South Dakota
Wild horses to remain in North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park, lawmaker says
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Wild horses will stay in North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park amid fears from advocates that park officials would remove the beloved animals from the rugged Badlands landscape, a key lawmaker said Thursday.
Republican U.S. Sen. John Hoeven said he has secured a commitment from the National Park Service to maintain the park’s roughly 200 horses. His office said the Park Service will abandon its proposed removal of the horses under an environmental review process begun in 2022.
“This will allow for a healthy herd of wild horses to be maintained at the park, managed in a way to support genetic diversity among the herd and preserve the park’s natural resources,” Hoeven’s office said in a statement.
Park visitors, much to their delight, often encounter the horses while driving or hiking in the rolling, colorful Badlands where a young, future President Theodore Roosevelt hunted and ranched in the 1880s.
The horses roam the park’s South Unit near the Western tourist town of Medora. In 2022, park officials began the process of crafting a “livestock plan” for the horses as well as about nine longhorn cattle in the park’s North Unit near Watford City. Park officials have said that process aligned with policies to remove non-native species when they pose a potential risk to resources.
“The horse herd in the South Unit, particularly at higher herd sizes, has the potential to damage fences used for wildlife management, trample or overgraze vegetation used by native wildlife species, contribute to erosion and soil-related impacts … and compete for food and water resources,” according to a Park Service environmental assessment from September 2023.
Proposals included removing the horses quickly or gradually or taking no action. Park Superintendent Angie Richman has said the horses, even if they ultimately stay, would still have to be reduced to 35-60 animals under a 1978 environmental assessment. It wasn’t immediately clear how Hoeven’s announcement affects the future number of horses or the longhorns.
Thousands of people made public comments during the Park Service review, the vast majority of them in support of keeping the horses. North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature made its support official in a resolution last year. Gov. Doug Burgum offered state help to maintain the horses.
Hoeven’s announcement comes after Congress passed and President Joe Biden recently signed an appropriations bill with a provision from Hoeven strongly recommending the Park Service maintain the horses. The legislation signaled that funding to remove the horses might be denied.
The horses descend from those of Native American tribes and area ranches and from domestic stallions introduced to the park in the late 20th century, according to Castle McLaughlin, who researched the horses as a graduate student while working for the Park Service in North Dakota in the 1980s.
Gov Rhoden Smithfield interview
Gov. Rhoden, alongside economic development commissioner Bill Even, answers questions on the Smithfield move and what’s next. Watch the full interview here.
On Monday, Gov. Larry Rhoden announced that his administration is expanding on its partnerships with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of the public safety efforts announced last July.
“My administration’s number one responsibility is keeping South Dakotans safe,” said Rhoden in a release. “We’ve been working hard to get illegal alien criminals off our streets, out of our prison, and out of our country. I am proud of the results our officers have delivered – they are keeping our state strong, safe and free for generations to come – and now there’s more work to do.”
The South Dakota Highway Patrol has enrolled more troopers in ICE training, Rhoden’s release stated, increasing the number of troopers trained eight-fold. Originally, five troopers were trained in July 2025, and 17 troopers are currently trained. With this third addition in force, that number will increase to 41 troopers.
“This partnership is showing strong results,” said Secretary of Public Safety Bob Perry in a release. “In the last twelve months the SD Highway Patrol has conducted 150 arrests of illegal alien criminals.”
The expansion is also supported by the Department of Homeland Security. South Dakota is anticipating a federal reimbursement of approximately $165,000, according to Rhoden’s release.
The Department of Corrections (DOC) and the South Dakota National Guard (SDNG) have continued to work with ICE as part of two other components of this state-federal partnership, the release stated.
The DOC submitted additional inmates for parole to federal custody and deportation, according to the release. So far, 24 inmates have been paroled directly to ICE custody. DOC and ICE have identified an additional 14 inmates who will be considered for federal custody and deportation. Getting these undocumented immigrants out of the state prison system saves South Dakota taxpayers an average of $34,000 in annual cost per inmate, the administration said.
DOC is also implementing enhanced training of officers to serve warrants and assist ICE with deportations.
The SDNG deployment of seven guardsmen has continued since last fall. These active-duty soldiers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City are helping process deportations, acting as a force multiplier for South Dakota ICE officers, Rhoden’s office stated in the release. Through May 15, the SDNG has assisted directly in processing 664 illegal immigrants who have been deported out of South Dakota.
News
Eastern South Dakota farmer finishes planting ahead of schedule
A farmer in eastern South Dakota says the growing season is off to a good start on his farm now that the corn and soybeans have been planted.
Scott VanderWal, who farms in Brookings County, tells Brownfield “We had a small delay right around the May 1 where we got a couple inches of rain. That was really welcome, and then we went the rest of the way and got it all planted. I think for the most part, most farmers are about done around here, which is fairly early.”
VanderWal says some of the corn is up and soybeans are starting to poke up out of the soil.
In its latest crop progress report, USDA says South Dakota’s corn is 81 percent planted, a 28-point jump from the previous week, with 22 percent of the crop emerged. Fifty-nine percent of the state’s soybeans are planted, a 25-point jump from the previous week with 10 percent of the crop emerged.
VanderWal says rain is needed to help the crops, because it’s been dry in South Dakota. He says while much of the state received rain over the weekend, it skipped the Brookings area, and he’s optimistic some will find the farm this week.
“Sure would love to have an inch of rain or two.”
Temperatures are also expected to dip down to the mid-to-upper 30 degrees this week in parts of South Dakota, but VanderWal says he’s not too worried.
Hear Brownfield’s interview with VanderWal.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – Former President Joe Biden will be the keynote speaker June 5 at the South Dakota Democratic Party’s McGovern Day Dinner, the party announced Saturday.
“It is an honor to welcome President Biden to South Dakota, especially during such a critical time for our country,” said Shane Merrill, the state party chairman, in a news release.
The fundraiser event will be at the Best Western Plus Ramkota Exhibit Hall in Sioux Falls. It will include a VIP reception at 5:30 p.m. with a presidential meet and greet for photo opportunities at 6 p.m. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and the dinner will start at 7. Tickets are $125 apiece for the dinner and $250 apiece for the meet and greet, and are available for purchase online. Proceeds benefit the state party.
Other speakers at the event will include the state party’s candidate for U.S. Senate, Julian Beaudion, its candidate for U.S. House, Nikki Gronli, and its candidate for governor, Dan Ahlers. The dinner fundraiser is named for the late George McGovern, who was the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee and represented South Dakota in Congress.
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