South Dakota

Howard Wood Dakota Relays: Day 2 roundup of results

Published

2 years ago

May 4, 2024

Howard Wood Dakota Relays: Day 2 roundup of results

Lincoln senior Ellen Merkley stood on the turf of Howard Wood Field, staring up at the bleachers as the crowd cheered her on for her achievements, taking it all in. Merkley was awarded the 2024 Howard Wood Gold Medal Scholarship on Saturday.

The Dakota Relays Gold Medal scholarship was established in 2000. The Howard Wood Dakota Relays Board of Directors created the scholarship to reward a South Dakota track and field student-athlete who has chosen to continue participation in the sport at the collegiate level in South Dakota.

“It was fun,” Merkley said of receiving the award. “I have been coming to Howard Wood since I was a seventh grader when I started competing with Lincoln. It’s just been so fun to watch all the different competitors and there’s been amazing competition here.”

Merkley applied for the scholarship and her coach James Jarovski wrote her a letter of recommendation telling the board why she deserved the recognition. Although she said it’s kind of cliche, Jarovski has always been in her corner through the good times and bad.

“No matter what, I can tell that he’s my biggest fan,” Merkley said of her head coach.

Merkley was part of the team that set the state meet record in the 4×100. She also stood out from the crowd of applicants with her extracurricular activities. The senior is currently the editor-in-chief of the Lincoln High School student newspaper.

Merkley committed to continuing her track and field career, alongside her sister Lauren Merkley and a few other Lincoln alums, at Augustana University.

Here is the round-up of Sioux Falls-area schools from Day 2 of the Howard Wood Dakota Relays

