The Garretson Boys' Varsity Basketball season came to an end after a heavily-fought game against Baltic last week Thursday, March 6. The rivals managed to eke out an edge the Dragons just couldn't overcome, despite several attempts throughout the game.
Cole Jessen //Garrick A. Moritz, Gazette
The two teams were evenly matched throughout the first quarter, as they each battled for the ball. Baltic scored first after several tries, but Garretson wasn't too far behind as Brecken Weir put in a 2-pointer only seconds later. They ended the first quarter 7-9 after a last-second basket from the Dragons failed to sink.
Garretson's defense did well to block and keep the Bulldogs from getting too comfortable in the second quarter, but Baltic's strategy of waiting out the clock and keeping the ball on their side of the court proved to be successful in keeping the Dragons slightly behind throughout the rest of the game. They entered the half five points behind, 14-19.
Both teams entered the third quarter with a fire in their bellies as they gathered 17 points for the Dragons and 19 points for the Bulldogs. The teams went into the fourth with a 7-point spread, 31-38.
The advantage gave the Bulldogs the lead as they entered the decisive final quarter, but that's when the Dragons went for broke and kept the Bulldogs down to zero while they gathered 8 points, putting them ahead 39-38. With just under three minutes left on the clock, however, the Bulldogs took possession and went on their own run of eight points.
Despite attempts to close that gap, the Dragons just couldn't get the ball through the hoop, and the buzzer sounded with Garretson behind, 39-46.
In the next round of the quarterfinals, Baltic lost to Dell Rapids. The SoDak 16 was scheduled to play on Tuesday with Dells facing Rapid City Christian (results not available at press time).
Garretson ended its season with an overall win-loss score of 9-12. Kudos to the team, and to seniors Cole Jessen, Josh Gilbert, Ian Buettner, Treyton Decker, and Noah Schotzko, on a great season.
Girls basketball closes out 5-16 season during first round of region play
by Emma Wolf, GHS Blue Ink
On Tuesday, February 25, the Lady Dragons’ basketball season came to an end after losing to the Quarriers with a score of 28-59. The season was filled with a roller coaster of emotions, but despite all the challenges, the girls pushed through finishing 5-16.
Harper Andera looks to take a shot. //Garrick A Moritz, Gazette file photo
The season was marked by a mix of challenges and triumphs, but the girls continuously showed growth and improvement, both individually and as a team.
Assistant Coach Amber Bos highlighted the team’s progress, “I think that we had a lot of good things happen and we had a lot of highs, and we improved a lot from the beginning of the year.”
These moments of success were not just about the wins on the scoreboard but about their development on the court and the bonds they formed with each other. Tayler Benson and Ashley Harris were the two seniors that played this season and they were good role models for the younger players to look up to.
“My favorite part of the season was getting the opportunity to play with the girls for one last season and watching the underclassmen grow and become great athletes,” stated Harris.
Despite the season not going exactly the way they wanted to, the girls made the best of it and made some good memories along the way.
Junior Brooklyn Trudeau stated, “My favorite memory was the hype sessions before the games.”
Agreeing with Trudeau, junior Gracie Fiegen said that some of her favorite memories were made on the bus before games.
This season also brought some new faces to the Lady Dragons’ roster. Eighth graders Harper Andera and Annalise Hoeck both got pulled up this year to play with the JV and Varsity, bringing a different energy and new talent to the team. This is the first time in memory that junior high students have been pulled up to play at a varsity level for girls’ basketball. Both girls have contributed to the team in many ways and quickly improved throughout the season.
Bringing these girls up was a reminder to many that there is a bright future for the Lady Dragons and there is exciting potential for the years to come. The Lady Dragons have definitely grown throughout the season not only individually but also as a whole.
Despite losing two seniors this year, the upcoming years seem promising.
“I think we can be successful next year if we work together as a team and really put in the effort over the summer,” stated Fiegen.
Following Fiegen’s statement, Head Coach Matt Schrank stated, “I’m excited about next year. We have a lot of young girls that got a lot of varsity playing time that they hadn’t before and I’m excited to see how they will grow.”
While the Lady Dragons did not get the outcome that they had hoped for, the season showed a lot of growth and improvement for the girls. Through all the ups and downs, the team made some great memories, and there is a lot of promise for the future of the team. If the Lady Dragons are willing to put in the effort and hard work, next season will be looking bright for them.
