South Dakota

South Dakota looks to space for high-speed internet access initiative

Published

3 months ago

January 14, 2026

Press Room

South Dakota looks to space for high-speed internet access initiative

Joshua Haiar
| South Dakota Searchlight

It’s expensive to extend fiber-optic cable to the remaining locations in South Dakota that don’t have high-speed internet, so the state is leaning into providers offering service from satellites in space.

The state’s ConnectSD initiative, which began in 2019, had helped bring broadband access to 91% of South Dakota by 2024. A state report noted the remaining 9% would be costly, given the price of bringing miles of fiber to remote areas with few customers.

The broadband initiative has cost $300 million so far, with funding from federal, state and private sources. Gov. Larry Rhoden announced recently that the state will soon receive another $72 million in federal funding for the effort.

A little more than a third of the new funding will go toward “Low Earth Orbit Satellite” technologies, like SpaceX’s Starlink, to reach 2,705 of the 7,060 locations in the state targeted for the funds. Most of the other targeted connections will come by way of fiber-optic cable, and 177 will come via signals beamed from cellular towers.

The satellite funding will not be used to pay for individual subscriptions, said a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

“Instead, the award reserves network capacity with the provider so service is available in those locations,” said Bri Vande Pol. “The provider is reimbursed on a per-location basis only when a customer subscribes to the service.”

Vande Pol said the federal funding requires providers to make high-speed internet available to each eligible location for at least 10 years. She said the provider receives 25% of the award upon confirming service is available, and the remaining payments for the reserved network capacity are made quarterly over the 10-year period.

The new federal money comes from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, authorized by the 2021 Infrastructure and Jobs Act, passed during the Biden administration.

“Under the Trump administration’s changes to that program, states are encouraged to use a technology-neutral approach and connect locations in the most efficient way possible,” Vande Pol said.

“In some of South Dakota’s most remote areas, Low Earth Orbit satellite service is a strong, reliable solution that meets performance standards while allowing us to maximize the reach of available BEAD funding,” she added.

As of June 2025, South Dakota’s ConnectSD program had used $84.4 million in state general funds, $88.5 million in federal funds and $129.6 million in private investment from broadband providers to connect about 31,000 locations. The state and federal money has mostly been spent on grants to service providers, to help them expand their networks.

Rhoden’s latest proposed budget asks lawmakers to authorize $87 million in federal funding to be spent on broadband in the coming fiscal year.

Rhoden spokesperson Josie Harms said the $72 million figure announced in a press release represents “the amount that will actually be awarded to the subrecipients.”

“The $87 million amount is the total spending authority, which includes the project costs as well as administrative costs and marketing costs,” she wrote in an email to South Dakota Searchlight.

South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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South Dakota

PBR | No. 1 John Crimber goes 4-for-4, tops final three rounds to win First PREMIER Bank PBR Sioux Falls

Published

2 hours ago

April 13, 2026

Press Room

PBR | No. 1 John Crimber goes 4-for-4, tops final three rounds to win First PREMIER Bank PBR Sioux Falls

Crimber won Round 3 courtesy of an 89.95-point qualified ride on Scrappy to earn his fourth round win of the season and secure the first selection in the Championship Round bull draft.

Using his pick for an opportunity to compete head-to-head against Lights Out, who has now paired in the Championship round on seven event-winning rides this season, Crimber punctuated his 4-for-4 weekend with a round-winning 91.50 points on Western sports’ ultimate money bull.

The 20-year-old took home 196.5 UTB points for his second event win of the year and improved his lead to 220.5 points over No. 2 Sage Steele Kimzey (Strong City, Oklahoma) – the largest lead the tour’s No. 1-ranked cowboy has had over No. 2 all season.

After his shoulder dislocated on his first attempt earlier in the round, Kimzey made the most of his Round 3 re-ride dance with Jameson (89.30 points) to sneak into the short go with one ride score. However, he finished the weekend 1-for-4, unable to end Magic Potion’s PBR record-holding buckoff streak, which the bovine advanced to 59 in bucking off the only cowboy who has ever lasted 8 seconds on him in 4.51 seconds.

Claudio Montanha Jr. (Ribeirao dos Indios, Brazil) exited Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in second place as the top-performing rider to go 3-for-4. The 36-year-old cowboy wasn’t able to convert in Round 3 but rebounded in the Championship Round in thrilling fashion.

Montanha Jr. opted into a short round dance with Hard Times and matched the bull’s every move en route to recording a career-high 91.25 points.

Successful in seven of his last eight outs, he netted 110 UTB points for his season-best runner-up finish and improved from No. 18 to No. 13.

