On Monday, five Garretson High School band students headed to Salem to participate in the Big East Conference Honor Band concert. Caiden Maack, Aiden Johnson, Sage Solheim, Anna Ebbing, and Ben Wastell joined their fellow high school band students in song.
Five Garretson High School students went to Salem this past Monday for the Big East Conference Honor Band concert. Pictured (L to R): Anna Ebbing, Ben Wastell, Sage Solheim, Caiden Maack, Aiden Johnson. //submitted photo
At the Honor Band concert, Solheim, a senior, was honored for four years of attending Honor Band. He has played the trombone throughout his high school career.
Two of those students have the honor of heading to All-State Band, as well.
Today through Saturday, Maack and Johnson will be headed to Pierre to participate in the All-State Band Concert. Maack plays the clarinet and Johnson plays the bari saxophone.
"It should be fun," said Band Director Nick Sittig.
Auditioning for the honor is required, he said, with a chromatic scale, a major and melodic scale, which are both very challenging according to Sittig.
"Normally, the auditions are in person, where they would have had to do sight reading and terminology test in addition to the other items," he said. However, those who auditioned this year had to submit a video due to bad weather, and play part of a solo along with a selected etude from the judges.
Congratulations to the participants of both concerts!
UPDATE 3/22/24: Sage Solheim was accidentally omitted from the article. This has been corrected.
This is our second article in our series featuring local librarians. This week we are meeting with Kathy Winter, who has been with the local library for over 15 years.
Kathy Winter
Winter is 72 and was born in Mitchell, South Dakota. She has a bachelor’s degree in secondary English with a Library Science minor. Winter has two grown children with her husband Mike: Josh and Sam, along with her daughter in-law, Madeleine, and grandchildren Ashton and Adella.
Like all good librarians, she has a deep connection with books.
"I love the amount of information that can be contained between the covers of a book," said Winter. "Growing up, I didn’t have access to many books and living out on the farm we had to entertain ourselves. The few books we had were read and reread and they took me to places that I didn’t have access to. So books became my entertainment and they still are."
Winter definitely has favorite books and favorite authors.
"James Lee Burke, William Kent Krueger, John Hart, Chris Bohjalian, and my all-time favorite, Stephen King," she exclaimed. "One of my favorites is The King’s General by Daphne Du Maurier. That was one of the books we had out at the farm. It’s a wonderful story!"
Winter is a very social librarian and loves to have a chat with anyone who walks in.
"My favorite is getting see and chat with the patrons - young and old! I also love the “order” of the library – a place for everything and putting everything back in its place," she said. "When no one comes into the library, it become excruciatingly boring. I usually have a lot of the daily tasks done and if my 'people time' is 'people-less', it makes for a long day."
Modern day technology is changing the way people read, and she has to keep up with all these changes.
"The most challenging part for me is keeping up with all the procedures and technology – it seems to change all the time and out in the rural libraries, we don’t do some of those procedures very often so it become a challenge to remember how to do them."
One of the questions we asked Winter was what are some of the strangest questions you have had to answer or the weirdest order you had to place for someone?
"Nothing is weird in library requests," she winked. "Seriously, I do kind of feel that way. We are a curious society and when people ask for things, I find it fun to try to find the answer. One question I used to get a lot is 'where is the Treasure Chest and when is it open'."
Outside the work of the library she enjoys indulging herself in several hobbies.
"I love to read, of course," she said, "and I like to 'fix' things- clothes, furniture, jewelry, and I like to sew."
Watch for more librarian features in upcoming issues of the Gazette.
After the last Garretson School Board Meeting, a number of questions have arisen. Most of these conversations have occurred around coffee hour and social media. Why was the school board late to post their agenda? Are they trying to hide something? Why did they renew administrative contracts at the end of the meeting when it wasn’t on the agenda?
Let’s start with the first question. The Gazette posed these questions to business manager Jacob Schweitzer. We confirmed that he had been gone for several days prior to this past week’s meeting, Wednesday the 6th of March through Friday the 8th, and he is usually the one who posts the agenda for the public. We asked him when the March 11th meeting agenda was posted and this was his response.
