Latest news with #SouthDakotaGame
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
GFP wants Purple Heart vets to use state parks for free
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Members of the U.S. armed forces who suffered wounds and received Purple Heart decorations may soon get into South Dakota state campgrounds and rec areas for free. The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission on Thursday approved granting lifetime entrance permits to Purple Heart recipients. The commission also decided that Purple Heart recipients can stay at state campsites for half-price. The commission took the actions Thursday during a meeting in Aberdeen. The changes came at the request of Connie Stone, who filed a petition asking for them. She is coordinator for veteran services at South Dakota State University in Brookings. The South Dakota Legislature's Rules Review Committee will have final say on whether the rules take effect. The six lawmakers are scheduled to next meet on Tuesday, June 10 in Pierre. The commission's pending entrance rule states: 'A resident of this state who is a recipient of the Purple Heart is also entitled to a free lifetime park entrance license. The resident shall fill out a form provided by the Division of Parks and Recreation and mail it to the Pierre office with a photocopy of the Purple Heart citation or award certificate.' A companion pending rule would reduce the fee for camping. It states: 'A resident of this state who is a recipient of the Purple Heart is also entitled to purchase a camping permit, campsite electrical service, and camping cabin permit for one-half price upon completion of a form provided by the Division of Parks and Recreation accompanied by a photocopy of the Purple Heart citation or award certificate. These discounts are for the use of the recipient only, and are not transferable.' Al Nedved, deputy director for the state Division of Parks and Recreation, spoke in support of the proposed rules on Thursday. He said approximately 150 to 200 Purple Heart recipients currently live in South Dakota. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
South Dakota campgrounds see strong start to season
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — With summer-like temperatures heating up the spring season, the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks (GFP) said they are seeing a great start to the camping season, with many campers out in the state's parks. Voters choose Duffy, Kelly for SF school board Communications Manager with the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks, Nick Harrington, said the warmer weather is one aspect they can thank for the increase in campers throughout the state. 'That warm weather has put campers in the parks that there is no other way to put it, and that has been great to see, it almost felt like a fake summer, that kind of came that last week of April and a little bit of May,' Harrington said. Harrington said South Dakota hosts 62 parks and recreation areas with around 30 to 40 of those parks offering ideal camping locations. The total number of parks included 13 state parks and 43 recreation areas. 'I think people saw that forecast, people are out camping and that's just really cool, especially for me to see, you know, we have, you know, 50 to 100 sites available depending on the size of the park,' Harrington said. 'When we checked back Monday morning, pretty much every single one of them or close to was filled.' Harrington added that parks have seen higher visitation than in previous springs they have had. 'Folks have been out, the campers are out of winterization. The parks have been, I'm not going to say full, but I'm going to say there's been significantly higher visitation than we've seen just based on some of those past springs that we've had,' Harrington said. Harrington said that the visitation to a lot of the state's campgrounds has been significantly higher than in previous years. 'Overall, when we look at the visitation, we are tracking pretty up. I think we're a couple percentage points up from where we are granted small sample size because that's going to vary by the year and we're not truly into the peak camping season,' Harrington said. 'But when you look at 2022, 2023, and 2024, we've seen gradual 1-3% increases in camping visitation as a whole.' Harrington said the state parks and recreation areas typically see a 90-day reservation window and they have seen most of their campgrounds and recreation sites stay full, adding they have seen most of their reservations heading into Memorial Day weekend as well as Father's Day weekend. 'Right now, as we stand, we're looking pretty full for Memorial Day, I would anticipate that when you factor in the last-minute pickups and maybe some last-minute cancellations,' Harrington said. 'I would say the vast majority of our parks are probably going to be 95% to 100% capacity.' He said that residents from in and outside of the state make up the total number of campers. 'So, if you look at somewhere like Custer State Park, we're going to have 20% residents, 80% non-residents, vice versa, a couple of those smaller, I refer to them as hidden gem park, that's going to be a lot of those locals that know this is a great place to get outside town and enjoy a quiet park. It depends on how you like to stay. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Residents clean up thousands of dead geese on Lake Byron
