SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Local South Dakota authorities are warning that an attack like what happened in New Orleans on New Year’s Day could happen anywhere.

For any major event in Sioux Falls, the city’s police department plays a key role in keeping people safe.

Public Information Officer Sam Clemens with the Sioux Falls Police Department said they participate in the planning of those events. A committee of different departments in the city comb over any areas of concern, and work with organizers to put on safe events.

“There’s an incredible amount of resources that goes into planning, and trying to make sure that everybody’s going to be safe,” Clemens said.

But that doesn’t mean people still shouldn’t be paying attention at all times. Nationally, Tom Mynsberge, the president of Critical Incident Management, said people need to be aware at all times of their surrondings, especially if they’re at an outdoor event.

“You can make yourself a victim by not being aware of your surroundings, what might be coming up behind you, and not being able to hear it because you had your noise-canceling earphones in, that’s what they’re for. Not really a good idea anymore in public areas when you’re out there and exposed. Give yourself a defensive posture, or at least a chance when something like this happens,” Mynsberge said.

Clemens said even though they put that much time and resources into planning for major and crowded events, he said that doesn’t mean they can stop everything from happening.

“We can do the planning on our side. We can set up barricades, we can have officers stationed at different areas. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen. We’re just trying to prevent it from happening, trying to mitigate it. But we still want people to have a plan, and have an idea of what to do in case there’s an issue,” Clemens said.

He said the one thing the public can do to keep things safe is to come up with an exit plan in case anything happens. That means identifying exits and talking to the people you’re with where to meet up.

“Just because things are going fine and you’re having fun, whatever the event may be, doesn’t mean that something bad couldn’t happen. So if people just kind of have a plan, what to do, where to go, just making sure that things are the way they seem. If they see something out of the ordinary, we want people to call police or call 911 right away,” Clemens said.

Copyright 2025 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.

The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 1, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 1 drawing

06-12-28-35-66, Powerball: 26, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 1 drawing

07-15-17-39-40, Lucky Ball: 16

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Jan. 1 drawing

01-02-08-14-30, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 03

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from Jan. 1 drawing

06-18-20-27-35

Check Dakota Cash 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.

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.

She cited conflict in 2022 but returns without explanation

A trust controlled by a South Dakota regulator’s relatives still owns land along a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline route, but the regulator has not recused herself from the project’s second permit application in the state after recusing herself from the first one.

Two years ago, South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Kristie Fiegen disqualified herself from Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions’ first CO2 pipeline application. She cited state law prohibiting commissioners from participating in hearings or proceedings when they have a conflict of interest.

Fiegen wrote a recusal letter in February 2022 that said the pipeline “would cross land owned by my sister-in-law (my husband’s sister) and her husband.” South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem assigned State Treasurer Josh Haeder to fill in for Fiegen.

In September 2023, Haeder and the other two commissioners rejected Summit’s initial application in South Dakota, citing the route’s conflicts with several county ordinances that mandate minimum distances between pipelines and existing features.

Summit reapplied in November 2024 with an adjusted route. Fiegen has not filed a recusal letter in the new application docket, and she participated in a procedural hearing about the application Dec. 17.

Fiegen did not respond to questions from South Dakota Searchlight about her participation in the new docket.

Public Utilities Commission spokesperson Leah Mohr said “ex parte” rules bar Fiegen from discussing the matter. Those rules prohibit direct communication with commissioners about dockets they’re considering. Mohr also declined to discuss the matter, and declined to discuss how conflicts of interest are defined for commissioners.

The Attorney General’s Office declined to say whether Fiegen’s participation complies with state law, or whether she sought the office’s legal advice.

Defining a conflict of interest

The chapter of state law Fiegen cited in her 2022 recusal is specific to public utilities commissioners, and it leaves conflicts of interest undefined. It says “if a commissioner determines” the commissioner has a conflict, the commissioner should file a recusal letter.

A 2016 law required the South Dakota Board of Internal Control to create a conflict-of-interest policy for use by state agencies.

The policy says officials involved in quasi-judicial actions such as reviewing a permit application must be “disinterested and free from actual bias or an unacceptable risk of actual bias” and must abstain if “a reasonably-minded person could conclude” they are not impartial.

Land owned by Fiegen’s relatives

The $9 billion Summit pipeline would span five states — including Iowa — and transport some of the CO2 captured from the production processes at 57 ethanol plants to underground injection sites in North Dakota. The project would capitalize on federal tax credits that incentivize the prevention of heat-trapping carbon emissions.

The originally proposed pipeline route in South Dakota would have crossed three parcels of land in Minnehaha County owned by Fiegen’s sister-in-law, Jean Fiegen-Ordal, and Fiegen-Ordal’s husband, Jeffrey Ordal, plus another three parcels of land in McCook County owned by the Jeffrey A. Ordal Living Trust, for which the couple serves as trustees.

Summit said it paid $175,000 in total compensation for easements and future crop damages on the land owned by the Ordals or their trust. An easement is an agreement granting access to land.

Summit said $88,000 of the money went to the Ordals. The company did not disclose further details, but public records show the Ordals completed a sale of their Minnehaha County land several months after signing the easement documents in 2022.

The new pipeline route would cross the same parcels of land: the Minnehaha County land that Fiegen’s relatives no longer own, and the McCook County land that the Ordal trust still owns.

This article first appeared in the South Dakota Searchlight.