South Dakota
Owner of ‘only comedy club in South Dakota’ shares importance of Black Hills community
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – There’s a saying that goes, “Laughter is the best form of medicine,” and one new business is bringing that medication to the corner of 7th and Saint Joseph Streets.
West River Comedy Club had its grand opening earlier this month and what makes this place so unique is “it’s the only comedy club in South Dakota,” according to Trevor Ryan, owner of West River Comedy Club.
Ryan is a stand-up comedian who has been touring and hosting with West River Comedy in the Black Hills since 2019.
“We wanted our space for so long, so we were able to make that leap and sign a lease here and get something going,” Ryan said.
Ryan said the name and location of the venue came about because, “‘West River is the best river,’ you know? So, I just wanted to name it because I just love this area.”
Before opening West River Comedy Club, Ryan started open mic night at Aby’s.
“I was trying to find a place that was eclectic enough that, you know, where the misfit toys could go hang out, and Aby’s was perfect for that,” Ryan said, “They stuck with us whether we had two people or twenty people.”
Keeping the local feel, you can enjoy brews from breweries around the Black Hills and food from Ugly Graffiti before the show.
“We’re such a tight-knit community in this town. You know one person, you know six other people that knows that person. So, these people have been encouraging to me, and I wanted to pay it forward, plus they make good beer,” Ryan said.
Besides supporting other local businesses, Ryan said he wanted to give back to the community and have something open regularly.
“We don’t always have something to do for the locals, you know, when the tourists come in, things ramp up and there’s a lot more events,” Ryan added. “But I wanted to do something year-round because shoot, we live here year-round right? So, I wanted to make sure we take care of the locals.”
Ryan doesn’t just own the comedy club, he also makes appearances on stage.
“I still perform from time to time. You know, I’m an only child and I need the attention so every now and then I’ll still be on the stage,” Ryan said.
If you do plan on getting a good laugh, Ryan recommends getting your tickets early and online.
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South Dakota
SD Lottery Mega Millions winning numbers for April 24, 2026
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 24, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from April 24 drawing
07-16-32-35-40, Mega Ball: 12
Check Mega Millions 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.
South Dakota
DOC lacks population-specific programs, otherwise has ‘right things’ in place
South Dakota’s Department of Corrections has the “right” programming, but not the means to implement all its goals. It’s also lacking in programming for certain populations, like Native Americans. That’s the latest from a task force aimed at rehabilitation reform and lowering recidivism met again.
South Dakota’s recidivism rate is the highest it’s been since the Department of Corrections started tracking it. Recidivism in the state is defined as the rate offenders who leave the prison system return on either a new crime or parole violation.
Half the prisoners who left the system in 2021 returned within three years. The 50% rate for the 2021 cohort is a 7% spike immediately following the pandemic, something Secretary
Nick Lamb said should naturally go down as the cohort gets farther from the pandemic. Lamb set a goal for DOC reduce that number by at least 5%. Due to the three-year lag on recidivism rate, many programs implemented won’t show success or failure statistically until years later.
Though, Lamb told appropriators during the 2026 Legislative Session that not all states reflect parole violations or repeat offenses in their recidivism rate. This could make South Dakota’s look disproportionately higher when comparing directly.
One of the ways lawmakers are trying to fix the high rate is through new prisons with features to better serve rehabilitative efforts. The women’s prison in Rapid City has more space for programming. Lawmakers approved funding and the construction a new men’s prison in Sioux Falls this past September in a special session. It replaces one built in 1881.
The Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force was formed by Gov. Larry Rhoden to look at South Dakota’s Department of Corrections and try to improve that figure. One of the ways to do that is through programming and treatment.
Many of South Dakota’s prison population has a substance use disorder. The DOC’s 2025 statistical report showed in FY25, 91% of males and 97% of females assessed at intake in the prison system were identified as having a substance use disorder.
