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Tumultuous period at penitentiary culminates in warden’s departure • South Dakota Searchlight

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Tumultuous period at penitentiary culminates in warden’s departure • South Dakota Searchlight


Teresa Bittinger is no longer warden of the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.

Department of Corrections (DOC) employees got an email late Tuesday evening from Director of Prisons Amber Pirraglia announcing the warden’s departure. Within minutes, the email was posted to a Facebook group for the friends and families of inmates. The email was sent independently to South Dakota Searchlight by sources connected to the DOC.

Lawmakers, prison officials shut out public during discussion of weekslong lockdown

“This decision was made after careful consideration and in alignment with the goals and standards of the department,” Pirraglia wrote.

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The email goes on to say that Pirraglia will serve as interim warden, and that a “nationwide search is underway” to find wardens for the South Dakota State Penitentiary and the maximum security Jameson Annex, which is located on the Sioux Falls prison site.

That would mean an additional warden. Bittinger had been warden for both facilities.

DOC spokesman Michael Winder confirmed in a Wednesday morning email that Bittinger is no longer warden. He did not characterize the nature of Bittinger’s departure and said no other personnel information will be shared. 

Bittinger was warden of the prison campus in Sioux Falls for less than two years. She was appointed in March 2023 to fill the role on an interim basis and became permanent warden the following month.

Bittinger’s departure came one day after lawmakers on a legislative oversight committee spent nearly an hour and a half in a closed discussion with DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko.

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The committee went into executive session after a short discussion of a weekslong lockdown at the Sioux Falls prison’s three housing units. Commission Chairman Ernie Otten, R-Tea, closed the session in part to discuss “personnel and contractual matters.”

No one mentioned Bittinger during the public portions of the hearing.

Private employers say they were pushed out of state prisons

Her departure comes at a tumultuous time for the DOC. The Sioux Falls lockdown was reportedly undertaken as a preemptive action, meant to weed out and seize contraband across three buildings.

The campus-wide searches included teardowns of three large sweat lodges, prompting a letter last week from Oglala Sioux Tribal President Frank Star Comes Out demanding an explanation.

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Those were only the most recent controversies. The agency is also dealing with the fallout from incidents of inmate-on-inmate violence at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield in June, and from two bouts of unrest in March at the penitentiary that injured a correctional officer and sparked criminal charges for a handful of inmates. Those events came in the weeks following a temporary shutdown of electronic tablet-based communications.

The DOC has also faced criticism from the family members of inmates, who organized a group meant to pressure officials to respond to their concerns about safety, the price of commissary items for inmates and the impact of repeated lockdowns. 

Meanwhile, the agency aims to build a new men’s prison in Lincoln County, about 15 miles south of the penitentiary, to replace most of the existing Sioux Falls facility that dates to 1881. The state has already committed $569 million to the plan, but has yet to lock in a guaranteed price. 

State prison system puts nearly 1,300 inmates on indefinite lockdown

Neighbors to the site, long used as farmland, have presented fierce resistance. They formed a nonprofit called Neighbors Opposed to Prison Expansion, filed a zoning-related lawsuit against the DOC that remains unresolved, have organized multiple public forums and have helped spark questions from lawmakers to the DOC on the feasibility of its site selection and construction plans.

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If built, the new prison will be the most expensive taxpayer-funded capital project in state history. Another construction project — an $87 million women’s prison in Rapid City, to relieve overcrowding at the women’s prison in Pierre — is underway, so far without any of the controversy that has dogged the men’s prison project.

Bittinger herself arrived in the wake of scandal. She took over for warden Dan Sullivan, who took over for former Deputy Corrections Secretary Doug Clark, who’d served as interim warden after a 2021 shake-up tied to allegations of nepotism and sexual harassment that have never been explained by Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration.

The shake-up resulted in the ouster of former warden Darin Young and others at the Sioux Falls facility.

Sullivan, a 23-year veteran of the federal prison system who came to Sioux Falls by way of Minnesota, served less than two years before Bittinger’s appointment.

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Mega Millions, Millionaire for Life winning numbers for March 10, 2026

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

Here’s a look at March 10, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 10 drawing

16-21-30-35-65, Mega Ball: 07

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 10 drawing

03-27-43-45-49, 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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Trading property tax for sales tax: Legislature moves forward with parts of homeowner relief package

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Trading property tax for sales tax: Legislature moves forward with parts of homeowner relief package


PIERRE — Two pieces of a property tax reduction package prepared by South Dakota’s legislative leadership and the executive branch are moving forward, but one bill failed during votes on Monday as lawmakers began the final week of the annual legislative session.