“It was posted on the window the morning of the 11th (Monday) around 6:30-7 A.M.,” Schweitzer said. “It was posted on the school website the prior Thursday or Friday (7th or 8th). It wasn't posted under the board meeting agendas on the home page, but it was posted in the school board documents in the documents section. It was posted on the website, just not in both places.”
School Board Member Elect Natasha Mendoza said she confirmed this.
“I confirmed with Jacob that the agenda posting did not happen in the usual way,” Mendoza said. “I don’t think Jacob is a bad guy, and I don’t know if I believe there was any bad acting as regards the posting of the agenda, but it was poor timing certainly.”
“I was checking for that agenda, as it wasn’t in any of the usual places,” she said. “What makes me livid was that an important thing like renewing the administrative contracts was not on the agenda. I checked, and for the last several years it’s always been clearly marked as a line item on the agenda. What made this year any different? It just seems deceptive to me. I know that I and others would have liked to speak about this item in the open forum or during the open board session. Now, are those voices going to be heard?
“To me, it’s the exact opposite of what needs to happen,” she continued. “With all the problems and difficulties that have happened in the district over the last several years, we need to do some healing and work on building trust with the community, and I’m not seeing that happening right now.”
This in mind, our editor had a frank conversation with Board President Shannon Nordstrom about this issue. Our editor directly asked why was this done in the way it was done. Our editor noted many local citizens crying foul, and their expressed opinions that the board was obfuscating the process and/or getting the motion passed before public had their say.
“I can understand the optics on this looking bad, as I review what happened and how a series of events unfolded which also included our business manager being out of town, not doing his normal rock-solid routines,” Nordstrom said. “I assure you there was not any cloak and dagger routine being orchestrated by the board. I have since reviewed the process to understand more what happened, as I received a call about this also. I do desire transparency and have learned a lot during my years on the board and talking with members of our community and staff.
“When Mr. Johnson and I put the agenda together, we had a matter involving a reduction in force for one staff member, due to the expiration of a government grant,” Nordstrom continued. “The teacher had been hired knowing that might be a possibility and was aware. As he and I talked about that, we did not want to cause any worry or nervousness for the staff or anyone in the community and we decided to leave that personnel matter as a motion to be made after the executive session discussion. We also needed to discuss staff negotiations and contracts for the administrative team, as yes, that is on our “work list” of things to do in February or March. As we rolled through our agenda setting meeting, we put those items on the same action plan and method for executive session. We had just finished an overall positive evaluation process for the Superintendent over the previous two months with the board and proceeded to do all these items at once with the reduction in force motion. As I review this, I can understand why people would think this way, but it was not my intention at all.”
Our editor then asked Nordstrom about the executive session itself, as the Gazette had been informed by multiple sources that Superintendent Guy Johnson was present during all the executive session, even while the contracts were discussed, including his own, when that is clearly against set board policy. With that in mind, our editor asked Nordstrom to comment on the criticism voiced by local voters, that if the School Board doesn’t obey its own rules, then how can we trust them to make any for our district?
“Executive Session is a confidential time,” said Nordstrom, “and I will not comment about anything within our session nor should others, but I will share that Mr. Johnson has always been willing to leave the room if the board wants private conversations without him, regarding his employment. We were not setting dollar amounts or benefits or anything with this motion, we were giving the nod to the administration team that our intention is to continue their employment on the established cycles.”
That is the latest word on these topics, and we will have more on any further developments in the next issue of the Garretson Gazette.
We got an update from Heather Schiltz of the Garretson Parent-Teacher Organization. They hosted their first ever St. Patrick’s Day Adult’s Night out on March 16th as a fundraiser to help raise cash for new playground equipment at the Garretson School Playground. The fundraiser included dinner with a DJ and a silent auction.
“We had sixty people show up, which I think is great for our first year,” said Schiltz. “We had 31 baskets to bid on and we made a total of $4,200 for the first year. It was successful enough that we are most certainly going to plan on doing it again next year.”
