A Tyrannosaurus rex fossil discovered on a ranch in western South Dakota will be auctioned off in New York City on Tuesday with a possible sale price of $30 million or more.

The 38-foot long skeleton, nicknamed Gus, stands more than 12 feet tall and has one of the most complete T. rex skeletons ever found. According to Sotheby’s auction house, which is handling the sale, Gus could bring the highest sale price ever for a dinosaur fossil.

The dinosaur is from the late Cretaceous Period and was believed to have lived on Earth 67 million years ago.

The Harding County ranch where the skeleton was found lies in the famed Hell Creek Formation, a geological region of northwestern South Dakota and parts of Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming where dinosaur finds are fairly common.

Several other major dinosaur finds have been made there, including Sue, the famous T. rex discovered in 1990. After legal wrangling over ownership, Sue was auctioned in 1997 at a sale price of $8.3 million to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, where it remains today.

The first piece of Gus, a metatarsal from the dinosaur’s foot, was found in 2021 sticking out of the ground on a Harding County ranch owned by Gary and Dana Licking. The find was made by paleontologists with Theropoda Expeditions, a Texas company specializing in commercial excavation, preparation and mounting of dinosaur fossils.

The fossil consists of 183 bone elements, making up 61% of the possible bones in the dinosaur’s body and representing 75% to 80% of the original bone mass by weight, Sotheby’s said.

The dinosaur Sue is 40 feet long and 13 feet tall and is considered the largest and most complete T. rex skeleton ever discovered at 90% of possible bone mass.

“This is our longest-term project ever,” Cassandra Hatton, worldwide head of Sotheby’s Science & Natural History division, said in the video. “From the day the first bone was discovered, we’ve been going back and forth to South Dakota to oversee this whole process.”

The lowest opening bid accepted will be $19 million, with an estimated sale price up to $30 million or more depending on buyer interest, Sotheby’s said.

Gus is named after rancher Gary Licking, whose nickname was Gus. Licking died at age 67 in February 2022, before the full extent of the T. rex skeleton was known.

Gary and Dana Licking married in 1983 and lived on their family ranch 11 miles west of Buffalo, according to Gary’s obituary.

Dana Licking said in Sotheby’s video that she was impressed at the level of skill and professionalism displayed by the paleontologists who discovered the skeleton.

“I’m really grateful that they found it because it could have been lost and nobody ever would learn anything about it,” she said.

Walter Stein, owner of PaleoAdventures in Belle Fourche, in western South Dakota, is an independent paleontologist who is also working to uncover fossils in the Hell Creek Formation.

Western South Dakota is likely to remain a hotbed for discovery of dinosaur fossils, said Stein, who last year opened the Dinosaurs of the Hell Creek Museum in Belle Fourche, a 6,500 square-foot museum with a working paleontology lab, interactive exhibits and dinosaur displays.

“Finding a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton with 183 bones doesn’t happen every day,” he said.

Stein said the auction of Gus could lead to a purchase by either a museum or a private individual or group.

But it is unlikely an American museum would have the funding to acquire Gus because many are struggling or struggling financially, Stein said. Across the world, however, interest remains high in major fossils in countries where funding may be more accessible, such as in Japan, Korea, China, Dubai, Saudi Arabia or in Europe, Stein said.

“On the one hand, I would love for this and every fossil I collect to go to a museum,” he said. “However, there’s so many dinosaur specimens and skeletons on display, it’s not going to affect the science that much if it ends up in private hands.”

— This story originally published on southdakotanewswatch.org.

Iverson Ford now offers the 2027 Ford Expedition, giving families throughout Huron, Mitchell, Aberdeen, Watertown, Brookings, De Smet, Redfield, Miller, and surrounding South Dakota communities access to a full-size SUV with advanced technology, impressive capability, and spacious three-row comfort.

Huron, South Dakota, United States, July 10, 2026 — Iverson Ford is proud to offer the 2027 Ford Expedition, providing drivers throughout Eastern South Dakota with Ford’s latest full-size SUV engineered for growing families, outdoor adventures, towing capability, and everyday versatility. The newest Expedition combines three-row comfort, advanced driver-assist technologies, modern connectivity, and confident performance for today’s active lifestyles.

Located at 2500 Dakota Avenue South in Huron, Iverson Ford serves customers from Huron, Mitchell, Aberdeen, Watertown, Brookings, De Smet, Redfield, Miller, Woonsocket, and surrounding South Dakota communities. As part of the Iverson Auto Group, the dealership offers an extensive selection of new Ford vehicles supported by experienced product specialists, financing professionals, and certified Ford service technicians. 

The 2027 Ford Expedition continues Ford’s commitment to delivering capability and comfort in one versatile SUV. Designed for families who need generous passenger space and flexible cargo capacity, the Expedition is well suited for daily commuting, weekend road trips, towing recreational equipment, and exploring South Dakota’s parks, lakes, and outdoor destinations.

“Our team enjoys helping customers find an SUV that fits both their lifestyle and long-term transportation needs,” said a representative of Iverson Ford. “The 2027 Ford Expedition offers the capability, technology, and versatility that many South Dakota families value, whether they’re traveling across town or across the state.”

Demand for full-size SUVs continues to grow as drivers seek vehicles that balance passenger comfort with towing capability and advanced safety features. Iverson Ford helps customers compare Expedition trim levels, explore available technologies, and select the model that best matches their family’s needs while providing continued support through financing, certified maintenance, and genuine Ford parts. 

Drivers interested in the 2027 Ford Expedition are encouraged to browse available inventory online or visit Iverson Ford in Huron to experience the SUV firsthand.

