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Lawmakers advance bill allowing adult permit holders to carry concealed guns in schools – South Dakota Searchlight

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Lawmakers advance bill allowing adult permit holders to carry concealed guns in schools – South Dakota Searchlight


Legislation that would allow adults to carry concealed pistols in schools after getting a permit and permission from a principal is two steps from becoming law in South Dakota.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 11-1 on Monday at the Capitol in Pierre to send the bill to the House floor. If it passes there without amendment, it will go to the governor’s desk.

Rep. Mike Stevens, R-Yankton, cast the lone no vote in the committee.

Rep. Mike Stevens, R-Yankton, listens to testimony during the House Education Committee on Jan. 17, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
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“The inference,” Stevens said of the bill, “is that the school boards and the teachers aren’t concerned about public safety — that all of a sudden, we in the Legislature have to take over that responsibility because they’re incompetent to do that.”

Currently, law enforcement officers and school sentinels are the only people who are legally allowed to carry guns on school premises in the state.

There are numerous requirements to become a school sentinel, including 80 hours of training. Lawmakers created the sentinel program in 2013 as an option for schools — especially those in rural areas — that lack assigned law enforcement personnel known as school resource officers. 

Bill details

Senate Bill 203 would establish a third legal path to allowing guns on school grounds. It would extend that right to anyone 21 years or older with an enhanced permit to carry a concealed pistol who also obtains written permission from a school principal “or other person who has general control and supervision of the building or grounds.” Qualifications for an enhanced concealed carry permit include an FBI background check and completion of an approved handgun course.

Several legislators on the committee expressed concerns about designating principals as decision-makers rather than superintendents or school boards. Some lawmakers also described the “other person” language in the bill as vague, with Stevens asking if the language might apply to janitors.

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The bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Brent Hoffman, R-Hartford, said he believes school boards could establish local policies requiring principals to additionally seek board approval. But the bill does not address that.

‘School safety 2.0’ bill focusing on locked doors, anonymous tip line fails in Senate

Hoffman said he chose principals because they know their staffs and their buildings, and because some other states already have similar laws designating principals as decision-makers.

This bill is Hoffman’s third attempt to pass school safety legislation since the beginning of the legislative session in January. One of his earlier bills would have required schools to have a school resource officer or a sentinel, both of which are currently optional. The other bill would have mandated minimum safety standards such as locked doors and the posting of information about an anonymous school safety tip line. Both bills were rejected.

Hoffman said he wants to add proactive protections for students before South Dakota suffers a mass school shooting.

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“Would I prefer that we have a pristine environment and we focus only on academics? That is exactly what schools are for, is for educating our students,” Hoffman said. “But that doesn’t mean we should bury our heads in the sand to ignore the problem that is before us.”

Education lobbyists express concerns, ask for changes

Lobbyists for the education community lined up to oppose Hoffman’s latest bill, with some saying they don’t oppose the concept or gun rights in general but do oppose specific language in the legislation. Some asked for amendments reassigning the decision-making authority to school boards or superintendents. Stevens and Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, unsuccessfully proposed amendments to that effect.

Doug Wermedal, of Associated School Boards of South Dakota, said the bill lacks an advance notice provision such as the 24-hour notice required of enhanced permit holders who carry concealed pistols in the state Capitol. He also said the bill could foster confusion by allowing for different answers from multiple principals within the same district, and he said the “other person” language is too vague.

Rob Monson, of School Administrators of South Dakota, said enhanced permit holders from visiting schools could attend a high school basketball game and demand permission to carry a concealed gun into the host school’s gym.

“You’re putting a lot of pressure on a principal at that point in time,” Monson said, “or whoever it is authorizing this, to try and determine, do I know this individual? Can I trust this individual? Is the permit he’s handing me a legitimate permit?”

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Democrat votes yes

Several committee members who expressed concerns about the bill voted for it anyway, citing their support of gun rights and their desire to improve school safety.

One of the yes votes came from the committee’s lone Democrat, Rep. Peri Pourier, of Rapid City.