Schiltz said the PTO is working to replace the two largest and oldest items on the school playground, with the cost of replacement being at or around $60,000. They are currently working on some grants, and with donations, are hoping the school board will also come through with some appropriations to make it all happen. She told the Gazette that there are many fundraising projects in the works and that they’d be sharing more details soo
Vincent Koepp, a 1964 Garretson High School graduate, will be honored by South Dakota State University's Department of Geography and Geospatial Sciences with the Outstanding Alumni Award on Friday, April 5.
He was invited to the 55th Annual South Dakota State Geography Convention, which will begin on April 4.
The award is presented to those from the Geography Department who have distinguished themselves in their careers after graduating from SDSU.
Koepp spent 33 years with the Department of Defense as a cartographer, designing and drawing aeronautical maps for pilots worldwide. He enlisted with the U.S. Navy for 26 years, with four on active duty and twenty-two in reserves, retiring as O4 Lieutenant.
He was recruited after the Department of Defense saw his skills in art and the geography classes he took while at SDSU. He majored in commercial art, but interrupted his college education to enlist during the Vietnam War in 1966.
He now resides near St. Louis, Missouri. Retired, he spends plenty of time in his art studio and enjoys hanging out with his granddaughter.
Last Wednesday, the Garretson 4th Grade held their Wax Museum for fellow schoolmates, family, and friends. During that time, they dressed up as an historical person and had a 60-second presentation talking about why they were influential. A few of the figures chosen were Betsy Ross, Ronald Reagan, Davy Crockett, and Amelia Earhart.
“This project connected reading & writing with social studies in a creative activity that strengthened their research, writing, and speaking skills,” said teacher Liz Etrheim, who began the project with fellow 4th grade teacher Lauren Stoterau when she moved from the Tea School District. Though it’s a lot of work, she admits, it’s a wonderful project that incorporates several skills students this age are ready to learn.
“Our focus is to teach the students about proper research online and using books,” she said. “We also teach them how to use subtopics to help them write down their ideas for different categories.”
Cooper as Davy CrockettDrew as Betsy Ross
Over the past two months, students were taught the skills to write an essay with several paragraphs, using transitional words and dates. They had to finish it with a written speech that was 1-2 minutes long.
When asked what his favorite part of the project was, Haxton, who portrayed Reagan, said, " My favorite part about this project was that I got to make a big board and got to dress up as him."
Summer thought her character of Amelia Earhart was awesome.
"The best part about Amelia Earhart was that she was the first woman to fly solo from the United States to Hawaii!" she exclaimed.
Elsa as Jane GoodallGavin as Roberto Clemente
Gavin had a figure that may not be known to some people, Alberto Clemente. Clemente was a Puerto Rican-born baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 18 years, and was the first Latino American to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Gavin said Clemente "was a hero to others who looked up to him." He liked the love that Clemente had for others.
Sutton also had a baseball hero, Babe Ruth. He threw down some facts about how famous he was. "His rookie baseball card sold for 7.2 million dollars," Sutton said. He liked getting to dress up as Ruth.
Elsa liked writing. "My favorite part about this project is getting to write the essay," she said. She had Jane Goodall, a world-famous simian expert.
Haxton as Ronald ReaganRiver as Albert Einstein
Drew liked her figure, Betsy Ross', flag more than the current one. "Her flag was so much prettier than ours," she said.
Cooper had Davy Crockett, whom he called "the king of the frontier."
"He was a good part of history and fought for Texas," Cooper said.
River had fun with Albert Einstein. "Albert Einstein was famous for proving light curves," he said. "My favorite part of the project is presenting to the spectators."
In all, the students enjoyed this multi-month project, and learned several skills they will be able to carry forward with them into future years.
The Blue Dragons sent 23 wrestlers to showcase their skills at the State AAU Wrestling Tournament, making their mark among 1,700 qualifying participants. Among these youth athletes, 11 emerged as place winners, earning themselves a place in the top 8 in their respective age and weight class in the State of South Dakota.
Mitchell Christensen (center) took home 1st place!
-Submitted photo
Leading the charge was Mitchell Christensen, whose exceptional performance earned himself a place on the top of the podium as State Champion! Miles Christensen and Dalton Story also highlighted the weekend by earning themselves a spot in the state championship match, falling just short to impressive competition.
