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Bill headed to SD Senate would make temporary 911 surcharge increase permanent • South Dakota Searchlight

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Bill headed to SD Senate would make temporary 911 surcharge increase permanent • South Dakota Searchlight


A South Dakota Senate committee advanced a bill Thursday at the Capitol in Pierre that would make an increase in the state’s 911 surcharge permanent.

The monthly, per-line charge applies to landline and cellphone service, and is used to help local governments fund their 911 call centers. Legislators and Gov. Kristi Noem adopted a 75-cent increase in the surcharge last year, from $1.25 to $2. The temporary measure is set to expire on July 1, 2026.

The new bill would remove the sunset clause, making the fee increase permanent.

Several people representing state and local 911 organizations testified in favor of the bill, including Jenna Severyn, a lobbyist for the South Dakota Police Chiefs Association.

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“This 911 increase does help create a stronger and safer South Dakota,” she said.

Before last year, lawmakers had not increased the surcharge since 2012, and it was supporting only 30% of local call centers’ operational costs while local governments funded the rest, said Jason Husby, the state’s 911 coordinator. He said the increased surcharge is covering about 45% of those costs.

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Some legislators on the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed concerns Thursday about call center efficiencies — which were also raised last year — and encouraged Husby to work with call centers to consolidate. Husby said consolidation has already dropped the number of call centers in the state from 43 to 28 in recent years, and he said a newly prepared, statewide report on 911 operations provides a roadmap for further consolidation discussions.

A lobbyist for the wireless phone industry testified against the legislation, saying South Dakotans are paying $8 million more in surcharges annually because of the increase. He asked lawmakers to delay action on the sunset clause until next winter, which would allow time to study the new report and consider consolidations and efficiencies that might reduce the need for the higher surcharge.

Several lawmakers expressed concerns about the impact of the higher surcharge on South Dakotans’ finances, but nevertheless voted for the measure.

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The single no vote against six yes votes came from the committee chairman, Sen. David Wheeler, R-Huron, who said he’s concerned about the state’s lack of control over the money and its inability to require consolidation by local call centers. But he also said he recognizes the need for an increased surcharge, and his no vote in the committee “doesn’t mean I’m not going to vote yes” when the bill comes up for a vote by the full Senate.



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SD Lottery Lucky For Life winning numbers for Nov. 30, 2025

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The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 30, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Nov. 30 drawing

03-08-13-17-18, Lucky Ball: 17

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

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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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Competition for Nebraska’s ‘Carhenge’ rises near South Dakota’s Badlands

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Competition for Nebraska’s ‘Carhenge’ rises near South Dakota’s Badlands


KADOKA, S.D. (Nebraska Examiner) — Nebraska’s quirky replica of England’s prehistoric Stonehenge, “Carhenge,” is about to get some new competition in a neighboring state. And a former Nebraskan is behind it.

Rising from a dusty, prairie ridge along Interstate 90 near this Badlands-area town is a collection of firetrucks dubbed “Firehenge.”

Its creator, an Omaha Burke High School grad who runs a Rapid City brewery, said the ring of 10-ton firetrucks vertically arranged in a circle is more about promoting his Firehouse Brewery Company than trying to lure away visitors from Alliance, Nebraska’s popular Carhenge, about 200 miles to the south.

The new South Dakota version of the roadside attraction, which sits just off I-90, also includes a collection of buried fire hydrants called “Doghenge.” By next summer, the new henges will include a gift shop where visitors can purchase brewery souvenirs and canned beer and wine from the Firehouse Brewing Co., South Dakota’s first and oldest brewery.

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“We are just having a ton of fun out here. Just come out and see it,” said Bob Fuchs, the co-owner of the brewery who graduated from Burke in 1981. And, he adds, bring your dog.

A city official in Alliance, which took over ownership of Carhenge in 2013, said she doesn’t expect local residents to mount a monumental fuss over a competing “henge” in the general vicinity.

“I think all of these things are fun,” said Shana Brown, the director of cultural and leisure services for Alliance.

As it turns out, both Carhenge and Firehenge have plenty of competition in tourism’s Carhenge-replica category.

There’s a “Foamhenge” (made out of foam) in Virginia, a “Truckhenge” near Topeka, Kansas (made out of farm trucks), a “Phonehenge” (made out old telephone booths) in South Carolina, and a “Strawhenge” (made out of bales) in Bavaria, Germany.

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Years ago, a “Twinkiehenge” was built during a Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. There was once a “Snowhenge” in Michigan and a “Fridgehenge” (made out of old refrigerators) once graced the plains near Santa Fe before complaints caused its demise.

A couple decades ago, a reporter was summoned to Chadron, where a suspected “Hayhenge” had been built northeast of town. Round hay bales had been arranged in a circle at a local ranch.

In the kinda-old-henge category, there’s a full-size concrete replica of Stonehenge in Maryhill, Washington, that was built in 1918 to honor people lost in World War I.

And near Carbury, North Dakota, there’s a circle of granite walls that serves as a 21st Century solar calendar, which is the suspected purpose of Stonehenge, a prehistoric circle of stones aligned for ceremonial purposes to indicate the summer and winter solstices, and the spring and fall equinoxes.

Carhenge was built in 1987 by Jim Reinders and his relatives as a memorial to Reinders’ father, who had lived on the farm north of Alliance where the collection of 39 American cars – arranged to align with the solar calendar – now sits.

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The off-beat attraction draws about 100,000 visitors a year, according to Brown, and features a staffed gift shop from May through September. An estimated 4,000 people gathered there for the solar eclipse in 2017.

Carhenge has appeared in films, commercials, television shows and in song. Last summer, it hosted a group of muralists, who painted murals on the grey-painted cars, providing a new look for the motorcar monument.

Fuchs, the Firehenge creator, said he’s not haunted by henges but had visited Carhenge shortly after it was first created.

The inspiration for his firetruck circle came during a recent marketing meeting for his brewery, which was established inside a former Rapid City firehouse built in 1915.

Fuchs has long parked old firetrucks, purchased from all corners of the Midwest, next to his brewery billboards to draw more attention to his business. He says that he often hears that visitors to Rapid City’s downtown area ask “where’s the Firehouse?”

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“It’s guerilla marketing,” Fuchs said during a recent visit to Firehenge. “It’s very effective.”

At the marketing meeting, one of Fuchs’ aides was playing with a toy firetruck. Once she set it on end, vertically, an idea was born.

He said he has no plans to hoist a firetruck so it sits horizontally across two vertical trucks — like the stones at Stonehenge and cars at Carhenge. Too many liability concerns, Fuchs said. More firetrucks may be planted this spring, though, he said. And a YouTube video, featuring a visit by aliens to Firehenge, is in the works, Fuchs adds.

Over the din of a front-end loader smoothing out a gravel parking lot, he said it’s been a lot of fun.

“I get to explore my artistic side by planting fire trucks in the prairie,” Fuchs said.

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Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Aaron Sanderford for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com.

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SD Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life winning numbers for Nov. 29, 2025

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The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 29, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Nov. 29 drawing

19-22-30-32-59, Powerball: 01, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Nov. 29 drawing

04-08-09-34-39, Lucky Ball: 13

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Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Nov. 29 drawing

01-15-18-21-46, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from Nov. 29 drawing

11-13-20-21-28

Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

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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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