South Dakota
Sioux Falls branches out with CommuniTree Assistance Program
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Spring planting season has officially begun, and Sioux Falls is taking new efforts to revitalize the city’s urban forest.
It’s all part of the new initiative through Sioux Falls and their CommuniTree program, which is going to plant roughly 150 plants a day to help protect and provide for our environment for decades to come.
This past fall, the city of Sioux Falls announced it had received a 3 million grant from the USDA Forest Service. The funds are being used to restore the city’s tree population by planting approximately 5000 trees over the course of a few years.
“If you have room to plant trees within the adjacent right-of-way and you have an approved planting permit, we will issue a $100 voucher per tree for the planting of those trees,” said Bryan Peterson, Urban Forestry Specialist. “Vouchers are only issued to approved planting locations. Vouchers are not issued to properties already enrolled in a city cost-sharing program focused on tree planting.”
Sioux Falls has lost 17,000 ash trees to the invasive emerald ash borers, and through the CommuniTree program, they hope to plant 1200 trees this spring. It’s voluntary, and residents have the option to choose from six trees.
“There’s a lot of trees and even within our park system where they get dinged with lawnmowers or string trimmers and that over time can actually kill the tree itself,” said Peterson in terms of how to take care of your trees.
Sioux Falls was selected for the grant based on the impact it would have on the city.
“We have several communities in Colorado that are currently working on them, but we also have some domestic grants that go directly through the state of South Dakota,” said Amanda Marr, who is with the USDA Forest Service. “And then South Dakota therefore passes it down through communities.”
After years of losing trees to invasive pests, Sioux Falls is turning over a new leaf. They encourage any resident to look into the program so they can help plant a tree in their own front yard and help make a difference.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Several new South Dakota laws officially take effect July 1 after being signed into law this session.
This includes new rules on government transparency, online safety, and data privacy.
The Attorney General’s office says the changes are designed to protect South Dakotans both online and in public institutions.
The following 10 bills go into effect July 1:
- Senate Bill 17: Prohibits a candidate or political committee from accepting contributions or loans made by a foreign national. It was unanimously passed by both the House and Senate.
- Senate Bill 41: Revise a provision related to criminal invasions of privacy, prohibit the creation and distribution of digitally fabricated material of an identifiable individual, and provide penalties therefor.
- Senate Bill 42: Enhance the penalties for ingestion, possession with intent to deliver, and delivery of a controlled substance in a state correctional facility.
- Senate Bill 43: Address search and seizure provisions applicable to digital currency.
- Senate Bill 44: Establish investigative subpoena authority to gather business records in certain investigations.
- Senate Bill 45: Revise a provision regulating delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, THC-O acetate, and hexahydrocannabinol for persons under the age of under the age of twenty-one and to provide a penalty therefor.
- Senate Bill 46: Modify the requirements for open meeting agendas and provide a penalty therefor.
- Senate Bill 47: Revise the requirements for executive sessions and closed meetings.
- Senate Bill 48: Clarify that an official open meeting agenda must be posted online at least seventy-two hours before the scheduled start of the meeting.
- Senate Bill 49: Safeguards the integrity, privacy, and security of genetic data and provides a civil penalty therefor.
“These bills protect our citizens from online predators, scammers, and illegal drugs, while they strengthen transparency within state government,” said Attorney General Jackley.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Vermillion guard Taylor Reuvers is staying home as the junior announced her commitment to USD via X on Tuesday.
Reuvers earned first team All-State honors as a sophomore, averaging 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. The 2028 graduate led her squad to a 13-9 record for the 2025-26 season.
Oklahoma didn’t suffer any strong wind damage this week, but wind farms in South Dakota certainly did.
Several wind turbines were toppled by the 130 MPH winds that hit the central part of the state Monday morning. They were described as straight line winds and not tornadoes. But the winds compared to those recorded in some tornadoes.
The 131-mph wind was recorded at Holabird in Hyde County at 6:15 a.m. local time.
A picture of the extensive damage showed at least 7 of the wind towers were bent over by the powerful Mother Nature.
According to a report by Energy News Beat, storm chaser Jakob McMillin documented the scene in a widely shared post on X (formerly Twitter), showing multiple wind turbine towers collapsed or heavily damaged, with blades and structural debris scattered across the prairie. In replies to his post, McMillin stated he observed “over 20” turbines destroyed or critically damaged.
The Affected Wind Farm
The damaged facility is the South Dakota Wind Energy Center (also known as the Highmore Wind Energy Project or Highmore Wind Farm), located approximately 10 miles south of Highmore.
- Number of turbines: 27
- Turbine model: GE Vernova 1.5s (1.5 MW each)
- Total nameplate capacity: 40.5 MW
- Commissioning year: 2003 (South Dakota’s first major wind farm)
- Owner/Operator: NextEra Energy Resources (formerly FPL Energy)
- Power purchaser: Basin Electric Power Cooperative
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