South Dakota

‘After all our hard work’: Federal fallout leads to suspension of interlibrary loan courier service

Published

11 months ago

April 15, 2025

Press Room

‘After all our hard work’: Federal fallout leads to suspension of interlibrary loan courier service

Checking out some books through local libraries could soon cost more than a standard library card fee.

Libraries were instructed Monday to immediately suspend use of the state’s interlibrary loan courier program.

The courier service transports books and other library materials across South Dakota from the libraries that have them to those that don’t, typically faster and more efficiently than would be possible though the U.S. Postal Service.

The State Library relies on federal funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to pay for the program.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March directing the head of that federal agency — which provides a federal grant that funds around half of the South Dakota State Library’s services — to cut its operations to the “maximum extent allowable by law.”

Former Gov. Kristi Noem sought to cut state library funding in her proposed budget to a level too low for the state to continue receiving federal matching funds. The state Legislature, however, approved a pared-back library budget large enough for the state to maintain access to about $1.4 million in IMLS funding.

While South Dakota hasn’t gotten confirmation its funding is cut, Department Secretary Joe Graves told the state Board of Education Standards on Monday, the federal government notified other states they’re receiving cuts.

“South Dakota, at least to my knowledge as of 8 a.m. this morning, hasn’t heard. So we don’t know what’s going on with that,” Graves said Monday.

Email to librarians signals service loss

The State Library cannot renew the contract with its interlibrary loan courier service at the end of April because of “uncertainty” about funding, according to an email sent to librarians that same day, which was reviewed by South Dakota Searchlight.

The education department did not immediately respond to a request to verify the email, for details on why it was sent, or for any other impacts to the State Library expected as a result of the Trump executive order.

Department of Education Spokeswoman Nancy Van Der Weide told South Dakota Searchlight recently that “we do not have a clear indication” of what might happen with future grant funding.

Congress authorized grant funding through federal fiscal year 2025. The department “is waiting on a grant award” for 2025, Van Der Weide wrote in an email last month.

Libraries could charge for, limit service

About 70% of South Dakota libraries share books with each other through interlibrary loan, according to the State Library website. Without the courier service, local libraries and governments will need to pay to ship books to other libraries across the state, according to South Dakota Library Association President Elizabeth Fox. That costs an average of $5 an item each way, she said.

To pick up the new cost, local libraries could limit how many interlibrary loans an individual can make, or charge a fee when someone requests an interlibrary loan.

“Each library will have to determine how they deal with this,” Fox said.

Hill City Public Library Director Tammy Alexander plans to discuss the impact with members of her library’s board of directors next week. She sent requested books through the mail yesterday to Brookings and Chamberlain libraries.

“Like all budgets right now, even our small city budget will have cuts for 2026,” Alexander said. “My board will have to decide if they’ll allow me to include that.”

The State Library also pays for subscription-based academic databases, accessible at no cost through any public library in the state. It also provides support for summer reading programs, organizes professional development workshops, and offers Braille and talking book services for readers with disabilities.

Noem’s proposed cut would have pared down services to those last two items.

‘This is disheartening,’ lawmaker says

Lawmakers softened budget cuts this winter with the expectation they’d budgeted enough money to preserve the IMLS federal grant funding. The plan spared the jobs of all but 3.5 State Library employees, but dissolved the board that oversees the State Library.

Rep. Terri Jorgenson, R-Piedmont, worked closely with the Education Department on the compromise.

“After all our hard work we put into this to restructure and save this program, this is disheartening,” Jorgenson said.

Interlibrary loans are crucial for homeschool students as well as students in public and private schools, she told South Dakota Searchlight on Tuesday. Burdening local governments with shipping costs and potentially passing the cost onto families will add up quickly.

Jorgenson and other lawmakers will need to explore funding options for library programming in the wake of the news, she said.

“Ultimately, this means we’re going to have to get creative,” Jorgenson said, “to save money and work to still provide this important service.”

This story was originally published on

SouthDakotaSearchlight.com.

