South Dakota
Governor approves deregulating gun silencers in South Dakota
South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks during a press conference Feb. 6, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre with Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
By: Meghan O’Brien
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden signed a bill Tuesday that deregulates gun silencers by removing them from the state’s definition of a controlled weapon.
Unregistered possession of a controlled weapon is a felony, which could result in two years of prison time. That will no longer apply to silencers, also known as suppressors.
“South Dakota is the most Second Amendment-friendly state in America, and this is yet another opportunity for us to pave the way and set an example for the rest of the nation,” Rhoden said in a statement Tuesday.
Rhoden said South Dakota is the first state in the nation to remove suppressors from its list of controlled weapons.
The bill was sponsored by Sen. Casey Crabtree, R-Madison, who is running for the Republican nomination for the state’s lone U.S. House seat.
“Gun suppressors are hearing protection, not a weapon, and I’m glad that South Dakota will no longer be regulating them,” Crabtree said in a statement.
Republican Attorney General Marty Jackley, who is also running for the U.S. House nomination, is another supporter of the legislation. He told a Senate committee last month that regulating silencers “doesn’t promote or help public safety.”
“It’s simply extra government that doesn’t achieve any result,” Jackley said.
The bill passed through both chambers of the Legislature without any “no” votes. National opponents of silencer deregulation, including the organization Everytown for Gun Safety, say silencers make it harder for bystanders or law enforcement to identify and react quickly to gunshots.
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.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The South Dakota Community Foundation is encouraging nonprofits to apply for funding this June.
Beth Massa and Ginger Niemann joined us live with what you need to know before applying.
Watch the full interview above.
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