About Iverson Ford

Iverson Ford is a full-service Ford dealership located in Huron, South Dakota. Serving drivers throughout Huron, Mitchell, Aberdeen, Watertown, Brookings, De Smet, Redfield, Miller, and surrounding communities, the dealership offers new Ford vehicles, quality pre-owned vehicles, financing, certified Ford service, genuine OEM Ford parts, and customer-focused automotive solutions backed by more than 75 years of service through the Iverson Auto Group.

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Name: Iverson Ford
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Under state law, any “interested person” can petition state boards to change administrative rules.

But South Dakota citizens and organizations don’t qualify as “persons” under that chapter of state law. The existence of that limitation surprised some members of the state Board of Elections on Wednesday during a meeting called for the express purpose of voting to advance or defeat a rules package the body spent two hours pondering last week.

The League of Women Voters leaned on what it believed to be its right to petition state board earlier this month when it offered the board a series of rule changes the group argued were necessary to standardize the administration of a new state law that requires first-time voter registrants to provide proof of U.S. citizenship.

The board dismissed the petition in a 5-2 vote on Wednesday after one of the board members told the group that the advocacy nonprofit lacks the legal standing to ask for the changes.

The definition of a “person” able to petition a state board for a rule change only includes political subdivisions or agencies of the state, board member and retired Rapid City attorney Scott McGregor said.

McGregor did not attend the initial board meeting last week when the petition was presented, but he reviewed the matter over the weekend, he told South Dakota Searchlight after the meeting. With a 40-year career “making legal arguments based on statutory interpretations,” McGregor also reviewed relevant laws regarding the petition process.

McGregor said he wanted to see if “interested person” had a broad enough definition to include organizations such as the League of Women Voters.

“‘Person’ in various contexts has an awful lot of definitions,” McGregor said. “It depends on the section of the law you’re dealing with and the level of government you’re dealing with.”

McGregor spoke with the Secretary of State’s Office and its legal counsel earlier this week to confirm his interpretation. Deputy Secretary Tom Deadrick told McGregor that other agencies have accepted rule petitions from individuals.

“Even if other agencies have done it,” McGregor told Searchlight,” that doesn’t change the law.”

McGregor told board members he was “shocked” by the limitations.

“That may be an oversight, but that’s all that’s in there,” McGregor said during the meeting.

Board member Kent Alberty said he was “disappointed” that the law’s restrictions on petitioners wasn’t shared with board members earlier. Alberty, during last week’s meeting, said that he saw a need for at least some standardization in procedures in the administration of the citizenship requirement.

Alberty voted against the dismissal on Wednesday, as did Dewey County Auditor Jamalia Franzen.

McGregor told South Dakota Searchlight that the law should be reviewed legislatively.

“There is a certain unfairness to it,” McGregor said.

Acceptable documents for proving one’s citizenship under the new law in question on Wednesday include a birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, non-driver’s identification card or tribal identification card, or “any other type of acceptable documentation” under federal law. Photocopies of most of those documents are acceptable, but registrants using state- or tribally issued identification cards must have the physical cards with them.

If a voter does not provide necessary documentation, they are registered as federal-only voters and cannot participate in local or state elections.

The League of Women Voters proposals included:

• Allowing photocopies of identification cards, such as tribal IDs and driver’s licenses, to be used as proof of citizenship.
• Recognizing tribal identification cards from any federally recognized tribe, rather than just the nine tribes in South Dakota.
• Allowing voters designated as federal-only an opportunity to cast provisional ballots for local elections while appealing their eligibility.
• Adding specific language to the state’s voter registration form to explain that not offering a physical South Dakota address would cause them to be designated as federal-only voters.
• Adding language to notifications confirming a voter’s registration clearly saying if the registrant is a federal-only voter, as well as language explaining how to remedy the situation.

South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson was ill during last week’s board meeting, at which the group took testimony from supporters of each rule. No one from her office was on hand to rebut the supporters, but her staff did file written responses in opposition.

On Wednesday, Johnson told the board that the new law, as written, does not allow photocopies of driver’s licenses, only the original card. She added that while no formal appeal process exists for voters registered as federal-only, they can remedy their status by resubmitting their registration with proper documentation.

“The League of Women Voters and other concerned organizations could look at amending the current law in the 2027 legislative session, if that is their wish,” Johnson said.

Johnson will not be seeking re-election for secretary of state in November. She lost the Republican nomination at last month’s state party convention to state Rep. Heather Baxter, who supported the bill that created the new law during the legislative session and will oversee its administration if elected. Baxter will face Democratic nominee Terrence Davis in the general election.

Baxter submitted public comment ahead of Wednesday’s meeting and compared the proposed changes to presenting a photocopy of identification to get through security at the airport or purchase alcohol. The state Department of Public Safety does not accept photocopies of identification documents, Baxter said.

“So why allow the League to make such changes to what law already clearly states as well as other state departments?!” Baxter wrote.

Amy Scott-Stoltz, president of the League of Women Voters of South Dakota, said the organization is “disappointed” in the board’s decision and “reviewing our options” regarding advancing its proposals and challenging the board’s dismissal.

The group’s petition was meant to make sure the new law is “uniformly implemented across the state and that voters and county auditors alike would have clear guidance about their obligations under the law in advance of the November election,” Scott-Stoltz said.

“We intend to continue our work in South Dakota to ensure that every American citizen can access the ballot box,” Scott-Stoltz said.

— This story was originally published on southdakotasearchlight.com.