Brookings Register

Six South Dakota State University basketball players spent Sunday afternoon signing miniature basketballs and posing for photos with fans at the South Dakota State Fair. The SDSU Meet & Greet, held at noon Sept. 6 in the day sponsor tent, was sponsored by South Dakota Soybean Checkoff. Fans lined up for autographs from Jackrabbit women’s players Katie Vasecka, Jaidyn Dunn and Emilee Fox, and men’s players Trey Buchanan, Blake Ellwein and Alec Squires. All six are from South Dakota.

South Dakota State has finalized its 2026-27 men’s basketball schedule. The season begins Tuesday, Nov. 3 at Kansas State. SDSU’s first home game is against in-state NAIA foe Briar Cliff on Friday, Nov. 6. SDSU’s first home game against an NCAA Division I foe is one game later, against Valparaiso, Nov. 11. The Jackrabbits then face Northern Colorado in Rapid City on Nov. 14 and host Mayville State and Abilene Christian with a visit to Idaho State in between.

The first half of South Dakota State’s football schedule is a give and take. The Jackrabbits gave 70 points to Stetson in the season opener Aug. 29 and then took a loss at Northwestern on Saturday. This weekend, they face an aptly named program that’s new to Division I (New Haven) before hosting No. 10 Youngstown State on Sept. 19. After hosting Eastern Illinois the following week, SDSU visits No. 5 Illinois State.

BROOKINGS — Downtown Brookings was the place to be this summer during the Downtown at Sundown series. Downtown at Sundown, hosted by the Brookings Regional Growth Alliance, wrapped up its 11th season. Cierra Gerstner, director of sales and marketing at the BRGA, said that said that attendance at the four events drew more than 14,000 people.

BROOKINGS — With Labor Day in the rearview mirror and summer drawing to a close, election season is officially underway in Brookings County — and local officials are urging voters to prepare early for a lengthy ballot, new state registration rules and impending absentee deadlines. Between a packed ballot full of candidates and ballot measures, alongside new citizenship verification requirements under the South Dakota SAVE Act, election staff are preparing for a busy season.

BROOKINGS — An Arlington man pleaded not guilty to felony rape and child porn charges in court in Brookings County on Sept. 1. Dan Groon, 51, was charged with two counts first degree rape of a person less than 13, a Class C felony and 10 counts of possession of child pornography, a Class 4 felony. Groon is being represented by court-appointed attorney Anthony Teesdale and the plea was entered to Judge Bob Pesall.

BROOKINGS — The City of Brookings and Linchpin Corp. have mutually agreed to terminate the development agreement for redevelopment of the Armory property in downtown Brookings. Linchpin’s plans for the historic building had included event space, a restaurant and an upscale hotel. The decision reflects the realities of today’s financing and development environment.

When a project carries a price tag of $21.8 billion, it is reasonable for the public to ask a simple question: Who pays the bill? That question is especially important when a massive regional transmission project crosses local farmland. The proposed 765-kV transmission project through eastern South Dakota is one piece of MISO’s Long-Range Transmission Planning Tranche 2.1 portfolio.

South Dakota farmers are sending Washington a message with their acres. It deserves attention. This year, producers offered nearly 290,000 South Dakota acres for Conservation Reserve Program enrollment. About 54,000 acres were renewals and 237,000 acres were new land. The U.S. Department of Agriculture accepted about 209,000 acres. Those numbers suggest something plain: Many South Dakota landowners are deciding some of their acres make more sense as grass than as another crop.

Agriculture is the lifeblood of South Dakota; it affects communities large and small across our state. In just the last few weeks, I’ve sat down with ranchers in Bison, talked about the ag economy with folks at a grain elevator in Lemmon, and joined agriculture forums at the Brown County Fair, Dakotafest, and in Sioux Falls. Listening to farmers and ranchers is an important part of my job, and these conversations inform a lot of my work in Washington.