LAKE BYRON, S.D. (KELO) — Thousands of dead geese have washed up along the shores of Lake Byron, just north of Huron. Lake Byron can be a hub for snow geese. 'Most of the time, at this time of year, this place will become completely white with geese,' longtime Lake Byron resident Denis Drake said. Cimpl halts harvest operations in Yankton But this year, thousands of geese have turned up dead throughout the lake. 'We had such a mild winter, no snow, so a lot of the geese stayed up to about Christmas, and usually, they're gone by Thanksgiving. They just really started to get the bird flu. We didn't think we had near the problem until the ice started to thaw out, and that's when we really realized how many we had,' Lake Byron resident Patrick Breck said. So people have had to work together to clean up the lake. This is the third year they've had this problem, but this year has been the worst by far. 'It's just gotten really, really bad this year,' Drake said. 'So far, we've picked up in six different groups about 20,000,' Breck said. 'They don't dissolve very fast, and if you go swimming or something, you get one of them wrapped around, it's just not good,' Drake said. But community members have been doing everything they can to get the lake back to normal. 'We've got a neat community out here where we all get together and help each other out,' Drake said. 'People want to take care of their properties on the lake, and there's a lot they take a lot of pride in out here,' Breck said. The geese are being buried nearby on land owned by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New work starting at Outdoor Campus East
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The Outdoor Campus East building in Sioux Falls is about to get bigger. Regional supervisor Kip Rounds briefed the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission on Friday about the expansion project. He said Peska Construction is ready to go. 'We expect them to get started in the next week or two,' Rounds said. Sunday Funday for Summit League Championships The building's footprint will be expanded to add space for 12 archery lanes for year-round shooting, as well as three classrooms that can be converted into a single area for larger meetings, and more storage. The 18-month construction plan points to completion in fall 2026. Rounds said the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks regional office at the campus will remain open. The expansion is the second phase of new work at the campus, which opened in 1997. A July 2024 groundbreaking marked the start of phase one's 12 outdoor archery lanes. Rounds said that part will be completed on March 12 and will open to the public 'very soon, as soon as the spring weather breaks.' Archers will face west, and the outdoor lanes include a baffle to deal with errant arrows and provide a sun shade for shooters. He noted that Harrisburg High School's construction class built the target holders. You can view a rendering of the building here. 'We're extremely happy about the way it turned out,' Rounds said. State Wildlife Division director Tom Kirschenmann said the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation reached its $3 million goal of donations for the overall project. Federal Pittman-Robertson funds also will be used, he said, along with some department revenue. State lawmakers are considering requiring GFP to get authority from the Legislature for any projects exceeding $2.5 million. Republican Sen. Chris Karr has specifically referred to projects such as the Outdoor East Campus expansion and the shooting range complex being built east of Rapid City as examples. The Senate voted 35-0 to add the requirement. The House is scheduled to debate it Monday. GFP Commission chair Stephanie Rissler, who often works in Sioux Falls, said Friday that she frequently visits Outdoor Campus East. 'It's full of people. It's full of families,' Rissler said. 'They do great work.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House panel says no to McCook Lake fund
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota Legislature will not set aside any additional dollars for clean-up of McCook Lake. McCook Lake flood: Did the mitigation plan make things worse? House Bill 1108 would have created the McCook Lake contingency fund and to transfer moneys to the fund. On Monday, HB1108 was sent to the 41st Day by the House Appropriations Committee which effectively kills the bill in a 7-2 vote. HB1108 sponsor Republican Rep. Chris Kassin said the set aside money would be to cover needed gaps in the clean-up of McCook Lake. 'This is to help restore the lake, which is a state-owned lake,' Kassin said. Kassin and other bill supporters have said in prior legislative testimony the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department plans to clean-up the lake which was damaged in the June flood. The lake has cars, trees, lawn chairs, portions of structure and other debris. The concern is that there may not be enough money to thoroughly clean the lake. Kassin's original version had asked for up to $2 million but the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee changed that to $1 to allow House Appropriations to discuss the bill. 'I appreciate Representative Kassin bringing this bill forward,' said committee member Republican Rep. Liz May. 'My frustration is Game, Fish and Parks has not made this a priority.' With the recent attention to the needed clean-up of the lake, May said she expects the GFP to make it a priority. Committee member Republican Rep. Scott Moore moved to send it to the 41st Day. There was no discussion after that motion. Although she appreciated the bill, May voted to send it to the 41st Day. Kassin and Democrat Rep. Eric Muckey voted against the move to kill the bill, while Moore and fellow Republican Representatives Mike Derby, Terri Jorgenson, Jack Kolbeck, Al Novstrup and John Sjaarda voted in favor of the 41st Day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
