South Dakota
S. Dakota St. earns Summit title, 7th NCAA berth
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Luke Appel and Zeke Mayo each scored 16 points and South Dakota State defeated Denver 76-68 on Tuesday night to win the Summit League tournament and advance to the NCAA tournament for the seventh time.
The Jackrabbits built a 22-5 lead within the first 10 minutes. South Dakota State led 37-23 at halftime and pushed its lead to 23 with eight minutes left in regulation. Jaxon Brenchley and Pedro Lopez-Sanvicente then hit 3-pointers for Denver, and the Pioneers went on a 15-2 run to make it 65-53 with 3½ minutes left.
Brenchley hit a 3-pointer, added one free throw on the next possession, then hit another 3 to get Denver within 67-62 with a minute left. The Jackrabbits made 7 of 8 free throws to seal the win.
William Kyle III had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Jackrabbits (22-12), and Matt Mims and Kalen Garry each scored 11.
Brenchley finished with 20 points, and Tommy Bruner, the nation’s leading scorer at 24.2 points per game, had 17 for Denver (17-17). Bruner made only 1 of 9 3-pointers and was 7-for-21 overall. DeAndre Craig scored 12.
The Jackrabbits were 11-of-17 to start the game. Mayo made half the Jackrabbits’ six 3s and scored 10 before the break. South Dakota State finished 9-of-23 from 3-point distance and Denver made 11 of 36.
South Dakota State won the Summit League championship for the seventh time in eight title-game appearances since 2012.
Denver has never played in the NCAA tournament and was playing in a conference tournament championship game for just the second time.
South Dakota
Republican businessman Toby Doeden advances to primary runoff in South Dakota governor’s race
Republican businessman Toby Doeden has advanced to a runoff in South Dakota governor’s race, NBC News projects.
Gov. Larry Rhoden, who replaced Kristi Noem last year when President Donald Trump nominated her to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was battling with Rep. Dusty Johnson and former state House Speaker Jon Hansen for a second spot in the July 28 runoff. The primary will go to a runoff because no candidate eclipsed 35% of the vote.
Trump did not issue an endorsement in the race. Doeden branded himself on his campaign website as “a total political outsider who’s tired of the government’s failure to deliver on its promises” and one of Trump’s “fiercest supporters.”
Rhoden, a former lieutenant governor, agriculture secretary and lawmaker, campaigned on property tax cuts and lowering crime in his bid for a four-year term.
Johnson is the state’s lone representative in the House, where he previously was chair of the Republican Main Street Caucus. Hansen, who was elected to the South Dakota House in 2010, held several leadership positions before he became speaker.
The Republican nominee will be the favorite to win the general election in the solidly red state this fall. A Democrat has not served as governor in South Dakota since the 1970s, and Trump carried the state by 29 points in 2024.
News
Agronomist: eastern South Dakota crops hit and miss
An agronomist in eastern South Dakota says corn and soybeans are hit and miss as the growing season begins.
Steven Zemlicka with AgTegra Cooperative tells Brownfield, “We’ve got corn anywhere from V1 all the way up to V4. Biggest stuff’s maybe touching V5. Corn’s coming right along, looks pretty good. A little bit of hail here too, but I don’t think it’s going to be much of an issue. Stands for the most part are pretty good, pretty solid.”
Zemlicka says soybean emergence has been slow due to the wet, cool conditions, and there are a few fields that still need planted.
“People were still working on planting soybeans when we got the recent rain.”
He says recent rain totals ranged from a half inch to as much as four inches in the northeast part of South Dakota; the southern part of the state has been drier.
South Dakota’s corn is rated 61 percent good to excellent, with soybean conditions rated 57 percent good to excellent, according to USDA’s first condition ratings of the season.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The South Dakota Community Foundation is encouraging nonprofits to apply for funding this June.
Beth Massa and Ginger Niemann joined us live with what you need to know before applying.
Watch the full interview above.
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