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Noem’s former opponent heading back to Pierre as she prepares to leave • South Dakota Searchlight

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Noem’s former opponent heading back to Pierre as she prepares to leave • South Dakota Searchlight


SIOUX FALLS — Three years ago, Kristi Noem kept her job in Pierre, and Jamie Smith left. Now the situation is reversed.

Kind of like Smith predicted.

“Everyone knew she had national ambitions,” he said Wednesday. 

Smith, a Democrat, gave up his legislative seat in 2022 and ran against Noem, a Republican, who wound up winning a second term as governor. 

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Now Noem is preparing to leave South Dakota for Washington, D.C., where she is nominated to serve as secretary of Homeland Security under President-elect Donald Trump. Her nomination hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday.

Smith, meanwhile, won a state Senate seat in a Sioux Falls district during November’s election. He’ll go back to Pierre on Tuesday for the start of the annual legislative session, where he’ll serve as Senate assistant minority leader.

Addressing members of Change Agents at a Sioux Falls library, Smith acknowledged the challenges he and the other Democrats face in the Legislature. They’re outnumbered 96-9 by Republicans.

“We are very limited in what we can do this year, with the number of Democrats that we have in the Legislature,” Smith said. “We are essentially left playing defense.” 

Democrats lose ground in Legislature, but pick up seat in longtime Republican district

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Members of Change Agents, formed in 2021, say they support pragmatic candidates and oppose extremist rhetoric and policies. Founders include former Sioux Falls Mayor Rick Knobe, financial planner Mike Huber and entrepreneur Craig Brown.

After the meeting, Smith told South Dakota Searchlight why he came back to politics.

“Because I truly believe that I have the skills to try and help people,” he said. “I do believe that one person can make a difference for the people of South Dakota.”

Smith said finding ways to build relationships across the aisle will be crucial for Democrats this session, like the one he said he built with incoming Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, based partly on a simple starting point.

“We share a birthday,” Smith said.

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Outlining his priorities, Smith said he plans to introduce a bill that would end incarceration for drug ingestion in South Dakota. South Dakota’s ingestion law is the only one in the nation that allows prosecutors to charge people with felony drug possession for a failed drug test.

Instead, he advocates for expanding treatment programs and diversion efforts, calling incarceration for ingestion punitive and ineffective.

Smith also addressed his desire to amend the state’s abortion ban, his opposition to Noem’s $4 million proposal to fund private and homeschool education, and his resistance to raising sales taxes as a means of lowering property taxes.

South Dakota’s near-total abortion ban allows an exception only to save the life of the mother and lacks clear definitions, said Smith, who called the ban “cruel and unusual.”

“We need to stop it,” he said.

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Smith said women’s health care is a top priority for Democrats, but they don’t currently have a bill to increase access to abortion. He said some members want to introduce bills to expand exceptions beyond the life of the mother, while others are arguing for a broader abortion access ballot measure. Voters rejected an abortion-rights measure in November.

Smith also criticized a proposal from some Republicans to reduce property taxes by increasing sales taxes, calling it a potentially unfair shift that could disproportionately impact low-income people.

Smith attacked Noem’s $4 million plan for education savings accounts, calling it a voucher program that would divert public dollars to private schools and homeschoolers. Smith said the program would lack accountability, because alternative schools and homeschoolers are not required to follow the same transparency, testing and other standards as public schools.

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Mega Millions, Millionaire for Life winning numbers for March 10, 2026

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

Here’s a look at March 10, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 10 drawing

16-21-30-35-65, Mega Ball: 07

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 10 drawing

03-27-43-45-49, 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.



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Trading property tax for sales tax: Legislature moves forward with parts of homeowner relief package

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Trading property tax for sales tax: Legislature moves forward with parts of homeowner relief package


PIERRE — Two pieces of a property tax reduction package prepared by South Dakota’s legislative leadership and the executive branch are moving forward, but one bill failed during votes on Monday as lawmakers began the final week of the annual legislative session.

The House of Representatives voted

42-27

in support of

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Senate Bill 245

, which would pull future revenue from a scheduled sales tax increase from 4.2% to 4.5% next year into a relief fund for homeowner property taxes, and use nearly $56 million in one-time money to seed the fund before the sales tax increase.

