South Dakota
Processing wild game still a challenge for South Dakota hunters
PIEDMONT, S.D. (South Dakota News Watch) – Earlier this year, well before big-game hunting season began in South Dakota, Josh Clark invested time and money into expanding his wild-game processing capabilities to take advantage of high demand for the service.
As the number of commercial and self-employed meat cutters willing to process wild game in South Dakota has dwindled, Clark saw an opportunity in 2024 to profit off the trend at Cutting Edge Meat Market in Piedmont, where he is the manager.
Prior to hunting season, he added another skinning station, expanded capacity to hang and move animals and created more refrigeration space. He also did some summer advertising to let hunters know he is still taking in deer, elk and other large animal carcasses for full-service processing into steak, burgers and sausages.
“I don’t know if it’s just the lack of processors still out there, but we’re up 30% to 40% over last year in terms of animal drop-offs,” Clark told News Watch last week. “We’re slammed right now.”
Clark said he recently contacted several other West River meat shops and found that no one he spoke to is taking in whole deer or other game for processing.
Butchers who still take full deer carcasses said other processors who no longer take wild game or require it to be deboned first may be facing worker shortages, have higher expenses that cut into profitability or simply do not want the hassle of dealing with wild game processing that often occurs one customer with one animal at a time and creates a mad rush of business each fall.
The month of November – the heart of the deer hunting season in South Dakota – is always busy for butchers who process wild game, as hunters bring in tens of thousands of deer and antelope shot with rifles or bow and arrow. In 2023, South Dakota hunters killed about 49,000 deer, roughly 2,800 antelope and 114 elk, according to the state.
Clark said prior News Watch coverage of the processor shortage generated even more business for him, including from Custer State Park, where officials shipped him some buffaloes for processing after culling park animals after the annual Buffalo Roundup.
South Dakota butchers exiting wild game market
Some butcher shops have closed or shifted focus away from wild game, while others no longer take any game animals, and a few will only process wild meat that is already skinned and deboned by the customer.
Whereas commercial livestock producers schedule delivery of animals to be slaughtered and butchered during normal work hours and with several animals at once, big game hunters usually arrive at butcher shops with one or two animals at whatever time of day they happen to make a kill.
Paul Sorum, co-owner of Renner Corner Meats, about 10 miles north of Sioux Falls, said his shop usually processes about 1,000 deer and other big-game carcasses a year. Sorum said he feels a strong commitment to helping hunters have a place to take full carcasses. But he also wants to continue taking whole animals as a way to maintain the South Dakota hunting economy and to uphold conservation goals.
“If it weren’t for the hunters, we’d have an overabundance of deer that are not easy on crops, not to mention the damage they do to vehicles (when struck),” he said.
The shortage of wild-game processors has been a boon to Sorum’s bottom line in the fall. He’s now taking in a lot of deer from western Minnesota and has had elk, moose, caribou, bear and antelope shipped in from other states for processing in Renner.
One concern is that if hunters who lack the skills or equipment to skin, quarter and debone carcasses on their own can’t find a processor willing to take a whole carcass, the animals could be dumped in the garbage or left to rot in the field. Some hunters may choose to give up hunting if they know in advance they won’t be able to get a full animal carcass processed.
“The deer hunters, they need a place to take their animals to be processed correctly and to know they’re going to get a great product, so we still provide that service because there’s not that many of us out there,” Sorum said. “It’s a busy time, and it’s difficult work, but I have a great staff and we get through it.”
Hunters can donate animals to charity
Hunters who want to donate the meat from a deer or antelope to charitable food pantries across the state can work with South Dakota Sportsmen Against Hunger. Under the program, hunters with animals can contact one of roughly two dozen butchers in South Dakota and drop off an animal carcass or deboned meat for full processing. In most cases, the participating butcher shops assume the cost of processing female animals, while donating a buck typically results in the hunter paying the processing fee.
Some of the butchers enrolled in the program require that the animal be skinned and deboned before being dropped off for processing, and the program does nothing to help hunters who want to eat the wild game meat from animals they have killed.
The wild game processing industry is not overseen or regulated by the state Game, Fish & Parks Department, which manages state hunting seasons, though butcher shops are subject to regular inspection by state and federal regulators. GFP spokesman Nick Harrington sent an email to News Watch in 2023 saying the department “is currently not seeing a lack of game processors acting as a barrier to hunters participating in the sport.”
“Conversely, applications for many big game seasons including deer and elk are either holding steady or gradually rising each year,” Harrington wrote. “There are some big-game hunters who utilize processors, while others process themselves. This is each individual hunter’s choice and personal preference.”
