South Dakota
New revenue forecasts don’t improve grim budget situation for South Dakota lawmakers • South Dakota Searchlight
South Dakota lawmakers already knew it was a tight budget year. They learned Wednesday it could be worse than they thought.
State government’s day-to-day operations are funded by “ongoing” revenue, such as sales taxes, while money from federal stimulus programs and other “one-time” sources are typically used for one-time needs such as construction projects.
Legislative Research Council Fiscal Chief Jeff Mehlhaff spoke to the Legislature’s main budget committee at the Capitol in Pierre and said ongoing revenues, including sales taxes, “will see negative growth” this year.
“The last time this occurred was fiscal year 2010, in the midst of the 2009 recession,” he said.
Lawmakers will adopt official 2026 revenue estimates Thursday, and those estimates will be used to help build the next annual budget. On Wednesday, Mehlhaff, who works for the Legislature, and State Economist Derek Johnson, who works for the governor, separately presented their revenue estimates to the budget committee.
Before the legislative session began last month, then-Gov. Kristi Noem’s budget proposal estimated $2.46 billion in ongoing revenue for the 2026 budget.
Her budget plan — inherited by new Gov. Larry Rhoden after Noem departed to become U.S. secretary of Homeland Security — includes numerous cuts to close a $51 million gap between ongoing revenue and ongoing expenses.
Noem budget includes cuts, but also new school choice program and more prison money
Johnson estimated Wednesday that 2026 revenues will be $17.6 million less than Noem’s budget proposal originally estimated.
Johnson also provided updated numbers for the current budget year. The bureau estimates this year’s ongoing revenue to be $2.38 billion – about $9 million less than lawmakers expected when they made this year’s budget last winter.
The picture presented by Mehlhaff was different. The Legislative Research Council’s earlier ongoing revenue estimate for the current budget year was $2.42 billion, and he said the new estimate is $2.39 billion, a nearly $30 million decline.
Mehlhaff’s estimate for the next budget year is $2.46 billion in ongoing revenue, putting the council’s estimate in line with Noem’s initial estimate.
Both state officials outlined economic conditions affecting the state’s revenue, including persistent inflation, lower farm income, and a slowdown of people filling jobs.
“Since about January 2024, we’ve been flat to negative on employees in South Dakota,” Mehlhaff said. “That, to me, is a bit concerning in terms of growing the economy.”
Noem estimated $1.45 billion in sales tax revenue for this year. The council’s revised estimate is $10 million less than that, while the bureau’s is about $14 million less.
Johnson said the outlook is negative.
“The consensus seems to be that interest rates are going to be higher for longer,” Johnson said. “That suppresses economic activity.”
One factor in the budgetary difficulties is the Legislature’s own doing. During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers reduced the state sales tax rate from 4.5% to 4.2% until 2027, costing an estimated $100 million annually in lost revenue.
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RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Students at South Dakota Mines heard Wednesday from retired four-star general Maryanne Miller about her journey to the highest ranks of the U.S. military.
Miller is a retired four-star U.S. Air Force general. She is the only member of the Air Force Reserve ever to be promoted to this level.
She spoke about finding greatness and living a life of fulfillment. Her stories came from her time in the Air Force and as a volunteer for Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity.
“We so much get focused on what is our next step in life, what’s the next career move, how do we make ourselves better in our career, and we forget about how do we make ourselves better as a human being,” Miller said. “Because they have to go tandem. If it’s not tandem, you’re going to get off track.”
Miller was commissioned in 1981 and rose through the ranks before becoming a four-star general in 2018. She was the only woman serving as a four-star officer in the military at the time. She retired in 2020 after serving for almost 40 years.
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South Dakota
USDA to offer distaster assistance to South Dakota agriculture producers impacted by winter storms
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering financial and technical assistance to South Dakota farmers and livestock producers who may have been impacted by the recent winter storms.
“I encourage impacted producers to contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure, and livestock losses and damages.” said Richard Fordyce, Production and Conservation Under Secretary.
FSA’s Emergency Conservation Program and Emergency Forest Restoration Program can assist landowners with financial assistance to restore damaged land and conservation structures or forests.
“Our staff will work one-on-one with landowners to make assessments of the damages and develop methods that focus on effective recovery of the land.” said Jessica Michalski, Acting NRCS State Conservationist in South Dakota.
For more information about the disaster assistance program, click here.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, left, and Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen unveil a plaque for retired U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams in the Hall of Honor at the Capitol in Pierre on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight)
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) — There’s a new name in the South Dakota Hall of Honor at the state Capitol building.
One-hundred-year-old South Dakota native and retired U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams was celebrated at a Wednesday ceremony where a plaque honoring him was unveiled, although Williams did not attend.
“In spite of being outnumbered and facing incredible danger, Captain Williams engaged the enemy with courage and skill,” said Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden. “Our state has always had a strong tradition of service, and Captain Williams is the very best of that tradition.”
President Donald Trump awarded Williams the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest military honor, at the State of the Union address earlier this year. The medal honors actions by Williams that had been classified for decades.
“His story was secret for over 50 years, he didn’t even want to tell his wife, but the legend grew and grew,” Trump said during the speech in February. “But tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves.”
On Nov. 18, 1952, over Korean coastal waters during the Korean War, then-Lt. Williams, from Wilmot, South Dakota, led three F9F Panthers against seven Soviet MiG-15s. He disabled three enemy jets and damaged a fourth.
The Soviet jets, according to the U.S. Naval Institute, were “superior to the F9F in almost every fashion.” The mission was the only direct overwater combat between U.S. Navy fighters and Soviet fighters during the Cold War.
Williams, one of 11 Medal of Honor recipients from South Dakota, now lives in California. The Hall of Honor at the South Dakota Capitol is located in the hallway that visitors enter immediately after going through security.
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