South Dakota
3 more states could see marijuana legalization on November ballots • South Dakota Searchlight
Nebraskan Crista Eggers is running up against a July 3 deadline. If she can get at least 87,000 names onto each of two petitions before then, she can put an initiative on the state’s November ballot that would legalize pot for medicinal purposes.
Marijuana legalization measure validated for Nov. 5 election
The petition effort is personal. Her 9-year-old son, Colton, has epilepsy and severe seizures, and medicinal cannabis can be prescribed to treat such conditions.
“I’m a caregiver to a child that needs medical cannabis access. Ninety-five percent of our people collecting [signatures] are Nebraskans who know someone who needs access and needs this issue on the ballot,” said Eggers, an Omaha resident and the campaign manager for Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana.
If the group is successful, Nebraska will join Florida and South Dakota in asking voters this fall whether to legalize some marijuana use. In Florida and South Dakota, where medical marijuana is already allowed, voters will be asked to legalize adult recreational use.
South Dakota voters approved a constitutional amendment legalizing cannabis for recreational and medicinal use in 2020, alongside a separate initiative legalizing medical marijuana. The constitutional amendment was later overturned by the state supreme court; the medical marijuana initiative went forward without a challenge. The 2022 election saw South Dakota voters reject another attempt to legalize recreational cannabis. This fall will mark the third straight election in South Dakota with a recreational marijuana measure on the ballot.
Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia allow the medical use of cannabis products, and 24 plus the District of Columbia allow adults to use it recreationally, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Cannabis is still illegal under federal law, but 74% of Americans now live in a state where marijuana is legal for either recreational or medical use according to the Pew Research Center, and 54% live in a place where it is legal for recreational use.
Many states, especially left-leaning ones, have legalized marijuana through legislation, but “there are some states where the state legislators still don’t want to touch this issue of cannabis legislation, particularly in more conservative parts of the country,” said Beau Kilmer, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center.
“That’s why it’s not a surprise when cannabis issues go through the ballot initiative process,” Kilmer said.
In Kansas, where legislative efforts to legalize marijuana have repeatedly foundered since 2021, conservative legislators again this session blocked a measure to legalize medicinal use, with one Republican lawmaker, state Sen. Mike Thompson, saying the substance could “cause more suicides and human misery,” according to the Kansas City Star.
Kansas is one of the 24 states that don’t allow citizen-initiated ballot measures.
But the destigmatizing of marijuana use has advanced so far that even some conservative states have legalized it through legislative action: Since 2020, four of the five states to legalize cannabis for medicinal purposes — Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Virginia — have done so through the legislature.
Making it to the ballot
Nebraska is one of only three states — Idaho and Kansas are the others — where marijuana and all cannabis products, including CBD products, are illegal.
Nebraska legislators have shown little interest in changing course, Eggers said.
To circumvent that legislative opposition, she needs signatures from 7% of the state’s 1.2 million voters to put the question on the ballot. She also needs signatures from 5% of registered voters from at least 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties. Along with Eggers, some 25 paid staff and 200 volunteers are helping with the effort.
Eggers and her group came close to getting a cannabis measure on the ballot in 2020, after collecting 200,000 signatures. However, the state’s Supreme Court invalidated the measure, saying that the petition violated the state’s single-subject rule for ballot initiatives.
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The Supreme Court ruled that the petition would have required changes in several state laws, including those regarding possession, public use and insurance coverage.
A second attempt in 2022 was gathering steam when a major donor died in a plane crash that year.
“A lot of money goes into collecting signatures, from filling up people’s gas so they can go county to county, printing petitions and the amount of manpower that goes into gathering signatures,” Eggers said. “The issue isn’t support. We have the support. It has truly come down to not having funding to hire people to help towards signature collection.”
Recreational cannabis
Last year, three states legalized pot recreationally. Voters in Ohio, a red state, approved a ballot measure, while lawmakers in the blue states of Delaware and Minnesota passed legislation.
In all, 13 states plus the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana legislatively.
The ballot initiative in Florida, which requires a supermajority of 60% to pass, is being backed by John Morgan, a lawyer and Democratic fundraiser who supported the successful 2016 effort to legalize medical marijuana with more than $8 million of his own money.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis opposes the measure. So do some in the state’s medical marijuana industry. Nick Garulay, CEO of My Florida Green, said he worries that legalizing recreational marijuana could bring more competition, and could make it “hard to separate those who want to use it recreationally from those who are sick and rely on cannabis for medication.”
Easing federal marijuana rules: There’s still a long way to go
Rob Mikos, a professor at Vanderbilt University Law School and an expert on drug law, agreed that in some cases, the passage of recreational cannabis can lead to a decline in medical cannabis patients.
