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South Dakota’s Charming State Capital Is A Cultural Gem With Compelling Museums And Historic Sites – Islands

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South Dakota’s Charming State Capital Is A Cultural Gem With Compelling Museums And Historic Sites – Islands






South Dakota is known for its expansive farmland, national parks, prairies, and mountains with plentiful outdoor attractions, like the Black Hills’ enchanting scenery or the uncrowded green grass trails in Badlands National Park. But the state’s capital, Pierre, is an underrated gem not to be missed. With its rich history and culture, paired with small-town ease, it’s an unassumingly lovely place to spend time. Clocking in at a population of around 14,000, Pierre (pronounced “Peer”) is the second-smallest of all the U.S. state capitals, second only to Montpelier, Vermont. The result is that Pierre is a laidback and unusually tranquil metropolis that packs a delightful punch with museums, historical sites, and other cultural attractions. 

Located in the center of the state, right on the Missouri River, Pierre is just off U.S. Route 83. Sometimes called the “Road to Nowhere” for its path through vast and largely rural landscapes, US-83 was at one time the only completely paved, direct route from Canada to Mexico, with visitors popping into Pierre along their journey. To arrive from the skies, you’ll fly into nearby Pierre Regional Airport, which is situated a mere three miles from the city center.

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How to experience Pierre’s cultural history and museums

If you only have time for one excursion during your stay in Pierre, put the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center at the top of your list. Inspired by traditional Native American building traditions of Sioux tribes in particular, this museum is literally built into a hillside. Its visually striking exterior is worth taking in before heading inside. Established in 1901, the center is a Smithsonian affiliate institution and receives support from the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation. With more than 33,000 artifacts — including Lakota quilts, political merch, pioneer and military relics, and more — visitors will find extensive historical exhibitions and info about South Dakota’s human history. Families with kids will enjoy participating in the History Explorers program, offered daily, which is a specialized educational experience that groups of all ages can enjoy together. Don’t skip a customary trip to the museum gift shop, where you’ll find jewelry, books, ceramics, and other handmade items to take home.

With more time on the docket, follow this up with an excursion to the Verendrye Museum in Fort Pierre. (Named for brothers Louis and Chevalier Verendrye, French explorers, the museum’s name is pronounced var-en-dree.) Fort Pierre, part of the Pierre micropolitan area, is a historic area — in fact, it’s the site of South Dakota’s oldest continuous settlement. With the Verendrye Museum’s engaging exhibits — including historically accurate home decor and clothing, fossils, photos, and even a country store — visitors can learn all about the area’s history in a charmingly accessible way. Nearby, also in Fort Pierre, make a pit stop at the Soldiers and Sailors War Memorial, a striking Neoclassical building that honors South Dakota’s military veterans.

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Historic sites in Pierre, South Dakota

With so much intersecting history, Pierre is chock-full of compelling historical locations for avid history fans to visit. One of the most important sites to hit is Fischers Lilly Park. Today, the park is a campsite along the banks of the Missouri River, offering RV hookups, a boat ramp, bike trails, a playground, and a peaceful setting along the water. Even if you’re not camping there, it’s worth checking out the park and casting your mind back to 1804, when Lewis and Clark’s Corp of Discovery first met representatives of the Teton Lakota nation at this very spot. This tense meeting, which devolved into armed conflict due to the language barrier and differing goals between the two groups, was a key moment in Lewis and Clark’s westward expedition. Today, because of this legacy, the National Park Service has designated Fischers Lilly Park as a site on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

With more time to explore and a thirst for local history, you can also visit the Cedar Hill Cemetery, the resting place of the city’s early settlers. The Log Cabin Visitor Center is another great addition featuring a reconstructed log cabin with historic displays where you’ll read about Pierre’s frontier history. For those who want to continue exploring South Dakota’s fascinating history, the nearby twin cities of Chamberlain and Oacoma are an underrated paradise for art and outdoor fun, and home to the Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center. This makes for an ideal day trip at just under one hour and 20 minutes by car.

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SD Lottery Powerball, Lotto America winning numbers for June 27, 2026

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

Here’s a look at June 27, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from June 27 drawing

03-16-28-30-59, Powerball: 11, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Lotto America numbers from June 27 drawing

03-08-18-22-39, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from June 27 drawing

02-21-25-30-32

Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 27 drawing

26-32-38-51-52, Bonus: 05

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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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Another South Dakota secretary of state bounced after four years by GOP delegates

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Another South Dakota secretary of state bounced after four years by GOP delegates


Left: Heather Baxter | Right: Monae Johnson

South Dakota is getting another chief elections officer.

Secretary of State Monae Johnson failed to win the Republican nomination for a second term during the South Dakota Republican Party Convention Saturday in Rapid City, where GOP delegates instead favored another Pierre outsider to oversee the state’s elections for the next four years.

“When this office runs well, you don’t notice it. When it doesn’t, you feel it everywhere,” Rep. Heather Baxter told a capacity crowd of delegates and attendees at The Monument events center, where she received nearly 60 percent of votes cast by more than 700 party delegates.

Populist push falls short in South Dakota GOP contest for Public Utilities nod

Populist push falls short in South Dakota GOP contest for Public Utilities nod



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Work, housing and staffing: How South Dakota’s corrections chief aims to keep inmates from returning

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Work, housing and staffing: How South Dakota’s corrections chief aims to keep inmates from returning


SIOUX FALLS – South Dakota’s repeat offense rate for people who leave prison can return to the low point it saw a a dozen years ago, the state’s corrections secretary said Tuesday.