“I am a mother who worries every single day if there’s going to be a school shooting,” Pourier said. “And if I can’t be there to protect my child, the people who carry these enhanced permits are the people I would trust.”

 

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Reilly: ‘full-circle moment’ to play in Sioux Falls

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Reilly: ‘full-circle moment’ to play in Sioux Falls


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Bergen Reilly and the Nebraska volleyball team played in her hometown, Sioux Falls, Saturday afternoon – marking a special moment for the setter.

“It feels just kind of like a full-circle moment to be able to start off my senior year back in my hometown,” Reilly said.

The Cornhuskers’ exhibition match against Iowa State sold out within minutes as fans decked out in red and white piled into the Sanford Pentagon to cheer on Reilly and the Huskers to a sweep.

“It was a lot of emotions,” Reilly said. “I would say definitely some nerves. I felt like everywhere I looked in the crowd, I saw some what I knew, which is not normal. So that was really cool. But yeah, like I said, I think just everyone knew that this was going to be special for me, and they did a really good job of making it feel that way.”

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Photo Gallery: Nebraska vs. Iowa State match

“It’s always really special being in your hometown,” Nebraska head coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. “I know the Sioux Falls people, they travel to Nebraska frequently to watch us and watch her. But to do it in your hometown, where there’s a lot of pride and is pretty special for her.”

The match was the O’Gorman product’s first time back playing in Sioux Falls. To see more than 3,000 fans turn out for her return, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year reflected on the impact she and this match have had on the community.

“Coach texted me yesterday, Coach [John] Cook, and he said when I was recruiting you, you said you wanted to put Sioux Falls on the map for volleyball,” Reilly said. “And I feel like this was another step in the right direction there. And just seeing how many people care. And it’s sold out so quick, I think that it’s really going in the right direction. And it makes me really happy to see.”

Reilly and Nebraska will be back in South Dakota in September when they visit SDSU.

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PBR | No. 1 John Crimber goes 4-for-4, tops final three rounds to win First PREMIER Bank PBR Sioux Falls

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PBR | No. 1 John Crimber goes 4-for-4, tops final three rounds to win First PREMIER Bank PBR Sioux Falls


Crimber won Round 3 courtesy of an 89.95-point qualified ride on Scrappy to earn his fourth round win of the season and secure the first selection in the Championship Round bull draft.

Using his pick for an opportunity to compete head-to-head against Lights Out, who has now paired in the Championship round on seven event-winning rides this season, Crimber punctuated his 4-for-4 weekend with a round-winning 91.50 points on Western sports’ ultimate money bull.

The 20-year-old took home 196.5 UTB points for his second event win of the year and improved his lead to 220.5 points over No. 2 Sage Steele Kimzey (Strong City, Oklahoma) –  the largest lead the tour’s No. 1-ranked cowboy has had over No. 2 all season.

After his shoulder dislocated on his first attempt earlier in the round, Kimzey made the most of his Round 3 re-ride dance with Jameson (89.30 points) to sneak into the short go with one ride score. However, he finished the weekend 1-for-4, unable to end Magic Potion’s PBR record-holding buckoff streak, which the bovine advanced to 59 in bucking off the only cowboy who has ever lasted 8 seconds on him in 4.51 seconds.

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Claudio Montanha Jr. (Ribeirao dos Indios, Brazil) exited Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in second place as the top-performing rider to go 3-for-4. The 36-year-old cowboy wasn’t able to convert in Round 3 but rebounded in the Championship Round in thrilling fashion.

Montanha Jr. opted into a short round dance with Hard Times and matched the bull’s every move en route to recording a career-high 91.25 points.

Successful in seven of his last eight outs, he netted 110 UTB points for his season-best runner-up finish and improved from No. 18 to No. 13.

Daniel Keeping (Montague, Texas) recorded a season-high third-place finish in Sioux Falls after becoming the first man to go 3-for-3 Sunday. Keeping bested Tecovas Triple Aught for 88.20 points in Round 3 to earn the second selection in Sunday’s bull draft.