Home-based butchers help fill the need
The commercial butcher shops that handle wild game have long been bolstered by a network of small, home-based meat processors who take animals killed in the fall. However, those processors are also dropping out of the industry or slowing down due to age, increasing volumes or burnout.
But some home-based butchers continue to provide the service of processing wild game from carcass to usable meat portions wrapped in butcher paper, though they often can only be found through word-of-mouth connections.
Rex Roseland and his wife, Cheryl, have processed wild game at their home north of Rapid City for decades, but they’ve seen demand for processing rise in recent years.
“When you get swamped, it just takes time to get caught up,” Rex Roseland told News Watch in 2023. “We get a lot of people from previous years, and they keep coming back. But every year it seems like we pick up more people.”
Cheryl Roseland said they enjoy the work and want to help hunters out, but it’s getting harder to handle the increasing flow of animals being brought in.
“We’ve heard from people who are saying, ‘Help us because we can’t find anyplace that will take it,’” she said. “But the thing is, while we can do it, do we have room to add another animal? We will take overflow when we can, but we’re overflowing ourselves out here.”
This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit news organization. Read more in-depth stories at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they’re published. Contact Bart Pfankuch at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.
Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
The South Dakota State baseball team is fighting for its season today against Arizona State in the Lincoln Regional. The game is set for 2 p.m.
The No. 4 Jackrabbits (24-32) lost 4-1 to No. 1 Nebraska in the opening game. No. 3 Arizona State lost a 706 heartbreaker to No. 2 Ole Miss in the opening round in 14 innings. The game took nearly 5.5 hours and ended around 1:20 a.m.
Here’s how to watch South Dakota State’s win-or-go-home game.
Watch South Dakota State baseball vs … on ESPN+
South Dakota State vs. Arizona State baseball stream, radio
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: KJJQ 910 AM
South Dakota State vs. Arizona State time today
- Date: Saturday, May 30
- Time: 2 p.m. CT
- Location: Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Nebraska
South Dakota State vs. Arizona State prediction
Paul Cifonelli, Argus Leader: This was always a tough draw for South Dakota State, as I thought this was the toughest regional in the country. At worst it’s the third toughest, with Chapel Hill and College Station in contention.
The Jackrabbits do have an advantage since Arizona State and Ole Miss went at it until after 1 a.m. Both teams stressed their pitching staffs, and every at bat required intense focus. The problem is South Dakota State doesn’t have the same top-end pitching these other teams do.
If Drew McDowell pitches, the Jacks might have a shot here. Otherwise they’ll have to win a slugfest, and I just don’t like those odds.
Prediction: Arizona State 8, South Dakota State 3
MISSION, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – In rural South Dakota, miles often separate expectant mothers from healthcare.
“A lot of women out here are left without any maternity care options,” said Rachel Kocak.
In Mission, moms mark their due dates and calculate miles to the nearest delivery location. Rachel Kocak, expecting her third child, said one option just closed.
“We used to have a birthing unit, I think up until a couple of months ago, and they lost their OB. So, Winner is no longer delivering babies,” Rachel said.
Some mothers remember when they could reach the hospital within a five-minute drive.
“IHS, for tribal members, they don’t deliver babies out here or provide prenatal care,” Rachel explained.
Families hope to reach the hospital before the baby arrives.
“So women either have to drive to Valentine, which is about 30 to 35 minutes from Mission, they can go to Wanblee, which is on the Pine Ridge Reservation, or they have to go to Pierre, Rapid City, or Sioux Falls,” Rachel said.
And if the roads are bad.
“I think there are a lot of babies who are unintentionally born at home. So it’s a tough place, I think, for mothers,” Rachel said.
The March of Dimes breaks down government data, showing a large portion of rural South Dakota as a maternity care desert, requiring travel of 38 or more minutes to reach an appointment or delivery room. The infant mortality rate is higher among native American babies born, compared to other races.
Health Department maps show counties in medium blue have 56 infant deaths per 100,000 births. Dark blue counties have three times as many. Grants aim to increase the number of healthcare workers, and funding supports a doula workforce program.
Kocak would like to see doulas and midwives available.
“Great opportunity for anyone who wants to become a home-birth midwife out here. The birth rate is still, I’m not sure what it is, but it’s high. There’s still a growing young population, and just not enough people to help deliver the babies,” Rachel said.
If care were closer, the outcomes could be brighter.
