South Dakota

Department of Corrections pledges to rebuild sweat lodges dismantled during prison lockdown • South Dakota Searchlight

Published

1 year ago

October 7, 2024

Department of Corrections pledges to rebuild sweat lodges dismantled during prison lockdown • South Dakota Searchlight

The South Dakota Department of Corrections says it will rebuild three sweat lodges dismantled during a weekslong lockdown at the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls.

The DOC started what it described as a “proactive” lockdown to perform a facility-wide search for contraband on Sept. 15. Last week, the agency sent a press release saying it was transitioning out of lockdown status.

Between announcing the lockdown’s beginning and its end, the DOC sent a news release with photos of alleged contraband, including sharp objects and a mobile wi-fi hotspot. The DOC sent a news release with more photos of alleged contraband Monday evening, in a release calling the lockdown a success.

The agency did not mention the sweat lodges in any of the the releases.

State prison system puts nearly 1,300 inmates on indefinite lockdown

Late last week, an inmate named Gerald Thin Elk told South Dakota Searchlight that inmates went five days without showers at the start of the lockdown, that most of his unit remained on lockdown after its end was announced, and that the lodges had been dismantled as inmates sat in their cells.

“They tore all three of them down,” Thin Elk said.

He’d heard that a Native American medicine man was called in to make sure the lodges were removed respectfully, but “we just hope that nothing bad comes back on those people that handled those.”

DOC spokesman Michael Winder later confirmed via email that the sweat lodges were “disassembled” during the lockdown as part of the contraband search.

“The lodges will be reassembled at a later time with a medicine man to bless them,” Winder said.

Winder did not answer questions on whether the lodge teardown turned up contraband, what kind of contraband may have been suspected, if a medicine man oversaw the disassembly, or if the DOC has alternative spiritual practice options for Native American inmates.

The Monday news release on contraband found during the lockdown did not indicate where any of the seized items were found.

Right to religion

The constitutional rights of inmates inside institutions are restricted, but the right to practice one’s religion has protections under federal law. The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 states that “no government shall impose a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person residing in or confined to an institution.”

A sweat lodge (“inipi” in Lakota) is a domed, ceremonial space. Hot rocks are placed in the center, and participants pour water over them to the sound of drums and songs of prayer. Participants in the purification rite traditionally share a peace pipe, as well. The smoke and steam are said to carry prayers to the creator.

Before the lockdown, there were sweat lodges at the state penitentiary, Jameson Annex and minimum security Unit C.

Prison families group hopes to push lawmakers, corrections officials to address concerns

Thin Elk said he frequently attended one of the three weekly sweats on the prison grounds in Sioux Falls after spending years using another lodge at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield.

“I’m one of the guys that helped the younger natives in here recenter themselves to try to put them back in touch with their traditional values and their way of life,” Thin Elk said.

The Durfee lodge, which was not affected during the lockdown, is larger than any of the three on the prison grounds in Sioux Falls, Thin Elk said. But the prison lodges are all larger and were regularly filled with more people than any lodge Thin Elk has seen outside the prison walls.

“It’s not even close,” Thin Elk said.

Thin Elk also expressed concerns about other changes to in-prison religious activity. He pointed to church services that had been offered at 6:30 p.m. Thursday evenings by Lutheran volunteers from various churches through the St. Dysmas ministry group.

The services switched to Wednesday afternoons at 1:30 p.m., then to Wednesday mornings at 8:30 a.m. over the past year. Republican former state Rep. Tim Goodwin, of Rapid City, who is running for a chance to return to Pierre this year, said during an inmate family group’s meeting last month that those changes had become a hassle for volunteers like him.

Thin Elk said the changes, as well as multiple lockdowns this year, have made it harder for inmates to practice their religion.

“It’s made things very complicated in here,” Thin Elk said.

Reaction from ACLU, Corrections Commission leader

Samantha Chapman, advocacy manager of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, said in a statement that religious freedom behind prison walls is a right that should not be fooled with lightly. Courts have regularly shot down policy-based denials of religious freedom in prisons.

Chapman also noted that Native Americans make up 9% of South Dakota’s population but more than a third of its inmate population. According to the DOC’s 2023 Annual Statistical Report, 38% of male inmates imprisoned on a current charge and 47% of male inmates house for parole violations are Native American.

Particularly given that disparity, Chapman noted, the significance of tearing down a place of worship for Native American inmates “cannot be overstated.”

“Oftentimes, an individual’s connections to their religious and cultural community may be their only source of hope while in prison,” Chapman wrote. “For incarcerated Native Americans, ceremonies like inipi sweats are a critical point of access to not just their spiritual practices, but also to their cultural identities.”

State Sen. Shawn Bordeaux, D-Mission, was recently elected president of the state Corrections Commission. He said he was troubled to hear about the situation, which Thin Elk reached out to him about, but was told by DOC that the lodges will be built back.

“I was kind of taken aback,” Bordeaux said. “At first, I was a little perturbed to hear that they had done this, and I thought ‘there’s got to be a more appropriate way of going through and checking things,’” Bordeaux said.

