South Dakota

State lawmakers reject expansion of free school meals in South Dakota

Published

2 years ago

January 22, 2024

Press Room

State lawmakers reject expansion of free school meals in South Dakota

PIERRE — Lawmakers narrowly rejected

a bill

Monday that would have given more low-income students free school meals.

The state House Education Committee voted 8-7 to defeat the legislation.

“These are South Dakota’s most vulnerable families and kids,” Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls, told the committee. She said 7,580 South Dakota children would have been helped by the legislation.

The bill would have prohibited charging students who qualify for

federal reduced-price meals

. Those students’ parents or guardians make as little as $25,636 to $36,482 annually. Children of parents making less already qualify for free meals.

The bill also would have required school districts to ensure parents or legal guardians of eligible students complete and submit a federal school meal application annually. Proponents said doing so would ensure children eligible for federal programs are benefitting from them.

The state Department of Education would have been responsible for reimbursing school districts for the cost of providing the additional meals. The annual cost would have been about $579,000, according to the state Legislative Research Council.

The bill’s proponents described that as a price worth paying.

“It’s our responsibility as leaders and human beings to ensure that no child in South Dakota has to learn on an empty stomach,” testified Jesse Severson, with Hungry Hearts, a nonprofit helping low-income families.

Gay Anderson, the child nutrition coordinator for the Sioux Falls School District, and Krista Leischner, the student nutrition manager for Rapid City Area Schools, also testified in favor of the bill.

“Food insecurity is a reality in our state,” Leischner told the committee. “Food insecurity is not something students should experience in school walls. While I do not see this bill as ‘the’ answer, I do see this bill as a step in the right direction.”

Governor Kristi Noem’s Bureau of Finance and Management Commissioner Jim Terwilliger testified that “the goals of this bill are well-intentioned” but “there is no free lunch, meaning someone still has to pay.”

Terwilliger said the school lunch programs are “already heavily subsidized by the federal government.” He said the bill takes a burden currently being lifted by nonprofits and philanthropists and puts it on the shoulders of state taxpayers. Across the state, private efforts have helped cover unpaid school lunch bills; for example, 1,800 students’ lunch debts in the Sioux Falls School District were paid off by donations.

Terwilliger said the bill’s proponents would continue to push for more free meals if the bill passed.

“I believe this would just be the first step,” he said. “And more steps would be coming in the future.”

Wittman countered, saying that “if we want South Dakota to pull ahead in terms of test scores, lowering absenteeism, having better health outcomes for our kids, I can’t think of a better investment.”

Rep. Phil Jensen, R-Rapid City, motioned to defeat the bill. He said it’s the responsibility of the church to care for the needy, not the government.

“We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and by doing so, we can meet the needs of this effort,” Jensen said. “I think if anybody wanted to donate money, they could donate money to this cause. And as a Republican, I believe in less government and less intrusion in our lives. Nowhere in the constitution or state constitution does it say anything about feeding school children.”

Retired educator Rep. Roger DeGroot, R-Brookings, said his fellow lawmakers on the committee were losing sight of the point of the bill.

“Somehow we got involved in all kinds of different rabbit holes,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the responsibility of somebody running a public school program to run around and work with churches to raise money.”

Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, expressed fiscal concerns.

“I don’t think it’s the state’s obligation to shore up something when the federal government already has a program in place,” he said.

Reisch said the federal debt is a “bigger burden to the youth of this nation than, probably, shortcomings in meal programs.”

Wittman said she does not plan any attempts to revive the bill this legislative session.

— This story can be found on South Dakota Searchlight’s website. South Dakota Searchlight provides free news and commentary on critical issues facing the state.

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South Dakota

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

Published

4 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

16 hours 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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South Dakota

SD Lottery Mega Millions, Millionaire for Life winning numbers for March 3, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at March 3, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 3 drawing

07-21-53-54-62, Mega Ball: 16

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 3 drawing

09-10-13-25-54, Bonus: 05

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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