South Dakota
South Dakota Housing launches homebuying assistance program for recent grads • South Dakota Searchlight
South Dakota Housing will launch its Grants for Grads program Friday, aiming to help college and technical-college graduates purchase their first home in South Dakota. The program is available “for a limited time.”
The program existed under former Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s administration in an effort to attract workers to the state, but ended in 2019, South Dakota Housing Director of Homeownership Programs Brent Adney told board members on Thursday.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we had quite a few commitments right away,” Adney said.
Rapid rise in South Dakota home prices is ‘not sustainable,’ economist says
The timing is good, added Director of South Dakota Housing Chas Olson, and it’ll help first-time homebuyers enter the market.
Average first-time homebuyers can expect to spend about two-fifths of their pre-tax income on a monthly payment for a house in South Dakota, according to Dakota Institute research.
“Any kind of affordability relief we could provide is good at this time,” Olson told board members.
The program will also help with South Dakota’s workforce development initiatives, added Housing Development Authority Board President Scott Erickson.
“If someone graduated three years ago, moved to a major city and found that housing is really expensive, it would be the draw to bring them back,” Erickson said.
First-time homebuyers will be eligible if they’ve earned a degree from an accredited university or technical college in the last five years, select a South Dakota home costing $385,000 or less, and meet income requirements. According to Zillow, the median home sale price in South Dakota is $290,833.
Materials from the prior iteration of Grants for Grads said the program provided 5% percent of a participant’s loan amount as a grant to be used for a down payment or closing cost assistance.
Interested participants must contact a lender to set an appointment and apply for the program.
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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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