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US’ only bison roundup rustles up hundreds to maintain health of the species

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US’ only bison roundup rustles up hundreds to maintain health of the species


South Dakota cowboys and cowgirls rounded up a herd of more than 1,500 bison Friday as part of an annual effort to maintain the health of the species, which has rebounded from near-extinction.

Visitors from across the world cheered from behind wire fencing as whooping horseback riders chased the thundering, wooly giants across hills and grasslands in Custer State Park. Bison and their calves stopped occasionally to graze on blond grass and roll on the ground, their sharp hooves stirring up dust clouds.

“How many times can you get this close to a buffalo herd?” said South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Secretary Kevin Robling, who was among 50 riders herding the animals. “You hear the grunts and the moans and (see) the calves coming and running alongside mamas.”

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Custer State Park holds the nation’s only Buffalo Roundup once a year to check the health of the bison and vaccinate calves, park Superintendent Matt Snyder said.

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As many as 60 million bison, sometimes called buffalo in the U.S., once roamed North America, moving in vast herds that were central to the culture and survival of numerous Native American groups.

They were driven to the brink of extinction more than a century ago when hunters, U.S. troops and tourists shot them by the thousands to feed a growing commercial market that used bison parts in machinery, fertilizer and clothing. By 1889, only a few hundred remained.

“Now, after more than a century of conservation efforts, there are more than 500,000 bison in the United States,” said South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a horseback rider who took part in the roundup. “The Custer State Park bison herd has contributed greatly to those efforts.”

The park’s herd began with 36 animals bought in 1914. A state ecologist estimated the park can currently sustain about 1,000 bison based on how snow and rain conditions affected the grasslands this past year, according to Snyder.

The other 500 or so will be auctioned off, and over the next week, officials will decide which bison will remain and which will go. About 400 calves are born in the park each year.

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“Each year we sell some of these bison to intersperse their genetics with those of other herds to improve the health of the species’ population across the nation,” Noem said.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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South Dakota

Iowa football earns transfer portal commitment from former South Dakota State DL

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Iowa football earns transfer portal commitment from former South Dakota State DL


The Iowa Hawkeyes have another addition for the 2025 season via the NCAA transfer portal.

Former South Dakota State defensive lineman Bryce Hawthorne announced his pledge to the Hawkeyes on Saturday afternoon with an Instagram post.

Hawthorne appeared in 14 games for the Jackrabbits during the 2024 FCS season, tallying 22 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks and a pair of quarterback hurries.

A native of Osseo, Minn., the 6-foot-3, 285 pound defensive tackle joins Iowa with three seasons of eligibility remaining. After appearing in just three games and redshirting during the 2023 campaign, Hawthorne burst onto the scene for the Jackrabbits this year.

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Hawthorne was named to FCS Football Central’s freshman All-American team for his efforts at SDSU in 2024.

Hawthorne arrives as part of a defensive tackle rotation that features returnees Aaron Graves and Jeremiah Pittman. That duo combined for 49 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks during the 2024 regular season.

With Yahya Black exhausting his eligibility, Iowa wanted more interior defensive line help. The Hawkeyes have found it with the addition of Hawthorne and former Central Michigan defensive tackle Jonah Pace.

During the 2024 season with Central Michigan, Pace totaled 34 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six quarterback hurries, four sacks, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one blocked kick. According to Pro Football Focus, Pace had 20 total pressures a season ago.

Iowa is also set to bring back Will Hubert and Luke Gaffney in its defensive interior.

Hawthorne joins former Auburn quarterback Hank Brown and Pace among Iowa’s transfer portal additions thus far entering the 2025 college football season.

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South Dakota

Noem’s attempt to 'prioritize education' gets failing grade • South Dakota Searchlight

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Noem’s attempt to 'prioritize education' gets failing grade • South Dakota Searchlight


Soon Gov. Kristi Noem could be installed as the next Secretary of Homeland Security. In one of her last official acts as governor, Noem managed to instill some uncertainty in South Dakota’s public education system.

During her budget speech, Noem claimed she wanted to continue to “prioritize education.” Notice that she didn’t say “prioritize public education.” In what was likely her final budget address to the Legislature, Noem proposed an ongoing $4 million expenditure to help families pay for private school tuition and other forms of alternative instruction.

Her largesse toward families seeking to pay for a private school education came during a budget address in which she:

  • Offered a paltry 1.25% funding increase for the “big three” of health care, public education and state employee salaries.
  • Unveiled $71.9 million in budget reductions and discretionary changes.
  • Included in the budget cuts a $2 million reduction for the Board of Regents and a $3.6 million cut for South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

Noem proposed that the state would pay about $3,000 per student annually for private school tuition or alternative instruction. Private schools, homeschoolers and other forms of alternative instruction operate under a different set of rules. It’s a veritable wild west of schools that can be unaccredited or accredited by someone other than the state. In other words, good luck figuring out how your tax dollars are being spent.

It’s probably possible to figure out how much money the state of South Dakota has invested in public education since statehood. Instead of doing the math, let’s just assume it totals in the billions of dollars. It seems at cross purposes for the state to make that kind of long-term investment in public education only to turn around and start funding its competitors.

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Instead of tackling the bigger issues in public education, Noem has revved up the Legislature for a fight over an idea that’s trendy in conservative circles. It’s also an idea that the state can’t afford. Any state budget that proposes tens of millions in cuts isn’t likely to have a spare $4 million. If there is $4 million extra in the state budget, it should be funneled into teacher salaries.

Through neglect and short-sightedness lawmakers and the governor have let teachers’s salaries sink back near the bottom of the barrel nationally. Noem’s proposed 1.25% increase in education funding certainly isn’t going to do much to get South Dakota’s national teacher salary ranking out of the basement.

With its low teacher salary ranking, South Dakota’s universities find themselves training the next generation of teachers for the surrounding states that make a greater attempt to pay teachers what they are worth. When qualified teachers become harder to attract because of South Dakota’s low salaries, school districts will be forced to cut their offerings, hamstringing the very education that Noem says she has gone to such great lengths to “prioritize.”

The last time South Dakota made any progress in this area was in 2016 when Gov. Dennis Daugaard led an effort to raise the state sales tax by half a percent with some of the funds dedicated to raising teachers’ salaries. Since then, lawmakers have cut the state sales tax and mandated a $45,000 minimum salary for public school teachers without offering any extra funding to help schools reach that goal.

Given the state of the budget Noem proposed, lawmakers would do well to put their efforts into protecting public education and finding a funding source that could ensure that the state’s teacher salaries are no longer a national embarrassment.

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Obituary for Todd Robert Albrecht at Miller Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory

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Obituary for Todd Robert Albrecht at Miller Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory


Todd Albrecht, Sioux Falls, SD, passed away December 31, 2024, in Sioux Falls. He was 59. Memorial Services will be held 1030am Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at Miller Southside Chapel, 7400 S. Minnesota Avenue 81st and Minnesota Ave. Visitation will be 500 to 700pm Tuesday at Miller Southside Chapel.



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