South Dakota

March Madness: South Dakota State, UConn can both call upon deep benches as they meet in 2nd round

Published

12 months ago

March 23, 2025

March Madness: South Dakota State, UConn can both call upon deep benches as they meet in 2nd round

If South Dakota State and UConn played in March Madness last season, neither team would have many options to summon players off the bench because neither had much dept due ot injuries.

What a difference a year makes. The two teams will meet on Monday night with a spot in the Sweet 16 at stake.

South Dakota State’s starters averaged from 28 to 31 minutes per game while UConn’s top six players were on the court for at least 30 minutes per game.

Heading into the second-round game, nobody from second-seeded UConn is averaging at least 30 minutes per game while 10 players for the Jackrabbits see more than 10 minutes per contest.

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“I’ve gotten so used to not having a full complement of players that I had forgotten that coaching is hard,” UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma said. “A lot of coaches have to make decisions on what’s my lineup going to look like. I haven’t had to make that decision in four years. I haven’t had to sub in four years. So, I haven’t had any (ticked) off players in four years. Everybody plays 40 minutes and they all love life.”

KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade started for a UConn team that reached the 2024 Final Four. With Azzi Fudd back after being limited to two games a season ago and Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen earning a starting role, they now come off the bench.

“Coming off the bench, you kind of emphasize that when you do when you go into the game, change the game when you are in there,” said Shade, who had 20 points in a first-round win over Arkansas State. “Just being a spark off the bench is something we take very seriously.”

South Dakota State guard Madison Mathiowetz (3) reacts in the second half against Oklahoma State in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Jessica Hill/AP

South Dakota State head coach Aaron Johnston tightened the rotation up a bit in the NCAA opener with Oklahoma State as he went with mostly a seven-player rotation for the 10th-seeded Jackrabbits. He can go deeper into his bench if he wants to give the favored Huskies a different look.

“Rotations every year are always different just based on injuries, who’s available, things like that,” Johnston said. “So this year’s team, it’s worked out. We do have a lot of depth just because of things we’ve dealt with over the past couple years. We’ve had several players returning this year who have been starters for us at some point in their career.”

“I think we have the talent. We have the depth where we can go into our bench and feel like it’s really productive. But at the same time, we’ve got key players that really have to be on the floor and have to play well, too.”

Minnesota Stars Reunited In Storrs

When the NCAA women’s basketball bracket came out, the four Minnesota natives on the South Dakota State team took a few seconds to wonder what it would be like to go up against Minnesota basketball prodigy Paige Bueckers and the 11-time national champion UConn Huskies in the second round of the March Madness bracket.

They will get their wish.

“Paige Bueckers is an incredible player and we are excited to battle it out with them,” said South Dakota State guard Madison Mathiowetz, who didn’t play against Bueckers in either high school or AAU but could see plenty of her Monday night. “I watched in her AAU passing through the gym and on TV growing up. She is somebody who has put a lot of time into basketball.”

South Dakota State senior forward Kallie Theisen had plenty of games against Bueckers in high school. Now, they will meet one last time in what will be Bueckers’ final home game at UConn.

“I have had quite a few matchups with her over the years,” Theisen said. “It is fun to play her on college basketball’s biggest stage. It has come a little full circle.

“People are really drawn to her, she has been a great player since high school and she has a lot of eyes on her at all times and she handles it really well.”

So why are there so many girls’ basketball players from Minnesota who make an impact at high-profile programs?

“I attribute it a little to the cold weather and wanting to be inside,” Bueckers said. “I always found myself at the gym and I am sure a lot of people can say the same thing.

“It is great for the state of Minnesota, I have always said Minnesota is a basketball state. Everybody knows it as a hockey state but for us to play on this stage and in March Madness, it is everything you dream of as kids.”

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South Dakota

DOE selects nine school districts for 2026 South Dakota Perkins Reserve grant

Published

1 hour ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

DOE selects nine school districts for 2026 South Dakota Perkins Reserve grant

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Nine school districts have been selected as recipients of the 2026 Perkins Reserve Grant by the South Dakota Department of Education.

The grant provides major equipment upgrades for Career and Technical Education programs, helping to equip students with the skills and experiences needed for post-secondary education and the workforce.

“CTE programs are constantly evolving to match the pace of workforce needs,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Joseph Graves.

“The South Dakota Perkins Reserve Grant aids schools in equipping students with current technologies, resources, and tools, offering students a realistic, hands-on learning experience that will strengthen their marketability to colleges or employers once they leave the K-12 education system.”