The success of these Garretson wrestlers is a result of several months of practices, guidance from their coaches and a community of supporters. While the accomplishments were great, the community of Garretson should be proud of the way these young athletes handled themselves with sportsmanship and decency not only at that State Tournament, but all season long. We want to thank the coaches, parents and the great support we receive from the community for a great season.
BRANDON, S.D. - The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) will hold a pre-construction informational meeting to share details about the Interstate 90 exit 406 reconstruction project in Brandon. This project will replace the existing interchange with a Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI). The informational meeting is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at the Brandon Golf Course, located at 2100 E. Aspen Blvd. in Brandon. Representatives from SDDOT and the contracting firm will be available to answer questions and discuss the project. Information will be provided on the project schedule and process.
Individuals needing assistance, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), should contact the SDDOT ADA Coordinator (605-773-3540) two business days prior to the meeting in order to ensure accommodations are available. For any in-person meeting, notice is further given to individuals with disabilities that the meeting is being held in a physically accessible location.
The prime contractor for the $41.3 million project is T&R Contracting, Inc. of Sioux Falls, SD. The overall completion date for the multi-year project is Friday, June 19, 2026.
For more information, contact Michael Noonan, Project Engineer, at 605-367-5680 or via email at .
Construction Text Alert Option: For updates on major traffic changes during the project, subscribe to a free text-in service. To subscribe, text “I90Exit406” to 605-566-4041. Subscribers can unsubscribe at any time.
About SDDOT: The mission of the South Dakota Department of Transportation is to efficiently provide a safe and effective public transportation system.
For the latest on road and weather conditions, road closures, construction work zones, commercial vehicle restrictions, and traffic incidents, please visit https://sd511.org or dial 511.
MITCHELL, S.D. – Standing next to a row of bookcases in the Mitchell High School library, South Dakota’s lieutenant governor was asked about taking the reins of state government.
It’s a sensitive subject for Larry Rhoden, who has embraced his supporting role as Gov. Kristi Noem’s second-in-command since entering office in 2019 following 16 years in the state Legislature.
“I try not to bring it up,” said the Union Center rancher when asked by News Watch about how his duties might change if Noem is chosen as Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee on the Republican ticket. “I don’t want to make it look like I’m thinking about it.”
Flanked by Speaker of the House Steve Haaugard and Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden, Gov. Kristi Noem prepares to deliver the second State of the State address of her administration. //file photo (Community News Service photo)
Despite that political prudence, the subject is hard to avoid.
Noem is considered among the top contenders to become Trump’s running mate for 2024 along with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott; New York Rep. Elise Stefanik; former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard; and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Rhoden surmised that the selection process will accelerate now that Trump has wrapped up the nomination and is looking ahead to the July 15-18 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Noem didn’t dodge the topic at a March 13 town hall that she and Rhoden attended in Mitchell. The event saw her sign two education-related bills while mingling with state legislators, staffers and residents, some of whom grilled her on landowner rights while others queried her on the VP sweepstakes.
The 52-year-old governor confirmed that she met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida recently to discuss the possibility of her joining the ticket, adding that she is committed to helping Trump defeat Democratic President Joe Biden on Nov. 5.
"My answer used to be that President Trump and I have never talked about it, but now we have talked about it," Noem said during the town hall. "What I told him is that I will do whatever it takes for me to help him win. Of course, I’d rather stay with all of you if you’ll keep me. This is my favorite job. I love this job."
If she is chosen to run for VP, News Watch asked Noem, will she formally delegate authority to Rhoden during the time she is campaigning nearly full-time away from South Dakota? She responded that no such transfer of power will occur.
"If I’m nominated, I still get to be governor," Noem said. "So you keep me until I’m not governor. People who know me will tell you that I don’t sleep very well. The lieutenant governor is my partner and he helps me with a lot of stuff, but I will still be the governor and I will still be making the decisions."
South Dakota law addresses governor's absence
The answer may not be as clear as Noem suggests.
While speculation has swirled around her joining Trump's ticket, there has been less examination of what happens to state government if the chief executive is away from South Dakota for long stretches running for national office.
