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South Dakota

Lassle Letter to Legislature: Spend More Time Hunting for 21st-Century Business Opportunities

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Lassle Letter to Legislature: Spend More Time Hunting for 21st-Century Business Opportunities


On their way home from their first big week of the 2024 Session, legislators will perhaps ponder this evaluation of Governor Noem’s State of the State speech Tuesday and South Dakota’s “openness” for business from Jeff L. Lassle, South Dakota ex-pat and California businessman. Lassle sent this essay to legislators this morning:

South Dakota legislators:

Upon watching Gov. Kristi Noem’s speech on the “State of the State”, I honestly had to sit back and ponder if this elected official is for real. Her first statements emphasized hunting and trapping as if that is the only reason South Dakota exists—to support a hobby of sport hunting and trapping that few in the United States would understand. The rest of her speech went in the same direction like her efforts to relocate people into a State that is basically dying due to loss of career opportunities and a populace still living in the 1950’s of the United States.

I grew up in Aberdeen and went to the South Dakota colleges and quickly realized, like almost every South Dakota college student, that you have to leave this state if one wants a career. Unless of course, if your father owned a farm or family company. Other than that, there is little chance for college educated engineers, scientists, and other professions to achieve anything in the State as a matter of a career.

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I temporarily came back to propose a mega factory on a Chinese technology, MgO (magnesium oxide) building materials to be built in Rapid City, however have been met with a tsunami of disinterest and opposition because of the mention that China would be in the supply chain on their own technology freely given to us to onshore this tech the United States. Bill after bill passed by a legislature that has no clue on what international trade is and its importance to the U.S. economy nor do they understand that the disinformation the Governor and the legislature have been acting upon is nothing but that, disinformation diseminated by ignorance by a state population kept in the dark for decades.

Since the Trump administration decided it needed an enemy to rile up his MAGA base to garner votes, these attacks on China, Canada, and the European Union on trade wars only resulted in 1) Americans are paying for these tariffs unlike what the Donald stated to the contrary, 2) higher inflation due to Americans paying for the self-inflicted tariffs, 3) a reduced manufacturing base in the U.S based on the costs of these tariffs for intermediate and capital goods needed by U.S. factories to be competitive in the world markets, 4) retaliation by China on U.S. exports of agriculture goods to their country while diluting U.S. farm exports to countries like Brazil and Argentina, and 5) a move by MAGA, under the failed Trump doctrines to become isolationists in the world markets that is contrary to the historic platforms of the Republican party of open markets and free trade.

Governor Noem’s importing of workers into South Dakota at a rate of 2000 is not the workers that most all other states enjoy because their states had foreseen the need for career opportunities decades ago and pushed for their economic diversity while South Dakota did nothing. Governor Noem’s actions, however did see a large increase in illegal aliens that flooded into the state to man slaughterhouses and other jobs that most Americans will not do or have left the state for engineering, science, and other careers that are not offered in South Dakota. The question is why the South Dakota’s research universities even exist when most of the students flee after graduation as I did some 30 years ago because of this lack of careers in the state then, as it still is now. We tried bringing these high paying careers to the state and were rejected by lack of interest and foresight. It’s Chinese technology that we were onshoring. Can’t have that per Governor Noem. Anything to do with China, Noem wants no part of it even though China, in this case, is only a supply chain entity.

Hunting, trapping, and the love of guns are not an activity that holds esteem with the the vast majority of Americans and does not promote oneself in the eyes of others. Governor Noem should be promoting new ideas, innovations, and other worthy activities that advance human existance rather than her love of killing animals for sport.

It’s time South Dakota elect their politicians on what they can do to improve their lives (and their low wages), not how many pheasants they can kill on a weekend hunting trip. I, too, grew up in the hunting craze and regret the time lost having been forced by parents to hunt—for sport. It’s time for South Dakotans to enter the 21st century and leave the 1950’s behind them.

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My group tried to interest South Dakota on a new technology and industry in the U.S and North American markets that competes in a US $7 trillion dollar building and building products industry. South Dakota would have been a great place to plant this factory due to its lack of a state income tax, its access to large amounts of renewable energy (wind & hydroelectric) for the plant, and access to engineers and scientists from SDSMT and SDSU that need opportunities other than agriculture once they graduate.

It appears it was a wasted effort.

We are now merging with a UK and a Florida company and the decision for factory placement is no longer my call.

South Dakota needs a new governor, one that recognizes the reality that we live in 2023 and not the1950’s America. The Governor reminds me of the Jerry Browns and Gavin Newsoms of California that had caused so much problems for that state and still are. I know these two well while fighting their nonsensical policies. We did, however, win all the battles against their regime in California, but lost the war. The same can be said for South Dakota on the other end of the extreme in governance. I was even invited to witness the last State of the State speech by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for the work in California trying to bring sanity to that extremely left state.

For what it’s worth, South Dakota’s population is .2% of the entire United States and its “values” are not always congruent with the rest of the 99%+ populations where South Dakotans escape to due to lack of opportunities. Think “forward”, not “backwards”.

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Sincerely,

Jeff J. Lassle



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SD Lottery Millionaire for Life winning numbers for May 10, 2026

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

Here’s a look at May 10, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 10 drawing

01-03-20-35-46, Bonus: 05

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

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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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After Standing Rock, could a canceled mine project offer a roadmap for opponents of a new oil pipeline in South Dakota?

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After Standing Rock, could a canceled mine project offer a roadmap for opponents of a new oil pipeline in South Dakota?


Almost exactly a decade since the start of the Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access pipeline gained national and international attention, new disputes are simmering over tribal rights in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Earlier this month, an environmental organization and a Native American advocacy group sued the US Forest Service, claiming that an exploratory graphite drilling project on national forest land threatened a recognized ceremonial site on mountain meadows known as Pe’ Sla, or Reynolds Prairie.

