South Dakota
Lincoln County commissioners push back decision on carbon pipeline rules • South Dakota Searchlight
CANTON — Commissioners in South Dakota’s fastest-growing county punted on four carbon dioxide pipeline ordinances on Christmas Eve, opting to let their planning staff and two new commissioners start from scratch in the new year.
The Lincoln County Commission has wrestled with its approach to carbon pipelines for about two years. Several counties in South Dakota have passed ordinances restricting underground carbon pipelines so strictly that the company proposing a carbon capture pipeline through South Dakota, Summit Carbon Solutions, says it would be impossible to fully comply with all the local requirements and still build the project. The company has also applied for a state permit, which is under review.
Second filing fee for carbon pipeline project raises total potential fees to $1.47 million
The project is a $9 billion pipeline to carry pressurized carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska to an underground sequestration site in North Dakota. The company hopes to cash in on federal tax credits available for activities meant to mitigate the impact of climate change, in this case by keeping some of the heat-trapping gases produced in the ethanol production process from reaching the atmosphere.
Lincoln County is not one of the counties with stricter rules for carbon pipelines than Summit would prefer, though the controversial project has animated discussions about the issue and likely impacted the results of the most recent county commission elections.
Two commissioners, Jim Jibben and Mike Poppens, lost their primary elections to anti-pipeline candidates, one of whom appeared in the commission chambers Tuesday to voice her concerns about the four ordinances up for possible passage.
“I’m opposed to all of them,” said incoming commissioner Betty Otten, who also accused the current commission of being too cozy with Summit to be trusted to make decisions on the matter.
Back to the drawing board
Lincoln County commissioners opted last year to study the options for regulation. An ad-hoc study committee offered suggestions to the planning commission, which held public hearings on the options following the November election.
A state law dubbed the “landowner bill of rights” by its sponsors was on the November general election ballot thanks to a petition drive by pipeline opponents who felt it didn’t do enough for landowners to deserve that branding. The referred law failed to earn support from voters, with nearly 60% saying no.
Pipeline opponents receive cease and desist letters from Summit
The four ordinances up for possible passage on Tuesday were the result of the planning work and public hearings, Planning Director Toby Brown told the commission. Commissioners were meant to pick one, as each would set a different set of guidelines and conflict with one another if passed together.
The first and second options would have put planners in charge of deciding if a carbon pipeline project would qualify as a permitted land use. The planning commission did not recommend commissioners pass those.
The third would have required carbon pipeline companies to seek conditional use permits, which would open up a public hearing and the chance for opponents to challenge the county commission in court if its members voted to give Summit a permit.
The fourth would have barred pipelines in agricultural areas, but allowed them in areas zoned as industrial. With that option, the company could ask the commission to rezone the entire narrow strip of land under which the pipeline would run as industrial land. Voters would be able to refer the commission’s decision on the rezone to a public vote.
Vote faces pushback
Every Lincoln County resident to offer public comment on the ordinances Tuesday asked the commission to send the ordinances back to the planning commission, but not before telling them they’d rather not talk about them until next year.
“This is too important, it’s been too long, and I just think it’s prudent that we have the new commission in there,” said Scott Montgomery of Fairview, echoing the words of half a dozen others in the commission chambers.
Lincoln County’s failure to pass an ordinance is at least partially the result of actions one commissioner took before debate started. Poppens took a deal with Summit for access to his own property, and he’s recused himself from every debate and vote on pipeline regulations.
On Tuesday, though, Poppens did cast a vote, and it was to keep the pipeline discussion on the agenda.
North Dakota approves CO2 storage for Summit pipeline
Commissioner Tiffani Landeen had asked for a vote to table the discussion until January, when Poppens and Jibben will be replaced by the candidates who ousted them in the June primary. Landeen said the timing of the discussion and the weight of the issue for citizens combined to convince her that debate should happen after the new commission is seated.
Poppens, in his last vote before leaving the body, said no.
“Residents of the county, my family personally, we are impacted. So I’m not going to discuss the ordinance, but I am against tabling it. It’s an important issue,” Poppens said.