“You know, having the support network can make a huge change in the lives of these young, you know, these babies and young mothers who are building new families,” Rachel said.
The South Dakota Department of Health released a statement to Dakota News Now, which can be read in full below.
The South Dakota Maternal and Infant Health Task Force was created in 2025 to bring partners together to help improve the health and wellbeing of mothers and infants across the state. Their 5-year strategic plan was recently released, which has three priority areas: postpartum care to improve maternal health; safe sleep education and prevention strategies to protect infant health; and systems of care work that improves access, coordination, and quality of care statewide. One of the strategic plan activities that is supported by Rural Health Transformation is the creation of Regional Maternal and Infant Health Hubs, which will create a hub-and-spoke network connecting hospitals, clinics, tribal health services, and community organizations. These hubs will improve care coordination, strengthen referral pathways, and expand access to services for families in rural and tribal communities.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
While the race to secure the nomination for governor has dominated the headlines ahead of the June 2 primary, Republican voters will also choose a candidate for one of South Dakota’s two U.S. Senate seats.
Incumbent U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, who is seeking a third, six-year term, holds a comfortable lead over his GOP primary challenger, Justin McNeal, a Navy veteran and business owner from Rapid City, according to the latest poll from News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy.
Here is a recap of the two candidates along with their thoughts heading into the June 2 election. The winner of the Republican primary will meet Democrat Julian Beaudion and Independent Brian Bengs in the Nov. 3 general election.
Hometown: Fort PierreAge: 71Occupation: Insurance broker; businessman; former governor (2003-2011); U.S. senator since 2015In their own words:
Rounds provided the following statement to News Watch:
“Working in the U.S. Senate, I’ve stayed focused on results that matter for our kids and grandkids. That means keeping the government off your back and out of your business and wallet. That means keeping our communities safe and creating a business climate that encourages job growth to keep our kids in South Dakota. And that means safety through a commitment to our men and women in uniform.
This past summer, we worked with President Trump to pass the Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts legislation. Without Congressional action, the average South Dakota family would have seen a $2,500 tax hike this year. Our legislation not only prevented the largest tax increase in American history, but it also provided additional tax relief for hard-working South Dakota families. That includes no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security for nearly 9 out of 10 seniors.
We’ve accomplished some great things, but our work is not done. I am running for reelection to continue bringing results back home to South Dakota.”
Hometown: Rapid City (born in Illinois and raised in Texas)Age: 42Occupation: Business owner (Dakota BioChar); Navy veteran (2001-2007)In their own words:
“I’m feeling the people in South Dakota are ready for a change. The challenge we are running into is that not enough people know who we are, but as soon as they know who we are, it’s an easy decision for them,” McNeal told News Watch in a phone interview. “I don’t have millions and millions of dollars. I’ve been largely self-funding this race up to this point.”
McNeal, who is a licensed pilot, said he has flown his small plane to events throughout the state in an attempt to get his name out.
“I talk to people about the issues that matter and I tell them the biggest thing you can do to help me is tell 10 people about me and to go vote June 2. We need about 50,000 votes to win the primary,” he said.
McNeal is not critical of Rounds and conceded “he is very popular” but said Rounds has not done enough to tackle the country’s growing fiscal deficit.
“I don’t think Mike is doing a bad job. I’m just concerned with the federal debt and the people that got us into that mess are not going to be the ones to get us out of it,” McNeal said.
“This is going to cripple the country. It just seems like politicians are focused on what they can bring to their home district or home state. And the problem with that is every member of Congress is doing the same thing, so everyone is taking and taking without making sure we can pay for it.”
South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at sdnewswatch.org. Contact politics and statehouse reporter Alexander Rifaat: 605-736-4396/alexander.rifaat@sdnewswatch.org.
-
California2 minutes agoSteve Hilton on His Surprisingly Strong Bid for California Governor
-
Colorado5 minutes agoAttorney General Phil Weiser’s underdog campaign for Colorado governor
-
Connecticut11 minutes ago
Where to watch Los Angeles Sparks vs Connecticut Sun on May 30: TV channel, start time and streaming
-
Delaware17 minutes agoHow Delaware fans will get to Philadelphia World Cup matches
-
Florida20 minutes agoFlorida cities rank among best and worst places to raise a family
-
Georgia25 minutes agoStorms, flooding possible across Southeast Georgia, Northeast Florida today
-
Hawaii32 minutes agoCounty housing official sentenced to nearly 4 years in prison – West Hawaii Today
-
Idaho35 minutes agoIdaho’s state park system remains a major draw more than a c…
