South Dakota
Donation match helps Feeding South Dakota prep for Thanksgiving Giveaway
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – As we head into the holiday season, Feeding South Dakota needs community members to step in to volunteer and give donations for their upcoming Thanksgiving Giveaway.
“If you donate to Feeding South Dakota through Thanksgiving we’ll be able to make your dollars go twice as far,” Megan Kjose said, the Development Coordinator with Feeding South Dakota.
That’s thanks to a matching gift made by the Greg and Pam Sands Foundation.
“Food is a wonderful tool to bring together adversaries, it’s a wonderful tool to show love,“ Greg Sands said.
Greg said that his passion for giving comes from his mother. He shared a story about growing up in Minneapolis, where he learned a lesson from a rack of BBQ ribs that she had made.
“Some kids jumped through one of the windows and stole the ribs. I got home and, BBQ ribs to this day are still one of my favorite foods, and the ribs were gone. My mom said what we need to learn here is that evidently, they needed the food worse than we did,“ Greg Sands said.
Three thousand meals will be donated on November 23 between the Thanksgiving giveaways in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.
Another 3,000 will be distributed through food pantries and other partners in forty different communities.
“Many of these families if not for that box of food, they’re not having a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner at all,” Greg Sands said.
“It could be a family that’s maybe come into a tough time, whether it’s a layoff or a medical diagnosis or just needing a little extra through the end of the month,“ Kjose said
The generous match from the Sands Foundation helps make donations go a little farther, but none of it would be possible without the volunteers’ help.
“It’s not just guys writing checks because that doesn’t get it done. All of these volunteers need to be thanked they’re working hard. A lot of times it’s a thankless job, and they’re doing it out of love,“ Greg Sands said.
You can learn more about the Thanksgiving meal giveaway HERE.
Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Governor Rhoden officially signed HB 1082 into law on Friday, March 27.
HB 1082 is a bill that establishes parameters for reimbursing school districts that provide free or reduced-price meals to students.
Representative Kadyn Wittman, who has worked to pass the bill for several years, expressed excitement and gratitude in a post to Facebook on Friday.
“10,000 kids across our state will now have access to free school meals. No stigma. No barriers. Just the support they need to learn and grow,” wrote Wittman.
“So incredibly grateful to everyone who made this happen. This is a big win for South Dakota families!”
You can see the full bill and its sponsors here.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Students at South Dakota Mines heard Wednesday from retired four-star general Maryanne Miller about her journey to the highest ranks of the U.S. military.
Miller is a retired four-star U.S. Air Force general. She is the only member of the Air Force Reserve ever to be promoted to this level.
She spoke about finding greatness and living a life of fulfillment. Her stories came from her time in the Air Force and as a volunteer for Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity.
“We so much get focused on what is our next step in life, what’s the next career move, how do we make ourselves better in our career, and we forget about how do we make ourselves better as a human being,” Miller said. “Because they have to go tandem. If it’s not tandem, you’re going to get off track.”
Miller was commissioned in 1981 and rose through the ranks before becoming a four-star general in 2018. She was the only woman serving as a four-star officer in the military at the time. She retired in 2020 after serving for almost 40 years.
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Copyright 2026 KOTA. All rights reserved.
South Dakota
USDA to offer distaster assistance to South Dakota agriculture producers impacted by winter storms
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering financial and technical assistance to South Dakota farmers and livestock producers who may have been impacted by the recent winter storms.
“I encourage impacted producers to contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure, and livestock losses and damages.” said Richard Fordyce, Production and Conservation Under Secretary.
FSA’s Emergency Conservation Program and Emergency Forest Restoration Program can assist landowners with financial assistance to restore damaged land and conservation structures or forests.
“Our staff will work one-on-one with landowners to make assessments of the damages and develop methods that focus on effective recovery of the land.” said Jessica Michalski, Acting NRCS State Conservationist in South Dakota.
For more information about the disaster assistance program, click here.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
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