Howdy

[lynnielee]

:DI'm really interested to know if land is still available for homesteading, especially in Southern South Dakota.

[HockeyFan]

I wish I could answer your question. Hopefully, there are readers from that area that will be able to tell you.
I did want to comment and welcome you aboard. I hope you'll show up often.

[CarolAnn]

Lynnilee - Welcome to the forum!
Do you mean free or cheap government land? some say yes and some say no. Here are some links to check out that I found by putting "Is there free land to homestead?" in a search engine:
YES:
http://freeamericandream.blogspot.com/2007/05/author-decides-to-homestead-in-alaska.html
NO:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa030702a.htm
and here is a direct quote:
No matter what you may have heard or read, there is no such thing as "free land from the government." There is no federal homesteading program and public land the government does sell is sold only at market value.

However, the first link is about land in Alaska, with a STATE program. So that means other states could do it, including South Dakota.

Seems like I did read about the Dakotas becomming worried about declining populations and starting up some programs.

Further, "Homestead" means different things in different states. In many states, you can "declare" your land a homestead and get a tax break or other benefits, *(but you have to own the land - it's not something that gets the land for you.)
Here's a kind of old article in Mother Earth that explains it. I couldn't find anything newer with a quick search.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/1982-07-01/Stop-Financial-Downfall.aspx

Sorry - I can't get the glitch out of that last link - you may be able to find it as I did with a Google search about homesteading.

I fixed it.. ;)
~Don

[DavidOH]

Welcome lynnielee, check back often.
There may be someone in that part of the country that can give you some info on what you are looking for.