On February 22nd, 2025, the Blue Dragons C Team participated in a three team jamboree event down in Parker, which included Parker, Freeman, and the Garretson teams . The Blue Dragon took on the Flyers from Freeman in their first game of the day, which started off very well as they jumped out to a 14-4 lead after the opening quarter. Unfortunately, the Blue Dragons weren’t able to keep that momentum going the rest of the game as they were defeated 40-20.
“I’ve never seen a team go ice cold in a matter of moments,” explained Heitkamp. “We were getting solid looks at the basket, but nothing was falling. I was overall pleased with our defensive play, but scoring on the offensive side just didn’t happen.”
Ethan McGregor had a solid game netting 7 points, while Isaiah Coburn and Casen Smith added 4 more points each. Cooper Smith collected 3 points and Jackson Collins rounded out the scoring with 2 points.
In the final game of the day the Blue Dragons took on the host team Parker Pheasants. The Blue Dragons came out struggling again to get the basketball through the hoop as they faced a 20-12 deficit going into the final 6 minutes of play.
“We couldn’t find any consistency with regards to our offense the first three quarters of play,” Heitkamp stated. “We were again getting quality looks, but nothing was dropping for us.”
The Blue Dragons came out fired up the final quarter as they erased an 8 point lead from the Pheasants and pulled out a 25 to 21 victory giving them their first victory of the season.
“I have no idea what clicked, but something happened that they were not going to be denied,” exclaimed Coach Heitkamp. “We were knocking down big shots and played unbelievable defense only giving up one point in the final stanza. The also went 4 of 6 from the charity strip sealing the victory.”
Ethan McGregor had another nice game as he was the games leading scorer with 12 points. Isaiah Coburn added 5 point of his own, which included 3 free throws at the end securing a victory for the team. Cade Risty collected 3 points, as Myles Hanson and Michael Hanisch netted 2 points each. Casen Smith finished the night with 1 point.
JV Team Falls To Dells
On February 24th, 2025, the JV team stepped on the court for the final time in the 2024/2025 season as they played host to the Dell Rapids Quarriers. The opening quarter was back and forth with Dells holding a slight 8-6 lead after the first 6 minutes of the game. The Quarriers put the clamps down on the home team in the 2nd quarter holding the Blue Dragons to just 1 point, while extending their lead going into the locker room at halftime 16-7.
“We couldn’t throw the ball into the ocean that second quarter,” Heitkamp mentioned. “We were getting unbelievable looks at the hoop again, but we just couldn’t finish. Thank goodness we were playing solid defense, which keep us in the game.”
The Blue Dragons came out the 2nd half playing motivated basketball, but were not able to cut into the lead as Dell Rapids led 26-15 going into the final 6 minutes. The Blue Dragons had an offensive explosion the final stanza denting the nets for 14 points, but unfortunately fell a little short as the Quarriers snuck out a 32-29 victory.
“I can’t complain about our efforts the second half,” stated Coach Heitkamp. “The kids did everything asked of them, but it just wasn’t meant to be when the final buzzer sounded.”
Colton Buchholz was the games leading scorer this evening leading the Blue Dragons with 14 points. Ethan McGregor was able to drop down 10 points of his own, while Isaiah Coburn added another 5 points to the score column. The JV Team finished the season with a 10-8 record. The coaching staff once again wants to thank the family and fans for the support all season…see you all next year, so keep hooping!!
PIERRE — The board of directors of the South Dakota High School Activities Association will have quite a turnover this year as four of the positions on the nine-member board will be up for election.
Member schools will be able to make nominations for those board positions at the association’s annual meeting on April 23. Seven positions on the board rotate among superintendents, high school principals and activities directors. Nominees must receive a majority of the votes cast. In the event no candidate receives a majority, a run-off election is held between the two candidates who have the highest vote totals.
Three board members are at the end of five-year terms. They include:
•Current board chairman Marty Weismantel of Groton. He is the school board of education representative for small schools.
•Division I Representative Ryan Rollinger of Harrisburg. Division I includes schools in Harrisburg, Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Nominees for this position must be activities directors.
•East River At Large Representative Trent Osborne of Ipswich. The next representative must be a high school principal.
At its meeting on Wednesday, the board accepted the resignation of Adam Shaw of Madison, the Division III representative. A high school principal at Madison, Shaw has accepted a position as superintendent and elementary principal at the Marion School District. The high school principal elected to replace Shaw will serve a three-year term.
