LATEST NEWS

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - The Sturgis High School Rodeo booster club will soon have a brand-new arena to call its own. The club used to hold a regional rodeo at the Sturgis fairgrounds every year until that location could no longer accommodate the event. Now, they have raised more than $440,000 to construct a new rodeo arena.

(FOX 9) - An Anoka County Sheriff's deputy has been recognized as the Minnesota Police and Peace Officer Association's 2024 Officer of the Year. Tanner Shipman earned this title while off-duty at last year's Sturgis Rally, where he ran to help a South Dakota State Trooper who was being shot at by 28-year-old Wyatt Fluty.

KELOLAND News contacted several lawmakers on a variety of bills to illustrate some of the work completed in this year's legislative session.

For the week ending June 30, 2024, there were 4.1 days suitable for fieldwork, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 1% very short, 5% short, 64% adequate, and 30% surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 1% very short, 8% short, 66% adequate, and 25% surplus.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - It’s all fun and games until someone gets caught using a fake ID. Deadwood is full of bars and gaming resorts that attract people from all over each summer. With so many people flocking to the popular tourist town, many fake IDs tend to...

"Suddenly people's ears perk up when the balloons go overhead, and they think there must be something going on. But the reality is, you know, we've been flying these systems for for decades."

It was the first time Leonard Peltier had sought parole in 15 years and could be his last given his health issues, his attorneys said.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Tonight will become calm and mainly clear throughout the overnight hours. A few small clouds in the sky, but low temperatures around 57° with the northwest wind up to 15 miles an hour are expected. Now looking ahead for tomorrow. We will see sunshine to start us off in the morning but by the afternoon and around lunchtime, we will see thunderstorms start developing and a few of those could pack a punch. We’ll see 77° for a high temperature for tomorrow that will be around lunchtime, but we do have that severe risk. A marginal, level one out of five risk is in effect for all of KOTA Territory. A slight, level two out of five, is an affect for the Black Hills and Rapid City, extending into portions of central South Dakota. Futurecast shows that those thunderstorms are fairly scattered throughout the day tomorrow and they could pack a punch but by Thursday those storms start to redevelop again. Good news as we start to dry out by the time the sun sets, making for some great firework weather. Here’s the forecast for Fourth of July. During the day we have those scattered thunderstorms around 60s are likely for high temperatures but as we head into the afternoon and evening, we start to clear out. By fireworks time, we start to see 50s dominate and mostly clear skies will settle in. Overnight tonight, we will see those temperatures fall into the 50s across all of the area. Few spots may even drop into the upper 40s. Mainly clear skies and calmer conditions are expected throughout the overnight hours and tomorrow we see more thunderstorms in the forecast. A few of those thunderstorms could be severe with temperatures in the 70s and 60s and around the black hills. We could see a few spots on the South Dakota Plains making it into the low to mid 80s. Northeast winds up to 15 miles an hour outside of those thunderstorms are possible. We start to dry out by the end of the work week, with Gillette, Sheridan and Spearfish all seeing sunshine returning by Friday. Deadwood could see some isolated thunderstorms around on Friday. Rapid City also seen that isolated storm chance of Friday and Saturday, but 80s return for the weekend and the start of next week.

PIERRE, (KCCR) — As America prepares to celebrate the country’s 249th birthday tomorrow, a group of South Dakotans continues to prepare for America’s 250th celebration next year. The America’s 250th S-D Commission is looking to collaborate with the University of South Dakota regarding the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. State Historical Society Director Dr. Ben Jones says that act recently celebrated it’s one-hundredth anniversary…

Nearly 200 cities, counties and tribes across South Dakota will collectively receive $500,000 in grants to eliminate mosquitoes and prevent the spread of West Nile Virus. The state Department of Health selected grant recipients based on factors such as the population of the applying jurisdiction and its history of human WNV cases through 2023. Every community that applied for funding received some, with amounts ranging from $500 to $20,000.

SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — Whether by plane or car, the Fourth of July weekend is gearing up to be a busy one for travel. Shawn Steward with AAA said more than 71 million people are expected to travel over the Fourth of July weekend with 214,000 of them being from South Dakota.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) — July 1, 2024 brought a slate of new laws into effect in South Dakota, one of which is a ban on the sale and production of chemically modified hemp products. These products have cropped up across the state (and the nation) over the past...

South Dakota Farm Bureau will present a series of informational meetings about taxes July 24 and 25 at four locations across South Dakota. The free meetings are open to the public and will include experts from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and the South Dakota Department of Revenue (DOR).

The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources confirmed the emerald ash borer has spread to Brookings County. The emerald ash borer is a beetle that feeds on the North American ash tree. It has killed millions of ash trees in the country since it entered in the early 2000s.

WALL LAKE, S.D. (KELO) — Wall Lake is open to boating with a no-wake zone, according to an announcement by the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) on Tuesday. GFP reminds boaters to be cautious for debris floating below the surface of the water and to respect homeowners by following the no-wake zone.

Some rural South Dakotans struggle to get good drinking water but the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has awarded two local communities with grants to help change it. Nearly $13 million in WaterSMART Drought Resiliency grants are slated for projects in Eagle Butte and Day County. The Mni Wašte Water Company, run by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, will receive $2.8 million to pipe water 10 miles northwest of the community to supply 17 existing residences and 20 being constructed.