But there isn’t enough data to definitively say how adult-use recreational cannabis has affected the medical market in the places that have legalized both medical and recreational cannabis, he said.
For Eggers, the month of June is crucial. As of June 10, she had about 65,000 signatures on each petition, about 30,000 short of the total she expects to need for each.
“We know this can get done, but there’s definitely an urgency over the next few weeks,” she said.
“I call our campaign horrifically beautiful,” Eggers said. “It’s horrific we’ve been at this for such a long time for suffering Nebraskans. But beautiful because we’ve found support in almost all corners of the state.”
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For the first time in the state’s history, South Dakotans will vote in a runoff election July 28 to choose a candidate for governor. Republicans Toby Doeden and Gov. Larry Rhoden were the top two candidates in the June 2 primary election, but neither received 35% of the vote, which triggered the runoff.
Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about the runoff election:
If I didn’t vote in the June 2 Republican primary, may I still vote in the runoff?
Yes. Registered Republicans, regardless of whether they voted on June 2, may vote in the runoff election.
What about the general election in the fall?
Yes. You are not required to vote in primary elections to cast your ballot in general elections.
How long do I have to change my voter registration?
Voters have until July 13 to change or register their voting affiliation. You can find the form to do so on the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website, where you will print the form and submit it to your county auditor.
South Dakota voter guide
What South Dakotans need to know about voting in statewide elections, and who and what are on the ballot.
Who pays for the runoff?
South Dakota state law says that counties are responsible for paying all statewide general election fees. That includes the cost of ballots, poll workers and election equipment. The South Dakota Secretary of State’s office reimburses counties for the cost of post-election audits and administers the system that allows overseas voters, including military personnel, to vote and request ballots.
How do I know where I vote?
You can view your polling place for the July 28 election on the South Dakota Secretary of State’s voter information portal. You will need to provide your full name and either your ZIP code or birthday.
Is this the first runoff for governor?
Yes. The state’s first-ever runoff for governor is happening this year because of a law passed in 1985. Codified law 12-6-51.1 says if one candidate does not receive 35% of the vote in a primary, a runoff election between the top two candidates will take place eight weeks later to determine who advances to the general election. Before that law was passed, if a candidate did not receive 35% of the vote, the winner was decided at state party conventions.
Former Aberdeen Legislator Crafted Law That’s Led To South Dakota’s First Gubernatorial Runoff | Aberdeen Insider His blog can be found online at sodakgovs.com, and he added a Wednesday, June 3 entry about the first gubernatorial runoff election in state history.
If I live in Sioux Falls, may I vote in runoff elections for mayor and governor at the same time?
Yes, but for a limited amount of time, and only at specific locations. The runoff election for Sioux Falls mayor will take place on June 23, and the runoff election for governor will take place on July 28. They are separately administered elections.
But absentee voting for governor opens June 12 and absentee voting for mayor opens June 16. Sioux Falls residents may absentee vote for both races at either the Minnehaha or Lincoln County auditor’s offices. That means that between June 16 and June 22 – the day before the Sioux Falls mayoral election – registered Republicans can visit either office and vote absentee for both elections on the same day. Absentee voting is not available on election day.
Sioux Falls Simplified, The Dakota Scout and Sioux Falls Live are hosting a public mayoral debate on June 12 between candidates Christine Erickson and Jamie Smith. The debate will take place at 4 p.m. at Carnegie Town Hall in Sioux Falls and is free and open to all members of the public. Megan Raposa, founder of Sioux Falls Simplified, said of the debate: “The goal is to discuss specific policy questions based on input from community stakeholders.”
Start here: Sioux Falls 101
Want to get involved in the decisions that shape Sioux Falls? Start here to get a local government crash course.
South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at sdnewswatch.org. Contact reporter/Report for America corps member Molly Wetsch: 605-531-7382/molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – A national group of former MAGA supporters is reaching out to South Dakotans with a message. They want Republicans to know it’s okay to have second thoughts about party affiliation.
A billboard for leavingmaga.org is located in the area of 41st and Western.
Rich Logis says leaving MAGA can be a troubling journey, as it’s engrained deeply into one’s identity. He wants to reassure those who may be considering changing their mind.
“For those who don’t know about us but can learn about how to find a new community of those with others who, also like me, were in MAGA and then went through the odyssey of leaving it,” Logis said.
The website offers weekly online sessions, online resources and a newsletter.
“When you leave MAGA, you walk away from demonizing and vilifying and dehumanizing your those with whom you disagree,” Logis said. “We developed a community where people felt they could rediscover themselves and reclaim their humanity, their agency, and their empathy.”
