from ethanol plants. Approving the storage wells was one of the last decisions of Gov. Doug Burgum as chair of the Industrial Commission, which also included Attorney General Drew Wrigley and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring.
State schedules public input meetings on Summit carbon pipeline application
The unanimous vote by the commission means that landowners who had not signed an agreement with Summit will be forced to allow the carbon storage on their property.
The landowners assert that the Industrial Commission, which includes the state Department of Mineral Resources, illegally refused to disclose information to landowners under North Dakota open records laws. Braaten and his clients were seeking computer-generated models that predict where the carbon dioxide will go when it is pumped underground for permanent storage.
The appeal says former Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms refused to provide the models before, during and after public hearings on the case in June, shortly before Helms retired.
The order passed by the Industrial Commission said that if any open records requests were not fulfilled, it is because the Braaten Law Firm did not inform the agency that it had not received the records.
“That’s a lie,” Braaten told the North Dakota Monitor.
The appeal said Braaten’s firm was able to obtain the records in November. Braaten contends the computer models aren’t accurate but landowners were not given a chance to dispute that. He said multiple requests for a rehearing were ignored.
Another issue raised in the appeal are the state’s rules on underground storage. Under a process called amalgamation, if 60% of the landowners in a proposed storage area agree to the plan, the state can force the other 40% to comply.
Summit has obtained more than 92% of the pore space lease agreements across all three areas, according to the order approved in December.
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After the commission’s Dec. 12 decision, Summit Executive Vice President Wade Boeshans said the permits resulted from “years of rigorous scientific study, engineering design, and input from regulators, landowners, and local leaders.”
Braaten also is representing the Northwest Landowners Association that has a separate lawsuit before the North Dakota Supreme Court on the amalgamation issue that he contends is unconstitutional.
He said a ruling on either that lawsuit or the storage decision appeal should clarify the constitutionality of the rules.
Braaten’s law firm also is representing Emmons County in a separate legal challenge to the state Public Service Commission’s approval of the pipeline route through North Dakota. Emmons County and Burleigh County are challenging the PSC’s interpretation of state law that concluded state zoning rules preempt local ordinances on where pipelines are allowed.
Another group of landowners also is appealing the PSC permit decision.
Braaten said those appeals may be combined into one case.
South Dakota
Former South Dakota DSS employee indicted for allegedly stealing voucher to buy groceries
A former South Dakota Department of Social Services employee was indicted on one count of social services fraud Thursday, according to a press release from the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office.
Amalia Escalante Barrientos, 28, allegedly used a stolen DSS voucher to purchase groceries for personal use, according to the press release. The incident occurred at a Brookings business Oct. 11.
The Brookings woman has not yet appeared for an initial hearing, according to Minnehaha County court documents.
According to Open SD, Barrientos’ wage is listed at $26.58 hourly.
If convicted, Barrientos could serve up to one year in the county jail, a $2,000 fine, or both, according to the press release.
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 8, 2025, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 8 drawing
01-20-36-38-43, Powerball: 24, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 8 drawing
13-14-24-37-38, Lucky Ball: 13
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from Jan. 8 drawing
04-15-33-39-41, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Dakota Cash numbers from Jan. 8 drawing
05-15-25-26-33
Check Dakota Cash 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.
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