SOUTH DAKOTA’S PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES REPORT STEADY ENROLLMENT

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota’s public university system continues its upward momentum in student enrollment. This marks the fourth consecutive year of targeted system growth and the second successive year with more than 36,000 students – a notable benchmark in the face of national challenges in higher education.

More encouraging, a greater number of South Dakota high school graduates are choosing to pursue higher education within the state than in years past. The number of South Dakota students enrolled across the six public universities rose to 22,410, up more than 1,600 students since Fall 2021. This trend is a strong indicator of confidence in the state’s public higher education system.

“South Dakota families are showing continued trust in our public universities, a testament to the quality of education and strong return on investment provided at our institutions, and we’re proud to see more of our high school graduates staying in state to pursue their degrees,” said Nathan Lukkes, South Dakota Board of Regents Executive Director. “We know from long-term data that more than 70% of resident graduates stay in South Dakota after earning their degrees, contributing directly to our state’s economy and workforce.”

The 2025 Fall Semester saw year-over-year increases in full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment and student credit hours compared to the historically strong Fall 2024 semester, indicating that students are enrolling in more courses and progressing toward degree completion at a steady pace. The total system-wide headcount for Fall 2025 remained at 36,091, a student count that broke numerous records across the system in 2024.

While annual percentage growth was flat this year compared to the previous 5% surge seen in 2024, system officials note that the year-over-year stability is positive given the already strong base of last fall’s enrollment.

“Our South Dakota public universities have demonstrated resilience and relevance in a changing higher education landscape, and I am proud of the work our campuses have done to keep the needs of our students and state at the forefront,” Lukkes added. “Any increases on top of already high performance are signs of sustained success – especially when paired with increased resident enrollment, strong return on investment, and workforce retention.”

 

AVON MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER SELECTED AS SOUTH DAKOTA TEACHER OF THE YEAR

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Education announced on Thursday that Becky Haenfler, a middle school English Language Arts teacher at the Avon School District, was named the 2026 South Dakota Teacher of the Year.

“Becky Haenfler has a wonderful reputation at Avon School District as being an engaging educator whose teaching style gets kids excited about reading,” said Secretary of Education Joseph Graves. “She is committed to making sure all of her students have the supports they need to read novels that challenge and inspire them, and that experience turns them into lifelong readers.”

A USD graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in education and a Master’s degree as a reading specialist, Haenfler teaches fifth, sixth, and seventh grade at the school and in the same classroom where she attended as a child.

Using novels as the foundation for lessons, Haenfler works to engage students with meaningful lessons with real-world connections.

As Teacher of the Year, Haenfler receives a $5,000 grant from the West River Foundation and a $2,000 honorarium from the South Dakota Board of Regents to present a series of professional seminars to aspiring teachers.

Haenfler will represent South Dakota as a candidate for the 2026 National Teacher of the Year award, to be announced next spring in Washington, DC.

 

SOUTH DAKOTA FARMERS AND RANCHERS PLEAD TO CONGRESS FOR A FARM BILL

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – This week, South Dakota farmers and ranchers made the trip to the nation’s capital to advocate for policies that support agriculture.

A farm bill is now two years overdue. This, along with a trade war that is cutting off international markets for farmers in the state to sell to, is all becoming a dire concern.

David Reis, a Lyman County Farmer, said the farming community is being forced to tread lightly in their business.

“You’re trying to run farm country with a whole bunch of ad hoc and add-on provisions and people not knowing what’s going on and what’s going to happen in the future, it’s really tough to do business that way,” Reis said.

Specifically, Reis is advocating for a policy that many conservative lawmakers have long supported: Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling.

“There’s a sentiment out there that cattle producers do well enough and won’t need that, but we all know the markets come up and they will turn around and we’ll want that in our back pocket when they do,” Reis said.

Last month, Representative Dusty Johnson echoed these claims, adding that he believes Americans should be aware of what is made in America so that they can recognize the sanitary and quality differences in products.

Some key issues to still be addressed in the skinny farm bill include expanding rural broadband and ensuring permanent price support laws.

Despite Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill addressing plenty of the issues usually addressed in a farm bill, some D.C. lawmakers have said they believe the “skinny” farm bill won’t get passed until 2026.

The conflict over tariffs also continues to hurt farmers around the state. One soybean farmer said he felt frustrated after a meeting with the USDA in Washington, D.C., discussing the effect of tariffs on commodity prices.

“I know there were several questions presented to them, and for lack of a better word, they ignored them. I think it’s a big deal in this country for our soybean farmers because they’re hurting all over and these prices are way below the cost of production right now,” Groton soybean farmer Chad Johnson said.

Since China is not buying soybeans, his pocketbook is taking a hit.

“We’re going to lose money; there’s just no doubt about it that we’re going to lose money. So that’s the hard answer, I guess, is that we’re going to have to grin and bear it and sell our beans and hope this trade deal gets done,” Johnson said.

 

U.S. ATTORNEY FOR SOUTH DAKOTA TOUTS RESULTS OF ‘SOPHISTICATED’ DRUG INVESTIGATIONS

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Dakota had a busy, productive time between April and August this year, indicting 88 people on federal drug charges.

According to a DOJ release, the indictments were the result of “sophisticated, long-term investigations” carried out by federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement agencies. The charges are related to the trafficking of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine.

“Drug traffickers who flood our South Dakota communities with illegal narcotics will be met with the full force of federal prosecution,” said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Dakota is proud to work alongside federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to protect the public by disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking organizations. We will continue to use every legal tool available to ensure drug traffickers face significant sentences in federal prison for endangering our communities and fueling addiction.”

There are four task forces that spearheaded investigations, three of them West River — the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team, the Badlands Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Team, and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force.

One operation, Snowy Ridge, was conducted over two days, involving several West River agencies, resulting in 16 arrests.