South Dakota

More than ever, next legislative session will require courage • South Dakota Searchlight

Published

1 year ago

October 27, 2024

More than ever, next legislative session will require courage • South Dakota Searchlight

I’ve never been much good at political predictions. I knew George Mickelson as a tall guy I played volleyball against in the adult league in Brookings. While he was a force at the net, I didn’t think that qualified him to be governor. John Thune was unknown to me when he first ran for Congress. Certainly he didn’t stand a chance of winning a primary against Bill Jankow’s lieutenant governor. No one asked me to wager, but I would never have bet on Mike Rounds to win a three-man primary for governor.

While political races have proven impossible for me to predict, my crystal ball isn’t as foggy when it comes to forecasting what’s going to happen during a legislative session. Even this far out from the start of the 2025 session in January, I can tell that it’s going to be all about courage.

For years, the Legislature has been tip-toeing around the need to do something about the property tax system in South Dakota. A legislative summer study has just wrapped up its work trying to determine ways to make sure tax assessments are being handled in the same way across the state. Like former President Donald Trump, who admitted in a debate to having “concepts of a plan” to improve health care, the summer study offered “concepts” that might make assessments more uniform.

Those concepts are rooted in more cooperation, more education and nothing at all that citizens want to hear about when the topic is property taxes. According to a South Dakota Searchlight story, in the last decade property tax payments have increased nearly 60% for homes, 47% for commercial property and 28% for agricultural property.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

Those property taxes aren’t just a burden for property owners, they’re a lifeline for local governments with 56% going to schools, 27% to counties, 13% to cities and the rest to various local taxing authorities. Consequently, any changes to the system have the potential to mess with local government budgets.

Some legislative candidates are running on a pledge to bring property tax relief. However, the issue needs more than one legislator with a plan. The problem is big enough and complex enough to require a study akin to Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s Blue Ribbon Task Force that studied teacher pay. That study resulted in a 2016 half-cent increase in the state sales tax with a portion of the money dedicated to increasing teacher pay.

That brings us to the other issue that will require legislative courage — how to raise teachers’ salaries. While the sales tax increase proposed by the Blue Ribbon panel dug South Dakota’s teacher pay out of the basement, inattention by the Legislature has allowed the state to fall back to 49th in national rankings.

This month, a South Dakota Searchlight story noted that not only were the state’s teacher salaries ranked near the bottom nationally, but teacher pay in this state has fallen by 7.6% over the past six years when adjusted for inflation. Lawmakers can’t continue to dodge the issue by falling back on the excuse that South Dakota has a low cost of living.

With many new lawmakers likely to be headed to Pierre after the election, the 2025 session may not be the best time to tackle large, complex issues. However, taxpayers are crying for relief. Teachers need more pay.

The mechanisms used to resolve those problems can’t be one-and-done. If Daugaard’s Blue Ribbon Task Force taught us anything, it’s that solutions need to be nurtured. Lawmakers didn’t pay enough attention to teacher pay and now the state ranks close to the bottom again.

The best solutions for property tax relief and higher teacher pay will be ones that keep tabs on those markets so that the Legislature can make the needed adjustments over time. Solutions like that will take study, innovation and plenty of courage.

More commentary from Dana Hess

Source link

Click to comment

South Dakota

Feeding South Dakota

Published

10 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

State

Zip Code

Country

Source link

South Dakota

SD Lottery Millionaire for Life winning numbers for Feb. 26, 2026

Published

22 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at Feb. 26, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from Feb. 26 drawing

03-14-22-50-57, Bonus: 04

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.

Source link

South Dakota

SNAP soda ban headed to desk of South Dakota governor, who’s concerned about costs

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

SNAP soda ban headed to desk of South Dakota governor, who’s concerned about costs

State Sen. Sydney Davis, R-Burbank, speaks in the South Dakota Senate at the Capitol in Pierre on Feb. 10, 2026. Davis is sponsoring a bill that would ban the use of SNAP benefits for soda purchases. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

By: John Hult

PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – The question of whether South Dakota moves to ban the use of government food assistance for sugary drinks is in the hands of Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, who has signaled his opposition to the bill all through the 2026 legislative session.

The state Senate voted 27-6 on Wednesday to endorse House Bill 1056, after the House passed it earlier 58-11. Assuming the same levels of support, both margins are wide enough to overcome a Rhoden veto, should he choose to issue one.

The bill directs the Department of Social Services to ask for a federal waiver to allow the state to bar the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for the purchase of soft drinks.

SNAP is a federal program, managed by the state, through which people with low incomes get a monthly allowance for food through a debit-like card that can be used at most stores to buy nearly any consumable grocery item save alcohol and prepared foods.

Representatives from Rhoden’s office testified against the bill in House and Senate committees, arguing that the administrative costs would be too high. A fiscal note attached to the bill between its passage in the House and its appearance on the Senate’s Wednesday calendar estimated that implementation would cost $310,000 through the first two years. Those costs would come from hiring an extra employee and contracting for software to track sales, file reports and help retailers determine which drinks are banned.

Backers see long-term savings to the state, though. A high percentage of SNAP recipients are also on Medicaid, a taxpayer-funded health insurance program open to disabled and income-eligible people.

On Wednesday, Burbank Republican Sen. Sydney Davis noted the connection between excess soda consumption and health problems like obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. Medicaid dental costs alone add up $51 million a year, she said.

Mitchell Republican Sen. Paul Miskimins, a retired dentist, told the body he once counted 32 cavities and seven abscesses in the mouths of 2-year-old twin boys who were covered by Medicaid.

He attributed the tooth decay to sugary beverages.

“I don’t know if that first visit was more traumatic on the boys or on my dental staff and myself,” said Miskimins.

Tamara Grove, R-Lower Brule, was the lone senator to speak in opposition on the Senate floor. She argued that some stores might stop accepting SNAP payments due to the administrative burden of sorting barred products from the rest of their inventories, and pointed out that the bill wouldn’t do a thing to prevent SNAP recipients from loading up on sugary foods like ice cream or snack cakes.

“It gives this look as if there’s going to be this big, huge change in the way that people buy products, but it’s really not going to be,” Grove said.

Some surrounding states, including Nebraska, have moved to ask for a waiver to ban soda sales through SNAP. Such waivers are now an option, as President Donald Trump’s administration is willing to consider granting them. Former President Joe Biden’s administration was not.

Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, the South Dakota bill’s prime sponsor, got a letter last week from Trump administration officials expressing support for her proposal.

In response, Rhoden spokeswoman Josie Harms told South Dakota Searchlight that the governor “has always been supportive of the Trump Administration’s efforts to Make America Healthy Again,” using a reference to the policy agenda branding used by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“We have met directly with his Administration on this issue, and at no point has our opposition been directed at President Trump or his efforts to reform SNAP,” Harms said. “Our focus has always been on ensuring the implementation of SNAP reform works effectively for our state.”

Harms said Wednesday that Rhoden would answer questions about the bill at a Thursday press conference.

Source link