South Dakota
South Dakota Housing finding success with Grants for Grads
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – With the current state of the economy, it can be easy for any recent college graduate to assume that buying a home is just not in the cards.
But with the Grants for Grads program, hundreds have already found out that homeownership is a possibility for them and it has been keeping young professionals in the state.
Previous Coverage: New state program to give recent grads grants for home ownership
South Dakota Housing Executive Director Chas Olson said that since early May, 365 recent graduates have realized their dreams of owning a home with grant funds that provide five percent of the loan amount and total around $4.5 million collectively.
“As you can probably imagine, we had a really big surge of applications in the early months and it’s really been steady ever since, so I think when you consider the context of today’s housing costs, high interest rates, the five percent is really proving to be a pretty significant aid to first-time home-buyers,” Olson explained.
Each grant is worth up to $18,000 and has been used for closing costs, paying off extra fees or pre-paying mortgage insurance premiums on FHA loans. It can also be used in tandem with seller concessions. However it gets used, it greatly reduces the financial burden for the homebuyer.
Mortgage lender Devin Malmgren enjoys being part of walking first-time homebuyers through the process of buying a home.
For some, the Grants for Grads program has made a purchase possible in the first place.
“It’s unbelievable because last week I gave away $27,000. The week prior, I gave away around $86,000. [It’s] giving these first-time home-buyers that type of money and setting them up for the future,” Malmgren said.
While it can be difficult to project how much longer the opportunity for grant money will be around, their target goal is to give out between 900 and 1,000 grants.
“We’re committed to hitting that 900 to 1000. It’s just going to depend on interest rate environments and the talk of the possible cuts from the feds. That could produce another surge,” Olson said.
Malmgren said he believes it might run out by the end of the year or in early 2025.
“We saw a significant rate drop over the last two weeks and with rates dropping, that demand is ticking up and so I’d anticipate that current pull-through rate of the grant program to increase and then deplete those funds even faster,” Malmgren explained. “It is limited time and it’s first come, first serve.”
Malmgren said that buying now still might not be the perfect opportunity for everyone.
He said it might be in the best interest of any recent college graduate interested in buying a home to talk things through with a mortgage lender or realtor to see what assistance they qualify for, what the mortgage payments might look like, and if it’s the right time to buy.
“As this program winds down, I know it’s a big concern and we get a lot of calls about when it’s going to go away, they don’t know if they want to lock in, interest rates may be coming down, that sort of thing. We’re going to do our best to communicate that to our lenders and to the public when the sun’s setting so to speak on the program. Hopefully, we have a couple of month’s notice so folks can plan accordingly,” Olson said.
So far, the program has lived up to everything they expected and is meeting its main goal.
“Keeping college graduates in the state helps bring new skills, fresh perspectives that contribute to our local workforce,” Olson said.
Experts say to keep an eye on interest rates as well as the number of homes on the market because that can dictate the demand. Higher demand might mean that the grant money could dry up sooner than later.
Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 5, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 5 drawing
04-18-24-51-56, Powerball: 14, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 5 drawing
02-07-08-21-45, Lucky Ball: 15
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from Jan. 5 drawing
12-19-21-30-47, Star Ball: 05, ASB: 03
Check Lotto America 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.
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 4, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 4 drawing
03-08-13-38-47, Lucky Ball: 02
Check Lucky For Life 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.
GRAND FORKS — UND senior guard Garrett Anderson had shot 1-for-7 from the field before he pulled up for a deep 3-pointer in overtime.
It was a make-or-break shot for the Fighting Hawks, who trailed South Dakota State by two points with 20 seconds remaining.
Anderson’s triple fell. On a Saturday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center where several Hawks provided clutch shots late, it was his 3-pointer that iced the victory.
Gabe and Reed Uelmen / Grand Forks Herald
“That was a huge three by Garrett,” UND head coach Paul Sather said. “Happy for him, because you feel it with him — when that floodgate opens a little bit of confidence, and not just as a scorer but just as a player, he keeps fighting for it, keeps working for it, keeps keeping the right mindset.”
UND won 90-87, earning its third-straight win over the Jackrabbits and improving to 2-0 (8-10 overall) in Summit League play.
South Dakota State, hot off the heels of a commanding New Year’s Day win over Omaha, fell to 1-1 in conference (8-9 overall).
“These two first league games, you need to protect your home court if you want any chance to be in play at the end of this year,” Sather said. “It’s a great way to start. But you also need to go on the road and win some games. And as I tell the guys, it’s not who, when or where, it’s how you show up to play. And having that mentality, it’s not home and road, it’s ‘Are you ready to go today?’”
The Hawks needed just about everyone to stave off SDSU.
Redshirt sophomore guard Zach Kraft and freshman guard Anthony Smith III led the way with double-digit point totals in a first half that was a high-scoring, fast-paced affair.
Gabe and Reed Uelmen / Grand Forks Herald
UND shot 64.3%, South Dakota State 55.6%. By halftime, the Hawks had a slight 50-45 lead.
The shooting cooled down in the second half and in overtime. In those final two frames, the Hawks turned to a variety of players, from the starting lineup to the bench, to keep up with the Jackrabbits.
“It’s hard to sustain that for 40 minutes, but we were able to kind of get ourselves back,” Sather said. “Our bench was fantastic in that first half. … We sustained it, we got back in, we stayed there within distance of it, and guys made plays. We had opportunities to make plays and close the game, but we had plays that were made to get us into overtime and win in overtime.”
Redshirt freshman Greyson Uelmen finished with a team-high 17 points and nailed the final two free throws in overtime to seal the win.
Gabe and Reed Uelmen / Grand Forks Herald
Kraft, who ended with 14 points, splashed a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left in regulation to take a 79-77 lead.
Junior forward George Natsvlishvili came off the bench and tied up the game just minutes earlier with a clutch second-chance layup. He also nabbed a key basket with 1 minute, 56 seconds left in overtime.
Before South Dakota State managed to rally back for its first lead of the second half, a free throw and a layup from Smith kept the Hawks’ offense on pace with the visitors. He finished with 16 points.
UND’s bench contributed 39 points.
Gabe and Reed Uelmen / Grand Forks Herald
“I felt like our bench won the game today,” Kraft said. “In the first half, (Smith) came into the game, knocked down that three at the end of the half, and then Wylee (Delorme) in the second half, five rebounds, scoring off the offensive rebounds, it’s huge for us.”
Delorme put together his best game as a Hawk in the win. The sophomore guard from Devils Lake constantly attacked the offensive glass, flexing some creativity with slick drives to the rim.
He earned a season-high 12 points.
Gabe and Reed Uelmen / Grand Forks Herald
“We’ve seen him more of a shooter (in practice), I haven’t really seen the behind-the-back, step-through and float,” Anderson said. “That was kind of new, that was a tough move. But he’s gotten to it in practice for sure.”
Kraft, Uelmen, Smith, Delorme and senior guard Eli King all finished with 12 or more points.
“We just relied on our guys that make those tough shots and are built for those moments,” Delorme said. “Seventh, eighth man off the bench — like Marley (Curtis), Marley can have a double-digit day too. All of us can go for 10 points, but it’s just a matter of making the easy plays and just using each other.”
UND will face its first road test of the conference slate this Thursday, when it travels to Omaha.
Gabe and Reed Uelmen / Grand Forks Herald
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