Also opposed to tabling were Jibben and Joel Arends, who pushed his fellow commissioners to pass an ordinance, ideally one with a 500-foot setback required between the pipeline and homes, schools and businesses. Members of the public had taken time out of their holiday week to offer their opinions, he said, so they ought to be able to do that.
He also said that the county has already delayed making a decision, and that leaving it up to the next commission would be a dereliction of duty.
“We’re in some kind of circular doom loop here,” Arends said. “We just have to put our feet down and say ‘we’re elected to office, we’re accountable, this is what it’s going to be.’”
But Commissioner Jim Schmidt said voting on the ordinances during a day many might be unable to attend the meeting wouldn’t sit well with him.
“Is it an encumbrance for you to come back? Maybe. I’m sorry for that, but I think there’s a lot more that we would hear from when it’s not Christmas Eve,” Schmidt said.
After deciding to take testimony and hearing every citizen who spoke say they disliked all four ordinances, commissioners took their final vote of 2024.
Landeen made the motion to send the ordinances back to the planning commission, on which she serves as the commission’s representative.
No one in the room liked the ideas on offer, said Landeen, a Sioux Falls attorney and former Turner County state’s attorney, whose own take on the ordinances was that they were vague and unworkable. The last option might seem the most palatable to opponents, as it offers the chance to vote down the commission’s choice. But even there, she said, she doesn’t like the idea of having “this weird strip” of light industrial land running through the county for no reason but to make a pipeline possible.
“The language of these ordinances doesn’t do what anybody needs them to do,” Landeen said.
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South Dakota
SD Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life winning numbers for Nov. 29, 2025
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 29, 2025, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from Nov. 29 drawing
19-22-30-32-59, Powerball: 01, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Nov. 29 drawing
04-08-09-34-39, Lucky Ball: 13
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from Nov. 29 drawing
01-15-18-21-46, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Dakota Cash numbers from Nov. 29 drawing
11-13-20-21-28
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.
South Dakota
Is South Dakota State vs New Hampshire football on TV today? Live stream, FCS playoffs preview
If you purchase a product through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.
The NCAA FCS College Football Playoffs get underway today as the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (8-4) take on the New Hampshire Wildcats (8-4) in a first round showdown. This game is streaming only, and won’t be on regular broadcast TV. Kickoff takes place on Saturday, November 29 at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. MDT) with a live TV broadcast only with ESPN Plus.
• You can watch New Hampshire vs. South Dakota State football streaming live on ESPN+ (now called ESPN Select) today.
Is the South Dakota State vs New Hampshire NCAA FCS college football playoff game on TV today, or streaming only?
When: Saturday, November 29 at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. MDT)
Where: Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, SD
TV channel: This game is not available on traditional broadcast TV, and is only streaming on ESPN’s live sports streaming platforms available on the ESPN App with one of the “ESPN Select” or “ESPN Unlimited” subscription plans. (This is the streaming service formerly known as ESPN Plus. Here’s a look at the breakdown of ESPN streaming plans, what they cost and include.)
Where to watch streaming live on TV, or online: You can watch a live stream of this game for less than $12 on ESPN Select (It’s just $11.99/month or $119.99/full year subscription, and you can cancel anytime. Just choose the “ESPN Select” plan in the drop down to sign up for the cheapest version of the service.).
- The best deal: If you sign up for ESPN Unlimited ($29.99/month), you will get all of the ESPN networks and services, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPN+, ESPN on ABC, SEC Network+, ACC Network Now and ESPN3.
South Dakota
‘The very best in humanity’: How a stranger gave a South Dakota boy new life
When her infant son began showing signs of jaundice following a full-term, healthy pregnancy, Sarah Beckstrom soon began a journey from fear, anger and sadness to eternal appreciation for a perfect stranger.
But the Mitchell mother and LifeSource, the region’s primary organ procurement organization that helps connect donors and recipients like baby Charlie — now a healthy and active teenager — say continued education around organ donation is necessary to ensure more families can feel what the Beckstroms have for the last decade.