Brandon Valley’s Wyatt Melcher placed third in the Boys triple jump with a 44-07 leap, the second-best mark in AA.
Sioux Falls Roosevelt’s David Ndong placed fifth in the Boys triple jump with a 43-11 leap.
Sioux Falls Christian’s Rylee Punt placed third in the Girls Pole Vault with a 11-03 mark.
Brandon Valley’s Shelby Bergan finished third, broke her personal record, and set the top in Class AA in the Girls 300m hurdle with a 45.61 time.
Sioux Falls Christian’s Halle Braun finished fourth in the Girls 300m hurdle, setting the second-best time in Class A with a 45.76 mark.
Sioux Falls Lincoln’s Luke Eichacker finished fourth in the Boys 300m hurdle, set a new personal record and the third-best mark in Class AA with a 40.26 time.
Harrisburg’s Tate Larson finished fifth in the Boys 300m hurdle with a 40.46 time.
Sioux Falls Christian’s Girls 1600m sprint medley team of Ashlee VanDriesen, Mya VanDonge, Katie VanderLeest, and Ellie Maddox finished first with a time of 4:17.43.
Brandon Valley’s Girls 1600m sprint medley team of Shelby Bergan, Madison Pederson, Addison Scholten, and Sarah VanDeBerg finished first with a time of 4:08.04.
Harrisburg’s Girls 1600m sprint medley team of Brylee Krier, Amarise Okken, Ragyn Peska, and Bria Miller finished second with a time of 4:17.72.
Sioux Falls Roosevelt’s Girls 1600m sprint medley team of Irene Thaenrat, Faith Peterson, Lily Tadlock, and Brooklyn Koll finished fourth with a time of 4:21.66.
Sioux Falls Christian’s Boys 1600 Meter Sprint Medley team of Kian Clapp, Levi Davelaar, Brant Wassenaar, and Alex Oberloh finished fifth with a time of 3:40.63.
Harrisburg’s Boys 1600 Meter Sprint Medley team of Beau Karst, Jagger Lombard, Tytan Tryon, and Griffin Smith finished second with a time of 3:37.91.
Sioux Falls Lincoln’s Boys 1600 Meter Sprint Medley team of Javin Augustus, Liam Van Roekel, Griffin Fischer, Tyrus Needles finished third with a time of 3:39.58.
Sioux Falls Washington’s Boys 1600 Meter Sprint Medley team of Javon Haukaas, Ethan Rave, Carter Akkerman, and Mohamed Muse finished fourth with a time of 3:40.36.
Sioux Falls Christian’s Ana Vyn placed second in the Girls 400m and set the second-highest mark in Class A with a 57.78 time.
Sioux Falls Washington’s Nyariek Kur placed third in the Girls 100m hurdles with a 15.09 time.
Harrisburg’s Tate Larson placed third in the Boys 110m hurdles, setting a personal record and the second-best mark in Class AA with a 14.73 time.
Harrisburg’s Clay Sonnenschein placed fifth in the Boys 110m hurdles with a 14.82 time.
Lincoln’s Javin Augustus placed fifth in the Boys 100m with a time of 10.97.
Harrisburg’s Lydia Van Stedum finished second in the Special Olympics Girls 100m with a 20.08 time.
O’Gorman’s Libby Castelli set a new top mark in AA in the Girls 1600m with a 4:54.60 time.
Sioux Falls Christian’s Girls 4x100m team of Sydney Schaap, Katie VanderLeest, Ashlee VanDriesen, and Mya VanDonge finished second in the Class A competition with a time of 49.97.
Sioux Falls Lincoln’s Girls 4x100m team of Ellen Merkley, Faith Kpeayeh, Ella Termaat, and Linnea Nesheim placed first and set a new high mark in Class AA with a 49.18 time.
West Central’s Boys 4x100m team of Preston Butts, Ben Vuong, Patrick Hammond, and Layton Johnson set the fourth-highest mark in Class A with a 44.75 time and placed fifth.
Sioux Falls Lincoln Boys 4x100m team of Javin Augustus, Josh Myers, Mikey Roche, and Griffin Fischer placed second and set the best mark in Class AA with a 42.24 time.
Sioux Falls Jefferson Boys Unified 4x100m team of Jack Wagoner, Luke Determan, Kieran Weigelt, and Joseph Tongyik broke a school record and placed third with a 1:04.42 time.
Sioux Falls Christian’s Girls 4x400m team of Savaeh Sichmeller, Halle Braun, Corinne Braun, and Anna Vyn placed first, set a meet record, and the new top mark in Class A with a 4:00.58 time.
Lennox’s Girls 4x400m team of Bergan Musser, Jayla DeCou, Tori Gerdes, and Karlie Bosma placed third and set the second-best mark in Class A with a 4:08.44 time.
Brandon Valley’s Girls 4x400m team of Addison Scholten, Kyra Weiss, Sarah VanDeBerg, and Madison Pederson placed first and set the best mark in Class AA with a 3:57.78 time.
Sioux Falls Roosevelt’s Girls 4x400m team of Faith Peterson, Brooklyn Koll, Emily Schuck, and Lily Tadlock placed third and set the fourth-best mark in Class AA with a 4:08.32 time.
West Central’s Boys 4x400m team of Patrick Hammond, Elliot DeJong, Rylee Hartung, and Jude Jarding placed first and set the best mark in Class A with a 3:29.66 time.
Sioux Falls Christian’s Boys 4x400m team of Kian Clapp, Brant Wassenaar, Alex Oberloh, and Bennett Wassenaar placed third with a 3:30.56 time.
Lennox’s Boys 4x400m team of Drake Mikkelsen, Cloy McVey, Noah Sayler, and Cade Sherard placed fifth with a 3:33.95 time.

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

How South Dakota officials have reacted to ‘massive’ US attack on Iran

Published

12 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

How South Dakota officials have reacted to ‘massive’ US attack on Iran

South Dakota’s Congressional leaders are praising President Donald Trump for his action of joining Israel for a missile-launched attack this weekend in Iran, with the intent to target and dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities and demand regime change.

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said Saturday, Feb. 28, calling the strikes, “a massive and ongoing operation.”

Trump has since faced scrutiny for a lack of clarity about the timeline and overall goals of the war, and acting without the direct approval of Congress, which has the power to officially declare war for the U.S. Lawmakers are also in heated debate about whether the Trump’s decision may violate the Constitution, with Democrats calling for a war powers resolution vote to stop the effort, according to multiple military outlets.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, was directly targeted, a Middle Eastern official told USA TODAY. Khamenei was killed in the attacks on Feb. 28, according to Israeli sources who told USA TODAY, CNN and Reuters. He was 86 and had led Iran since 1989.

Iran retaliated with drone and missile strikes, hitting American and Israeli targets, including a U.S. Naval base in Bahrain. Iran said its enemies would be “decisively defeated.”

At least four Americans and an estimated 200 other individuals have been killed, and an estimated 700 injured as of March 2.

President Trump said he expects more to come.