The following school districts have been named as the 2026 recipients:

Aberdeen School District:
- Awarded $30,233 for new precision machine equipment for the manufacturing program.
De Smet School District:
- Awarded $15,898 for modernizing metal fabrication within agriculture programs.
Lake Preston School District:
- Awarded $43,160 for expansion of program offers in multiple career clusters to strengthen industrial alignment.
McLaughlin School District:
- Awarded $11,997 to purchase equipment to offer a new culinary arts program.
Menno School District:
- Awarded $32,844 to purchase small engines and attend professional development opportunities to enhance the agricultural mechanics program.
Mitchell School District:
- Awarded $38,663 for the modernization of the automotive technology lab.
Timber Lake School District:
- Awarded $42,400 for the expansion of agriculture course offerings to strengthen industry alignment.
Wakpala School District:
- Awarded $40,145 to purchase a skid steer simulator to enhance the agriculture and construction program.
Wolsey-Wessington School District:
- Awarded $26,201 to purchase industry-aligned equipment to enhance the agriculture and construction program.

You can learn more about the South Dakota Perkins Reserve Grant at doe.sd.gov.

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Powerball, Lotto America winning numbers for March 4, 2026

Published

13 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at March 4, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 4 drawing

07-14-42-47-56, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 4 drawing

33-38-39-47-51, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from March 4 drawing

02-18-22-30-32

Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 4 drawing

12-13-36-39-58, Bonus: 03

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 lawmakers push bill criminalizing deepfakes nearer to governor’s desk

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

South Dakota lawmakers push bill criminalizing deepfakes nearer to governor’s desk

John Hult
| South Dakota Searchlight

PIERRE — A bill from South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley to criminalize the creation or sharing of deepfakes was amended this week to more clearly define what constitutes nudity before it reaches Gov. Larry Rhoden’s desk.

The amendment, added on the floor of the House of Representatives, came in response to concerns about unintended consequences.

Senate Bill 41 creates a class of felony crime for the creation or distribution of images digitally altered to depict a person in a state of nudity or involved in a sexually explicit act, commonly referred to as deepfakes.

In testimony in the House Judiciary Committee on Monday in Pierre, Jackley pointed to the case of Mark Rathbun, a former Division of Motor Vehicles employee who is accused of taking images of women and girls from state databases and creating sexual images.“This is real, and it’s something that we unfortunately are seeing happen in our state,” Jackley said.

The judiciary committee voted 8-3 to send the bill to the House floor but not before a discussion on its potential to criminalize political memes.

The bill’s definition of nudity originally encompassed a partial state of nudity. Fort Pierre Republican Rep. Will Mortenson asked Jackley if that would include a fabricated topless photo. Jackley said yes. Then Mortenson asked if a fabricated image of Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker without a shirt, if shared by President Donald Trump on social media, would put the president in line for felony charges.

Jackley said a Pritzker image wouldn’t qualify because Pritzker is male, but Mortenson pushed back.

He noted that partially nude fabrications would be a felony if done with the intent to “self-gratify or alarm, annoy, embarrass, harass, invade the privacy of, threaten, or cause emotional, financial, physical, psychological, or reputational harm to that individual.”

Nothing in the bill specified that a person in a digitally fabricated topless image must be female.

“We just said that half-nude is a state of nudity, and so now he’s shirtless, and the point of this is to embarrass this guy,” Mortenson said of his topless Pritzker meme scenario.

Mortenson voted against the bill in committee but brought an amendment Tuesday to define nudity as inclusive of male or female genitalia, buttocks or the female nipple.

The amendment passed, but it did not address every concern about the bill.

Democratic Rep. Kadyn Wittman of Sioux Falls asked Jackley during the bill’s committee hearing why he didn’t use it to enhance penalties for people who film others in states of undress or participating in sexual activity against their will.

That behavior is a felony if it involves the recording of a minor, or if it happens repeatedly. The new penalties for deepfakes would be added to the same chapter of South Dakota law.

“Why is the first time hidden recording a misdemeanor generally, but a digitally fabricated image would automatically be a classified felony,” said Wittman.

Jackley said he feels that the creation of digitally manipulated sexual images, even if they aren’t shared, signals “significant criminal intent.” He told South Dakota Searchlight after the committee meeting that he’s open to addressing that issue, but that SB 41’s primary purpose was to target deepfakes.

On the House floor, Wittman was one of two representatives to say the bill’s felony penalties could be unnecessarily harsh in instances where young people make “a stupid decision” and create a deepfake.

“I feel like, in a lot of situations, this bill covers behavior that could be covered by a lower level of offense,” Wittman said.

Supporters countered that the creation of fake nudes can do real psychological damage to real people, and that the state needs to clearly signal that doing so is a serious crime.

“It’s only fun and games until it happens to you,” said Rep. Mary Fitzgerald, R-St. Onge.

The bill passed the House 60-6. It now moves to the state Senate, which passed the bill 32-0 on Jan. 16. The Senate would need to approve the amended version of the bill before it could be delivered to Gov. Larry Rhoden to sign or veto.

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