South Dakota South Dakota South Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who compose a large portion of the population and historically dominated the territory. South Dakota is the seventeenth largest by area, but the fifth smallest by population and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. As the southern part of the former Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889, simultaneously with North Dakota. Pierre is the state capital and Sioux Falls, with a population
South Dakota State University South Dakota State University South Dakota State University is a public research university in Brookings, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The university is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, which governs the state's six public universities and two special schools. South Dakota State University is a land grant, space grant, and sun grant university. It was founded under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Act. This land-grant heritage and mission has led the university to place a special focus on academic programs