PIERRE — The board of directors of the South Dakota High School Activities Association spent some time during Wednesday’s meeting clarifying the ejection policy for students, coaches and spectators.
The current policy says that a coach or student ejected from a contest will “be ineligible for the next regularly scheduled contest at that level of competition and all other contests in the interim at any level of competition.” A second violation in the same sports season carries a mandatory four-contest period of ineligibility/suspension. A third ejection in the same season results in the student or coach being suspended for the rest of the season.
The policy for student suspensions was clarified to note how the suspension takes effect if the next contest is a multi-day event like a state tournament. In team sports like basketball, volleyball, soccer, football, softball and competitive cheer and dance the athlete would miss the first scheduled contest within the tournament and all other contests that day.
If the first post suspension event is a tournament in an individual sport like track and field, cross-country, tennis, golf, wrestling or gymnastics, the athlete would miss the first scheduled event of the tournament as well as all other contests on that day.
In the sport of wrestling, that means missing the entire event as a suspended wrestler would not be able to weigh in on the first day.
SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos said the clarification was needed because missing the next contest means different things in different sports. He used the example of basketball and tennis. Missing the next event in basketball means missing the next game. In tennis, there may be another match the same day and the policy needed to be clear that the ejection was for the entire day.
In the sport of football, if a player is ejected in the first half of a game on an “illegal personal contact” penalty, he will miss the second half of the game. An ejection for that penalty in the second half of the game would result in missing the first half of the next game.
The rules for suspended students would be applied in the same manner for coaches who have been ejected from a game prior to a tournament. A suspended coach is not allowed to travel with the team or be at the venue during any contests while under suspension. A school that allows an ineligible coach or student to participate will face a mandatory forfeit of the contest.
A spectator who is ejected, either by a game official or a school administrator, will not be allowed to attend any contests for the remainder of the day and will be barred from attending the next contest at that level of competition. A second violation carries a mandatory four-game suspension. A third ejection during a single sports season results in suspension from attendance for the rest of that season.
Swartos said the policy was clarified to note that a spectator’s ejection was valid whether it came from a game official or a school administrator.
For a spectator, if the next contest after a suspension is a multi-day tournament, the suspension shall hold for the first day of that event. It was noted that the SDHSAA ejection standards are the minimum requirement for schools to follow. Schools may have harsher fan ejection policies as well as stiffer penalties for coach and player ejections.
In order to return after an ejection, students, coaches and spectators must watch the NFHS Sportsmanship Course on the NFHSLearn website and show proof of completion to the SDHSAA office.
PIERRE — A bill that is awaiting Gov. Larry Rhoden’s signature may have future implications for the South Dakota High School Activities Association.
SB 219, passed by both the S.D. House and Senate, would require all school-affiliated events to accept cash for admittance. Those that don’t must admit for free spectators who show up with cash if there is space available.
SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos explained at Wednesday’s board meeting that the association currently accepts cash at all of its state events. His concern was if a private venue like the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls or the Monument Center in Rapid City decides to go cashless.
“We’re going to have to scramble,” Swartos said, if one of the venues that hosts the association’s biggest events decides to go cashless. “It (the law) would apply to private businesses that we have no control over.”
Swartos said there are fraud and security issues concerning state events that accept cash. He said at the State B basketball tournament the association hires a security guard because of the amount of cash involved.
Trump's tariffs: South Dakota farmers prepare for impact
BY STU WHITNEY South Dakota News Watch
During his March 4 address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, President Donald Trump defended his use of tariffs as a core economic and political strategy, adding a message to the agricultural community.
"Our farmers are going to have a field day right now," Trump said during the speech. "So to our farmers, have a lot of fun. I love you too."
In South Dakota, a state whose reliance on agricultural trade makes it more susceptible to the risks of tariffs and trade wars, the president's words were viewed as hopeful but not entirely reassuring.
Farmers have sturdy memories. They recall the volatility of commodity prices and exports during Trump’s first White House stint, when much of the state's soybean flow to China was halted due to tariff retaliation and has struggled to recover.
"(Tariffs) will hurt our pocketbooks, obviously," said Rodney Koch, who grows soybeans and other crops north of Garretson, about 20 miles northeast of Sioux Falls. "But will we come out of it better in the long run? That's the hope."
U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds echoed that sentiment in a statement to News Watch, saying that "there needs to be an end game, and I believe the president is working with that same goal in mind."