Representative Tim Goodwin said he met President Trump five times and his policies are outstanding. He said Trump’s rhetoric sometimes gets him in trouble, but he did a lot for the country.
Asked if someone can be a Republican and not be MAGA, Goodwin said that’s fine.
“You’re not a Trump follower, but you’re a Republican. Absolutely, you can. I think that’s everybody’s choice,” Goodwin said.
Logis said he hopes to look back on this political era with a sense of pride knowing the group reduced the divisions and polarization that exist in the country.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
South Dakota
Land and Lending Conference to feature national speakers on anniversary of 1929 market crash
June 9, 2026
This event listing is sponsored by South Dakota State University.
A prominent financial journalist will anchor a conference in Sioux Falls this fall that explores the credit cycle in the context of the 1929 stock market crash.
The 2026 South Dakota Land and Lending Conference, presented by the Ness School of Management and Economics at South Dakota State University, will be Oct. 15 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
The date marks the 97th anniversary of the onset of the 1929 crash, the greatest financial collapse in American history. Fittingly, the conference this year will explore the credit cycle — how markets expand, overheat and seize — and what that cycle means for real estate, agricultural land, lending and the rural economy.
The event draws roughly 500 real estate developers, agricultural lenders, bankers, investors, policymakers and students from across South Dakota and the region.
“The 1929 crash extended from Wall Street to Main Street,” said Joe Santos, the Larry and Diane Ness endowed director and professor of economics at the Ness School. “It traveled to the farm economy, collapsing commodity prices, depressing land values and shutting down the credit channel along the way. Ninety-seven years later, the credit cycle persists, and the business and policy challenges it creates are ones our audience faces every day. It is the right moment to examine them.”
Andrew Ross Sorkin to anchor morning fireside
The morning opens with a fireside conversation between Santos and Andrew Ross Sorkin, co-anchor of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” founder of DealBook at The New York Times and author of “1929: The Inside Story of the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History,” named a Best Book of 2025 by TIME, The Economist, Financial Times and Bloomberg. His earlier book, “Too Big to Fail,” reconstructed the 2008 financial crisis with the same narrative depth.
“Andrew is among the most accomplished financial journalists of his generation,” Santos said. “His new book reconstructs 1929 the way “Too Big to Fail” reconstructed 2008: from the inside, with requisite detail and depth. Hosting Andrew on the 97th anniversary of the crash is no accident.”
Sorkin will then join the land panel “Challenges and Opportunities in Real Estate” alongside Eric Lynch, economist at the National Association of Home Builders; Sean Turgeon, partner and state-certified general real estate appraiser at Rogers Appraisal Service Inc.; and David Widmar, co-founder and managing partner of Agricultural Economic Insights. Paul TenHaken, mayor of the city of Sioux Falls, will moderate the panel.
Natasha Sarin on fiscal policy and the credit channel
Over lunch, Natasha Sarin, president and co-founder of the Budget Lab at Yale, professor at Yale Law School and former counselor to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, will join Jake Mortenson, economist at the Joint Committee on Taxation, for a fireside conversation on the federal budget, debt sustainability, fiscal policy and the credit channel. Sarin, who also holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, is a contributing columnist for The New York Times and a frequent guest on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” CNN and MS Now.
“Natasha’s research on tax policy, household finance and macroprudential risk management, combined with her Treasury experience, places her at the center of questions that determine the cost of credit for every borrower in the room,” Santos said. “The federal government’s fiscal position and the trajectory of public debt bear directly on Treasury yields, which benchmark mortgage rates, farm credit rates and commercial real estate financing rates.”
Closing panel explores agricultural credit and the rural economy
The afternoon closes with the land and lending panel “Agricultural Credit and the Rural Economy,” featuring Chuck Conner, former deputy and acting secretary of agriculture at the USDA and former president and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives; Rick Dusek, executive vice president at CHS Inc.; Tom Halverson, CEO of CoBank; and Hunter Roberts, South Dakota secretary of agriculture and natural resources. Matthew Diersen, the Griffith Chair in Agricultural Finance at the Ness School, will moderate the panel.
“The closing panel brings the conference home,” Santos said. “Conner shaped the federal policy architecture that governs agricultural credit. Halverson leads CoBank, one of the most significant agricultural lenders in rural America. Dusek runs the operational heart of the nation’s largest farmer-owned cooperative. And Hunter Roberts represents the state whose producers, lenders and landowners make up our audience. The Ness School is proud to host them.”
Breakout sessions and reception
Concurrent breakout sessions, sponsored by SDSU Extension, will follow the morning program. A reception will follow the conference close at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets and the full program are available at sdstate.edu/ness-school-management-economics/south-dakota-land-lending-conference-2026.
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