State HistoryTuesday, November 3
South Dakota buried its official time capsule at the Battleship on Monday
The Good Day Sioux Falls team
South Dakota tucked a snapshot of 2026 underground Monday. The America's 250 South Dakota Commission buried the state's official time capsule at the Battleship South Dakota Memorial. It stays sealed until 2076.
The burial was one of the commission's final acts and fell on the state's birthday. State Historian Dr. Ben Jones called it a meaningful way to give future generations a link to South Dakota today.
The capsule stays sealed for 50 years
- 50 years
- the capsule stays sealed
- 1:30 p.m.
- the ceremony's scheduled start at the Battleship
- Over 2 years
- the commission has worked on projects like this
Sources: KOTA, KELOLAND.com
Education Secretary Dr. Joseph Graves said Jones recently unearthed a time capsule at Mark Twain Elementary, which gave the commission an idea.
“They thought maybe, having gotten one out of the ground, we better put one back in for the tricentennial.”
- Inside: an expired driver's license, challenge coins, letters from the governor
- Flags: one from the Lower Brule Tribe, plus the South Dakota America 250 flag
- Picked by: a subgroup of the commission
2076year the capsule is set to open
It will be opened as part of the nation's 300th anniversary celebration.
Sources: KOTA, KELOLAND.com
Sources: KOTA, KELOLAND.com, KELO-AM