Emergency management officials have shifted their focus from flooding in South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska to further south on the Missouri River, where more rain this week brought predictions of second crests.

Flood concerns were being felt as far south as St. Louis as the Missouri River continues to carry runoff from record-setting storms in South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska, combined with more recent rains over Missouri. In response, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cut back water releases from the dam system it manages in the Dakotas.

“In response to the rainfall, the releases from Fort Randall and Gavins Point dams were reduced,” said John Remus, chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “The lower releases were able to reduce downstream river stages, but they could not completely offset all of the flooding in the Sioux City area.”

This year’s waves of precipitation, while damaging to many in southeastern South Dakota, have had some positives. All of eastern South Dakota has escaped drought conditions that had gripped parts of the state for years, according to the latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

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LINCOLN, Neb. (Dakota News Now) – Jabari Henry smacked a two-run homerun and became the franchise all-time leader in doubles as the Canaries fell to Lincoln 4-2 at Haymarket Park.

Henry’s 94th career double came in the third inning and broke a tie with Trevor Lawhorn for the most in a Canaries uniform. The Saltdogs opened the scoring with a two-run double in the fourth inning before adding a solo shot in the fifth.

The 3-0 lead held until the top of the eighth when Henry’s round-tripper brought the Canaries within a run. But Lincoln added a solo homerun in the home half and turned the Birds away scoreless in the ninth.

Henry led the offense with two hits as Sioux Falls dips to 30-19 overall. The two teams resume their series Saturday at 6:05pm.

Recap courtesy of Sioux Falls Canaries.

Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Even after the holiday, the Fourth of July weekend is a busy time for travel, but going into this weekend, South Dakota may be seeing more traffic than usual.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) has followed trends to provide travel tips as the roads get even busier. Going into the week, they expected nearly 71 million Americans would be traveling and they’re on pace for close to their projections.

Travel is always forecasted very high in the middle of the summer with the Independence Day holiday and the peak of vacation and road trip season.

AAA said that this year has seen higher travel volume than ever before, with 214,201 residents, over 20% of all South Dakotans, traveling more than fifty miles to a Fourth of July destination, most of them driving.

“South Dakota saw around 180,000 people hitting the road. With fourth of July being on a Thursday, people did fourth of July celebrations last weekend. They’re continuing them into this weekend, so that’s a really long travel period,” said Public & Government Affairs Manager with AAA, Rylie Fletcher.

One factor that has an impact on the number of travelers is the prices at the pump. While the cost of a gallon of gas is steadily going up again, it’s still lower than it has been around the holiday in recent years.

The average cost of a gallon of gas in South Dakota is slightly above $3.20, more than 25 cents cheaper than a year ago.

Fletcher said that the recent jump was expected due to rising demand.

“We did see gas prices increase, but not too significantly. They might increase a little bit more just as summer demand for travel continues to increase, but it’s not likely that we’ll see the surge like we did two summers ago in 2022,” Fletcher explained.

With the influx of drivers, AAA wants drivers to be aware of their surroundings and be safe on the roads. They suggest giving yourself extra time and being patient with other drivers.

You should inspect your vehicle before a road trip and like always, never drive impaired or distracted.

“All of those things we know we should be doing every single day, make sure you practice them with extra diligence on a weekend like this upcoming weekend because there are so many other drivers on the roads. It’s important that you’re doing your part,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher also said that the busiest times to be on the road are between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and if you want to see less traffic, try leaving earlier in the day. She also recommended avoiding nighttime driving because even though there’s less traffic, there may be more impaired drivers.

Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.