South Dakota

‘We can’t exist without child care’: Rural towns use state funding to open local centers • South Dakota Searchlight

Published

2 years ago

April 26, 2024

‘We can’t exist without child care’: Rural towns use state funding to open local centers • South Dakota Searchlight

It’s been over six months since two in-home child care providers closed in Highmore. The town of over 600 in central South Dakota has a few other in-home providers, but all are full and have waitlists months out.

If a family wanted to move to the town — about an hour’s drive east of Pierre — there wouldn’t be any child care for them, said Beth Simonson, a board member of Hyde County Child Development.

Parents are driving their children up to 50 miles away to towns including Miller, Onida or Pierre to find child care, Simonson said. Some families have to split their children between child care in Highmore and another town.

Hyde County, where Highmore is located, has the fastest declining population in the state, according to census data.

“Why would young people want to move here if there isn’t quality child care?” Simonson said. “It’s one of the key elements of keeping people and growing our community, which we’ve been struggling with thriving. We need to attract those young families. We can’t exist without child care.”

The city of Highmore is one of 13 communities awarded a child care grant from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development last month. In total, the grants, using federal funds, are infusing over $3.7 million into helping communities find collaborative, innovative solutions to address child care needs across South Dakota.

The initiatives range from improving the child care workforce, to creating after school programs, to supporting existing providers with continued education. In Highmore, the community plans to use the $300,000 awarded by the state to create a community child care center.

“I don’t know what other solution there was,” Simonson said. “It’s been six months and nobody has really stepped up otherwise.”

The Hyde County Child Development board’s plan is to lease and renovate a vacant building — most recently a flower shop — as a child care center to serve up to 39 infants and toddlers. Highmore plans to eventually build a new child care center on vacant land owned by Venture Communications. That piece of land will house the center’s playground until then.

The state’s focus for the grants was fostering community collaboration between local governments, child care providers, businesses and schools, according to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Simonson expected a handful of people to help in the planning and implementation of the grant, but nearly 50 people came out to support the effort.

Based on a survey of over 100 Highmore residents, nearly 30% expect they’ll need child care in the next three years. Another 45% currently need child care during the summer months when school is out, since there isn’t an afterschool program for school-aged children in Highmore.

“They want this for their families and for Highmore’s future,” Simonson said. “That’s what this is really about. We need this for the future of our community.”

In Redfield, the economic development group Grow Spink (a reference to Spink County) plans a similar community child care center using the $245,000 it was awarded from the state. It will be open to the entire county, and will serve as an “umbrella organization” for other child care providers in the county. There are 12 in-home providers in Spink County and one community child care center in Doland — all are full with waitlists.

Having a central child care agency or office will help the county organize, award smaller grants for other child care providers to make renovations and improvements, and set up a substitute teacher system. In applying for the state grants, the economic development group realized one of the major challenges for providers is staffing.

“My own kids go to a provider in Redfield that has a waitlist out to 2026,” said Grow Spink Executive Director Gianna Schieffer. “I know of three or four providers who want to retire but don’t have the heart to close because their families have nowhere to go. They’re hoping there’ll be a solution sooner rather than later.”

Schieffer added she’s starting to see families move out of Redfield or pass up “good paying jobs” because of a lack of child care options. With 30% of the county population nearing or within child bearing age, it’s important for the growth of the county, she added.

Both Redfield and Highmore plan to fundraise more to reach their goals beyond the awarded grants.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Source link

Click to comment

South Dakota

DOE selects nine school districts for 2026 South Dakota Perkins Reserve grant

Published

2 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

DOE selects nine school districts for 2026 South Dakota Perkins Reserve grant

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Nine school districts have been selected as recipients of the 2026 Perkins Reserve Grant by the South Dakota Department of Education.

The grant provides major equipment upgrades for Career and Technical Education programs, helping to equip students with the skills and experiences needed for post-secondary education and the workforce.

“CTE programs are constantly evolving to match the pace of workforce needs,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Joseph Graves.

“The South Dakota Perkins Reserve Grant aids schools in equipping students with current technologies, resources, and tools, offering students a realistic, hands-on learning experience that will strengthen their marketability to colleges or employers once they leave the K-12 education system.”

The following school districts have been named as the 2026 recipients:

Aberdeen School District:
- Awarded $30,233 for new precision machine equipment for the manufacturing program.
De Smet School District:
- Awarded $15,898 for modernizing metal fabrication within agriculture programs.
Lake Preston School District:
- Awarded $43,160 for expansion of program offers in multiple career clusters to strengthen industrial alignment.
McLaughlin School District:
- Awarded $11,997 to purchase equipment to offer a new culinary arts program.
Menno School District:
- Awarded $32,844 to purchase small engines and attend professional development opportunities to enhance the agricultural mechanics program.
Mitchell School District:
- Awarded $38,663 for the modernization of the automotive technology lab.
Timber Lake School District:
- Awarded $42,400 for the expansion of agriculture course offerings to strengthen industry alignment.
Wakpala School District:
- Awarded $40,145 to purchase a skid steer simulator to enhance the agriculture and construction program.
Wolsey-Wessington School District:
- Awarded $26,201 to purchase industry-aligned equipment to enhance the agriculture and construction program.

You can learn more about the South Dakota Perkins Reserve Grant at doe.sd.gov.

Source link

South Dakota

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

Published

14 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.

Source link

South Dakota

South Dakota lawmakers push bill criminalizing deepfakes nearer to governor’s desk

Published

1 day 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.

Source link