Here’s what South Dakota Congressional leaders, along with former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who now sits at the helm of the Department of Homeland Security as secretary, have to say about what has been named by the administration as Operation Epic Fury.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune

“For years, Iran’s relentless nuclear ambitions, its expanded ballistic missile inventory and its unwavering support for terror groups in the region have posed a clear and unacceptable threat to U.S. servicemembers, citizens in the region, and many of our allies,” said Thune, a Republican, the morning of Feb. 28 in a comment from his office.

“Despite the dogged efforts of the president and his administration, the Iranian regime has refused the diplomatic off-ramps that would peacefully resolve these national security concerns. I commend President Trump for taking action to thwart these threats,” Thune said, thanking Secretary Rubio for providing updates on these issues throughout the week.

“I look forward to administration officials briefing all senators about these military operations,” he said. “I commend the bravery of the servicemembers carrying out these operations and pray for the safety of those in harm’s way.”

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds

Rounds, a Republican, said Trump took “the right course of action” when handling the strike.

Rounds later congratulated the United States military and Trump on the death of the Iranian leader, stating the moment “offers a path for a more peaceful Middle East.”

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson

Johnson, a Republican and the lone U.S. representative for South Dakota, stated the Iranian regime “is full of theocratic thugs and is the world’s largest state sponsor of terror.” He said Trump had given multiple opportunities to change direction.

“I’m praying for the safety of America’s servicemembers, and our allies involved in Operation Epic Fury,” Johnson stated on social media.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem

Noem, who left her governorship after she was appointed secretary at the beginning of Trump’s current term, took to social media as well, stating she was actively monitoring any potential threats against America.

“I am in direct coordination with our federal intelligence and law enforcement partners,” she said.

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Millionaire for Life winning numbers for March 1, 2026

Published

24 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at March 1, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 1 drawing

10-11-12-35-56, 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.

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South Dakota

South Dakota High School Students Showcase Culinary Skills – Harrisburg Today

Published

2 days ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

South Dakota High School Students Showcase Culinary Skills – Harrisburg Today

Published on Mar. 1, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The South Dakota ProStart® Invitational is an annual culinary competition where high school students from across the state showcase their cooking and restaurant management skills. This year, 12 schools will send a total of 60 talented students to Pierre to compete in events like cake decorating, culinary arts, and restaurant management. Winners will receive scholarships and the opportunity to advance to the National ProStart® Invitational in Baltimore, Maryland.

Why it matters

The ProStart® program is an important investment in developing South Dakota’s future culinary and hospitality industry leaders. By providing high school students with hands-on experience and the chance to compete at the state and national levels, the program helps cultivate the next generation of skilled chefs, restaurateurs, and food service professionals.

The details

The South Dakota ProStart® Invitational will take place on March 9-10, 2026 in Pierre. The competition kicks off on Monday, March 9th at 2:00 PM with a cake decorating contest. The more intense culinary arts and restaurant management competitions will be held on Tuesday, March 10th starting at 8:45 AM. Students will be judged on their technical skills, creativity, and business acumen as they compete for scholarships and a spot at the national competition.

The South Dakota ProStart® Invitational will take place on March 9-10, 2026.
The cake decorating competition will be held on Monday, March 9th at 2:00 PM.
The culinary arts and restaurant management competitions will take place on Tuesday, March 10th starting at 8:45 AM.

The players

Nathan Sanderson

Executive Director of the South Dakota Retailers Association, which administers the ProStart® program.

Florence

One of the 12 high schools sending students to compete in the South Dakota ProStart® Invitational.

Harrisburg

One of the 12 high schools sending students to compete in the South Dakota ProStart® Invitational.

Huron

One of the 12 high schools sending students to compete in the South Dakota ProStart® Invitational.

Mitchell CTE

One of the 12 high schools sending students to compete in the South Dakota ProStart® Invitational.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“ProStart® is an excellent way for us to invest in South Dakota’s future industry leaders. Our students are highly skilled and graduate workplace ready.”

— Nathan Sanderson, Executive Director of the South Dakota Retailers Association (b1027.com)

What’s next

The winners of the South Dakota ProStart® Invitational will advance to the National ProStart® Invitational in Baltimore, Maryland, where they will represent the state on a national stage.

The takeaway

The South Dakota ProStart® Invitational is a valuable program that helps cultivate the next generation of culinary and hospitality professionals in the state, providing high school students with hands-on experience, scholarships, and the opportunity to showcase their skills at the national level.

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