South Dakota
South Dakota’s Pheasant Restaurant And Lounge Earns James Beard Classics Award
James Beard Classics Awards winner Pheasant Restaurant and Lounge stays true to its South Dakota … [+]
Situated in Brookings, South Dakota, a town of 23,000 people, the Pheasant Restaurant and Lounge that started as a gas station café might not have been the most likely of candidates to earn one of the six prestigious James Beard Classics Awards, in this case for the Midwest. But Pheasant Restaurant is going to surprise you in many ways.
And Brookings is not your average town since a college, South Dakota State University and the South Dakota Art Museum, situated on campus, is located there.
Pheasant Restaurant has been owned by the same family since it opened in 1949, and is now overseen by Georgiana Olson and Michael Johnson, the head chef and general manager, who is Olsonâs grandson and the third generation of Olsonâs who have steered it. Previously Johnsonâs mom and aunt ran it. Johnson has been working there for over 30 years and was handed over the reins 18 years ago.
How did Johnson feel when he learned Pheasant had won one of the James Beard Classic Awards? âWe were just doing what we are passionate about, and then this divine light just shone down on our daily gig so unexpectedly,â he replies.
Staying true to its South Dakota roots, Pheasant Restaurant has earned a James Beard Classic Awards and yet has adapted its menu.
But Pheasantâs menu is one of the unexpected factors in its longevity. Though streamlined, the menu offers variations of classics like its duck wings platter, lamb sloppy joes and hummus platter.
Updated Plus Old Reliable Menu
As Johnson explains that its menu combines its history while adapting to modern tastes and âhighlights items from the gas station café days, our steakhouse era and a lot of current New American items, but always with local flair.â It also integrates influences of Native Americans, Norwegians and Germans as well as farmers, hunters, fishers and ranchers.
Some South Dakota Specialties
And then there are some entrees specific to South Dakota such as its chislic, which is the stateâs official nosh and consists of deep-fried, cubed local lamb meat served with blue cheese dressing and its seared sirloin bites, six ounces of cubed Angus top sirloin.
It also prides itself on its Upper Midwest classic dishes such as hot roast beef on homemade white bread with mashed potatoes and gravy, its Nordic waffles folded around smoked salmon and bison steak au poivre. And then thereâs walleye, the South Dakota state fish.
âWe love to work with rhubarb, blue cheese, homemade ice cream and anything fresh off the farm,â Johnson explains. âIn the end, itâs a distinctly eastern South Dakotan experience,â he says.
And yet with all the changes, the hot roast beef sandwich and liver and onions were there on the original 1949 menu. Its coffee is made from locally-roasted beans bought from Cherrybean Coffee Co., which makes organic coffee and is based in Marion, S.D. Itâs a bottomless cup, naturally.
Keeping the Prices Low: Not So Easy These Days
At a time when restaurant prices are spiking, Pheasant Restaurant has kept its prices down. Its early bird special served from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday includes a choice of cod liver, pork chop, taco salad or chef salad and costs $9. Thatâs right under $10.
Keeping those prices low, admittedly, has become a challenge. It maintains relationships with âproducers, like farmers and bakers who come right into the kitchen and hand us their goods. These relationships really help with both quality and cost,â he notes.
Itâs also a lounge where it keeps six rotating, seasonal beers on tap such as Ferson Lionâs Paw Lager from Sioux Falls, S.D. and Brau Brothers Moo Joos from Marshall, Mn. It also maintains a wine cellar with a large selection of curated wines.
Sustaining its tradition and appealing to the more sophisticated tastes of people who travel these days have become the bywords of keeping the Pheasant Restaurant dynamic, Johnson suggests.
And what will keep the Pheasant Restaurant pumped up for the next generation? Johnson said his 10-year-old daughter Elsa has declared that she wants to be the chef when she grows up. In the meantime, Johnson says, heâs not going anywhere until âChef Elsaâ is ready for the task.
See Republican Zach Lahn speak after primary win in governor’s race
GOP gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn speaks to his supporters during an election night watch party on June 2, 2026, in West Des Moines.
The makeup of the Legislature was up in the air as of 1 a.m. after South Dakota’s primary election.
Ten Republican state lawmakers ousted in 2024 are angling to get their seats back in 2026. Results were mixed for the nine who had primaries on Tuesday, with results still coming in for several races and others set for possible recounts.
Shawn Bordeaux of Rosebud won the state’s only Democratic primary, beating Troy “Luke” Lunderman for a chance to return to the state Senate.
Bordeaux will face Chamberlain Republican Rebecca Reimer in November’s general election. Reimer, who was term-limited in the state House of Representatives, beat Lower Brule Sen. Tamara Grove in Tuesday’s primary.
In Watertown’s District 5, Rep. Josephine Garcia fell in a state Senate primary to incumbent Sen. Glen Vilhauer. Garcia beat Byron Callies in the 2024 primary to earn her seat in the House of Representatives, but opted to challenge Vilhauer for his Senate seat instead of seeking reelection to the House.
Callies, Vilhauer and Garcia are all from Watertown.
Vilhauer won with 59% of the vote. His was one of the first state legislative victories of the night reported on the Secretary of State’s website.
Vilhauer won handily, but he said he wasn’t necessarily expecting to as polls opened on Tuesday.
“I knew it was going to be a battle going in,” Vilhauer said. “She worked hard on her side, and I didn’t know what to expect.”
Callies was among the first to call Vilhauer to congratulate him, around 9:30 p.m.
“I’m happy, because Glen’s a solid legislator,” said Callies, who’s angling to win his seat back in the general election.
