South Dakota

‘Puts accountability in place’: Bill tying teacher pay to state funding passes House – South Dakota Searchlight

Published

2 years ago

February 20, 2024

‘Puts accountability in place’: Bill tying teacher pay to state funding passes House – South Dakota Searchlight

A bill tying teacher pay to annual increases in state funding passed the state House of Representatives with a 58-9 vote Tuesday.

The bill, which now heads to a Senate committee, is a result of South Dakota drifting back down near the bottom in average teacher salary compared to the rest of the United States. The bill also aims to follow through on promises made to teachers when the Legislature passed a half-percentage-point increase in the state sales tax rate in 2016 to raise teacher salaries. Last year, legislators and Gov. Kristi Noem reduced the state sales tax rate from 4.5% to 4.2%.

Rep. Kristin Conzet, the newly appointed Republican lawmaker from Rapid City, served in the Legislature in the years leading up to the sales tax increase and supported the effort.

“Careers ended over that tax increase. People weren’t voted back in. We did what was best for our teachers,” Conzet said Tuesday on the House floor. “What did not happen and what the intent was of raising that sales tax was to go directly to teachers. It wasn’t to go to the administration; it wasn’t to backfill student losses. … This puts accountability in place. This puts teeth in what was supposed to be taken care of in that all-out battle six, seven years ago.”

The legislation would set a statewide minimum teacher salary of $45,000, beginning July 1, 2026. That minimum standard would increase each year by a percentage equal to the annual increase in state education funding approved by the Legislature and governor.

The bill would also require schools to raise their average teacher compensation — including pay and benefits — by percentages equal to annual increases in state funding. That requirement would begin with the 2025 fiscal year.

Beyond the regular annual increases in state education funding, schools would not receive additional state funding to comply with the mandates. Noem has recommended a 4% increase in state funding for the next state budget.

While nobody testified against the legislation during its committee hearing last week, several lobbyists representing the education community called it a work in progress.

Some lawmakers expressed concern on the House floor, saying that the bill needed more work to earn support from school district superintendents – especially those expecting enrollment decreases in the future, which could result in a decrease in state funding to those school districts.

Rep. Rocky Blare, R-Ideal, speaks on the House floor on Jan. 16, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Rep. Rocky Blare, R-Winner, said he is worried for the future if other costs increase, such as insurance, gas prices or other staff salaries. He said the legislation would limit school districts’ ability to cover those needs.

“I think this bill needs to be looked at, needs to be refined, needs to be better,” Blare said, as one of the few legislators to vote against the bill.

But Rep. Mike Stevens, R-Yankton, who worked with an informal group tasked with rewriting an earlier version of the bill, said it’s time to hold school districts accountable, even if it’s “not a perfect bill.”

The legislation, Stevens said, would force school districts to tackle declining enrollment without sacrificing teacher pay by combining classes, closing schools, consolidating schools, passing an opt out of property tax limitations, using reserves, reducing staff or reducing services.

“If we have to make hard decisions,” Stevens said, alluding to lawmakers making cuts to fit a balanced budget each year, “everybody else does too.”

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South Dakota

No. 2 Texas shakes up South Dakota State, 70-51

Published

11 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

No. 2 Texas shakes up South Dakota State, 70-51

Guard Jordan Lee knocked down three triples to pace Texas with 17 points in addition to four of the team’s 13 steals, while junior forward Madison Booker notched 14 points and nine rebounds and guard Rori Harmon added 11 points and seven assists.

Texas shot 45.5 percent from the field while holding South Dakota State to 36.6 percent, outscoring the Jackrabbits in the paint by 20 points, 44-22, and from the bench, 20-13.

The Longhorns jumped out to a quick start with a 12-0 lead as Lee hit an early three and the Texas defense held South Dakota State scoreless for the majority of the opening quarter until the Jackrabbits utilized a 10-3 run and closed out the first period trailing, 17-13. Texas outscored the Jackrabbits by five in the second quarter, hitting 47.1 percent from the field to keep a 33-24 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, South Dakota State cut the Texas lead to eight, but Harmon foundBooker for an elbow jumper to keep the Longhorns ahead by 10 points. Center Kyla Oldacre held the paint down with four points and a rebound to extend the Texas lead to 49-34.

In the final period, Texas guard Bryanna Preston made tremendous effort with a strong move to the basket with a three-point play in her return from injury after missing five weeks to push the lead to 21 points. Later, Preston stole the ball and found Lee in the corner for her third three of the game to extend the Texas lead to 66-43. The Longhorns ended up shooting 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) from the field in the final quarter.

Next up, Texas hosts Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday at 1 p.m. Central on SEC Network.