Nick Lamb, now six months into his role atop the Department of Corrections, laid out the agency’s plan Tuesday at the Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force at its meeting in Sioux Falls. The plan includes work release programs, residential housing for inmates and a top-to-bottom restructuring of how the department operates.

Recidivism measures how many inmates return to prison within three years of their release. The figure for South Dakota stood at

 50%

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in the most recent data, which was based on the performance of inmates released in 2021.

South Dakota’s lowest recidivism rate in the last two decades was 39% in 2014.

“We’ll get back there,” Lamb said Tuesday.

Lamb told reporters after the meeting he wants “to start getting in the business of closing prisons” during his tenure.

“Our population is too high for our state,” Lamb said. “We need to get our population down, but we’ve got to give the offenders the tools they need that they haven’t always had.”

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Several recommendations presented on Tuesday, by Lamb and other criminal justice experts, will require more staff and funding.

State Rep. John Hughes, R-Sioux Falls, worries that the Legislature’s budget-setting committee will balk at new spending.

“My concern is that we put all these elaborate proposals together, then when we get to appropriations we’re going to hit the wall,” Hughes said.

Inmates return to work release

Under Lamb’s predecessor, Kellie Wasko, pay for inmate work performed outside the prison walls

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was increased to minimum wage

. After that policy change, fewer communities and organizations contracted inmate workers for community service jobs.

Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, said most of the roughly 250 minimum-security prisoners he oversaw during his tenure as corrections secretary participated in work release.

“They got up and they all had jobs. They were used to getting out of bed, going to work, getting in a habit of that,” Reisch said.

When he toured the prison last year, fewer than 20 were working, he said.

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Lamb has cut inmate wages below minimum wage since he started.

“We reached out to a lot of these communities, basically asking if they need help,” Lamb said. “We lowered the wage, which upset some people, but we need them out working.”

This summer, inmates will work at Sioux Falls parks and at its regional landfill, and they’ll prepare the fairgrounds in Huron for the State Fairgrounds in August. They’ll also help out during Riverboat Days in Yankton, and pitch in on tournament preparation for the National Field Archery Association.

Statewide residential facilities planned

Lamb also wants to establish a residential corrections program. He shared a presentation showing how such a program

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operated in Iowa

, where he served as deputy director of institutional operations for the Iowa Department of Corrections before his move to South Dakota.

In Iowa, most residential facilities were filled with people on probation, parole or work release. He envisions a similar program in South Dakota, with housing outside of traditional prison settings designed to help transition back into the community, but he hasn’t finalized details or a timeline.

“We’re going to try it,” Lamb said. “I’ll be honest, I haven’t talked to the lieutenant governor or anybody else about it, but we need to try it. It works.”

The program has been in Iowa for decades. Iowa’s three-year recidivism rate peaked at 38.9% in 2019 and has since fallen to 32.8%, based on the

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latest data available

.

“I’m not trying to throw you a sales pitch,” Lamb said, but residential programming is “a good idea.”

Lamb said he doesn’t want to replace programs like the one run by the Sioux Falls-based nonprofit St. Francis House, but to add to it.

St. Francis House doesn’t cap how long residents can stay and limits rent to $250 a month. Lamb said a state-run program would include a time limit and higher rent.

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A lack of “felon-friendly housing” is a major driver of recidivism, said Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, who’s leaving his position soon after two terms in office. The problem won’t improve without government involvement, he added.

“If the state ever chooses to invest in St. Francis House programming, it’s money well spent,” TenHaken said.

Justice Center recommendations

The percentage of inmates who got rehabilitative programming increased from 27%to 44% between 2023 and 2025, according to a report presented Tuesday by the Council for State Governments Justice Center.

The national nonprofit was contracted to analyze the state’s prison system and help guide the task force’s work.

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Despite the gains in programming, the group reported, 46% of inmates released in 2025 received none. Access was also limited by where inmates were held, due to space and staffing restrictions.

The justice center recommended several changes, including:

  • Creating a rehabilitation and reentry division and hiring several new positions.
  • Creating a centralized waitlist for programs.
  • Streamlining the program catalog to reduce overlap and fill gaps.
  • Sequencing programming to cover an inmate’s entire stay, rather than stacking programs in the last few months of their sentence.
  • Creating a dedicated parole violation program track.

Many of those recommendations hinge on hiring and retaining adequate staff — one of the department’s most significant challenges, according to the group.

Sara Friedman, program director with the Justice Center, said her team consistently heard in interviews that the department tends to shift employees around when attempting new initiatives, rather than hiring. That creates gaps for inmates seeking programming.

Sometimes, for example, shifting staffing patterns will leave facilities without enough security staff to transport inmates to classrooms.

“Technically, you’re fully staffed, but you’re fully staffed so thinly that the moment one thing goes wrong, the waterfall effect is people are not getting their rehabilitative services,” Friedman said.

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Lamb told South Dakota Searchlight after the presentation that he wasn’t surprised by the staffing recommendations. The department lacks adequate staff to backfill for sick or vacationing employees, he said, though he didn’t say how many more employees would need to be hired to address the issue.

The department is already working to create the new rehabilitation and reentry division and centralize its scheduling.

The task force plans to meet two more times before it’ll finalize its recommendations for the Legislature ahead of the next session, which starts in January.

— This story was originally published on southdakotasearchlight.com.





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