Garcia did not return a call seeking comment.
In District 21, Sen. Mykala Voita of Bonesteel beat former Sen. Erin Tobin of Winner in a rematch of their 2024 contest, which Voita won by a few dozen votes that year. This time around, Voita bested Tobin by 1,002 votes.
In response to a request for comment, Voita sent a text reading “Glory to God!”
Tobin did not return a call from South Dakota Searchlight about her race after it was called, but said earlier in the evening she would be “at peace” with the results regardless of what they might be.
Another rematch saw Yanktonites Lauren Nelson and Jean Hunhoff battling for District 18’s state Senate seat. Nelson was a newcomer in 2024 when she beat Hunhoff, who’d spent decades in the Capitol between stints in the House and Senate. On Tuesday, Nelson held off Hunhoff, winning by 243 votes.
Other notable races
- District 4 Rep. Dylan Jordan of Clear Lake, first elected in 2024, finished fourth in a five-way race. As of 1 a.m. Wednesday, he trailed Ryan Kohl of Milbank and former Rep. Fred Deutsch of Florence, in first and second place, respectively. A recount is possible in that race, with 59 votes separating the top two vote-getters while Rep. Kent Roe, of Hayti, came in third place, with 72 fewer votes than Deutsch.
- District 4 has two possible recounts. In the other, Bryant’s Stephanie Sauder beat Clear Lake’s Tim Begalka by 105 votes in the unofficial tally from the Secretary of State.
- District 1 Rep. Logan Manhart of Aberdeen, elected in the 2024 primary, fell to Rep. Nick Fosness, a hospital administrator appointed by Gov. Larry Rhoden in 2025, and newcomer Daniel Kjos.
- Another recount was possible as of Wednesday at 1 a.m., in the District 16 race for House of Representatives. Rep. John Shubeck of Beresford trailed Lisa Bogue of Beresford by 245 votes in unofficial results. Jason VanDenTop of Canton was in third place, trailing Shubeck by 68 votes.
Vote totals incomplete
- Sen. John Carley of Piedmont, who won his first term in 2024, trailed William Meirose of Sturgis by 166 votes as of 1 a.m. Wednesday.
- Former Rep. Tyler Tordsen led Rep. Tony Kayser by two votes in the District 14 primary, with results still coming in. The Sioux Falls men are vying for second place and a spot on the November general election ballot alongside Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt of Sioux Falls, who led by more than 600 votes early Wednesday.
- District 28 Sen. Sam Marty of Prairie City was in a close race with former legislator Ryan Maher of Isabel.
- Former Rep. Gary Cammack of Union Center, who lost his seat in 2024, and Gary Deering of Hereford, led Reps. Terri Jorgenson of Piedmont and Kathy Rice of Blackhawk in the District 29 race.
- In District 30, Hot Springs Sen. Amber Hulse led former Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller of Rapid City by more than 1,300 votes.
- Former Sen. David Johnson of Rapid City led Sen. Curt Voight of Rapid City in a rematch of their 2024 race for District 33 Senate in early results.
- Rep. Heather Baxter of Rapid City has signaled her intention to challenge sitting Secretary of State Monae Johnson for the Republican nomination to that constitutional office at the state’s Republican Party convention this summer. In early results, Baxter trailed former Rapid City Rep. Becky Drury and Rep. Mike Derby in the District 34 primary.
- Early results in the District 35 primary put Sen. Greg Blanc, elected in 2024, in a close race with fellow Rapid City resident Nicole Mitzel.
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
South Dakota
Republican businessman Toby Doeden advances to primary runoff in South Dakota governor’s race
Republican businessman Toby Doeden has advanced to a runoff in South Dakota governor’s race, NBC News projects.
Gov. Larry Rhoden, who replaced Kristi Noem last year when President Donald Trump nominated her to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was battling with Rep. Dusty Johnson and former state House Speaker Jon Hansen for a second spot in the July 28 runoff. The primary will go to a runoff because no candidate eclipsed 35% of the vote.
Trump did not issue an endorsement in the race. Doeden branded himself on his campaign website as “a total political outsider who’s tired of the government’s failure to deliver on its promises” and one of Trump’s “fiercest supporters.”
Rhoden, a former lieutenant governor, agriculture secretary and lawmaker, campaigned on property tax cuts and lowering crime in his bid for a four-year term.
Johnson is the state’s lone representative in the House, where he previously was chair of the Republican Main Street Caucus. Hansen, who was elected to the South Dakota House in 2010, held several leadership positions before he became speaker.
The Republican nominee will be the favorite to win the general election in the solidly red state this fall. A Democrat has not served as governor in South Dakota since the 1970s, and Trump carried the state by 29 points in 2024.
News
Agronomist: eastern South Dakota crops hit and miss
An agronomist in eastern South Dakota says corn and soybeans are hit and miss as the growing season begins.
Steven Zemlicka with AgTegra Cooperative tells Brownfield, “We’ve got corn anywhere from V1 all the way up to V4. Biggest stuff’s maybe touching V5. Corn’s coming right along, looks pretty good. A little bit of hail here too, but I don’t think it’s going to be much of an issue. Stands for the most part are pretty good, pretty solid.”
Zemlicka says soybean emergence has been slow due to the wet, cool conditions, and there are a few fields that still need planted.
“People were still working on planting soybeans when we got the recent rain.”
He says recent rain totals ranged from a half inch to as much as four inches in the northeast part of South Dakota; the southern part of the state has been drier.
South Dakota’s corn is rated 61 percent good to excellent, with soybean conditions rated 57 percent good to excellent, according to USDA’s first condition ratings of the season.
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