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Douglas, Hutchinson, Lincoln, McCook, Minnehaha, Shannon and Turner counties as well as the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
• Federal Emergency Management Agency representatives met with state officials in Pierre on Friday and will be meeting with local officials this week to discuss reimbursements for work done during and after the storm, the Capital Journal reported (http://bit.ly/18Yhwt5 ). That can include everything from infrastructure repairs to debris removal to police overtime pay. FEMA can cover 75 percent of the costs.
• "They do what they do to respond to the emergency; we come in later and help with the financial burden," FEMA spokesman Randy Welch said.
• The storm April 9-11 dumped more than 2 feet of snow on the reservation, and an ice storm in eastern South Dakota knocked out electricity to about 115,000 people. Preliminary estimates show the storm caused more than $11 million in damage to public and private nonprofit property.
• Heavy snows do not often cause enough damage to qualify as emergencies, according to Welch.
• "Winter storms are an unusual cause for disasters. It's usually the tornadoes, floods and hurricanes," he said.
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• CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. (AP) -- Supporters of having an American Indian honor song played during high school graduation ceremonies in Chamberlain say they will not give up their battle with the school board.
• Members of the Crow Creek and Lower Brule tribes gathered outside the National Guard Armory in the southeastern South Dakota city on Sunday to protest and to play an honor song for the graduates as they filed out of the building following the graduation ceremony inside.
• "I want them to be proud of their heritage, proud of their culture, and proud of their language," Tally Colombe, a part of the group, told KELO-TV.
• The school board last week rejected a request by petitioners to have the honor song played as part of Sunday's commencement ceremony. Board members said a feathering ceremony the night before graduation honors tribal students and that the commencement exercise should be about recognizing academic achievements rather than cultural ties.
• Drum circle singer Kevin Wright said the honor song played outside the armory on Sunday was for all of the graduates.
• "All the graduates need to be honored and this is how we do it," he told KELO.

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