“He was just not thriving. He couldn’t absorb, you know, milk. He was just kind of a not content child,” Beckstrom recently said in an interview with The Dakota Scout, recalling the early signs of the rare genetic liver condition — alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency — that threatened her son’s life before his first birthday.
State apologizes, but can’t explain missing evidence in prison overdose case
Charlie was placed on the organ waiting list at 7 months old. Three months later, the call came.
A 13-year-old donor had died, and his liver was a match.
Today Charlie is also 13 — a healthy, energetic one. But for Beckstrom, joy exists alongside grief — for the family who lost their child and ultimately saved hers.
“It was kind of like I wrote the donor’s family after, which was probably one of the most emotionally challenging, difficult things I’ve ever done,” she said. “That circle wasn’t closed for me. And I’m like, okay, I need to do more. Because they gave him a second chance at life.”
That’s why Beckstrom became a LifeSource ambassador, sharing Charlie’s story in hopes of encouraging more people to check the “yes” box on their driver’s license. The organization oversees the donation system across Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota — responding around the clock when someone dies under circumstances that allow organ donation, supporting families, coordinating recovery and transporting organs to recipients.
“When I think about people who say yes to donation, who put donor on their driver’s license, I think that’s the very best in humanity because they’re helping another person,” said Susan Mau Larson, chief administrative officer for LifeSource.
Only about 1 percent of deaths occur in a hospital while the patient is on a ventilator, the criteria that’s typically required for organ donation. But in recent years, medical innovations have helped expand the donor pool nationwide. Perfusion devices can preserve organs longer. The federal HOPE Act allows organ donation between HIV-positive donors and recipients. Broader medical criteria are also increasing the number of viable transplants. Nationally, transplants have risen by about 50 percent over the past decade.
Surgeons say the emotional weight of the process is shared in operating rooms across the country.
Dr. Hassan Turaihi, who performs one or two organ transplants a month at Sanford Health, says the work is both devastating and beautiful.
“Thousands of people are waiting for a second chance at life… a functional heart, a healthy liver, or a working lung,” he said. “Their lives are on pause desperately hoping for a miraculous call so organ donation is a miracle. It’s the ultimate sacrifice.”
Up to eight people can benefit from a single donor — two kidneys, a heart, lungs, eyes, corneas, pancreas, small bowel and a liver, which can be split to help two patients.
“When I go in for those organ donations, it’s sad to hear the story of family and the donor who made the ultimate sacrifice, but at the same time you know you’re giving someone else the ability to have a new life and new chapter,” Turaihi said.
LifeSource leaders say South Dakota has long had one of the highest donor-registration rates in the nation. But in recent years the rate has slipped from about 60 percent to 57 percent. Mau Larson attributes the decline to national misinformation — claims that organs are lost in transit, that families feel pressured or that the process lacks oversight.
She pushed back on those narratives, emphasizing the accountability and transparency built into every step of the system.
The organization is also working to improve culturally responsive outreach, particularly among American Indian communities. Tribal engagement across South Dakota, including partnerships with Native chaplains and respect for beliefs surrounding keeping the body intact, are initiatives Mau Larson credits with donor rates staying strong in the state.
Data from the federal Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network show the number of American Indians receiving transplants in South Dakota was five in 2023, eight in 2024 and seven in 2025. The state has two kidney-transplant programs, but patients needing other organs — including hearts or livers — typically travel to Minnesota or Colorado. Meanwhile, the number of American Indian deceased donors in South Dakota fluctuated from six in 2023 to two in 2024 and five in 2025.
LifeSource operations are nationwide. In a three-state region that covers South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota, that means retrieval teams traveling frequently by air. Transporting organs involves specialized handling protocols, and recent federal changes have streamlined airline procedures and TSA requirements.
Despite ongoing budget negotiations in Washington, Mau Larson said LifeSource has avoided disruptions.
LifeSource leaders say they are grateful for South Dakota’s long record of donor registrations, and they continue answering questions for anyone unsure about what saying “yes” really means.
“We’re talking about helping another person,” Mau Larson said. “That’s the very best in humanity.”
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