South Dakota

Support South Dakota libraries | Letter to the Editor

Published

1 year ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Support South Dakota libraries | Letter to the Editor

Danielle (Troske) Teigen
| Letter to the Editor

Have you ever visited your local library? Has your child or grandchild, student or family member? Maybe you don’t check out books, but do you attend programs at your library or participate in a summer reading program or read a book through the Libby app?

I hope for everyone reading this the answer is a resounding yes, and I also hope that means that you will reach out to your elected officials urging them to fight Gov. Noem’s proposed $1 million cut to the South Dakota State Library.

The proposed cut would be devastating for local libraries like our vibrant Doland Community Library, the Watertown Regional Library and all of the patrons who rely on the programs and services offered through them.

Consider this: In 2024, more than 6,200 people visited the Doland Community Library. In a community of fewer than 200 people. That’s incredible.

Now imagine if the proposed cut to the State Library funding happens – what programs and services will be lost? Well, take a look at what’s at stake:

The State Library helps with the costs associated with this service to allow patrons who are registered users to check out e-books on their devices.

The Doland Community Library has a certified librarian thanks to the State Library, which opens our library up to additional services and grants.

Our State Library provides crucial guidance and education to our librarian and library board members in the operating of our library as an accredited library.

The Doland Community Library offers a top-notch Summer Reading Program that brings hundreds of adults and children to our community on several days of the six-week event. The training, manuals and funding for the program comes from the State Library.

Interlibrary Loan Support: Thanks to this program from the State Library, patrons can access books from across the state.

SD Reads: This program promotes reading across the state and you yourself were a recent participant who read to our students.

Legal guidance: The State Library holds each library accountable and helps ensure applicable laws are being followed.

The State Library pays for several free databases available such as Ancestry.com, SAT study guides and practice tests.

The State Library provides additional tools to promote literacy such as Birth to Five, 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, Canva, and the Stephanie Miller Summer Reading Program Grant.

It goes without saying that the State Library is an incredible resource for our local libraries. Any cut would be felt not just at the state level through reduced staff and diminished services, but also by me, my family and every other patron in our rural area.

If you’re alarmed by this potentially devastating proposed cut, please consider contacting your elected officials. You can find your legislators at https://sdlegislature.gov/legislators/find. The more we can let our elected officials know how valuable our State Library is, the more inclined they will be to preserve the funding for our State Library, which serves so many of us at the local level.

Danielle (Troske) Teigen, Doland Community Library Board Member, Turton

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South Dakota

Feeding South Dakota

Published

2 hours ago

February 27, 2026

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Millionaire for Life winning numbers for Feb. 26, 2026

Published

14 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

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

Here’s a look at Feb. 26, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from Feb. 26 drawing

03-14-22-50-57, Bonus: 04

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

SNAP soda ban headed to desk of South Dakota governor, who’s concerned about costs

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

SNAP soda ban headed to desk of South Dakota governor, who’s concerned about costs

State Sen. Sydney Davis, R-Burbank, speaks in the South Dakota Senate at the Capitol in Pierre on Feb. 10, 2026. Davis is sponsoring a bill that would ban the use of SNAP benefits for soda purchases. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

By: John Hult

PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – The question of whether South Dakota moves to ban the use of government food assistance for sugary drinks is in the hands of Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, who has signaled his opposition to the bill all through the 2026 legislative session.

The state Senate voted 27-6 on Wednesday to endorse House Bill 1056, after the House passed it earlier 58-11. Assuming the same levels of support, both margins are wide enough to overcome a Rhoden veto, should he choose to issue one.

The bill directs the Department of Social Services to ask for a federal waiver to allow the state to bar the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for the purchase of soft drinks.

SNAP is a federal program, managed by the state, through which people with low incomes get a monthly allowance for food through a debit-like card that can be used at most stores to buy nearly any consumable grocery item save alcohol and prepared foods.

Representatives from Rhoden’s office testified against the bill in House and Senate committees, arguing that the administrative costs would be too high. A fiscal note attached to the bill between its passage in the House and its appearance on the Senate’s Wednesday calendar estimated that implementation would cost $310,000 through the first two years. Those costs would come from hiring an extra employee and contracting for software to track sales, file reports and help retailers determine which drinks are banned.

Backers see long-term savings to the state, though. A high percentage of SNAP recipients are also on Medicaid, a taxpayer-funded health insurance program open to disabled and income-eligible people.

On Wednesday, Burbank Republican Sen. Sydney Davis noted the connection between excess soda consumption and health problems like obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. Medicaid dental costs alone add up $51 million a year, she said.

Mitchell Republican Sen. Paul Miskimins, a retired dentist, told the body he once counted 32 cavities and seven abscesses in the mouths of 2-year-old twin boys who were covered by Medicaid.

He attributed the tooth decay to sugary beverages.

“I don’t know if that first visit was more traumatic on the boys or on my dental staff and myself,” said Miskimins.

Tamara Grove, R-Lower Brule, was the lone senator to speak in opposition on the Senate floor. She argued that some stores might stop accepting SNAP payments due to the administrative burden of sorting barred products from the rest of their inventories, and pointed out that the bill wouldn’t do a thing to prevent SNAP recipients from loading up on sugary foods like ice cream or snack cakes.

“It gives this look as if there’s going to be this big, huge change in the way that people buy products, but it’s really not going to be,” Grove said.

Some surrounding states, including Nebraska, have moved to ask for a waiver to ban soda sales through SNAP. Such waivers are now an option, as President Donald Trump’s administration is willing to consider granting them. Former President Joe Biden’s administration was not.

Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, the South Dakota bill’s prime sponsor, got a letter last week from Trump administration officials expressing support for her proposal.

In response, Rhoden spokeswoman Josie Harms told South Dakota Searchlight that the governor “has always been supportive of the Trump Administration’s efforts to Make America Healthy Again,” using a reference to the policy agenda branding used by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“We have met directly with his Administration on this issue, and at no point has our opposition been directed at President Trump or his efforts to reform SNAP,” Harms said. “Our focus has always been on ensuring the implementation of SNAP reform works effectively for our state.”

Harms said Wednesday that Rhoden would answer questions about the bill at a Thursday press conference.

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