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herds to sustainable levels. The adoptions will start Monday.
• Sussman is also asking for hay donations from ranchers throughout the region.
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State bridge loans can help with ag land purchases
• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota Agriculture Secretary Lucas Lentsch says a new state bridge loan program can help farmers and ranchers continue with an agricultural real estate purchase when Farm Service Agency funds may not be readily available.
• Lentsch says the loan is structured for monthly interest only payments until the funding is available at FSA and the FSA loan is closed. The bridge loan is expected to be paid off by FSA within three to nine months.
• The current interest rate is 4 percent and borrowers are required to pay closing fees. The state has the ability to extend the term for up to two years.
• USDA state executive director Craig Schaunaman says the program is helpful as federal budget limitations could cause a gap between loan approval and funding.
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SD reservation alcohol vote too close to call
CARSON WALKER,Associated Press
• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A vote to end prohibition and allow alcohol on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation got most of the votes, but the election outcome was too close to call late Tuesday because of a high number of challenged ballots.
• The measure got a majority of yes votes in the unofficial count -- 1,645 to 1,494, according tribal spokeswoman Tony Red Cloud, who texted a photo of the handwritten results Tuesday night to The Associated Press.
• But because 438 votes were challenged -- more than the difference -- the outcome of the election won't be known until those are checked, said tribal president Bryan Brewer.
• In the next couple of days, election workers will verify that the people who cast those challenged ballots are enrolled members and living on the reservation.
• "People that might not have ever voted in the past when they go to vote. Because they're not on the census, on the rolls, they will challenge that vote. And sometimes people might move to a different district where their name isn't on it, they'll challenge that vote," Brewer said of the usual reasons. "Usually challenged votes don't change an election, but that's a lot of challenged votes."
• People stood in line before polls opened at 9 a.m. Tuesday, said Francis Pump (Continued on page 15)
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