South Dakota

Palliative care: Little understood, but life-changing for those who need it • South Dakota Searchlight

Published

2 years ago

May 26, 2024

Palliative care: Little understood, but life-changing for those who need it • South Dakota Searchlight

The role of palliative care is often misunderstood, just like the word itself isn’t one people fully comprehend when they first hear it, often confusing it with hospice.

In reality, very few of us are untouched by the need for this care, often with an aging parent, perhaps a friend dealing with illness, or we might even need it ourselves. Many South Dakotans benefit from palliative care as they go about their daily lives, remaining as active as is reasonably possible while coping with difficult circumstances. These folks deserve comfort, care and dignity and to have it without incurring great expense and the debt that often comes with it.

Palliative care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of serious illness, such as cancer, with the goal of improving quality of life for both the patient and family. Palliative care is delivered by a specially trained team of doctors, nurses, social workers and chaplains who provide an extra layer of support to anyone with a serious illness wherever they receive care, no matter their prognosis. It is provided alongside curative treatment and is based on what matters most to the patient. Easily accessible palliative care is largely not available for many South Dakota residents, specifically for many located in rural settings.

Even in areas with relatively good access to palliative care, gaps remain, especially for home-based palliative care provided by an interdisciplinary team. Reimbursement for palliative care is generally restricted to physicians and advanced practice providers, limiting organizations’ ability to provide a specially trained interdisciplinary team, but this team is critical to support the patient and caregivers. They address not only physical symptoms, but also psychosocial, emotional and spiritual stressors of serious illness. This interdisciplinary care not only improves the patient’s daily life enjoyment, but also frequently reduces the cost of care for health systems and payers. In short, it improves health and financial outcomes and should be forefront on the agenda for anybody who wants a healthier South Dakota.

These folks deserve comfort, care and dignity and to have it without incurring great expense and the debt that often comes with it.

With that in mind, last month South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO), alongside a palliative care provider from South Dakota, joined a group of advocates from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in Washington, D.C., to attend a meeting of the Patient Quality of Life Coalition to let our South Dakota congressional delegation know about the need for better access to palliative care.

It was in support of the federal Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA), a bipartisan bill that aims to tackle some of the current obstacles preventing many patients from accessing palliative care, chiefly availability of practitioners. PCHETA’s goals largely center on improved training and education around palliative care, attempting to bolster resources available but also to help people understand why palliative care matters. This federal legislation could have a big impact in our state. PCHETA’s goals resonate strongly in my life and with many folks I work with every day in my role as Hospice and Palliative Care Program manager for SDAHO.

As an advanced hospice and palliative care certified social worker, I have had the privilege to support patients and families on their journey living with serious illness. As a person living with a serious illness myself, I have also experienced the benefits of receiving palliative care. Ensuring all South Dakotans have access to palliative care is both professionally and personally crucial to me.

Palliative care plays a crucial role in the lives of many, and getting the infrastructure in place to make sure it serves our family, friends and neighbors well in the future is important business. This legislation can help increase access to these critical services that should not be limited to urban or hospital-based care, as they often are now. For lawmakers concerned about increasing health care costs, PCHETA also promises to be a prudent investment.

During the 2024 South Dakota legislative session, a definition of palliative care was formally added to state law. It was a small but crucial step in helping people receive the care they need, where they need it. The definition starts the process of establishing the structure needed for the reimbursement of the entire interdisciplinary team.

There is much work ahead and I look forward to partnering with many in South Dakota on setting a strong foundation in place so that palliative care is available to all who need it. I also want to thank Sen. Mike Rounds for sponsoring PCHETA and ask Sen. John Thune to consider signing on as a sponsor, putting needed federal emphasis and resources toward improving the lives of South Dakotans who badly need these services.

Palliative care isn’t always easy to understand, but for those living with serious illness, it can be life-changing. For a complicated and overburdened health care system, it can reduce hospital stays and care costs. For those who want to improve health care outcomes in South Dakota, it must be part of the solution.

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South Dakota

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

Published

3 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

15 hours 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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South Dakota

SD Lottery Mega Millions, Millionaire for Life winning numbers for March 3, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at March 3, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 3 drawing

07-21-53-54-62, Mega Ball: 16

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 3 drawing

09-10-13-25-54, Bonus: 05

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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