The House of Representatives voted

42-27

in support of

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Senate Bill 245

, which would pull future revenue from a scheduled sales tax increase from 4.2% to 4.5% next year into a relief fund for homeowner property taxes, and use nearly $56 million in one-time money to seed the fund before the sales tax increase.

The Senate supported

House Bill 1323

, which would reduce the number of petition signatures needed to force an election on a local government’s decision to levy property taxes beyond limits set by the state. The Senate passed the bill 19-15.

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Both bills have to return to the opposite chamber for consideration of amendments.

The Senate rejected

House Bill 1253

, which would cap annual assessment growth for owner-occupied homes and commercial properties at 5% annually and reset assessments back to market value every five years. The bill failed with a 9-24 vote.

The bills are part of a broader,

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five-bill legislative package

targeted at property tax relief.

Another bill

in the package, which would allow counties to implement a half-percent sales tax with proceeds going to homeowner property tax credits, is awaiting the governor’s signature after he proposed it and it received both chambers’ approval.

The legislative budget committee is scheduled to consider a fifth piece of legislation in the package on Tuesday.

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The bill

would reduce maximum property tax levies for school districts.

Sales tax bill overcomes concerns about future budget needs

SB 245 would capture revenue from the impending sales tax increase to deposit into a “homeowner property tax reduction fund” meant to reduce property taxes levied by school districts. The Legislature and then-Gov. Kristi Noem reduced the state sales tax rate three years ago but scheduled the reduction to sunset in 2027.

House Speaker Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, told lawmakers on Monday that the bill would be an “investment in the people,” because it’ll give South Dakota homeowners more money to spend as they choose. Hansen, the bill’s sponsor and a candidate for governor, said that would lead to more spending and, therefore, more sales tax revenue. The state relies on sales taxes, while counties and schools rely on property taxes, and cities receive revenue from property taxes and sales taxes.

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Some opponents said the legislation would favor wealthier, property-owning South Dakotans rather than lower-income renters.

Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, speaks on the House floor at the Capitol in Pierre on March 9, 2026.

(Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, worried that automatically diverting future state revenue to reduce homeowner property taxes would come at the cost of other priorities, such as annual funding increases for state employees, Medicaid providers and public schools — which are known as the “big three” budget priorities. Lawmakers often

aim

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to increase funding for the groups by 3% or inflation, whichever is less. An inflationary increase this legislative session would be 2.5%, according to the state Department of Education.

“We are just clawing to get 1.4% for the big three,” Weisgram said. “I don’t think any of us are proud of that.”

Hansen said the decision “is not an either-or” situation.

“We can help the property taxpayers in the state who desperately, desperately need it,” Hansen said, “and then I trust fully that this state is going to continue to grow and that we are going to be able to meet the needs of our core obligations of this state.”

The bill was introduced as an amendment to placeholder legislation last week, and it will head to the Senate for approval. The Senate narrowly rejected a

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similar proposal

earlier this legislative session.

Senate approves lower signature threshold to force election on excess taxes

The version of House Bill 1323 that passed the Senate would set the number of petition signatures needed to force an election on an excess tax levy (often called an “opt-out”) for a local government at 2,500 or 5% of registered voters within its jurisdiction, whichever is less. The current threshold to refer decisions by a local government is 5% of registered voters in the district, without a 2,500 signature cap.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, said it will still be difficult to refer decisions by a local government to voters.

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“You’re talking dozens and dozens of volunteers, weeks of organized effort,” Howard said. “There’s not a lot of people that have been through that and can even organize that kind of effort. So it’s not a trivial bar.”

Because the bill was amended since it last appeared in the House, it’ll now go to the House for approval.

HB 1253 intended to provide South Dakota homeowners and commercial property owners predictable increases in their property assessments, which factor into property taxes they pay, over five year periods.

But opponents said the change would shift the property tax burden onto farmers and ranchers and surprise homeowners every five years when assessments would be re-based on market value, which could lead to double-digit increases in assessments.

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Political Pulse: South Dakota Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff on data centers, property taxes and more

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Political Pulse: South Dakota Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff on data centers, property taxes and more


RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – State Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff joined Political Pulse over the weekend.

Mehlhaff weighed in on property tax proposals, data centers, and effort to repeal the death penalty and speculation that Kristi Noem could run for Senate.

The interviewed was taped on Saturday.

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