Daniel Keeping (Montague, Texas) recorded a season-high third-place finish in Sioux Falls after becoming the first man to go 3-for-3 Sunday. Keeping bested Tecovas Triple Aught for 88.20 points in Round 3 to earn the second selection in Sunday’s bull draft.

The top-ranked contender in this year’s YETI Championship bull race, No. 1 Pegasus, tossed Keeping to the ground in 4.06 seconds to end the rider’s perfect showing while defending his spot atop the world title hunt.

Keeping earned a crucial 91.5 UTB points and advanced from cutoff bubble territory at No. 32 all the way up to No. 20 courtesy of his clutch weekend.

Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil) finished in fourth place as the third and final rider to produce a 3-for-4 slate.

The veteran began his afternoon by going the distance atop Best Bet (87 points) to punch his ticket to Sunday’s short round. Castro later survived the requisite 8 aboard Ice Tray and earned but declined a re-ride, opting to keep his 72.15 points and end his weekend with a 245.50-point aggregate score.

He gained 61 UTB points for his fourth-place finish and improved from No. 26 to No. 19.

Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil) rounded out the Top 5.

Barbosa parlayed his career-high 93.10-point ride on Pegasus in Round 1 on Friday night with an 84.85-point conversion atop Rip in Round 3 to earn fifth-place honors.

He took home a critical 64 UTB points, advancing from No. 45 to No. 38 with two events remaining before the tour invades Cowtown Coliseum and Dickies Arena for the PBR World Finals (May 7-17) in Fort Worth, Texas.

Ransom earned the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event title for bucking off Brady Fielder (Clermont, Australia) in 5.63 seconds during the opening round.

Several of this year’s YETI World Championship Bull contenders produced 45-plus-point scores throughout the weekend, including Ransom (46.15), Eyes On Me (45.60), Red Demon (45.40), Fire Zone (45.15) and No.1 Pegasus (45.60, 45.30), who remains atop the title race standings.

PBR’s Unleash The Beast next bucks into Metra Park – First Interstate Arena in Billings, Montana, for PBR Billings April 17-18.

Action for PBR Billings, the penultimate event of the 2026 regular season, starts at 6:45 p.m. MT, with Round 1 coverage set to begin on Paramount+ at 7 p.m. MT.

Unleash The Beast – First PREMIER Bank PBR Sioux Falls
Denny Sanford PREMIER Center – Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. John Crimber, 86.95-89.4-89.95-91.5-357.80-196.5 Points.

2. Claudio Montanha Jr., 86.95-87.7-0-91.25-265.90-110 Points.

3. Daniel Keeping, 89-86.65-88.2-0-263.85-91.5 Points.

4. Luciano De Castro, 0-86.25-87-72.15-245.40-61 Points.

5. Dener Barbosa, 93.1-0-84.85-0-177.95-64 Points.

6. Alex Cerqueira, 0-88.55-87.7-0-176.25-52 Points.

7. Daylon Swearingen, 88.55-86.05-0-0-174.60-37 Points.

8. Alex Junior da Silva, 87.75-86.65-0-0-174.40-33.5 Points.

9. Sage Steele Kimzey, 0-0-89.3-0-89.30-23 Points.

10. Jess Lockwood, 89.15-0-0-0-89.15-21 Points.

11. Eduardo Aparecido, 88.85-0-0-0-88.85-18 Points.

12. Cort McFadden, 88.25-0-0-0-88.25-14 Points.

13. Kase Hitt, 0-87.7-0-0-87.70-16.5 Points.

14. Bob Mitchell, 0-87.35-0-0-87.35-15 Points.

15. Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-87.15-0-87.15-15 Points.

16. Bruno Carvalho, 0-0-86.95-0-86.95-13 Points.

17. Alan de Souza, 0-86.8-0-0-86.80-14 Points.

18. Marco Rizzo, 0-85.85-0-0-85.85-9 Points.

19. João Ricardo Vieira, 0-84.45-0-0-84.45-8 Points.

Brady Fielder, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Maverick Smith, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Kaiden Loud, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Koltin Hevalow, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Cassio Dias, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Andy Guzman, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0-0.00

JaCauy Hale, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Elijah Jennings, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Damien Krushall, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Romario Leite, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Zane Cook, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Macaulie Leather, 0-0-0-0-0.00

2026 Professional Bull Riders Unleash The Beast Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)
1. John Crimber, 16, 2, 6, 899.50, $193,100.00

2. Sage Steele Kimzey, 14, 3, 4, 679.00, $178,737.62

3. Leandro Zampollo, 14, 0, 6, 595.50, $121,150.12

4. Brady Fielder, 16, 2, 4, 593.00, $151,204.17

5. Alex Cerqueira, 16, 0, 3, 502.50, $87,565.00

6. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 16, 1, 6, 492.00, $106,855.00