So far, the only certainty is uncertainty.
On March 4, Trump slapped 25% tariffs on almost all imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% on imports from China, rattling stock markets and triggering retaliatory actions from the countries involved.
Two days later, the president announced that he was postponing 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month amid widespread fears of the economic fallout.
Corn, wheat and soybean prices dropped in the days following the trade shakeup, and farmers weighed the impact of more expensive machinery and fertilizer coming down from Canada.
"One thing the market doesn't like is uncertainty because uncertainty means risk," said Jared McEntaffer, CEO of the Dakota Institute, an economic research and analysis organization in Sioux Falls. "If farmers are concerned that they're going to see lower commodity prices in the future, then naturally, they're going to start pulling back on their spending. And it becomes a ripple effect."
News Watch talked to farmers, business leaders, economists and politicians to try to clear up some misconceptions about tariffs and examine how South Dakota's farm economy could be impacted in the coming months and years.
What are tariffs exactly?
Tariffs are a tax on imports, in which the buyer pays a foreign seller an established tax rate based on what is being sold. Percentages are generally lower for countries with which the United States has a favorable trade agreement.
The money is collected by Customs and Border Protection agents at 328 ports of entry across the country. Because companies are paying more for the goods, that extra cost frequently gets passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
"There's a narrative out there that we're going to be imposing these taxes on Canada and Mexico," said McEntaffer. "That's not the case. The tax will be paid by American companies and consumers."
Before the federal income tax was established in 1913, tariffs were a major revenue source for the United States. That changed as global trade grew after World War II and the government needed larger revenue streams to support its operations.
In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the government collected about $80 billion in tariffs and fees. That pales in comparison to the $2.5 trillion from individual income taxes and the $1.7 trillion from Social Security and Medicare taxes.
How do tariff policies impact South Dakota?
Farming helps drive the state economy, with agricultural production and processing accounting for about 14% of South Dakota’s gross domestic product (the total value of all goods and services produced).
The wholesaling of corn, wheat and soybeans brought in $10 billion in overall revenue in 2024, second among South Dakota industries to credit card issuing ($18 billion).
Though many of these farm goods are sold domestically, a large percentage (including 60% of soybeans) are sold to international buyers.
South Dakota is the country’s 12th largest agricultural exporting state, shipping $5.4 billion in farm goods abroad in 2022, led by soybeans, corn, feed grains, beef, veal and wheat.
The largest international markets for these exports are, in order, Canada, Mexico and China, which are the three countries that Trump’s administration has placed tariffs upon.
Don’t tariffs impact U.S. imports, not exports?
The thing about tariffs is that there is almost always retaliation, as we’ve seen with Canada, Mexico and China. That’s what is meant by trade wars.
In 2018, when Trump slapped a 25% tariff on goods from China, the Chinese government responded in kind. That greatly reduced the exporting of soybeans into China as that country looked to Brazil to fill the void.
As of November 2024, China accounted for only 44% of total U.S. soybean sales, down from 62% in 2016. From 2019-2023, an average of 73% of Brazil’s exported soybeans went to China.
Following Trump's 2025 tariff announcement, Beijing retaliated with levies of up to 15% on various U.S. agricultural exports, including soybeans, wheat, meat and cotton.
Mexico's response will be watched closely, since that country is the top destination for United States corn exports.
"They're our No. 1 customer, and we value our customers," said DaNita Murray, executive director of South Dakota Corn, which represents the interests of corn producers across the state. "There's a balance between wanting to negotiate strong trade agreements and asking those countries to come to the table to negotiate in good faith while they're being slapped with tariffs."
What is President Trump's reasoning for the tariffs?
The economic reasoning revolves around boosting revenue and addressing trade deficits as well as trying to incentivize American companies such as automakers to shift manufacturing back to the United States.
But Trump has also talked of using tariffs as a bargaining tool to strengthen border security. During his March 4 address, he said that Mexico and Canada have "allowed fentanyl to come into our country at levels never seen before, killing hundreds of thousands of our citizens.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there were 87,000 fentanyl-related U.S. deaths between October 2023 and September 2024, down from 114,000 the previous year.
Critics have questioned equating the northern border with the southern border on the subject of drug smuggling. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared to 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border.
"We understand that the president is using (tariffs) as a negotiating lever to stop the flow of fentanyl into the country," said Scott VanderWal, president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau. "Usually he gets what he wants by doing things like that."
