South Dakota

From Brookings to Frisco: The story behind getting South Dakota State football to Texas

Published

2 years ago

January 7, 2024

From Brookings to Frisco: The story behind getting South Dakota State football to Texas

After taking one look at South Dakota State football’s equipment truck, you can only imagine the hours of loading and preparation necessary to get everything in that truck from Brookings to Frisco, Texas, the site of Sunday’s FCS national championship.

The trailer that dons the Jackrabbits’ signature blue and gold helped transport extra helmets, shoulder pads, the coaching communication system and practice equipment, among other things. The team brought everything they’d need on a typical away trip but more of everything, just in case.

After all, SDSU did practice in Texas a couple of times leading up to Sunday’s game. So all the practice gear had to make the trip too.

“We’d rather overpack for a trip like this than underpack,” South Dakota State equipment manager Aaron Crowell said.

Surprisingly, Crowell said the actual loading took only a combined two hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. Crowell has been the team’s equipment manager since 2022, so this was his second time planning and making the trip to Frisco with the team.

Crowell originally wanted to be a college football player after enjoying playing in his senior year of high school, but opted to look for a manager position instead. He reached out to Southeast Missouri State and was later hired as a student assistant. Being on campus and at practices made him quickly realize he was nowhere near the level of the athletes on the team.

He considered pursuing coaching and was even a student assistant for the defensive line but he quickly realized equipment was his calling.

“The more and more I was working, the more and more I fell in love with equipment,” Crowell said. “Just getting to work on the helmets, getting to interact with the players, just getting to be around the team. Like I just love that aspect of it, that I realized this was what I want to do.”

Before accepting the equipment manager position with SDSU, Crowell worked as an intern at Louisiana Monroe and then as assistant equipment manager at James Madison.

Crowell’s first trip to Frisco, during his first year on the job, was understandably stress-filled. It was his first time having to plan a trip of that magnitude, but he received plenty of help and guidance from Jonathan Shaeffer, SDSU’s director of football operations.

“It’s a whole new experience trying to plan for multiple days of travel and practice, outside of just, you know, you’re not preparing for a normal away game,” Crowell said. “So, my stress levels were kind of high because I’ve never done something or experienced something like that but luckily, we have a lot of great people on the staff that were able to help me along as well, and help me kind of understand it, and really kind of helped put my nerves to ease.”

Although it’s different from a regular season road game, Crowell said he and his team approached loading the truck in a pretty similar way, which helped them load everything pretty quickly. Between him and five others, they got everything in the truck in no time.

Now in his second year with the Jackrabbits, Crowell is still stressed about everything the trip entails with his work but with the year of experience under his belt, he’s trying to take in how special it is to be on this journey with the team.

“For the most part, my stress level, since we’ve been here, has been pretty low. Everything has been nice and smooth,” Crowell said. “Last year, I was so stressed about everything and worrying about everything, I didn’t really get to soak in the moment. It’s felt really good to enjoy this experience for what it is and so that’s something that I’ve tried to try to focus on.”

Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at jfernandez1@argusleader.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFERN31

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South Dakota

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

Published

5 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

18 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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