South Dakota
South Dakota’s state cheer & dance, cross country championships scheduled for this weekend
This is a big weekend for South Dakota high school sports, with state championship events scheduled for competitive cheer and dance and cross country.
The 19th annual cheer and dance competition is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 24 (Class A) and Saturday, Oct. 25 (Class AA) in the Watertown Civic Arena.
The three-class state cross country meet is slated for Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Broadland Creek Golf Course in Huron.
Here’s some pertinent details from each of the state events.
Cheer & Dance
- Where & When — Friday and Saturday in the Watertown Civic Arena.
- Schedule — Class A competition will run from 5:15 p.m. to around 7:20 p.m. on Friday, with awards scheduled for approximately 8 p.m. Class AA competition opens at 11:15 a.m. Saturday and continues past 3 p.m. with awards to follow at about 3:30 p.m. (Dance teams can perform in two of three dance categories: hip hop, jazz and pom).
- Teams & Defending Champions — Class A features 20 schools in cheer and six dance. Sioux Valley has won all 18 cheer titles in state history and Dakota Valley has won the past 15 dance titles. Class AA includes 19 schools in cheer and 18 in dance. Defending champion Harrisburg has won two of the past three cheer titles and Brandon Valley is the four-time defending champion in dance.
- Judges — Cheer: Performance judges include Renee Cummings of Watertown (head judge), Christian Bennett of Pierre and Krista Inman of Rapid City and safety judges are Brandy Gangle of Lake City and Katrina Schnabel of Aberdeen. Dance: Performance judges are Tammy Griffith of Aberdeen (head judge), Dacia Starks of Pierre and Darcy Nagel of Rapid City along with safety officials Taylor Hageman of Watertown and Salena Reimer of Sioux Falls.
- Awards — Grand champions will be crowned in cheer and dance with other awards related to the number of teams in each division.
- Tickets — Tickets for adults are $15 and students $10 per day.
- Northeastern South Dakota Squads — Area Class A competitive cheer squads include Deubrook Area, Elkton-Lake Benton, Faulkton Area, Iroquois-Lake Preston and Sioux Valley. There are no area Class A dance squads. Watertown and Aberdeen Central each will field cheer and dance squads in Class AA.
Cross Country
- Where & When — Saturday at the Broadland Creek Golf Course in Huron.
- Schedule — Races (all 5,000 meters) include Class A boys at noon, Class AA boys at 12:30 p.m., Class B boys at 1 p.m., Class A girls at 1:30 p.m., Class AA girls at 2 p.m. and Class B girls at 2:30 p.m. Awards will be held following the conclusion on the final race.
- Returning Individual Champions — Returning individual race champions include Ella Boekelheide of Northwestern, Class B girls; Faith Wiese of Flandreau, Class A girls; and Brianna Reilly of Harrisburg, Class AA girls; Tate Grabow of Hill City, Class A boys and Cole Reilly of Sioux Falls Washington, Class A boys. There will be a new champion crowned in Class B boys.
- Defending Team Champions — Kimball-White Lake (Class B girls), Sioux Falls Christian (Class A girls, 3-time), Harrisburg (Class AA girls), Philip (Class B boys, 3-time), Sioux Falls Christian (Class A boys) and Sioux Falls Lincoln (Class AA boys, 2-time).
- Officials — Tim Casper of Lake Preston, meet referee; Bob DeBoer of Huron, assistant meet referee and starters Tina Baum and Steve Carron of Huron.
- Awards — The top 25 indivdiuals and six teams in each division receive awards.
- Tickets — Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students in grades 1-12.
- Northeastern South Dakota Runners — The field includes 14 area runners in Class AA girls (Watertown and Aberdeen Central), 31 in Class A girls (including school eligible for team honors Milbank, Aberdeen Roncalli, Sioux Valley and Clark-Willow Lake), 35 in Class B girls (eligible teams Gettysburg, Herreid-Selby Area, Ipswich, Arlington, Northwestern and Deubrook Area), 14 in Class AA boys (Watertown and Aberdeen Central), 29in Class A boys (eligible teams Milbank, Deuel and Sisseton) and 35 in Class B boys (eligible teams North Central, Frederick Area, Herreid-Selby Area and Northwestern).
ESD Cheer & Dance
A number of the Class AA cheer and dance squads tuned up for state by competing in the ESD Championships on Oct. 16 at Brookings.
Harrisburg won the cheer division for the eighth-straight year with a score of 295.5, followed by Brookings (288.0), Watertown (275.5), Yankton (245.5), Tea Area and Mitchell (each 244.5), Huron and Pierre (each 213.5), Brandon Valley (192.5) and Aberdeen Central (188.5).
Brandon Valley won the dance division for a third-straight year with 40 points, followed by Harrisburg with 39, Yankton and Pierre each 37, Aberdeen Central 35, Watertown 33, Tea Area 32, Mitchell and Brookings each 29 and Huron 26.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
South Dakota
Dept. of Agriculture and Natural Resources announces $48 million for statewide projects
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) has the approval of over $48 million in loans and grants for statewide projects.
Together with the Board of Water and Natural Resources, a total of $36,958,000 in state loans, including $425,000 in principal forgiveness, was authorized for drinking water and wastewater improvements.
More funding was distributed to the following programs:
BDM Rural Water:
- Received an additional $233,450 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to construct a new water treatment plant, install a new water reservoir, install a pipe to expand the water system, and replace water meters
Clay Rural Water:
- Received $334,250 in ARPA grant funds to construct two ground storage reservoirs near the Greenfield reservoir and the Wakonda Water Treatment plant
Mid-Dakota Rural Water System:
- Received $917,357.85 in ARPA grant to update the existing water system
Mitchell:
- Received $3,930,000 in Clean Water State Revolving Funds to upgrade the clay sanitary and storm sewer
Rapid City:
- Received a $14,512,000 Drinking Water State Revolving loan to make improvements to an existing well and also construct two new wells
Shared Resources:
- Received $1,500,000 in ARPA grant funds for a treatment plant, well field, distribution pipeline, and two storage tanks
Sioux Falls:
- Received $7,648,000 to complete a third connection to the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System
- Received $17,746,000 to construct a new Southeast Basin sanitary force main
South Lincoln Rural Water System:
- Received $328,250 in ARPA funds to install an elevated water tank, new pump station, and new water treatment plant
South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources:
- Received $1 million in ARPA funds for its statewide Riparian Buffer Initiative
Toronto:
- Received $770,000 Drinking Water Revolving Loan to accommodate the Department of Transportation installing new storm sewers and highway surfacing
These programs are funded through a combination of federal appropriations, loan repayments, and bonds.
The board approved the funding during a January 8 meeting in Pierre.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 8, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 8 drawing
05-12-13-39-48, Lucky Ball: 13
Check Lucky 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.
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.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – A harrowing scene at Sheridan Lake ended without serious injury Tuesday after a man, a woman and their dog fell through thin ice near the swimming beach, authorities said.
Keep pets on a leash and never attempt a risky rescue if someone falls through the ice, officials said. Call 911 immediately.
The South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks agency advises that ice three inches or less is unsafe. Four inches is generally considered the minimum for walking, ice fishing or skating.
Lt. Casey Kenrick of the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said the incident is a reminder to take extra precautions this winter.
“Usually at this time the ice is significantly thick on the lakes around the area, well, some aren’t even frozen all the way at this point. The temperatures have been up and down so much that the ice isn’t solid even though it may look like it is, so make sure you know the ice depth that you’re getting onto,” Kenrick said.
Kenrick said those precautions could mean the difference between a close call and a tragedy.
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Copyright 2026 KOTA. All rights reserved.
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