South Dakota
Governor Kristi Noem invites firearm manufacturers to the state
![Governor Kristi Noem invites firearm manufacturers to the state Governor Kristi Noem invites firearm manufacturers to the state](https://gray-kevn-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/qEHI1xWANis5GhRTAoVfO2TAnU4=/1200x600/smart/filters:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/5LJZRNKNCREPFHSRFLGBHKVAXQ.jpg)
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) – The United States is known as one of the biggest guns manufacturers in the world.
According to South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem the state’s firearm industry has an 400-million-dollar economic impact.
Chad Dixon, owner of LongRifles in Sturgis, says he doesn’t see a problem with other companies moving in.
“If somebody wants to come here and set up shop, you know more power to them. I mean competition makes you get out of bed in the morning, it keeps you hungry and keeps you working,” said Chad Dixon, owner of LongRifles, inc.
On average, 13.5 million guns were sold in United States, until 2020 when this number surged to 22 million. In 2021, the National Shooting Sports Foundation estimated that 5.4 million Americans bought a gun for the first time.
Between January and May of 2023, it is estimated that 1.4 million guns were sold monthly in the United States, according to safehome.org.
Last year, South Dakota sold more than 80,000 guns.
The Sturgis Economic Development Corporation has courted firearms manufacturers for more than a decade.
“I don’t see firearm manufacturers as any different than any other manufacturer. They’re business owners trying to make a product that people want to buy. South Dakota provides a good environment for them to do that, that falls in line with our beliefs as a state,” said Amanda Anglin, executive director, Sturgis economic corporation.
“The political climate here is a lot more friendly, it’s very easy to operate here in South Dakota. There isn’t a lot of legal hoops that a guy has to jump through, and the only drawback would be we’re kind of in an industrial vacuum, you know all of our materials come from out of state,” said Dixon.
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South Dakota
New revenue forecasts don’t improve grim budget situation for South Dakota lawmakers • South Dakota Searchlight
![New revenue forecasts don’t improve grim budget situation for South Dakota lawmakers • South Dakota Searchlight New revenue forecasts don’t improve grim budget situation for South Dakota lawmakers • South Dakota Searchlight](https://southdakotasearchlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/BFM-2048x1365.jpg)
South Dakota lawmakers already knew it was a tight budget year. They learned Wednesday it could be worse than they thought.
State government’s day-to-day operations are funded by “ongoing” revenue, such as sales taxes, while money from federal stimulus programs and other “one-time” sources are typically used for one-time needs such as construction projects.
Legislative Research Council Fiscal Chief Jeff Mehlhaff spoke to the Legislature’s main budget committee at the Capitol in Pierre and said ongoing revenues, including sales taxes, “will see negative growth” this year.
“The last time this occurred was fiscal year 2010, in the midst of the 2009 recession,” he said.
Lawmakers will adopt official 2026 revenue estimates Thursday, and those estimates will be used to help build the next annual budget. On Wednesday, Mehlhaff, who works for the Legislature, and State Economist Derek Johnson, who works for the governor, separately presented their revenue estimates to the budget committee.
Before the legislative session began last month, then-Gov. Kristi Noem’s budget proposal estimated $2.46 billion in ongoing revenue for the 2026 budget.
Her budget plan — inherited by new Gov. Larry Rhoden after Noem departed to become U.S. secretary of Homeland Security — includes numerous cuts to close a $51 million gap between ongoing revenue and ongoing expenses.
Noem budget includes cuts, but also new school choice program and more prison money
Johnson estimated Wednesday that 2026 revenues will be $17.6 million less than Noem’s budget proposal originally estimated.
Johnson also provided updated numbers for the current budget year. The bureau estimates this year’s ongoing revenue to be $2.38 billion – about $9 million less than lawmakers expected when they made this year’s budget last winter.
The picture presented by Mehlhaff was different. The Legislative Research Council’s earlier ongoing revenue estimate for the current budget year was $2.42 billion, and he said the new estimate is $2.39 billion, a nearly $30 million decline.
Mehlhaff’s estimate for the next budget year is $2.46 billion in ongoing revenue, putting the council’s estimate in line with Noem’s initial estimate.
