South Dakota

South Dakota softball community hopes sport continues fast growth

Published

2 years ago

May 15, 2024

South Dakota softball community hopes sport continues fast growth

MITCHELL — Weekday nights at the Cadwell Sports Complex can get hectic during the spring and summer.

Between adult leagues, and baseball and softball practices or games at the youth levels, the 13 diamonds are all put to use, and people of all ages are scurrying about, bats on shoulders, gloves in hand.

This year, it’s been busier than ever, largely due to the growth of fast-pitch softball in Mitchell.

“Last year, there weren’t fields that were being used every day,” said Alyson Palmer, founder of the Storm softball club. “So we were like ‘oh, okay, well, if we need to have extra practice, we can go here.’

“This year, every field and every time slot was taken up when we had the field meeting.”

The growth of the sport comes at an ideal time, as softball became an SDHSAA sanctioned sport in 2023. Since then, 59 schools in the state have fielded a team.

Hanson’s Karlie Goergen fist-bumps her teammates before a Class B state playoff game in May 2023.

SDPB

Augustana head softball coach Gretta Melsted is a stalwart of the sport in South Dakota, having been the Vikings’ coach for 18 years, guiding the team to 11 Division II NCAA Tournaments and winning the 2019 national championship.

She’s heavily recruited the state, and has relationships with all the prominent club coaches. In fact, her assistant coach, Kelsey Thompson, runs the South Dakota Renegades softball club in Sioux Falls — one of the top clubs in the state.

While Melsted believes the addition of sanctioned softball is good for the state, she isn’t sure if its impact on the sport’s overall popularity is quantifiable yet.

“I still think it’s a little too early to tell,” Melsted said. “Because it’s only been one year. But you will see that growth and you will see that excitement for the sport now that high schools are giving young girls that opportunity. And it’s only going to make softball better in this state. We have a lot of good club teams. And that’s been what’s carried us so far. But adding high school softball makes it much more legitimate in the state.”

What is quantifiable is the number of schools playing softball. In the first year of sanctioned softball in 2023, there were 47 schools participating. That number grew by 12 schools in 2024.

Sanctioned softball has also dispelled an early concern that schools would fail to collaborate with club teams, resulting in the state’s top talent not playing for the school teams during the spring.

“From people that I’ve talked to, they said (the transition) has been pretty seamless,” Mitchell softball coach Kent Van Overschelde said. “A large majority of the girls have jumped on board with their high school teams, and I think that’s evident, especially with the top teams in the program.”

And at least one college coach in the state is in support of kids playing for their school teams in the spring.

“I love seeing kids play for their high school on top of playing club ball because there’s just something special about being able to represent the school that you go to,” Melsted said.

Yankton softball.jpg — The Yankton softball team celebrates a home run during a state playoff game in May 2023 at Northern Staet in Aberdeen.

Rise of the youth leagues

Van Overschelde estimated just 40 percent of the girls on the Kernels’ softball team grew up playing the sport consistently, many from the league that’s run by parks and recreation.

But with the development of more youth clubs in the area, that number may grow in the coming years.

Three years ago, Palmer realized it was difficult for many families to get their kids to the city’s youth softball summer league run by the rec center, because practices were early in the morning.

So she got together with some other parents and formed a private league that would hold practices in the evening. It was immediately popular.

“Our first year we got a hold of a few parents and we thought we’d have like 30 sign up. We had 62 sign up,” Palmer said.

This season, in year three, there are 82 girls in the club, with teams in the under-4 to under-12 divisions.

Last year, some of the older girls scrimmaged the other youth softball team in town, the Sparklers, as well as teams from Letcher, Mount Vernon and Alexandria.

However, the Storm’s main focus isn’t to bounce around from city to city playing games, but instead to become a local entity that teaches girls the fundamentals of the sport and becomes a permanent league.

“I think it’s grown a lot and we’re trying to keep it to not be such a traveling league,” Palmer said. “Our goal is to get enough girls that we can actually have a Mitchell league, like you’re going to have four to six U10 teams and have games every week.”

As a teacher at Mitchell, Palmer knows several of the girls on the Kernels’ varsity team, and is working to connect them with the younger players. These are the types of connectiions that could further bolster the high school team down the line. Several of the players have agreed to come help at practices this summer.

The next step would be building a softball training facility in Mitchell. As things stand, there aren’t any notable in-state facilities outside of Sioux Falls or Rapid City. At least one of Mitchell’s top players, Macey Linke, travels to Tea to train at The Playground, an indoor softball facility run by Tea Area coach Emmie Uitts.

According to Melsted, those types of facilities come after communities build a strong base of youth players.

“I think what you’ll see is the more that kids play softball, the more you’re going to see that happen,” she said.

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South Dakota

DOE selects nine school districts for 2026 South Dakota Perkins Reserve grant

Published

11 minutes ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

DOE selects nine school districts for 2026 South Dakota Perkins Reserve grant

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Nine school districts have been selected as recipients of the 2026 Perkins Reserve Grant by the South Dakota Department of Education.

The grant provides major equipment upgrades for Career and Technical Education programs, helping to equip students with the skills and experiences needed for post-secondary education and the workforce.

“CTE programs are constantly evolving to match the pace of workforce needs,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Joseph Graves.

