South Dakota State's Gronowski Named Payton Award Finalist

The Walter Payton Award is the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.

This season, we've had a lot of area players that have played well enough to earn consideration for the award, and now we have one confirmed finalist for this year's honor.

Mark Gronowski, who has guided South Dakota State to a historic unbeaten season thus far, is one of three finalists for the award.

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Gronowski and the Jackrabbits dominated Mercer 41-0 in the second round of the FCS Playoffs this past weekend, and now turn their sights to another opponent, Villanova, that comes to Brookings on Saturday.

The Junior Quarterback and two others are the finalists for this year's highest honor in FCS Football:

Gronowski is one of three players invited to the announcement of the 2023 Walter Payton Award, which honors the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football
Quarterback Max Brosmer of New Hampshire and running back Jaden Shirden of Monmouth were also to attend the award presentation, which will be part of the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas.

It's a ways away from the presentation banquet, but it's an immense honor that is very well deserved for the Jackrabbit signal caller.

Gronowski has 24 touchdown passes this season against just 4 interceptions, and has also rushed for 7 scores.

For those wondering where Isaiah Davis ranked in the voting, the Jackrabbit running back finished 7th in the voting this season.

Gronowski and Davis lead the Jackrabbit offense into the FCS Playoff Quarterfinals against Villanova on Saturday, an 11:00 kickoff time. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Source: Valley-Football.org

Worst Places to Live in South Dakota

A surprising town was named the worst place to live in all of South Dakota and the reason behind it is a bit unexpected.

Money Inc. made a list of the 20 worst cities and towns to live in all of South Dakota and no part of the state is left unmarked.

The list focused on a number of key factors, including crime rate, unemployment, low wages, and school funding.

So which city is the "worst" in South Dakota, according to the article? Read on:

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are not my own and are taken from a list provided by Moneyinc.com

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Gallery Credit: Chuck Wood

35 Movies That Take Place in South Dakota

When it comes to South Dakota and Hollywood, we've seen our fair share of films that have used our state as the backdrop for a number of productions over the years. They may not have always filmed here, but movie folk love to set stories here.

We're all familiar with the blockbusters like 1990's Dances With Wolves, 1959's North By Northwest, and more recently, 2007's National Treasure: Book of Secrets. But our state's life on the big screen goes back nearly 100 years.

According to IMDb, it all started with Courtin' Wildcats, a 1929 film which, like so many of the 29 films on this list, is a Western set in the time before South Dakota became a state in 1889.

Gallery Credit: Jeff Harkness/B1027.com