But on Friday, Pete Lien and Sons, the company behind the project, abruptly withdrew, saying it would perform reclamation on the site and would not seek to file another plan. The decision came as a striking victory for Native American tribes and environmental groups that had opposed it – but other projects in the works may not meet the same conclusion.

The project, claimed nine groups within the Sioux Nation, including the Standing Rock Sioux, would “directly and significantly” affect the use of Pe’ Sla, which sits within Ȟe Sápa, the Lakota name for the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota, itself the locus of Lakota creation myths.

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A second exploratory project by a Canadian company looking to mine uranium on state-owned land could affect Craven Canyon, an area that contains 7,000-year-old sites of importance to Indigenous tribes, historians and archaeologists.

Opposition to the twin projects – backed by Pete Lien, of Rapid City, and by Clean Nuclear Energy Corp – comes as a proposed Alberta-to-Wyoming pipeline for carrying Canadian crude oil to ⁠the US is close to securing commitments from oil ⁠companies after Donald Trump granted permitting through an executive order.

All the projects have at their heart issues of extraction, water safety and sacred sites, much as the Standing Rock dispute of 2016 that saw “water protesters” gather in a standoff with law enforcement over concerns regarding water safety and sacred sites.

That case began when the Standing Rock Sioux passed a resolution stating that “the Dakota Access Pipeline poses a serious risk to the very survival of our Tribe and … would destroy valuable cultural resources” and was a violation of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty guaranteeing the “undisturbed use and occupation” of reservation lands surrounding the pipeline.

In the aftermath, the environmental group Greenpeace was ordered to pay damages of $345m by a North Dakota judge to pipeline company Energy Transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access in connection with the protests, an order that is set to go to appeal. Greenpeace claims the legal action is designed to silence activists.

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Most of the current disputes relate to energy, reflecting the Trump administration’s drive toward US energy independence and away from dependence on foreign sources, particularly China. Graphite, used in electric vehicle batteries, is almost exclusively imported. Roughly 95%–99% of uranium is purchased from foreign sources, including Russia and Kazakhstan.

The pipeline deal, meanwhile, is expected to help increase oil output from Canada, the world’s fourth-largest producer, to around 6.1m barrels a day, up from 5.5m now. Bridger, the company behind the Alberta-to-Wyoming pipeline, has said the project was being developed in response to identified market interest.

Wizipan “Little Elk” Garriott, a member of NDN Collective, an Indigenous rights group opposing the mining at Pe’ Sla, says the entire process of approval for the planned mine “happened in the dark”.

“There was no notice that they were proceeding provided to us, nor to the sovereign tribal nations,” he says, in violation of environmental and cultural impact study requirements and consultations with the tribes.

Lilias Jarding, director of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, one of the parties in the victorious Pe’ Sla action, says the decade since Standing Rock has seen a huge growth in projects attempting to mine tribal lands and areas of ceremonial significance.

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Since the start of the second Trump administration, the push for both minerals extraction and energy has dramatically increased. “They’re being more aggressive,” Jarding says. In the case of Pe’ Sla, he adds, the company didn’t stop drilling when the lawsuits was filed: “They started drilling 24 hours a day.”

The alliance, along with tribes, claim the graphite project violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and that the US Forest Service improperly used a process known as a “categorical exclusion” to bypass reviews.

Oglala Sioux president Frank Star Comes Out said in a statement that the Sioux tribes never ceded to the US the lands in the Black Hills, which, he said, “remain the spiritual center of the Great Sioux Nation and they are not for sale, lease or exploitation” and that the lawsuit is a “united tribal response to protect a sacred site from those who continue to desecrate our ancestral lands”.

Oglala activist Taylor Gunhammer said that drilling at Pe’ Sla was akin to “drilling under the Vatican or at a sacred site in Jerusalem”.

A representative of Clean Nuclear Energy Corp, Mike Blady, said the company was “aware of the cultural significance and are doing everything in our power to ensure that there is no collateral damage”.

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Will this amount to a populist action similar to Standing Rock?

The Pe’ Sla dispute did not provoke the kind of Indigenous-led, grassroots resistance to fossil-fuel infrastructure projects that accompanied the Dakota Access pipeline, which in some ways became a template for contemporary protests, powered by social media, celebrities and politicians.

The tribes were not in favor of following in that direction, Jarding says: “It’s a deeply sacred spiritual and ceremonial site, and elders have made it clear that it’s not a good place for another Standing Rock with thousands of people. They say this is not the place.”

Under the Biden administration, the tribal groups felt they were entering into a period of co-management policy over federal lands that in many cases lie within treaty agreements. But under the Trump administration, that sense of co-operation has diminished.

“We’ve seen a ramp-up of opening up federal lands for mineral and gas exploration, but as a planet we need to be moving away from fossil fuels and toward policies that are sustainable into the future,” says NDN’s Garriott.

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What was planned for Pe’ Sla now, or was happening at Standing Rock a decade ago, or has indeed happened over a long history of disputes between sovereign tribal groups and the US government, he says, is “protecting our land and protecting our water, not only for ourselves but for the planet. We’re not random protesters out there – we’re protecting our own land”.



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SD Lottery Powerball, Lotto America winning numbers for May 9, 2026

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

Here’s a look at May 9, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from May 9 drawing

15-41-46-47-56, Powerball: 22, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Lotto America numbers from May 9 drawing

08-12-13-27-42, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 04

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from May 9 drawing

01-02-04-08-18

Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 9 drawing

08-11-17-29-49, Bonus: 02

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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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