When South Dakota U.S. Sen. George McGovern was the Democratic nominee for president in 1972, he remained in office during his campaign, which resulted in a landslide defeat to Republican incumbent President Richard Nixon. McGovern was re-elected to the Senate in 1974 despite being labeled a "part-time senator" by his opponent in a closer-than-expected race.
Running for national office as a governor is different, not only because of differing job descriptions but also due to the boundaries of state law.
The South Dakota Constitution, inArticle 4, Section 6, states that when the governor is “unable to serve by reason of continuous absence from the state, or other temporary disability, the executive power shall devolve upon the lieutenant governor for the residue of the term or until the disability is removed.”
'Not new territory' for Noem
Like other constitutional interpretations, the assessment of Noem's "continuous absence" will likely hinge on how much political pressure is exerted upon her to hand over day-to-day operations during a rigorous presidential campaign.
Democratic state Sen. Reynold Nesiba of Sioux Falls, a member of the Government Operations and Audit Committee, told News Watch that the governor should resign her office if she is chosen to run for vice president.
"South Dakota taxpayers should not be footing the bill for her travel around the country, especially since she provides little to no transparency about her state airplane use and security-related costs while in office," Nesiba said.
Jon Schaff, a political science professor at Northern State University in Aberdeen, noted that Noem has already weathered her share of controversy aboutpursuing a national political profile away from South Dakota on the heels of her hands-off handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which endeared her to some conservatives.
“It probably comes down to how much grief she wants to get, but this is not new territory for her,” Schaff said. “(The presidential campaign) wouldn’t be during the legislative session, and state government has a certain inertia that allows things to keep running.”
State Rep. Tony Venhuizen, a Sioux Falls Republican and former chief of staff to Noem and former Gov. Dennis Daugaard, said the “continuous absence” clause in the state constitution was necessary before the advent of smartphones and Zoom meetings.
Of course, there are also only so many hours in the day.
“There are a lot of things you can do remotely, but there are time considerations,” said Venhuizen, who attended the town hall in Mitchell. “I think most people understand that if you’re running for vice president, you’re going to be on the road a lot. There would have to be some practical considerations of who’s covering some of the duties and when.”
No 'resign to run' law in South Dakota
Five states have “resign to run" laws to prevent elected officials from neglecting state duties or using public resources while running for another office. South Dakota is not one of them.
Florida's Republican-dominated Legislatureadded an exemption for presidential and vice presidential campaigns in April 2023, before Gov. Ron DeSantis began his unsuccessful run for the White House.
The last sitting governor to run for vice president on a major ticket was Mike Pence of Indiana, who was running for re-election when he was selected as Trump’s running mate in July 2016. Pence withdrew from the gubernatorial race and endorsed Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb as the GOP nominee.
Trump/Pence and Holcomb both won, but Penceopted not to resign and stayed in office until Holcomb was sworn in Jan. 9, 2017, vowing to “serve Hoosiers until the very last hour.”
First-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a surprise selection as 2008 running mate to GOP presidential nominee John McCain, who lost to Barack Obama. Palin remained in office during the tumultuous campaign and returned to Alaska after the defeat with a much-expanded national profile.
Sheresigned in July 2009 with 18 months left in her term, citing the pressure and financial burden of a flood of in-state ethics complaints against her.
Rhoden offers stability in Pierre
Rhoden has been a steady presence during Noem's often turbulent time in office, marked by five different chiefs of staff and no one currently in that role. The administration has seenhigher-than-normal turnover among Cabinet positions and executive staff.
The 65-year-old Rhoden, a former South Dakota House majority leader whose legislative experience stretches back more than two decades, is viewed as a stabilizing force by lawmakers such as Republican state Sen. Lee Schoenbeck of Watertown. “If I have any questions, I contact Larry," he told News Watch in 2023.
At the Mitchell town hall, Noem credited Rhoden with helping her learn the ropes as a rookie legislator in Pierre in 2007, something she kept in mind when it came time to choose a running mate for her 2018 gubernatorial run.
