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Zimmer: South Dakota State's Summit League winning streak is reaching ridiculous levels

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Zimmer: South Dakota State's Summit League winning streak is reaching ridiculous levels


BROOKINGS — Saturday’s win over the Omaha Mavericks was the 14th in a row for the South Dakota State women’s basketball team. It was also their 20th of the season, a benchmark they’ve reached in 21 of the last 23 seasons (they won 19 in the other two).

When they visit Denver on Thursday the Jackrabbits will be looking to improve to 13-0 in Summit League play with what would be their 15th straight win.

Impressive, right? Well it’s not even the most impressive streak the Jacks have going right now.

No, that would be the Jackrabbits’ winning streak against conference opponents, which now stands at an embarrassing-for-the-rest-of-the-league 43 straight. SDSU’s last loss in a league game came in January of 2022 when they were routed by the rival Coyotes. The streak does not, it should be noted, include the Jacks’ second loss to USD that year, in the conference tournament championship game. USD went on to the Sweet 16 after that win, while the Jacks settled for a WNIT title.

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Then the Jacks went 18-0 in the Summit League last year, reaching the second round of the NCAA touranment. And now they’re 12-0 this year, despite a freak barrage of injuries that should, it would seem, leave them as vulnerable as they’ve ever been. So far, no team in their conference has shown any inclination to take them down.

The Jacks are 61-1 in Summit League action over the last four seasons.

That’s 12-0 this year, 18-0 last year, 17-1 the year before that, and 14-0 the year before that.

South Dakota State’s Tori Nelson (right) wrestles for a loose ball with Omaha’s Katie Keitges (14) and Kennedi Grant (left) during their Summit League basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024 at Frost Arena in Brookings.

Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live

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Players and coaches both insist records and streaks aren’t a motivator for them, but there’s something to be said for the incredible consistency this program continues to exhibit, and even moreso in a season where nobody would be holding it against them if they faltered under the weight of injuries and weren’t able to contend in their conference.

“When you reflect on it in a broader sense, just like 20 wins a year, it’s still significant,” coach Aaron Johnston said. “It still says we’re on the right track and we’re doing really good things. And when you hvae a streak that long, that’s a lot of different players, too. It’s not just one player carrying us along. It’s several different classes — senior classes, freshman classes. It’s a good benchmark that we’re on the right track.”

Johnston said that pride in the achievement comes regardless of this year’s circumstances. Twenty wins in a year is a big deal any year. But for the players who have seen teammate after teammate go down with a season-ending injury, only to stare down that adversity and plow right through it, there’s certainly some extra satisfaction.

“With all the adversity and all the people who’ve got hurt, and seeing those people on the sidelines cheering us on, still doing the best they can in practice — that helps us not take anything for granted,” said sophomore post Brooklyn Meyer, whose emergence as a top-flight center has keyed the Jacks success. “That’s what this team focuses on — taking it one step at a time and doing it for each other.”

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If we’re being honest, though, the Jacks’ continued dominance isn’t a great reflection on the rest of the conference.

Do their opponents even allow themselves to fantasize about winning when they come to Frost Arena? The Jacks haven’t lost a home conference game since 2020. When teams (particularly ones other than USD) have managed to knock off the Rabbits, it’s pretty much been a fluke, not an indication that said team has closed the gap between themselves and SDSU.

Just go down the list of how long it’s been since the Jacks’ conference opponents beat them:

USD: Jan. of 2022
Denver: Feb. of 2020
Omaha: Jan. of 2017
UND: March of 2004
NDSU: Jan. of 2015
UMKC: Jan. of 2010
ORU: Jan. of 2012

Former members IUPUI and Western Illinois both won their last game over SDSU in 2017. IPFW beat the Jacks once in 37 tries. Newest member St. Thomas is winless against the Jacks so far in just a handful of tries.

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SDSU players celebrate a basket by Mesa Byom (far right) in their win over USD on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024 at Frost Arena in Brookings.

Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live

“It’s a testament to all of our personalities,” said junior post Mesa Byom. “We all want the best for each other and we play that way. So it’s not looking at it like ‘Oh, we’re better than them’, we’re just doing it for each other.”

But they are better than ‘them’. Every night, it seems.

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USD became the Jacks’ primary threat in women’s basketball pretty much the second they moved up to Division I, and for a moment appeared to have equalled their standing. But they’re rebuilding now.

NDSU is enjoying one of its best seasons in years, currently 10-2 in league play. But they already lost to SDSU in Fargo. They come to Frost next week.

Perhaps the Bison are ready to snap the streak. And the Jacks are, unfortunately for them, probably just one more injury away from having a much tougher time sustaining the level of play they’ve impressively maintained this season.

That said, 43 wins in a row can imbue a team with an awful lot of confidence. And inspire a significant level of intimidation in their opponents, especially in front of raucous blue-and-yellow clad crowd in Sioux Falls.

Whether the Jacks’ conference winning streak is still intact by Summit League tournament time or not, they’ll be the heavy favorites. The business-as-usual approach tends to work well for them.

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“(The winning streak) is another achievement but it’s not something we talk about,” Johnston said. “I don’t want it to be something that becomes a burden for our team to carry. We’re gonna try to play well on Thursday because that’s our next game and it’s an important one. If that continues a streak, great. If it ends a streak we pick up and move on.”

Matt Zimmer

Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at mzimmer@siouxfallslive.com.





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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.

This story was originally published on

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SouthDakotaSearchlight.com.

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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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