But VanderWal, a third-generation family farmer from Volga, just west of Brookings, is also concerned about the fragile state of South Dakota's farm economy so soon after the COVID-19 pandemic, droughts and flooding as well as uncertainty about a new farm bill and federal spending cuts.
Nationally, net farm income decreased 4% in 2024, following a 19% drop the year before.
VanderWal met with South Dakota Republican and U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune on March 4 in Washington to urge caution on trade policies as Trump acknowledged in his speech to Congress that there could be a "little disturbance" in the markets before the strategy bears fruit.
"What we hear from our members is that they can handle some temporary pain as long as there's some benefit on the other end," VanderWal said. "But we've been careful to help the administration understand that with the current ag economy, we would prefer that the president uses the tariffs sparingly."
What are South Dakota politicians saying?
Tariffs present a political quandary for South Dakota’s congressional delegation, which is caught between Trump’s enduring popularity (he carried the state with 63% of the vote in 2024) and the economic needs of their ag-based constituents.
So far, Thune, Rounds and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson have publicly backed Trump's aggressive trade strategy while also calling for reasonable time limits and parameters.
"Unlike former President Biden, who didn’t negotiate any new trade agreements which led to lower commodity prices, President Trump is a businessman and uses tariffs as leverage in negotiating important issues such as border protection," Rounds told News Watch. "He’s pretty clearly expressed his desire for us to be patient as he works through those issues. Naturally, those of us that have always promoted free trade continue to look for progress."
Johnson told News Watch in February that fair trading relationships and stopping the flow of fentanyl across the border are important priorities and "it seems to me that the president has been very clear that these are areas where he wants to have leverage in conversations with these countries.”
Kristi Noem, former South Dakota governor and U.S. representative who's now secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, has ardently supported the trade measures as a means of securing the border. Thune told CNN that Trump's actions are "an attempt to use (tariffs) in a targeted way to achieve and accomplish something that I think a lot of the Americans expect him to address.”
Those statements illustrate a much different political climate than South Dakota Republican leaders operated under in 2018, when Trump levied tariffs against China during his first term in office.
At that time, Thune, Rounds and Noem sent a public letter to the president expressing “serious concern” over the tariffs and other trade policies that they said could push “an alarming number” of South Dakota farmers and ranchers “to the brink of economic collapse.”
“Please keep in mind that U.S. export market share is diminishing daily at an alarming rate, and history has proven that once lost, export markets can take years, even decades to recapture,” read the July 2018 letter.
How will tariffs impact current trade agreements?
One of the concerns is that igniting a tariff battle will reverse recent gains in the trade relationship with Mexico under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was signed during Trump’s first term.
Mexico repealed its ban on importing genetically modified (biotech) corn from the U.S. in February after a favorable ruling in an arbitration case brought by American trade representatives.
“We had some ups and downs with the previous Mexican administration, but things seem to be headed in the right direction," said Murray of South Dakota Corn, which monitors policy for a state ranked sixth in overall corn exports. "I know that the current administration (in Mexico) is interested in looking at USMCA and possibly making some improvements, and it could be a tough conversation with tariffs in the picture."
On March 6, Trump announced that imports from Mexico that comply with USMCA would be excluded from the 25% tariffs for a month. He also stated that potash (fertilizer) that U.S. farmers import from Canada would be tariffed at 10%, the same rate at which Trump wants to tariff Canadian energy products.
As for changing the dynamic and exploring global markets for corn exports, Murray noted India as a possibility and also various countries in Africa.
“You have mature corn markets like Mexico and Japan,” she said. “And then you have new emerging possibilities, like India and, frankly, the continent of Africa. What are their protein needs? And can U.S. corn compete on a quality basis, as well as price, to make sure that it's U.S. corn that's feeding those chickens and pigs.”
Will there be a farm bailout coming this time?
The “temporary pain” of U.S. farmers during the first go-round of Trump tariffs in 2018-19 was addressed by authorizing payments to U.S. farmers of $28 billion to offset their losses from Chinese trade retaliation.
That was more than the $21.8 billion that the Department of Defense spent in fiscal year 2019 for “nuclear delivery systems and weapons,” including ballistic missile submarines, intercontinental ballistic missiles and bombers, according to Forbes.
“Taxpayers are going to be asked to initial checks to farmers in lieu of having a trade policy that actually opens and expands more markets," Thune said at the time. "There isn’t anything about this that anybody should like."