"Because I was a farmer and rancher, I was advised to choose a businessman from Sioux Falls," Noem told attendees. "So instead I chose a rancher from West River. I trust his instincts and values. He loves the Lord and loves his family. I knew that if I got killed the next day, he’d run this state exactly as I would, and that was important to me."
Rhoden is viewed as a likely candidate for governor in 2026, which would mean a highly competitive GOP primary battle againstU.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson and possibly Attorney General Marty Jackley, among other candidates.
Rhoden could be an incumbent at that point if a Trump/Noem ticket gains the White House. Noem would likely resign as governor after the Nov. 5 election – well before the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025 – to allow Rhoden to start preparing for his budget address and the legislative session.
"It would make sense to have that handover take place before the session started," said Venhuizen.
Thune seeks leadership in Senate
Even more tangible than Noem VP speculation is the possibility that South Dakota Republican U.S. Sen. John Thune will be voted by his peers as Senate Leader in December, taking the reins after nearly two decades from Kentucky's Mitch McConnell.
"It would be the most influence South Dakota has ever had in Washington," Venhuizen said of the possibility of having Noem as vice president and Thune as Senate Republican leader, in the majority or minority depending on the election.
Former South Dakota Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle served as both minority leader and majority leader in the Senate before being ousted by Thune in a landmark 2004 election.
Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate as minority whip, has met with GOP colleagues privately and is viewed by Washington insiders as the favorite to win the job in a secret ballot over U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, though other contenders could emerge.
Thune criticized Trumpafter the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and called for him to withdraw his 2016 candidacy following the release of a 2005 Access Hollywood tape of Trump having a lewd conversation about sexual mistreatment of women.
Yet Thune twice voted against impeachment and endorsed the former president last month, a nod to the reality of procuring power in a Make America Great Again-fueled Republican Party.
Noem softens stance on Trump
While the 63-year-old Thune has been building up to the role of Senate leader for more than a decade, Noem’s rise to the level of White House hopeful is a more recent phenomenon.
She started off as a Trump critic while serving in Congress, saying in aninterview with Yankton's WNAX radio in late 2015 that "he’s not my candidate” and calling Trump's comments about banning Muslims "un-American." In aseparate interview looking ahead to the 2016 Iowa Caucuses, Noem said of Trump’s sizable lead in the polls: “I look at the candidates who are running and think, ‘Who do I want in the room when we’re negotiating with Iran?’ It’s not going to be Donald Trump. His principles and values don’t align with mine, and his offensive nature wouldn’t serve us very well in the presidency.”
Noem softened that stance when Trump became the 2016 nominee and defeated Hillary Clinton to win the White House. When Noem became governor and publicly derided COVID restrictions after initially supporting them, she and Trump became more politically connected.
Noem’s national profile and status within Trump’s orbit surged in the summer of 2020, leading to hisvisit to Mount Rushmore for July 4 festivities and her speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in Washington.
When he lost to Biden that year but decided to run again in 2024, Noem decided that her best path was not challenging him for the nomination but rather remaining a strong supporter and perhaps going along for the ride.
"She started to see her ticket to national prominence as a vice presidential nominee," said Schaff. "Because Trump already served a term, he can only constitutionally serve one more term as president. So if he wins, you would have to think that the person serving as vice president becomes his heir apparent."
Can Noem help win presidential election?
So will Trump actually pick Noem as his running mate?
It would be much less surprising than McCain's choice of Palin in 2008, since Trump and Noem are already aligned in many ways and Noem is more politically seasoned than Palin.
The question is whether she helps the ticket strategically, since featuring Noem – who is more conservative than Trump on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage – doesn't appeal to the type of moderate suburban voter needed to win.
"The traditional view is that you choose a running mate to broaden your appeal or improve your chances in the general election," said Michael Card, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. "So it's either picking someone very different from yourself or someone very similar. Mike Pence was needed (in 2016) to shore up the evangelical vote. But Trump doesn't need that as much because Christian nationalists generally appreciated the policies put forward by his administration or confirmed by the Supreme Court."
Another factor is whether the VP nominee can withstand the heat of the campaign and not make mistakes that harm the ticket.
