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Class sizes not changing in Sioux Falls despite budget cuts

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Class sizes not changing in Sioux Falls despite budget cuts


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Sioux Falls schools won’t see larger class sizes as a result of looming budget cuts.

The Sioux Falls Board of Education on Monday committed to holding the line on student-teacher ratios despite more than $3 million in spending reductions South Dakota’s largest school district is facing amid ongoing funding constraints.

Dog feces 'a foot deep' in SDSU police chief's animal cruelty investigation

Dog feces ‘a foot deep’ in SDSU police chief’s animal cruelty investigation



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SD Lottery Powerball, Lotto America winning numbers for Feb. 25, 2026

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

Here’s a look at Feb. 25, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Feb. 25 drawing

50-52-54-56-64, Powerball: 23, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Lotto America numbers from Feb. 25 drawing

31-32-41-48-51, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 04

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from Feb. 25 drawing

01-06-21-26-35

Check Dakota Cash 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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South Dakota committee OKs bill making school opt-out petitions easier

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South Dakota committee OKs bill making school opt-out petitions easier


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Eight members of the House Education committee voted Wednesday, Feb. 25, to advance a bill that opponents called an “attack on public education.”

Senate Bill 223, brought by Sen. Sue Peterson, R-Sioux Falls, would give petitioners more time to gather fewer signatures to refer school district opt-outs to a vote. She said it’s a property tax relief bill with reasonable changes to refer opt-outs to the ballot.

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Opt-outs allow school districts to raise additional operating funds beyond what they get in their existing tax levy, and in state aid, by “opting out” of those limitations to collect more taxes from property owners in the district.

Instead of having 20 days to get signatures from 5% of the total number of people registered to vote in the school district, the bill would give petitioners 40 days to collect signatures from either 5% of people who voted in the last school district election, or 50 voters, whichever is greater.

Sioux Falls School District Superintendent Jamie Nold said SB 223 “specifically attacks public schools,” and takes away school boards’ options to balance school district budgets because the state aid districts receive hasn’t met the rate of inflation for the last two years.

“Senate Bill 223 is an attempt to use the Legislature to negatively impact schools that serve all students,” Nold said. “Senate Bill 223 will continually make it harder for public schools to maintain a balanced budget, pay teachers and maintain local control.”

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SB 223 previously passed on a 6-3 vote in the Senate State Affairs committee, and a 20-14 vote in the Senate. After the 8-7 vote in the House Education committee, SB 223 will move to the House in the coming days. If it passes there, it will land on Gov. Larry Rhoden’s desk.

‘Maybe, just maybe, there isn’t support to refer this to an election’

Much of the discussion on SB 223 centered on the most recent opt-out passed in the Sioux Falls School District −$2.1 million over 10 years, or $21 million total − and the failure of petition gatherers to get enough signatures to refer it to a vote. They needed 5,490 signatures, and only got 2,302 by the deadline. Peterson called it a “heroic effort.”

One of the proponents, Sioux Falls resident Amy Bruner, said the gathering of petition signatures included 50 volunteers. Peterson noted she was not involved in gathering signatures for the opt-out petition.

If the petition group’s goal was about 5,500 signatures, each of those 50 volunteers would’ve needed to gather 110 signatures over the 20-day period, or five to six signatures each day. The group as a whole needed to gather 275 signatures per day over 20 days.

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Opponents argued that the failure of the petition group to gather more signatures from the public, or to find more people interested in gathering signatures, is evidence that people supported their local school board’s decision to opt-out.

“Maybe, just maybe, there isn’t support to refer this to an election,” said Heath Larson, lobbyist for Associated School Boards of South Dakota. “Maybe the people in the local community are supportive of what the local school board is doing, and they trust their local school boards.”

And while much of the discussion did center on the Sioux Falls School District, Nold said property tax issues and opt-outs aren’t a Sioux Falls issue alone. He said the district has the second-lowest levy of the 11 districts in the Sioux Falls metro area and is in the bottom 20% of South Dakota’s school districts in property valuation per student.

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Opponents argue SB 223 makes it ‘too easy’ to refer opt-outs

The last school district election in May 2025 saw 2.33% of eligible registered voters − 2,958 of 126,334 − cast ballots in that election; which was one of the lowest turnouts in recent memory.

More people voted in the election than signed the petition to refer the opt-out to a vote.

If SB 223 had been in effect when the board passed the opt-out for fiscal year 2026 in June 2025, only 148 signatures would’ve been needed to refer the opt-out to an election.

Peterson said SB 223 wouldn’t make it “easy,” but “attainable” to refer opt-outs to an election. 

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But opponents, including South Dakota Education Association lobbyist Sandra Waltman and Sioux Falls School District lobbyist Sam Nelson, said SB 223 makes it “too easy” to refer opt-outs to elections.

Disagreement on public input, voter fatigue

While the proponents argued that SB 223 is about giving taxpayers a voice in local spending decisions, opponents said there are already opportunities to give input on those decisions.

That includes attending school board meetings, voicing concerns at those meetings during public comment time, contacting school board members and superintendents, voting in school board elections or running for school board.

When the Sioux Falls School District looks to pass an opt-out, it meets with community members and business leaders in its Finance Action Network to vet them in a five-month process before the opt-out is presented publicly to the school board, Nold said.

From there, the school board has three different public meetings to discuss the opt-out, with opportunities for the public to comment and give feedback, an “extensive process” before opt-outs are finalized and ratified, Nold explained.

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Holding an opt-out election in an odd-numbered year would cost the district $63,000, Nold said. More elections would create voter fatigue, Waltman said.



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SD Lottery Mega Millions winning numbers for Feb. 24, 2026

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

Here’s a look at Feb. 24, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from Feb. 24 drawing

12-39-43-49-55, Mega Ball: 23

Check Mega Millions 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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