He doesn’t have a clear understanding of the DOC’s goals, he said, nor of what kinds of contraband the agency may have been searching for that would have necessitated a full takedown of the lodges. He wants to know if the lodges have ever been taken down in similar situations.

“For me, I don’t know what all the protocols are,” Bordeaux said. “I want to know what they did, how they were doing it and what they’ve done in the past.”

Lockdown rundown

The recent lockdown at the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls was a search for contraband, which the Department of Corrections said is “a device, instrument, material, or substance which is readily capable of causing or inducing fear of death or bodily injury,” or can be “illicit substances such as controlled substances and alcohol.”

“Although some of the items retrieved are tools used in the facility, if they are not stored or used for their intended purposes, they become contraband, and in some instances, dangerous contraband,” the DOC said via news release on Monday.

Correctional officers found “handmade weapons,” items that could be turned into weapons, illicit substances, electronic equipment and “excess property,” the DOC said.

Any “potential criminal activity” is being referred to the Attorney General’s Office, the release says.

Selected images of alleged contraband seized during a lockdown at the state penitentiary. (Images courtesy of state Department of Corrections)

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Powerball, Lotto America winning numbers for March 4, 2026

Published

6 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at March 4, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 4 drawing

07-14-42-47-56, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 4 drawing

33-38-39-47-51, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from March 4 drawing

02-18-22-30-32

Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 4 drawing

12-13-36-39-58, Bonus: 03

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

South Dakota lawmakers push bill criminalizing deepfakes nearer to governor’s desk

Published

18 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

South Dakota lawmakers push bill criminalizing deepfakes nearer to governor’s desk

John Hult
| South Dakota Searchlight

PIERRE — A bill from South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley to criminalize the creation or sharing of deepfakes was amended this week to more clearly define what constitutes nudity before it reaches Gov. Larry Rhoden’s desk.

The amendment, added on the floor of the House of Representatives, came in response to concerns about unintended consequences.

Senate Bill 41 creates a class of felony crime for the creation or distribution of images digitally altered to depict a person in a state of nudity or involved in a sexually explicit act, commonly referred to as deepfakes.

In testimony in the House Judiciary Committee on Monday in Pierre, Jackley pointed to the case of Mark Rathbun, a former Division of Motor Vehicles employee who is accused of taking images of women and girls from state databases and creating sexual images.“This is real, and it’s something that we unfortunately are seeing happen in our state,” Jackley said.

The judiciary committee voted 8-3 to send the bill to the House floor but not before a discussion on its potential to criminalize political memes.

The bill’s definition of nudity originally encompassed a partial state of nudity. Fort Pierre Republican Rep. Will Mortenson asked Jackley if that would include a fabricated topless photo. Jackley said yes. Then Mortenson asked if a fabricated image of Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker without a shirt, if shared by President Donald Trump on social media, would put the president in line for felony charges.

Jackley said a Pritzker image wouldn’t qualify because Pritzker is male, but Mortenson pushed back.

He noted that partially nude fabrications would be a felony if done with the intent to “self-gratify or alarm, annoy, embarrass, harass, invade the privacy of, threaten, or cause emotional, financial, physical, psychological, or reputational harm to that individual.”

Nothing in the bill specified that a person in a digitally fabricated topless image must be female.

“We just said that half-nude is a state of nudity, and so now he’s shirtless, and the point of this is to embarrass this guy,” Mortenson said of his topless Pritzker meme scenario.

Mortenson voted against the bill in committee but brought an amendment Tuesday to define nudity as inclusive of male or female genitalia, buttocks or the female nipple.

The amendment passed, but it did not address every concern about the bill.

Democratic Rep. Kadyn Wittman of Sioux Falls asked Jackley during the bill’s committee hearing why he didn’t use it to enhance penalties for people who film others in states of undress or participating in sexual activity against their will.

That behavior is a felony if it involves the recording of a minor, or if it happens repeatedly. The new penalties for deepfakes would be added to the same chapter of South Dakota law.

“Why is the first time hidden recording a misdemeanor generally, but a digitally fabricated image would automatically be a classified felony,” said Wittman.

Jackley said he feels that the creation of digitally manipulated sexual images, even if they aren’t shared, signals “significant criminal intent.” He told South Dakota Searchlight after the committee meeting that he’s open to addressing that issue, but that SB 41’s primary purpose was to target deepfakes.

On the House floor, Wittman was one of two representatives to say the bill’s felony penalties could be unnecessarily harsh in instances where young people make “a stupid decision” and create a deepfake.

“I feel like, in a lot of situations, this bill covers behavior that could be covered by a lower level of offense,” Wittman said.

Supporters countered that the creation of fake nudes can do real psychological damage to real people, and that the state needs to clearly signal that doing so is a serious crime.

“It’s only fun and games until it happens to you,” said Rep. Mary Fitzgerald, R-St. Onge.

The bill passed the House 60-6. It now moves to the state Senate, which passed the bill 32-0 on Jan. 16. The Senate would need to approve the amended version of the bill before it could be delivered to Gov. Larry Rhoden to sign or veto.

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Mega Millions, Millionaire for Life winning numbers for March 3, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at March 3, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 3 drawing

07-21-53-54-62, Mega Ball: 16

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 3 drawing

09-10-13-25-54, 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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