One thing the task force looking at the issue heard at its latest meeting is programming is actually on the right track. The task force hired the Council of State Governments, or CSG, Justice Center as a third-party consultant to dive into DOC programming and ways to improve the system. They provided the task force with preliminary results.
David D’Amora is a Senior Policy Advisor with CSG. He said DOC is on the right track after seeing all of the programs the department has.
“And looking through that document, my issue is not you should throw this out. My issue is, ‘How do you build up the capacity to do this?’ You’ve got the right things,” D’Amora told the task force during its April 22 meeting. “Now, you’ve got to figure out how to implement it the right way, which is going to take some time and some resources.”
But he did point to some issues, noting programming specifically for Native Americans is lacking.
“That is in fact going to be one of the things in our recommendations as far as improving programming,” D’Amora said.
The 2025 DOC report showed Native Americans are overrepresented in South Dakota’s prison system in general: 35% of men 61% of women in state prisons are Native, despite accounting for just 10% of the state’s general population.
There are other gaps such as women-specific programming and in education programming outside of individuals seeking a GED. Specific program for other populations, such as low literacy learners, people with long sentences and individuals with serious mental illness, is lacking as well.
Sara Friedman is a Program Director for CSG, and she said a lot of programming is “duplicative.”
“You do have some programs that kind of address the exact same need for the exact same type of person, when you could be having more of a here’s an intro-class and here’s an advanced class,” Friedman said. “You could have more tiered and sequencing within the program catalog.”
Getting into programming has been an issue for inmates as well. The CSG report showed that 25% more inmates received programming in 2025 than in 2023, but waitlists are an issue. Access to programs in the state’s three largest prison facilities, the Jameson Annex, Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield and the South Dakota Penitentiary, is also an issue.
CSG uplifted many things the DOC is currently doing, especially DOC staff, noting that DOC employees are “deeply committed and skilled.” The presentation noted that staff are stretched thin, though, and the structure in place “undermines impact and limits staff critical support.”
CSG plans to provide cohesive changes and legislation that could help the state’s prison system. That’s expected in further detail at future meetings. However, they offered some changes they may recommend.
Those include additional trainings and quality assurance for DOC staff, improving data quality issues to actually track program success. changing the structure for earned discharge credits and others.
CSG also mentioned it may be beneficial to create a single rehabilitation and reentry division in DOC. It would oversee all programming, education, case management and behavioral health under one leadership structure. Other states have created similar divisions.
Lawmaker Reactions
However, lawmakers have questions on what’s changed and what’s next.
Mitchell Rep. Jeff Bathke used to work as a licensed counselor for the Department of Corrections. He’s wondering what’s changed over time, because the report didn’t feel like news to him.
“When you look back of the [programming] 15 years ago, everything that they mentioned today that we should have or should do better, we did that 15 years ago. So, I think what they need to do is go back and look at what changed in that last 15 years,” Bathke said. “Why do we no longer do what worked then? Another part is we need to look at what was our recidivism 1, 2 and 3 years out of prison 15 years ago, what is it today, and what’s our goal for that? And I’m not sure many people in the room today actually know those numbers.”
Bathke said there were good questions asked but noted what he feels is a lack of knowledge of the prison system amongst task force members. He expressed a desire to see what had changed in the department over time and when programming changed and how.
The report showed there’s a lack of tribal-specific programming in the system for Native American inmates.
Sen. Tamara Grove represents District 26, which includes the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Reservation. She said she’s excited at the acknowledgement that South Dakota needs more on tribal programming.
“It sounds like we’re going to have deeper conversations in that area, so I look forward to hearing what more are they wanting to do. I think probably it will be more of an emphasis on the cultural side and dealing with the traumas, the past experiences, the generational kind of stuff, which is huge. It is key when you’re talking about substance abuse disorder.”
Task Force members are expected to hear more about programming gaps and recommendations at the task force’s June meeting.
South Dakota
SD Lottery Millionaire for Life winning numbers for April 23, 2026
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 23, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 23 drawing
01-25-37-47-53, 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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