The top-ranked contender in this year’s YETI Championship bull race, No. 1 Pegasus, tossed Keeping to the ground in 4.06 seconds to end the rider’s perfect showing while defending his spot atop the world title hunt.

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Keeping earned a crucial 91.5 UTB points and advanced from cutoff bubble territory at No. 32 all the way up to No. 20 courtesy of his clutch weekend.

Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil) finished in fourth place as the third and final rider to produce a 3-for-4 slate.

The veteran began his afternoon by going the distance atop Best Bet (87 points) to punch his ticket to Sunday’s short round. Castro later survived the requisite 8 aboard Ice Tray and earned but declined a re-ride, opting to keep his 72.15 points and end his weekend with a 245.50-point aggregate score.

He gained 61 UTB points for his fourth-place finish and improved from No. 26 to No. 19.

Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil) rounded out the Top 5.

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Barbosa parlayed his career-high 93.10-point ride on Pegasus in Round 1 on Friday night with an 84.85-point conversion atop Rip in Round 3 to earn fifth-place honors.

He took home a critical 64 UTB points, advancing from No. 45 to No. 38 with two events remaining before the tour invades Cowtown Coliseum and Dickies Arena for the PBR World Finals (May 7-17) in Fort Worth, Texas.

Ransom earned the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event title for bucking off Brady Fielder (Clermont, Australia) in 5.63 seconds during the opening round.

Several of this year’s YETI World Championship Bull contenders produced 45-plus-point scores throughout the weekend, including Ransom (46.15), Eyes On Me (45.60), Red Demon (45.40), Fire Zone (45.15) and No.1 Pegasus (45.60, 45.30), who remains atop the title race standings.

PBR’s Unleash The Beast next bucks into Metra Park – First Interstate Arena in Billings, Montana, for PBR Billings April 17-18.

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Action for PBR Billings, the penultimate event of the 2026 regular season, starts at 6:45 p.m. MT, with Round 1 coverage set to begin on Paramount+ at 7 p.m. MT.

Unleash The Beast – First PREMIER Bank PBR Sioux Falls
Denny Sanford PREMIER Center – Sioux Falls, South Dakota  
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. John Crimber, 86.95-89.4-89.95-91.5-357.80-196.5 Points.

2. Claudio Montanha Jr., 86.95-87.7-0-91.25-265.90-110 Points.

3. Daniel Keeping, 89-86.65-88.2-0-263.85-91.5 Points.

4. Luciano De Castro, 0-86.25-87-72.15-245.40-61 Points.

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5. Dener Barbosa, 93.1-0-84.85-0-177.95-64 Points.

6. Alex Cerqueira, 0-88.55-87.7-0-176.25-52 Points.

7. Daylon Swearingen, 88.55-86.05-0-0-174.60-37 Points.

8. Alex Junior da Silva, 87.75-86.65-0-0-174.40-33.5 Points.

9. Sage Steele Kimzey, 0-0-89.3-0-89.30-23 Points.

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10. Jess Lockwood, 89.15-0-0-0-89.15-21 Points.

11. Eduardo Aparecido, 88.85-0-0-0-88.85-18 Points.

12. Cort McFadden, 88.25-0-0-0-88.25-14 Points.

13. Kase Hitt, 0-87.7-0-0-87.70-16.5 Points.

14. Bob Mitchell, 0-87.35-0-0-87.35-15 Points.

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15. Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-87.15-0-87.15-15 Points.

16. Bruno Carvalho, 0-0-86.95-0-86.95-13 Points.

17. Alan de Souza, 0-86.8-0-0-86.80-14 Points.

18. Marco Rizzo, 0-85.85-0-0-85.85-9 Points.

19. João Ricardo Vieira, 0-84.45-0-0-84.45-8 Points.

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Brady Fielder, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Maverick Smith, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Kaiden Loud, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Koltin Hevalow, 0-0-0-0-0.00

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Cassio Dias, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0-0.00

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Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Andy Guzman, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0-0.00

JaCauy Hale, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Elijah Jennings, 0-0-0-0-0.00

