The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) announced that concrete repairs are scheduled to begin the week of Monday, Oct. 17 on the following roadways noted below.

Thousands of schoolchildren across South Dakota are facing new barriers to getting proper nutrition at school due to the end of a pandemic-era federal program that provided free meals to all students regardless of parental income.

The deadline for college or university students to apply to serve as legislative interns for the 2023 Legislative Session has been extended to Oct. 21.

South Dakota students and families can access a new, online tutoring program, staffed by college students who are preparing to become teachers. The Dakota Dreams Online Tutoring Program offers free online tutoring to K-12 students across the state.

September precipitation was once again below average in the Missouri River Basin. September runoff in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City was 0.6 million acre-feet (MAF), 47 percent of the longterm average. Soil conditions in the upper Missouri River Basin continue to be very dry. According to the Drought Mitigation Center, over 90 percent of the Missouri River basin is currently experiencing some form of abnormally dry conditions or drought, which is almost a 20 percent increase from the end of August. “Runoff in the upper Missouri River Basin was below average during the month of September and is expected to remain low throughout the rest of 2022,” said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.

The South Dakota Rural Electric Association (SDREA) Board of Directors has selected Steve Barnett as the statewide organization’s new general manager. SDREA, which has served as the chief advocate for the state’s electric cooperative consumers for nearly 80 years, tapped Barnett to lead the association as the electric utility industry faces a rapidly changing future.

The South Dakota Municipal League (SDML) has selected David Reiss of Pierre as the next executive director of the SDML. “We have a really good feeling about the health of the Municipal League and what David brings to the organization,” SDML Past President Steve Allender said.

Retail businesses across South Dakota are preparing for hunters to hit the fields Oct. 15, the opening day of the 2022 pheasant hunting season. Thousands of hunters from around the country come to South Dakota each year to enjoy this unique and memorable tradition.

The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) Commission held their meeting at the Rapid City Outdoor Campus Oct. 6-7.

The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) reminds landowners hay remaining in highway ditches needs to be removed. The bales must be removed to ensure road safety in the coming months.