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South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden announces he will run for a full term next year

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South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden announces he will run for a full term next year


South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden announced Tuesday he is joining the crowded Republican race for governor next June.

He’s seeking a full term after taking over the state’s top office in January when former Gov. Kristi Noem joined the Trump administration as Homeland Security secretary.

Rhoden spent six years as lieutenant governor and faces a slew of challengers, including U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson. In the majority red state of South Dakota, the winner of the Republican primary is typically the favorite to win in November.

Rhoden said his priorities include property tax cuts and public safety, and pledged to continue supporting low-tax, pro-gun and anti-abortion policies.

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“I remain focused on keeping our state strong, safe and free, and I’m going to keep doing the people’s work because when I’m working, South Dakota is winning,” Rhoden said during his announcement, surrounded by family in front of a stone fireplace at a Rapid City hotel.

He’s kept a lower profile than Noem, who used her time as governor to build a national reputation. Rhoden’s biggest political victory this year was getting the state Legislature to sign off on a $650 million plan in September to replace the 141-year-old state penitentiary, an issue the Legislature had quarreled over for years.

Rhoden has also focused on property tax relief and immigration enforcement. And throughout this year, he has visited towns and businesses to tout economic development in the state.

“He is exactly what South Dakota needs right now: a steady, responsible governor who protects what’s working, fixes what isn’t and never forgets where he came from,” said Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen.

Rhoden, 66, was a member of the National Guard before he began his political career in 2001, serving in both the state House and Senate. He ran for U.S. Senate in 2014 and took conservative positions on issues like same-sex marriage, abortion and immigration, though he ultimately lost the race. Noem selected him as her running mate in 2018.

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The governor comes from a line of ranchers and still operates the ranch he was born and raised on near Union Center.

Other Republicans in the race include businessman Toby Doeden and House Speaker Jon Hansen, who led a movement against a carbon capture pipeline. 



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South Dakota

South Dakota ends 2026 fiscal year with $69 million surplus

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South Dakota ends 2026 fiscal year with  million surplus











South Dakota ends 2026 fiscal year with $69 million surplus | DRGNews











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SD Lottery Millionaire for Life winning numbers for July 12, 2026

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The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at July 12, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 12 drawing

12-21-39-46-48, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

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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.
  • Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

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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Incarcerated women to move into new Rapid City prison to alleviate overcrowding

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Incarcerated women to move into new Rapid City prison to alleviate overcrowding


RAAPID CITY, S.D. — Incarcerated women will start moving into a new $87 million prison in Rapid City next month, a South Dakota Department of Corrections spokesperson confirmed this week.

The medium-security prison will be the state’s second for women. The South Dakota Women’s Prison in Pierre has operated beyond its capacity for years, with dozens of people serving their sentences at the Hughes County Jail or in halfway house facilities.

The new prison in Rapid City, which was approved by state lawmakers

in 2023

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, will add 288 beds to the state’s capacity. The Department of Corrections will begin transferring women there next month, according to spokesperson Michael Winder, who said the exact date of full operations won’t be released for security reasons

The prison includes a work release area, a mother-infant building that lets new moms stay in a home-like environment with their babies, a vocational training facility to be staffed by instructors from Western Dakota Technical Institute and 96 beds for chemical dependency treatment.

The majority of the women held in South Dakota prisons are incarcerated on nonviolent drug charges, and 97% have a substance use disorder diagnosis.

“Drug addiction is a disease that must be treated,” Corrections Secretary Nick Lamb said at Friday’s ribbon cutting, adding that “Through dedicated treatment space and the therapeutic community, women will receive the counseling support and skills that they need to break the cycle of addiction and successfully return to their families and communities.”

The mother-infant program

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mirrors one launched a few years ago in Pierre

.

Mothers who qualify under security guidelines stay in a group home separate from the main prison facility with other women and children for the first few years of their child’s life. The program was launched by former Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko and was championed by Lamb in his first public conversations with lawmakers on the state’s budget committee during the 2026 legislative session.

From left, South Dakota Corrections Secretary Nick Lamb, Warden Eric Aldridge and Gov. Larry Rhoden cut a razor wire at an event to mark the completion of an $87 million women’s prison in Rapid City.

Photo courtesy Gov. Larry Rhoden’s office

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At Friday’s event, Gov. Larry Rhoden said family connections and parenting skills are key factors in rehabilitation. He framed the program as an extension of a commitment to the well-being of South Dakota families.

“This program gives mothers and their children the opportunity to build that foundation from the very beginning,” Rhoden said.

Rhoden also called out the vocational training, drug treatment and work release programs as vital to rehabilitation — and to public safety by extension. The state recently broke ground on a new $650 million men’s prison in Sioux Falls, which is set to replace the state penitentiary and is also designed to expand programming and rehabilitation.

When combined with pending policy recommendations from the state’s correctional rehabilitation task force, Rhoden said, the new prisons will help improve public safety statewide by reducing the number of people who return to prison within a few years of their release.

“At the end of the day, every person in our corrections system is a human being,” Rhoden said. “They are sons and daughters. They are mothers and fathers. People who’ve made mistakes but also have the capacity to change.”

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Winder, the corrections spokesman, told South Dakota Searchlight that staff will spend the next few weeks training at the new facility in preparation for the arrival of inmates in August.

The state hired Eric Aldridge

to serve as warden in March

. Aldridge, who came to South Dakota after a stint as warden of a medium-security women’s prison in Troy, Virginia, said Friday his goal is to “to facilitate an environment, an atmosphere, a culture where people learn, they grow, they heal, and where people develop through dignity and respect.”





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