“The South Dakota Perkins Reserve Grant aids schools in equipping students with current technologies, resources, and tools, offering students a realistic, hands-on learning experience that will strengthen their marketability to colleges or employers once they leave the K-12 education system.”

The following school districts have been named as the 2026 recipients:

Aberdeen School District:
- Awarded $30,233 for new precision machine equipment for the manufacturing program.
De Smet School District:
- Awarded $15,898 for modernizing metal fabrication within agriculture programs.
Lake Preston School District:
- Awarded $43,160 for expansion of program offers in multiple career clusters to strengthen industrial alignment.
McLaughlin School District:
- Awarded $11,997 to purchase equipment to offer a new culinary arts program.
Menno School District:
- Awarded $32,844 to purchase small engines and attend professional development opportunities to enhance the agricultural mechanics program.
Mitchell School District:
- Awarded $38,663 for the modernization of the automotive technology lab.
Timber Lake School District:
- Awarded $42,400 for the expansion of agriculture course offerings to strengthen industry alignment.
Wakpala School District:
- Awarded $40,145 to purchase a skid steer simulator to enhance the agriculture and construction program.
Wolsey-Wessington School District:
- Awarded $26,201 to purchase industry-aligned equipment to enhance the agriculture and construction program.

You can learn more about the South Dakota Perkins Reserve Grant at doe.sd.gov.

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Powerball, Lotto America winning numbers for March 4, 2026

Published

12 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at March 4, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 4 drawing

07-14-42-47-56, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 4 drawing

33-38-39-47-51, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from March 4 drawing

02-18-22-30-32

Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 4 drawing

12-13-36-39-58, Bonus: 03

Check Millionaire 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.
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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South Dakota

South Dakota lawmakers push bill criminalizing deepfakes nearer to governor’s desk

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

South Dakota lawmakers push bill criminalizing deepfakes nearer to governor’s desk

John Hult
| South Dakota Searchlight

PIERRE — A bill from South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley to criminalize the creation or sharing of deepfakes was amended this week to more clearly define what constitutes nudity before it reaches Gov. Larry Rhoden’s desk.

The amendment, added on the floor of the House of Representatives, came in response to concerns about unintended consequences.

Senate Bill 41 creates a class of felony crime for the creation or distribution of images digitally altered to depict a person in a state of nudity or involved in a sexually explicit act, commonly referred to as deepfakes.

In testimony in the House Judiciary Committee on Monday in Pierre, Jackley pointed to the case of Mark Rathbun, a former Division of Motor Vehicles employee who is accused of taking images of women and girls from state databases and creating sexual images.“This is real, and it’s something that we unfortunately are seeing happen in our state,” Jackley said.

The judiciary committee voted 8-3 to send the bill to the House floor but not before a discussion on its potential to criminalize political memes.

The bill’s definition of nudity originally encompassed a partial state of nudity. Fort Pierre Republican Rep. Will Mortenson asked Jackley if that would include a fabricated topless photo. Jackley said yes. Then Mortenson asked if a fabricated image of Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker without a shirt, if shared by President Donald Trump on social media, would put the president in line for felony charges.

Jackley said a Pritzker image wouldn’t qualify because Pritzker is male, but Mortenson pushed back.

He noted that partially nude fabrications would be a felony if done with the intent to “self-gratify or alarm, annoy, embarrass, harass, invade the privacy of, threaten, or cause emotional, financial, physical, psychological, or reputational harm to that individual.”

Nothing in the bill specified that a person in a digitally fabricated topless image must be female.

“We just said that half-nude is a state of nudity, and so now he’s shirtless, and the point of this is to embarrass this guy,” Mortenson said of his topless Pritzker meme scenario.

Mortenson voted against the bill in committee but brought an amendment Tuesday to define nudity as inclusive of male or female genitalia, buttocks or the female nipple.

The amendment passed, but it did not address every concern about the bill.

Democratic Rep. Kadyn Wittman of Sioux Falls asked Jackley during the bill’s committee hearing why he didn’t use it to enhance penalties for people who film others in states of undress or participating in sexual activity against their will.

That behavior is a felony if it involves the recording of a minor, or if it happens repeatedly. The new penalties for deepfakes would be added to the same chapter of South Dakota law.

“Why is the first time hidden recording a misdemeanor generally, but a digitally fabricated image would automatically be a classified felony,” said Wittman.

Jackley said he feels that the creation of digitally manipulated sexual images, even if they aren’t shared, signals “significant criminal intent.” He told South Dakota Searchlight after the committee meeting that he’s open to addressing that issue, but that SB 41’s primary purpose was to target deepfakes.

On the House floor, Wittman was one of two representatives to say the bill’s felony penalties could be unnecessarily harsh in instances where young people make “a stupid decision” and create a deepfake.

“I feel like, in a lot of situations, this bill covers behavior that could be covered by a lower level of offense,” Wittman said.

Supporters countered that the creation of fake nudes can do real psychological damage to real people, and that the state needs to clearly signal that doing so is a serious crime.

“It’s only fun and games until it happens to you,” said Rep. Mary Fitzgerald, R-St. Onge.

The bill passed the House 60-6. It now moves to the state Senate, which passed the bill 32-0 on Jan. 16. The Senate would need to approve the amended version of the bill before it could be delivered to Gov. Larry Rhoden to sign or veto.

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