The Senate supported

House Bill 1323

, which would reduce the number of petition signatures needed to force an election on a local government’s decision to levy property taxes beyond limits set by the state. The Senate passed the bill 19-15.

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Both bills have to return to the opposite chamber for consideration of amendments.

The Senate rejected

House Bill 1253

, which would cap annual assessment growth for owner-occupied homes and commercial properties at 5% annually and reset assessments back to market value every five years. The bill failed with a 9-24 vote.

The bills are part of a broader,

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five-bill legislative package

targeted at property tax relief.

Another bill

in the package, which would allow counties to implement a half-percent sales tax with proceeds going to homeowner property tax credits, is awaiting the governor’s signature after he proposed it and it received both chambers’ approval.

The legislative budget committee is scheduled to consider a fifth piece of legislation in the package on Tuesday.

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The bill

would reduce maximum property tax levies for school districts.

Sales tax bill overcomes concerns about future budget needs

SB 245 would capture revenue from the impending sales tax increase to deposit into a “homeowner property tax reduction fund” meant to reduce property taxes levied by school districts. The Legislature and then-Gov. Kristi Noem reduced the state sales tax rate three years ago but scheduled the reduction to sunset in 2027.

House Speaker Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, told lawmakers on Monday that the bill would be an “investment in the people,” because it’ll give South Dakota homeowners more money to spend as they choose. Hansen, the bill’s sponsor and a candidate for governor, said that would lead to more spending and, therefore, more sales tax revenue. The state relies on sales taxes, while counties and schools rely on property taxes, and cities receive revenue from property taxes and sales taxes.

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Some opponents said the legislation would favor wealthier, property-owning South Dakotans rather than lower-income renters.

Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, speaks on the House floor at the Capitol in Pierre on March 9, 2026.

(Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, worried that automatically diverting future state revenue to reduce homeowner property taxes would come at the cost of other priorities, such as annual funding increases for state employees, Medicaid providers and public schools — which are known as the “big three” budget priorities. Lawmakers often

aim

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to increase funding for the groups by 3% or inflation, whichever is less. An inflationary increase this legislative session would be 2.5%, according to the state Department of Education.

“We are just clawing to get 1.4% for the big three,” Weisgram said. “I don’t think any of us are proud of that.”

Hansen said the decision “is not an either-or” situation.

“We can help the property taxpayers in the state who desperately, desperately need it,” Hansen said, “and then I trust fully that this state is going to continue to grow and that we are going to be able to meet the needs of our core obligations of this state.”

The bill was introduced as an amendment to placeholder legislation last week, and it will head to the Senate for approval. The Senate narrowly rejected a

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similar proposal

earlier this legislative session.

Senate approves lower signature threshold to force election on excess taxes

The version of House Bill 1323 that passed the Senate would set the number of petition signatures needed to force an election on an excess tax levy (often called an “opt-out”) for a local government at 2,500 or 5% of registered voters within its jurisdiction, whichever is less. The current threshold to refer decisions by a local government is 5% of registered voters in the district, without a 2,500 signature cap.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, said it will still be difficult to refer decisions by a local government to voters.

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“You’re talking dozens and dozens of volunteers, weeks of organized effort,” Howard said. “There’s not a lot of people that have been through that and can even organize that kind of effort. So it’s not a trivial bar.”

Because the bill was amended since it last appeared in the House, it’ll now go to the House for approval.

HB 1253 intended to provide South Dakota homeowners and commercial property owners predictable increases in their property assessments, which factor into property taxes they pay, over five year periods.

But opponents said the change would shift the property tax burden onto farmers and ranchers and surprise homeowners every five years when assessments would be re-based on market value, which could lead to double-digit increases in assessments.

This story was originally published on

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SouthDakotaSearchlight.com.

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South Dakota

Political Pulse: South Dakota Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff on data centers, property taxes and more

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Political Pulse: South Dakota Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff on data centers, property taxes and more


RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – State Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff joined Political Pulse over the weekend.

Mehlhaff weighed in on property tax proposals, data centers, and effort to repeal the death penalty and speculation that Kristi Noem could run for Senate.

The interviewed was taped on Saturday.

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