Both state officials outlined economic conditions affecting the state’s revenue, including persistent inflation, lower farm income, and a slowdown of people filling jobs.
“Since about January 2024, we’ve been flat to negative on employees in South Dakota,” Mehlhaff said. “That, to me, is a bit concerning in terms of growing the economy.”
Noem estimated $1.45 billion in sales tax revenue for this year. The council’s revised estimate is $10 million less than that, while the bureau’s is about $14 million less.
Johnson said the outlook is negative.
“The consensus seems to be that interest rates are going to be higher for longer,” Johnson said. “That suppresses economic activity.”
One factor in the budgetary difficulties is the Legislature’s own doing. During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers reduced the state sales tax rate from 4.5% to 4.2% until 2027, costing an estimated $100 million annually in lost revenue.
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South Dakota
No. 4 Kernel girls overcome shooting woes to top Aberdeen Central
MITCHELL — Despite a 26.2% shooting clip on Tuesday night, the Mitchell High School girls basketball team found a way past Aberdeen Central.
The Class AA No. 4-ranked Kernels outlasted the Golden Eagles 42-33 at the Corn Palace in Eastern South Dakota Conference action, bouncing back from Saturday’s loss to Spearfish. It’s Mitchell’s ninth win in the past 10 games and also the sixth time this season the Kernels held an opponent to 35 points or less.
Focusing on containing Aberdeen’s post duo of Lauryn Burckhard and Taryn Hermansen, both listed at 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-2, respectively, in practice on Monday, Kernels head coach Dave Brooks was pleased by the effort on the defensive side.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game and we said, ‘There’s just no easy way around it with those big kids,’” Brooks said. “With our other guards, we tried to cover on the backside and we haven’t really done much this year. Hats off to the kids as they all worked their tails off.”
Blake Durham / Mitchell Republic
The pace was slow to begin the game as both teams had trouble finding the basket in the opening quarter. Addie Siemsen’s triple was the lone Kernels field for the first 6 1/2 minutes of the game, until Londyn Schroeder put Mitchell out front with a layup on a fast break.
Burckhard hit a 3-pointer to begin the second quarter, scoring eight of the Golden Eagles’ nine second-quarter points, as Aberdeen held a 12-11 lead. Mitchell went on a 10-3 run to close out the first half, keyed by Londyn Hajek’s triple and the Kernels also adjusting to the post being taken away.
“We couldn’t get real deep (inside) because you get in there and (Hermansen and Burckhard) are there,” Brooks said. “The girls tried to pull up a little bit and take jump shots or kick it out before they got too far inside.”
Blake Durham / Mitchell Republic
Mitchell’s inconsistent shooting allowed Aberdeen (7-7, 3-4 ESD) to pull ahead by one in the third quarter, as the Kernels went 0-of-10 from the field, but were 6-of-6 from the foul line. At the start of the fourth, Lauren Van Overschelde provided a welcomed spark to the offense, scoring seven consecutive points off motion screens, creating a hole from midrange to shoot.
“It was an easy read,” said Van Overschelde on her scoring run, who finished with a game-best 12 points with three assists. “When Kenzie (Peterson) or CeCe (Morgan) was setting a ball screen, they never came up from the post, so we always had room to shoot.”
Emma Dohrer hit a 3-pointer with 53 seconds remaining in the game to pull the Golden Eagles within four points of the Kernels’ lead, but it was as close as they came, as Mitchell sealed the victory at the free throw line with a late offensive board from Siemsen and a steal from Hajek.
Hajek also scored 12 points on 7-of-8 free-throw shooting, narrowly missing a double-double by grabbing nine rebounds. Siemsen added nine points, four rebounds and an assist, and Morgan and Schoeder each had three points off the bench in the game.
Burckhard led the Golden Eagles with 12 points while Hermansen added 11 points, scoring seven in the third quarter. Dohrer finished with seven points and Kenadi Withers finished with three points.
Mitchell (13-3, 6-1 ESD) will have a week off before hitting the road for three of its final four games, beginning with a matchup against No. 2 Sioux Falls Washington on Tuesday, Feb. 18, in Sioux Falls.