7. Dalton Kasel, 14, 2, 4, 488.50, $130,098.33

8. Clay Guiton, 8, 0, 4, 409.50, $89,715.48

9. Cort McFadden, 13, 0, 2, 406.00, $50,280.48

10. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 15, 1, 1, 405.00, $71,991.67

11. Julio Cesar Marques, 15, 0, 3, 392.00, $73,105.48

11. Marco Rizzo, 16, 1, 3, 392.00, $94,090.00

13. Claudio Montanha Jr., 16, 0, 3, 389.00, $68,182.14

14. Maverick Smith, 15, 0, 2, 367.00, $64,708.33

15. Daylon Swearingen, 12, 1, 1, 362.50, $109,300.00

16. Cassio Dias, 16, 1, 1, 340.50, $64,240.48

17. Kaiden Loud, 15, 0, 3, 336.00, $54,613.33

18. Bob Mitchell, 13, 0, 2, 303.00, $41,731.67

19. Luciano De Castro, 14, 0, 3, 249.00, $37,952.98

20. Daniel Keeping, 15, 0, 1, 247.00, $35,475.00

21. Koltin Hevalow, 16, 0, 1, 246.50, $40,933.33

22. Jess Lockwood, 6, 1, 1, 236.00, $69,325.00

23. Andrew Alvidrez, 15, 1, 1, 229.00, $60,883.33

24. Thiago Salgado, 14, 0, 0, 224.00, $33,500.00

25. Callum Miller, 14, 0, 2, 209.00, $25,197.14

26. Felipe Furlan, 10, 0, 3, 197.00, $39,197.14

27. Kaique Pacheco, 16, 0, 1, 195.50, $18,225.00

28. Bruno Carvalho, 11, 0, 0, 190.50, $7,600.00

29. Alan de Souza, 15, 0, 1, 190.00, $19,650.00

30. Jose Vitor Leme, 10, 0, 1, 181.50, $25,350.00

31. Eduardo Aparecido, 15, 0, 1, 181.00, $31,890.00

32. Hudson Bolton, 8, 0, 1, 173.00, $38,062.50

33. Kase Hitt, 13, 0, 1, 147.00, $16,132.14

34. Lucas Divino, 11, 0, 1, 141.00, $15,050.00

35. Afonso Quintino, 15, 0, 0, 127.00, $11,307.14

36. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 11, 0, 1, 112.00, $18,000.00

37. Kade Madsen, 5, 0, 0, 106.00, $3,150.00

38. Dener Barbosa, 2, 0, 1, 100.00, $10,000.00

39. João Ricardo Vieira, 12, 0, 0, 92.50, $6,683.33

40. Trace Redd, 5, 0, 1, 87.00, $15,800.00

41. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 16, 0, 0, 86.00, $11,100.00

42. Austin Richardson, 8, 0, 0, 80.50, $12,875.00

43. Andy Guzman, 11, 0, 0, 78.00, $11,550.00

44. Alison dos Santos, 9, 0, 0, 65.00, $5,100.00

45. Alex Junior da Silva, 4, 0, 0, 62.50, $3,775.00

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media

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South Dakota

South Dakota Cattlemen’s Foundation provides donation matching funds to support Nebraska Wildfire Relief

Published

14 hours ago

April 13, 2026

Press Room

South Dakota Cattlemen’s Foundation provides donation matching funds to support Nebraska Wildfire Relief | DRGNews

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South Dakota

Fact brief: Does SD have one of the lowest tax rates in the country?

Published

1 day ago

April 12, 2026

Press Room

Fact brief: Does SD have one of the lowest tax rates in the country?

(SOUTH DAKOTA NEWS WATCH) – South Dakota has one of the lowest overall state tax burdens in the country, largely because it does not tax individual income and lacks several major statewide taxes.

The Tax Foundation ranks South Dakota No. 2 in the State Tax Competitiveness Index when factoring in corporate, individual, sales, property and unemployment insurance taxes. Wyoming is No. 1 overall.

South Dakota is ranked No. 1 in corporate taxes and No. 1 in individual taxes. The state’s lack of an income tax helps keep overall state and local tax burdens among the lowest in the nation.

However, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy regularly ranks South Dakota among the states with the most regressive tax systems, meaning lower-income households pay a larger share of their income in state and local taxes than higher-income households.

South Dakota does not have an estate tax, inheritance tax or corporate income tax.

This fact brief responds to conversations such as this one.

Sources

The Tax Foundation, State Tax Competitive Index

Fidelity, The best state for taxes

Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, ITEP Tax Inequality Index

The Tax Foundation, Taxes in South Dakota

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