In tennis and politics, "unforced errors" can be the most damaging.
As of March 17, Noem is no longer listed as thebetting favorite to get the vice presidential nod, falling behind South Carolina's Scott but still ahead of Stefanik, Gabbard and Ramaswamy.
In the end, though, there is just one person that South Dakota's governor needs to persuade, and Trump likes those who can handle the glare. Noem has done more mainstream TV interviews recently to answer critics who said she is more suited to "preaching to the choir" on conservative outlets such as Fox News.
"There are few politicians as good as Kristi Noem at sticking to the script," Card said. "If the script is well-presented and especially if she has a friendly audience, which doesn't necessarily mean a debate audience, she does very well."
As the audition continues, so will the chances to expand those expectations.
The South Dakota Legislature allocated the last of its federal pandemic aid earlier this month, marking a shift in state spending and budgeting.
The federal government infused billions of dollars into the state through several rounds of congressional legislation intended to help the country through the COVID-19 crisis. The last of those efforts brought nearly $975 million to the state through the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, known by the acronym “ARPA,” with most of the money used for water and wastewater projects. The state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources has been rushing to fund projects across the state.
With the last of the money appropriated, South Dakota is nearly “back to normal,” as Gov. Kristi Noem warned legislators late last year in her budget address, and will have to prepare future budgets without the cushion of federal pandemic money they’ve had for the last several years.
The 2024 legislative session ended March 7, except for a day on March 25 to consider vetoes. Lawmakers approved uses for the remaining $130 million from ARPA, including:
$5 million in telemedicine grants to nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Over $100 million to water and wastewater projects for state government and local projects statewide (with authority to spend more if other approved ARPA uses aren’t spent by federal deadlines).
Over $12 million for water and sewer infrastructure at the sites of the future men’s prison in rural Lincoln County and future women’s prison in Rapid City.
The South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, as seen on Jan. 9, 2023. Over $12 million was appropriated for water and sewer infrastructure at the sites of the future women's and men's prisons. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)
The money had to be appropriated by the end of this year and must be spent by the end of 2026, or it reverts back to the federal government.
Overall, South Dakota received nearly $14 billion of pandemic relief funds from March 2020 through January 2023, according to South Dakota News Watch. State government received about $4.2 billion while the remaining $9.6 billion went to local governments, health care providers, schools, businesses and individuals.
Most of the state’s ARPA funds went toward one-time projects, said Yankton Republican Sen. Jean Hunhoff, who co-chairs the legislative Joint Appropriations Committee.
“I think South Dakota had the wisdom and the leadership of both the governor and the Legislature to realize we’re not going to start anything new,” Hunhoff said. “We’re going to support what we have, meet some of those short-term needs, but we’re not going to grow our programming simply because those dollars flowed in.”
Not all states did that. Illinois, for example, allocated 32% of its ARPA funds as of July 2022 toward ongoing, operational expenses, according to a Pew Charitable Trusts analysis published in December.
Using one-time funds for ongoing projects could lead to “uncertainty,” the report said. According to Illinois Public Media, the state’s ARPA-funded programs will end once federal funding runs out or will require new funding from the state or other sources.
South Dakota won’t have that problem, Hunhoff said.
“That’s the concern when the federal dollars are gone,” Hunhoff said. “It is not the state’s intention and it’s not its responsibility to start spending general funds to keep those new programs going.”
The influx of federal funds will continue influencing the state’s economy for the next few years, since the money won’t have to be spent until the end of 2026. The state has seen an increase in contractor’s excise tax in recent years due to increased construction spurred by federal funding.
Before the pandemic, less than 40% of the state budget came from federal funds. That percentage spiked to 56% in 2021 and has been above 40% in most years since.
With federal support receding to pre-pandemic levels, Hunhoff hopes legislators turn their attention to economic development next session.
“If we can continue to encourage people to come and relocate to South Dakota, get big businesses in here and expand that base for economic development, that’s what you look at for your return on investment,” Hunhoff said. “If you don’t have the federal dollars, you need to keep growing in economic development and our major industries with tourism and agriculture.”
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence.