No. 4 Mitchell 42, Aberdeen Central 33
Aberdeen Central (7-7): Kamdyn Borge 0 0-0 0 Kenadi Withers 0 3-4 3 Emma Dohrer 2 1-2 7 Lauryn Burckhard 4 2-4 12 Taryn Hermansen 4 3-6 11 Ava Yeske 0 0-0 0 Julia Malsam 0 0-0 0 Camryn Albrect 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 9-16 33.
Mitchell (13-3): Londyn Hajek 2-11 7-8 12 Lauren Van Overschelde 4-10 3-3 12 Carsyn Weich 1-4 0-2 3 Addie Siemsen 2-5 4-4 9 Kenzie Peterson 0-4 1-2 1 Londyn Schroeder 1-2 1-2 3 Matteah Graves 0-1 0-0 0 Delaney Zoss 0-0 0-0 0 CeCe Morgan 1-5 0-0 3. Totals: 11-42 16-21 42.
AC 6 15 28 33
MHS 8 21 27 42
3-pointers: AC 4 (Dohrer 2, Burckhard 2), MHS 4-16 (Hajek 1-7, Van Overschelde 1-3, Siemsen 1-2, Graves 0-1, Morgan 1-3). Rebounds: AC 29, MHS 27 (Hajek 9). Assists: AC n/a, MHS 6 (Van Overschelde 3). Steals: AC n/a, MHS 5 (Van Overschelde 2).
Blake Durham is a Sports Reporter for the Mitchell Republic, having joined in October of 2023. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in December of 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Communications. Durham can be found covering a variety of prep and collegiate sports in the area.
South Dakota
Aberdeen GOP Sen. Carl Perry introduces bill to cap fluoride in water in South Dakota
![Aberdeen GOP Sen. Carl Perry introduces bill to cap fluoride in water in South Dakota Aberdeen GOP Sen. Carl Perry introduces bill to cap fluoride in water in South Dakota](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2025/02/08/PSTC/78358455007-carl-perry.jpg?auto=webp&crop=2047,1152,x0,y106&format=pjpg&width=1200)
The truth about fluoride
Fluoride is present in dental products like toothpaste, protecting teeth from cavities and preventing bacteria in the mouth. It is also added to public water supplies.
unbranded – Lifestyle
- A South Dakota bill, SB 133, would give municipalities control over fluoride levels in their drinking water.
- Proponents of the bill cite potential changes in federal fluoridation policy and concerns about excessive fluoride consumption.
A bill that would make fluoridation of drinking water optional for South Dakota cities is headed to the Senate chamber.
Cities add fluoride to tap water to prevent tooth decay and strengthen teeth, in South Dakota and throughout the United States. Research shows that community water fluoridation reduces cavities by around 25%, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls water fluoridation one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century.
Senate Bill 133, introduced by Aberdeen Republican Sen. Carl Perry, would allow municipalities controlling a public water supply or a person controlling a private water supply to determine the amount of fluoride in their drinking water. Currently, the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources regulates fluoride levels and testing methods.
The bill would cap water fluoridation at 4 milligrams per liter, the limit already imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. South Dakota cities would not be required to include any fluoride in the municipal drinking water, so some could discontinue the practice.
Skeptics of fluoridation benefits have raised concerns about excessive fluoride consumption for years. President Donald Trump tapped outspoken water fluoridation opponent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The U.S. Senate has yet to confirm his nomination.
Perry told lawmakers that the federal government could change fluoridation policy under Kennedy’s influence, so South Dakota “should be ahead of that.”
Several dental and medical organizations opposed the bill, saying it would lead to more health problems in the state. South Dakota Municipal League, South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems, South Dakota Department of Health, and South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources also opposed the bill.
Ensuring access to safe and reliable drinking water is the “primary” public health initiative for the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said Mark Mayer, water director for the department.
“We feel that community water system fluoridation is one of the safest, most beneficial and cost effective ways to prevent tooth decay,” Mayer said.
The legislation passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee 6-1 “without recommendation” after an attempt to defeat the bill failed. That means that a majority of senators must agree to place it on the calendar before it’s debated, said Brookings Republican Sen. Tim Reed, otherwise the bill dies.
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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