SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Four South Dakotans are representing the state at the USA Shooting Junior Olympics in Alabama this week.

They not only hope for success on the shooting range, but to help grow the sport in the state.

Sophomore Mausten Stelter is no stranger to state and national competition. He and his family are very involved in the Humboldt Sharpshooters Club and last year, he brought home the bronze medal for his age group at the Junior Olympics.

It’s been a special week to reflect on the journey.

Mausten began shooting at a young age and it was the only sport to catch his eye.

He went from shooting a BB gun up to a rifle as he grew in his skills. Many hours of practive at a time for the last eight years are paying off.

“It’s a lot of work. I’ve been out on the range two days a week at least practicing for the last eight years,” Mausten said.

“Whether he wants to or not, mom and dad have to usually kick him down the road a little bit, but he’s dedicated to it, too. That’s the thing, once he gets to the range, it’s all business. He practices hard and that’s what gets him here,” said Mausten’s father, Richard Stelter.

His goal is to one day represent the United States in the Olympic Games. Qualifying as a state champion, the Junior Olympics provides a great opportunity to not only put Humboldt Sharpshooting on the map, but to see the best shooters in the country.

“I like being at these bigger competitions because I get to shoot with higher class shooters, people that go to the Olympics. Sometimes you get to shoot right next to them and it’s actually really cool to watch them as they shoot next to you,” Mausten described.

The community of Hartford and West Central have backed him every step of the way.

The growth of the sport has been well-documented alongside his sharpshooting journey.

The Stelters said the construction of a new range will be huge because currently, area clubs like Dakota Sharpshooters and Humboldt Sharpshooters have needed to travel for practice.

“He probably doesn’t feel it or see it as much as we would like to portray it, but we’re extremely proud of him,” Richard said.

Mausten has been a mentor to younger shooters and the construction of a new range will offer a space for the area clubs to grow even more.

“We’re very proud of him. I think it’s great to see him grow in this sport and we’re excited for the possibilities for him and just for the namesake of our home state here. We should be proud that we have this level of coaching and shooters in our state,” said Mausten’s mother, Lisa Stelter.

The four students representing South Dakota include Hunter Hanson, Ella Hanson, Katelyn Tieszen and Mausten Stelter.

You can access the final results here.

Copyright 2025 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.

BROOKINGS – South Dakota State University Extension is inviting South Dakota farmers to participate in a new soil health survey. 

The new nationwide project is called “Probing Our Country’s Soil Health” and is looking for 80 South Dakota farmers to participate. The project leaders are working to understand the status of soil health around the country and use that information to develop a new tool called Soil Health Assessment Protocol and Evaluation (or SHAPE). Once completed, the SHAPE tool can be used by farmers to better understand their soil health test results.

“In South Dakota we are often experiencing extreme weather conditions and are looking for ways to stabilize or even increase yields in these conditions. Improving our understanding of our soil’s health can better help us manage them,” said Jason Clark, SDSU Extension Soil Fertility Specialist, who is helping to lead the project in South Dakota.

SHAPE is an online tool designed to interpret soil health measurements, monitor soil health change and offer management practice alternatives for improving soil health. The goal of the project is to collect 13,000 soil samples across the U.S. from approximately 6,000 fields, sampling different soil, climate and management conditions. The SHAPE tool will be available as a free web-based app for easy soil health scoring.

To make the tool as useful as possible for South Dakota farmers, the goal is to attract a broad representation of South Dakota ag lands — crops, forages and pasture. Participants will be asked to share general information through an online survey for how two or three fields from their operation have been managed during the last 10 years. They will provide this information through a facilitator-led online Zoom meeting that takes about 45 to 60 minutes.

Participants will also need to grant access to their fields for hand-probe soil sampling, typically two or three sampling sites from each field. Sampling will typically occur within three to six months of the survey, and landowners will be notified prior to the date.

Each participant will receive a personalized soil health report of their fields (over $450 worth of soil test results), and a hard copy of “Probing Our Country’s Soil Health”, a photo book illustrating soil health across the country and the outcomes to this project.

To enroll as a landowner participant, select a time from one of the following facilitator schedule links:

For more information, contact Jason Clark, SDSU Extension Soil Fertility Specialist, or Hans Klopp, SDSU Extension Soil Health Specialist. 

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Senator Mike Rounds says his office has been looking into recent DOGE cuts in the state and in some cases working to reverse the cuts.

Rounds said Monday about 500 people in South Dakota have reached out about federal program cuts. The senator says he’s following up on each case independently, going directly to cabinet members and finding out if the cuts should be reinstated. Rounds says he’s had success in getting a number of cuts reversed.

“As we find something that was broken, we go back in, and we say, ‘look, are you aware that this particular office is closed? An FSA office, perhaps, or are you aware that you’ve shut down an office for one of our tribes and it’s the only office that you’ve got for that tribe., And in those cases, they’ve come back and say ‘oh no, we don’t realize that, that’s probably something that we need to address,’” explained Rounds.

Rounds also pointed to National Institute of Health websites that were reinstated after nurses reached out to his office. Overall, Rounds expressed support for the goal behind DOGE and cutting the size of the federal government, but the senator said he wants to make sure mistakes aren’t made along the way.

The senator was asked what his message to President Trump would be so that mistakes would not be made to begin with.

“He made it pretty clear himself, that he wanted DOGE to take a more surgical approach. We’re hoping that they’ve heeded his recommendation and his advice,” said Rounds.

Dan Ahlers, executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party, criticized the cuts, saying the cuts have been disorganized and are not surgical.

“You can try and undo some of these cuts, but it’s not flipping a light switch. You just can’t shut it off and turn it back on. For those people that they just let go, are you going to want to come back to a job that you don’t know you have any security?” explained Ahlers.

Ahlers says he wants to see South Dakota’s federal delegation meet with all South Dakotans.

“You’re talking to people that might support you or won’t cause you any problems or won’t question what’s happening. You can sing all you want to the choir, but we really need to be listening to all South Dakotans. We really need to be focused on those people that have been impacted by these cuts,” said Ahlers.

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