Given the state of the federal deficit and the administration's focus on cutting government spending, it seems unlikely that a similar round of farm bailouts will be offered this time around.
That could make the sting felt by farmers more long-lasting if trade wars linger and tariffs become the norm, said Doug Sombke, president of the South Dakota Farmers Union.
“We haven't gained markets back from the last time, and we probably never will," said Sombke, a fourth-generation Brown County farmer. "The only reason we made it through last time was that we got substantial payments from the government, which contributed to the current budget deficit."
Tariffs on Canada could make it more expensive to buy farm machinery and other equipment, Sombke said, worsening an already difficult cycle of farmers struggling to make ends meet without government support.
In 2023, South Dakota received $1.23 billion in farm subsidies, which ranked fourth behind Texas, Kansas and North Dakota.
“If you ask any CPA (certified public accountant) who is doing taxes for farmers, they'll tell you the same thing – farmers are making it on the payments," Sombke said. "If it wasn't for the subsidies and tax breaks and other payments they receive, they wouldn't make anything. That’s how tight things are right now."
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The Associated Press contributed to this story, which was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they're published. Contact Stu Whitney at .
It was a treat to have my granddaughters Rebecca and Rachel sing the national anthem at the opening of session on Tuesday!
We are starting to wrap up bills and here are just a few that I will highlight.
HB 1052 - Legislators spoke and stood with the landowners farmers and ranchers in defense of the private property rights against eminent domain abuse. It passed on the Senate floor 23 to 12 and now the Governor has signed it into law.
SB 145 aims to increase government transparency and fiscal oversight. Leases lasting more than 15 years or totaling more than 5 million or monthly rent of $50,000 would need approval from both legislative chambers. This passed with full support of all 70 members of the House.
SB 191 protect Fair and uniform property taxation in SD. I do not support this as it shifts the tax burden to others. It would allow for two nearly identical homes in the same neighborhood to be taxed differently. We will be taking up several bills this week dealing with property tax relief.
HB 1131 passed that would provide one time money for restoration, maintenance and repair of our beautiful State Capitol.
Governor Rhoden has set up a special session to discuss any new proposals that come from the Project Prison reset working group. This group has three questions to answer. Do we need a new prison? How big it should it be? Where should it go? Recommendations made by this working group will be presented to the special session on July 22.
We have only one week left in this session. It has been my honor to represent the voters in District 25. You can reach me with any comments or questions at , or call 605-773-3851 or my cell 605-864-1274.
PIERRE — The South Dakota Senate gutted a bill Monday at the Capitol that would have subjected librarians to criminal prosecution for disseminating obscene material to children, and replaced that language with a requirement that school and public libraries allow for appeals of their determinations on obscene material.
South Dakota librarians watch a debate from the gallery of the state Senate in Pierre on March 10, 2025. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
The bill will now go back to the House for consideration of the amendment, and could go to a conference committee if the House does not concur.
Sen. David Wheeler, R-Huron, introduced the amendment. It strikes the original bill language and replaces it with new language building on a law passed last year that requires libraries to publish their policies for restricting minors from accessing obscene materials.
Wheeler’s amendment says determinations about what’s obscene can be appealed to the school board or a public library’s governing board. It also says the decisions of those boards can be appealed to court.
“With this amendment, we actually get to the heart of what this is about,” Wheeler said. “It’s about, ‘How do we make decisions about when books are or are not appropriate or legal to have on a shelf?’”
The motion to amend the bill passed 18-16, and the amended version of the bill passed 32-2.
The original version of the bill would have repealed a legal exemption that shields librarians from prosecution under laws regulating obscenity and prohibiting the dissemination of material deemed harmful to minors. Although the debate focused mostly on librarians, the original version of the bill also would have repealed the exemption for schools, universities and museums.
Supporters of the original version said it would prevent explicit content from reaching children, while opponents said it could result in locking up librarians. Some supporters distributed excerpts of books they consider obscene to lawmakers.
“If someone had knowingly given that to my children when they were little, I would want them strung up from the nearest tree,” said Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City. “There is more that I would want than a simple slap on the wrist.”
Sen. Lauren Nelson, R-Yankton, sponsored the original version in the Senate. She described it as a necessary step to ensure that public institutions are held accountable for making explicit materials accessible to minors.