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South Dakota

Half of SD inmates return to prison, new report shows

Published

23 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Half of SD inmates return to prison, new report shows

Makenzie Huber
| South Dakota Searchlight

Half the people released from prison in South Dakota return within three years, according to the state Department of Corrections’ newly released 2025 annual report — the highest recidivism rate in at least the last eight years.

Among Native Americans released from prison, 59% return within three years — the highest of any race. Native Americans comprise 39% of inmates in the state prison system — 35% among men and 61% among women. The recidivism rate among Native American women is 66%.

Department officials shared the statistics and annual report with members of the Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force at its Wednesday, Dec. 17 meeting in Pierre. The recidivism rate is seven points higher than last year.

The task force, made up of lawmakers, government officials and nonprofit leaders, is considering ways to reduce the state’s recidivism rate by expanding prison-based rehabilitation and helping released inmates transition back into their communities. The group was created earlier this year as lawmakers approved construction of a $650 million men’s prison in Sioux Falls, and it’s focusing on behavioral health, educational, faith-based and Native American-themed programs.

The group approved several recommendations at its meeting, including an endorsement of a faith-based seminary program.

Task force member Rep. John Hughes, R-Sioux Falls, said he hopes for “transformational offerings” to inmates.

“If we don’t see lives changed, then I don’t know what we’re doing here,” Hughes said. “We’re just managing statistics and personal failures.”

‘We’re not appropriately supporting the Indigenous population’

Task force member Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls, told South Dakota Searchlight the increase in recidivism, especially among Native Americans, will “further strain an already strained system.”

“It’s indicative of the fact that we’re not appropriately supporting the Indigenous population,” Wittman said. “We’re already overincarcerating Indigenous people in South Dakota, and then we’re seeing them return at a much higher rate.”

The task force approved 11 immediate recommendations for the Department of Corrections. The list includes bringing back evening volunteers in prisons, designating the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate parole program as a “flagship model” in the state, and establishing volunteer roundtables to give feedback on department policy and programs.

The recommendations are “small wins or barriers that can be removed,” Wittman said, while the task force continues to work on more complex issues.

Wittman is most excited about a recommendation that the department hire a tribal cultural liaison to coordinate ceremonies, tribal contacts and volunteer access to the state’s prisons. The position should be piloted for six months, the task force recommended.

“The fact that the DOC is willing to establish an individual whose sole focus is going to be better programming for its Indigenous population is huge,” Wittman said. “They’ll hopefully identify where Indigenous programming will be most effective.”

Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, the task force chairman, confirmed with recently appointed Corrections Secretary Nick Lamb that the department would look into the recommendations and report back which could be viable options.

New corrections secretary lauds faith-based program

The prison seminary program endorsed by the task force was created by Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain while he served as warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Cain resigned from his role in Louisiana in 2015 amid investigations of his business dealings.

The program operates in 26 states and partners with accredited, four-year Christian seminary programs to teach inmates. They can earn a seminary degree through the program, often with graduates serving as ministers in prison systems.

Lamb helped implement the program in the Illinois prison system. Within months of its launch, Lamb said, he saw fewer assaults between inmates and against staff.

“Whatever your religious beliefs are, whatever you think, this program works,” Lamb said. “It worked everywhere they tried.”

Cain spoke to lawmakers in October about the program, ahead of the task force’s first meeting in Sioux Falls. He said the state would need a nonprofit to run it. The task force voted on Wednesday to encourage South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden’s administration to authorize the program.

Rhoden said in a Dec. 17 news release that he “accepted” the recommendation. The news release did not say who would operate the program, but said it would be privately supported, requiring neither Department of Corrections nor inmate funding.

“Bringing this seminary program to our state will restore hope, build character, and strengthen our correctional system from the inside out,” Rhoden said in the news release.

Jon Ozmint, the former director of South Carolina prisons, also presented to the task force in October. He said the recidivism rate for state inmates in the faith-based seminary Cain created is around 2% in South Carolina.

Wittman said after Wednesday’s meeting that she has “reservations” about the seminary program.

“I don’t necessarily support Burl Cain-style programming in South Dakota prisons because rehabilitation needs to be voluntary, secular and grounded in evidence,” Wittman said.

Despite those concerns, she voted in favor of implementing the program.

“I voted yes because, despite my reservations, I know how limited current programs are,” Wittman said, “and something is better than nothing.”

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life winning numbers for Dec. 20, 2025

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 20, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

04-05-28-52-69, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

08-21-30-41-47, Lucky Ball: 15

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

09-12-34-45-50, Star Ball: 01, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

04-15-17-23-35

Check Dakota Cash 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.

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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