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Damien Krushall, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Romario Leite, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Zane Cook, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Macaulie Leather, 0-0-0-0-0.00

2026 Professional Bull Riders Unleash The Beast Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)
1. John Crimber, 16, 2, 6, 899.50, $193,100.00

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2. Sage Steele Kimzey, 14, 3, 4, 679.00, $178,737.62

3. Leandro Zampollo, 14, 0, 6, 595.50, $121,150.12

4. Brady Fielder, 16, 2, 4, 593.00, $151,204.17

5. Alex Cerqueira, 16, 0, 3, 502.50, $87,565.00

6. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 16, 1, 6, 492.00, $106,855.00

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7. Dalton Kasel, 14, 2, 4, 488.50, $130,098.33

8. Clay Guiton, 8, 0, 4, 409.50, $89,715.48

9. Cort McFadden, 13, 0, 2, 406.00, $50,280.48

10. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 15, 1, 1, 405.00, $71,991.67

11. Julio Cesar Marques, 15, 0, 3, 392.00, $73,105.48

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11. Marco Rizzo, 16, 1, 3, 392.00, $94,090.00

13. Claudio Montanha Jr., 16, 0, 3, 389.00, $68,182.14

14. Maverick Smith, 15, 0, 2, 367.00, $64,708.33

15. Daylon Swearingen, 12, 1, 1, 362.50, $109,300.00

16. Cassio Dias, 16, 1, 1, 340.50, $64,240.48

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17. Kaiden Loud, 15, 0, 3, 336.00, $54,613.33

18. Bob Mitchell, 13, 0, 2, 303.00, $41,731.67

19. Luciano De Castro, 14, 0, 3, 249.00, $37,952.98

20. Daniel Keeping, 15, 0, 1, 247.00, $35,475.00

21. Koltin Hevalow, 16, 0, 1, 246.50, $40,933.33

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22. Jess Lockwood, 6, 1, 1, 236.00, $69,325.00

23. Andrew Alvidrez, 15, 1, 1, 229.00, $60,883.33

24. Thiago Salgado, 14, 0, 0, 224.00, $33,500.00

25. Callum Miller, 14, 0, 2, 209.00, $25,197.14

26. Felipe Furlan, 10, 0, 3, 197.00, $39,197.14

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27. Kaique Pacheco, 16, 0, 1, 195.50, $18,225.00

28. Bruno Carvalho, 11, 0, 0, 190.50, $7,600.00

29. Alan de Souza, 15, 0, 1, 190.00, $19,650.00

30. Jose Vitor Leme, 10, 0, 1, 181.50, $25,350.00

31. Eduardo Aparecido, 15, 0, 1, 181.00, $31,890.00

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32. Hudson Bolton, 8, 0, 1, 173.00, $38,062.50

33. Kase Hitt, 13, 0, 1, 147.00, $16,132.14

34. Lucas Divino, 11, 0, 1, 141.00, $15,050.00

35. Afonso Quintino, 15, 0, 0, 127.00, $11,307.14

36. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 11, 0, 1, 112.00, $18,000.00

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37. Kade Madsen, 5, 0, 0, 106.00, $3,150.00

38. Dener Barbosa, 2, 0, 1, 100.00, $10,000.00

39. João Ricardo Vieira, 12, 0, 0, 92.50, $6,683.33

40. Trace Redd, 5, 0, 1, 87.00, $15,800.00

41. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 16, 0, 0, 86.00, $11,100.00

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42. Austin Richardson, 8, 0, 0, 80.50, $12,875.00

43. Andy Guzman, 11, 0, 0, 78.00, $11,550.00

44. Alison dos Santos, 9, 0, 0, 65.00, $5,100.00

45. Alex Junior da Silva, 4, 0, 0, 62.50, $3,775.00

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media

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South Dakota Cattlemen’s Foundation provides donation matching funds to support Nebraska Wildfire Relief

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South Dakota Cattlemen’s Foundation provides donation matching funds to support Nebraska Wildfire Relief







South Dakota Cattlemen’s Foundation provides donation matching funds to support Nebraska Wildfire Relief | DRGNews











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