South Dakota
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
South Dakota
South Dakota Governor signs trucker English proficiency and CDL bills to ‘deliver Dalilah’s Law’
This week, South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden signed two bills imposing stricter language and citizenship requirements on commercial driver license (CDL) holders.
On March 10, 2026, Rhoden signed the following two bills into law in an effort to strengthen standards for CDL holders in South Dakota:
- SB 164, which requires CDL holders to be proficient in the English language
- SB 180, which modifies requirements regarding non-domiciled CDLs
Rhoden said in a news release announcing the signing of the bills into law that South Dakota has now satisfied President Trump’s call for states to pass “Dalilah’s Law,” which would “increase standards for English proficiency and prohibit states from issuing CDLs to undocumented immigrants.”
Trump pushed for “Dalilah’s Law” during his State of the Union address in February.
“These bills are commonsense steps to improve public safety by guaranteeing that truckers can read our road signs and making sure that only citizens and legal immigrants hold CDLs. South Dakota will continue to prioritize strong licensing standards so all drivers are traveling safely and responsibly,” Rhoden said.
Rhoden also said that the state has partnered with federal immigration authorities for an enforcement detail.
“The [South Dakota] Department of Public Safety (DPS) recently conducted an enforcement operation alongside the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. DPS also reviewed its process for non-domiciled CDLs to ensure illegal immigrants are not operating with or receiving CDLs in South Dakota,” Rhoden said.
Dalilah’s Law was named for Dalilah Coleman, a child who was injured in a June 20, 2024, crash in California involving Partap Singh, who was driving a semi truck. Officials said that Singh was an Indian national present in the U.S. illegally. He was later taken into U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.
Much action has already been taken at a federal level over the past year to tighten citizenship requirements for obtaining a non-domiciled CDL and to increase English Language Proficiency enforcement for truck drivers.
South Dakota
SD Lottery Mega Millions, Millionaire for Life winning numbers for March 10, 2026
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 10, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 10 drawing
16-21-30-35-65, Mega Ball: 07
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 10 drawing
03-27-43-45-49, Bonus: 04
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.
South Dakota
Trading property tax for sales tax: Legislature moves forward with parts of homeowner relief package
PIERRE — Two pieces of a property tax reduction package prepared by South Dakota’s legislative leadership and the executive branch are moving forward, but one bill failed during votes on Monday as lawmakers began the final week of the annual legislative session.
The House of Representatives voted
42-27
in support of
Senate Bill 245
, which would pull future revenue from a scheduled sales tax increase from 4.2% to 4.5% next year into a relief fund for homeowner property taxes, and use nearly $56 million in one-time money to seed the fund before the sales tax increase.
The Senate supported
House Bill 1323
, which would reduce the number of petition signatures needed to force an election on a local government’s decision to levy property taxes beyond limits set by the state. The Senate passed the bill 19-15.
Both bills have to return to the opposite chamber for consideration of amendments.
The Senate rejected
House Bill 1253
, which would cap annual assessment growth for owner-occupied homes and commercial properties at 5% annually and reset assessments back to market value every five years. The bill failed with a 9-24 vote.
The bills are part of a broader,
five-bill legislative package
targeted at property tax relief.
Another bill
in the package, which would allow counties to implement a half-percent sales tax with proceeds going to homeowner property tax credits, is awaiting the governor’s signature after he proposed it and it received both chambers’ approval.
The legislative budget committee is scheduled to consider a fifth piece of legislation in the package on Tuesday.
The bill
would reduce maximum property tax levies for school districts.
Sales tax bill overcomes concerns about future budget needs
SB 245 would capture revenue from the impending sales tax increase to deposit into a “homeowner property tax reduction fund” meant to reduce property taxes levied by school districts. The Legislature and then-Gov. Kristi Noem reduced the state sales tax rate three years ago but scheduled the reduction to sunset in 2027.
House Speaker Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, told lawmakers on Monday that the bill would be an “investment in the people,” because it’ll give South Dakota homeowners more money to spend as they choose. Hansen, the bill’s sponsor and a candidate for governor, said that would lead to more spending and, therefore, more sales tax revenue. The state relies on sales taxes, while counties and schools rely on property taxes, and cities receive revenue from property taxes and sales taxes.
Some opponents said the legislation would favor wealthier, property-owning South Dakotans rather than lower-income renters.
(Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, worried that automatically diverting future state revenue to reduce homeowner property taxes would come at the cost of other priorities, such as annual funding increases for state employees, Medicaid providers and public schools — which are known as the “big three” budget priorities. Lawmakers often
aim
to increase funding for the groups by 3% or inflation, whichever is less. An inflationary increase this legislative session would be 2.5%, according to the state Department of Education.
“We are just clawing to get 1.4% for the big three,” Weisgram said. “I don’t think any of us are proud of that.”
Hansen said the decision “is not an either-or” situation.
“We can help the property taxpayers in the state who desperately, desperately need it,” Hansen said, “and then I trust fully that this state is going to continue to grow and that we are going to be able to meet the needs of our core obligations of this state.”
The bill was introduced as an amendment to placeholder legislation last week, and it will head to the Senate for approval. The Senate narrowly rejected a
similar proposal
earlier this legislative session.
Senate approves lower signature threshold to force election on excess taxes
The version of House Bill 1323 that passed the Senate would set the number of petition signatures needed to force an election on an excess tax levy (often called an “opt-out”) for a local government at 2,500 or 5% of registered voters within its jurisdiction, whichever is less. The current threshold to refer decisions by a local government is 5% of registered voters in the district, without a 2,500 signature cap.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, said it will still be difficult to refer decisions by a local government to voters.
“You’re talking dozens and dozens of volunteers, weeks of organized effort,” Howard said. “There’s not a lot of people that have been through that and can even organize that kind of effort. So it’s not a trivial bar.”
Because the bill was amended since it last appeared in the House, it’ll now go to the House for approval.
HB 1253 intended to provide South Dakota homeowners and commercial property owners predictable increases in their property assessments, which factor into property taxes they pay, over five year periods.
But opponents said the change would shift the property tax burden onto farmers and ranchers and surprise homeowners every five years when assessments would be re-based on market value, which could lead to double-digit increases in assessments.
This story was originally published on
SouthDakotaSearchlight.com.
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