Ag & Food Infrastructure: South Dakota’s Farm to School program added four new awards, totaling $99,487 across 10 grantees, with projects ranging from hydroponic units in Sioux Falls and Viborg-Hurley to garden beds in Leola and a vegetable washer in Huron. Water Quality Funding: DANR is taking applications for federal Clean Water Act Section 319 nonpoint source grants, due Oct. 1, with a required 40% local match and support for watershed pollution reduction. Public Works: Highway 11 near Canton will close Tuesday, Sept. 8, for railroad crossing replacement, with detours via Lincoln County Highway 116 and S.D. 115/135. Rural Health & Policy: In a State Fair debate, Gov. Larry Rhoden and challenger Dan Ahlers sparred over Medicaid expansion conditions and the impact on rural hospitals. SNAP Rules: Retailers warn South Dakota’s proposed SNAP soft-drink ban could be hard to administer, given the definition questions. Animal Health: South Dakota confirmed avian flu return in two flocks (turkeys in Beadle County and a backyard flock in Brule County), with euthanasia and a human exposure alert. Local Development: Watertown’s Benedictine Sisters are moving ahead with “The Village at Harmony Hill,” a major housing, education, health care, and commercial redevelopment on their 500-acre campus. Transportation & Energy Costs: Labor Day travel is pushing gas prices, while diesel costs remain a budget pressure point for the region.