Dozens of opposing librarians were in the gallery of the Senate watching the debate. In opposition to the original bill, Sen. Stephanie Sauder, R-Bryant, challenged her colleagues to “look in the eyes of the librarians up there and tell them, ‘I don’t trust you.’”
Sen. Jamie Smith, D-Sioux Falls, rejected the premise that the legislation addresses a real problem. He said it’s an unnecessary attempt to inject national culture wars into South Dakota politics.
“This bill has no purpose in the state of South Dakota,” he said.
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence.
South Dakota lawmakers nearly came up empty-handed on their property tax relief campaign pledges Monday, until they rescued one of several remaining bills from defeat.
Many lawmakers campaigned on property tax reform in the 2024 election, more than 20 bills were introduced this legislative session addressing the issue, and the governor convened a working group earlier this session to introduce a comprehensive property tax reform package. That bill from the governor was the only one left standing by late Monday, the first day of the session’s final week.
Lawmakers are responding to public calls for relief, largely from non-agricultural property owners. Since 2017, property tax payments have gone up 47% for owner-occupied homes and 36% for commercial property, while rising 3% for agricultural property. Ag land taxes have been held in check by a change from market-based to productivity-based assessments.
Lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives rejected other bills Monday at the Capitol in Pierre that would have provided varying amounts of property tax relief to South Dakota homeowners.
The House of Representatives reconsidered and approved, by a vote of 53-16, an amended version of what the governor has called his “rifle shot” approach to the issue, after the bill failed in the chamber by one vote earlier in the day. The legislation will now go back to the Senate for consideration of the amended language.
Rep. Trish Ladner, R-Hot Springs, has been working to pass property tax reform for several years. She called the legislative proposal a “good first bite.”
“It’s not a solution to every issue,” Ladner told lawmakers on the House floor, “but it gives us the opportunity to pause the skyrocketing valuations and the bleeding that people are feeling.”
Governor’s legislation passes with amendment
Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden’s bill would cap countywide residential assessment growth at 3% annually for five years, cap at 3% for five years the amount local governments can increase tax collections annually based on new construction (that five-year sunset and change to 3% were amended into the bill Monday), exempt some home improvements worth less than 40% of a home’s value from affecting assessments, and expand eligibility among disabled and elderly people for property tax relief programs.
Rep. Greg Jamison, whose own property tax bill failed Monday in the Senate, told lawmakers the Governor’s Office supported the amendment on the governor’s bill “to make something work.” It was enough to sway his vote because the amendment “lightens the load” for growing counties, but he’s still “concerned” about the limiting growth factor.
“But I don’t want to go home empty-handed either,” Jamison said.
Opposing lawmakers said the legislation is flawed because it primarily targets counties with the largest growth. Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, said the legislation aims to manipulate property valuations, which strays from “letting the market work.”
Rep. Liz May, R-Kyle, voted against the bill twice, saying that the solution is to cut spending by local governments or find new revenue streams.
“I hope when we step back in here next year, there better not be any more rifle shots,” May said. “I want a plan.”
Other bills rejected
Earlier Monday, the House rejected Senate Bill 191 in a 62-7 vote. The bill, from Sen. Amber Hulse, R-Hot Springs, would have rolled back assessments for some homeowners and capped assessment growth for all of them.
Some lawmakers in the House made a last-ditch effort to revive a bill to lower property taxes and replace the lost local revenue by increasing the state sales tax. The House shot that effort down 42-27.
The Senate rejected House Bill 1235 in a 21-13 vote. The legislation, from Jamison, would have reduced local taxing districts’ annual inflationary property tax collection growth from a 3% cap to a 2.5% cap.
Opponents said the bill would limit counties, cities and school boards’ ability to meet their budgetary needs. Sen. Randy Deibert, R-Spearfish, told lawmakers the legislation is a “bad bill” that messes with a system “that’s not broken.”
“We have a summer study under a resolution that’ll dig into this and look under the hood,” Deibert said.
Both chambers passed a resolution earlier this session to create a summer task force to “identify impactful, substantive measures” to provide significant and lasting tax relief. The task force will include 16 lawmakers, a representative from the Bureau of Finance and Management, and a representative from the Governor’s Office.
Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, said property tax reform is “one of the most important priorities” of the legislative session.
“We need to take a look at the whole picture of what’s happening,” Karr told lawmakers, “what forces are driving the property taxes to increase and what some of the mechanisms are that we can look at and consider to provide relief.”
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