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Millionaire for Life winning numbers for March 8, 2026

Published

9 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at March 8, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 8 drawing

01-31-32-45-52, Bonus: 05

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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South Dakota

Kristi Noem’s term as governor freshly roasted by former South Dakota mayor: ‘She did a Sarah Palin’

Published

21 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Kristi Noem’s term as governor freshly roasted by former South Dakota mayor: ‘She did a Sarah Palin’

Kristi Noem’s stint as governor of South Dakota has come under fresh scrutiny by a former local mayor, who said she “did a ‘Sarah Palin’ and quit,” just days after she was fired from her role as Homeland Security secretary.

Noem, who served as governor from 2019 to 2025, became the first cabinet member to be fired by Trump during his second term.

The embarrassing dismissal came amid growing scrutiny of her aggressive immigration operations across the country, DHS’s purchase of multiple luxury jets for staff, major reductions in FEMA staff, and rumors of an affair with adviser Corey Lewandowski.

Mike Levsen, the former mayor of Aberdeen in Noem’s home state of South Dakota, says her dismissal came as no surprise given her “lack of any significant accomplishment” during her time as governor of the state.

“The Noem governorship covered six years — then did a ‘Sarah Palin’ and quit,” Levsen wrote in a blog post, comparing Noem to the former Alaska Gov. who resigned midway through her first term, citing mounting legal fees being brought by various ethics investigations being brought against her. Palin was Senator John McCain’s running mate during the 2008 presidential election.

Kristi Noem’s tenure as governor has come under criticism following her firing as DHS secretary (AFP/Getty)

“Her legacy was minimal involvement with the Legislature, frequent absences, no transparency, repeated operational screwups, soaring turnover and instances of self-dealing for herself and her family,” Levsen wrote.

Levsen criticized Noem’s Covid-era ad campaign, “Freedom Works Here,” as a “Trump-based ploy that likely contributed to South Dakota’s listing high on some periodical per capita death lists.”

The campaign, which attempted to draw new residents to the state, cost $6.5 million, and South Dakota News Watch reported at the time that there were “hurdles” with the campaign.

Levsen also noted Noem’s “difficult relationship” with tribal governments, as all nine of South Dakota’s indigenous tribes voted in 2024 to ban Noem from their lands, according to CNN.

“Is there a single thing in South Dakota now better as a result of her time in office?” Levsen questioned in the post.

Noem was fired by Trump amidst mounting scrutiny over fallout in Minnesota, following DHS’s disastrous Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, which saw two U.S. citizens shot dead in confrontations with federal agents.

Noem described the two Americans, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, as domestic terrorists. She has refused to apologize for the comments.

She also drew fierce criticism with her purchase of multiple luxury jets, a $220 million ad campaign, gutting FEMA, and her rumored affair with Lewandowski.

Noem was axed by President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post Thursday (Getty)

The final nail in the coffin appears to have been Noem’s congressional testimony this past week, during which lawmakers from both sides of the aisle criticized her management and judgment.

A day after her second hearing, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Noem was out at DHS — and that he was nominating Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her.

An administration official told NBC News that the president axed Noem due to “a culmination of her many unfortunate leadership failures, including the fallout in Minnesota, the ad campaign, the allegations of infidelity, the mismanagement of her staff, and her constant feuding with the heads of other agencies, including CBP and ICE.”

“Kristi’s drama sadly overshadowed and distracted from the Administration’s extremely popular immigration agenda, which will continue full force,” the official added.

Before she was fired, Noem defended her performance during her hearings on Capitol Hill.

She also drew fire for insisting that the $220 million DHS ad campaign had been launched with the president’s approval, which Trump has denied.

Days after her humiliating firing, Trump named Noem as special envoy for “The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative that Trump says will focus on the Western Hemisphere.

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Powerball, Lotto America winning numbers for March 7, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at March 7, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 7 drawing

17-18-30-50-68, Powerball: 24, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 7 drawing

06-08-17-18-45, Star Ball: 05, ASB: 05

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from March 7 drawing

01-02-06-22-26

Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 7 drawing

10-32-45-53-54, Bonus: 02

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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