South Dakota
Legislators vote to subpoena officials over alleged vehicle titling crimes in their department • South Dakota Searchlight
The refusal of a state department director to explain what’s changed after a recent vehicle titling scandal sparked a rare subpoena request from a legislative committee on Monday.
Department of Revenue Secretary Michael Houdyshell appeared before the Legislature’s Government Operations and Audit Committee in Pierre to discuss a new software system and other internal control measures he said will prevent further vehicle titling troubles. Two former Revenue Department employees are criminally charged in a fake vehicle-titling scheme, following an investigation into similar allegations against a deceased former employee.
Lawmakers, prison officials shut out public during discussion of weekslong lockdown
But Houdyshell refused, even during an hourlong, closed-door executive session, to offer details on the new internal controls. Houdyshell cited the criminal prosecutions and the possibility of future lawsuits, and said rules direct practicing attorneys to avoid making public statements about a case.
When the committee reconvened publicly, Sen. David Wheeler, R-Huron, told his fellow committee members that he disagrees with Houdyshell’s interpretation of that rule.
Wheeler and Houdyshell are both attorneys. Wheeler argued that rules barring public statements about a case can’t logically apply to statements offered behind closed doors.
He also said there is no active case involving the deceased former employee, who can’t be prosecuted but whose actions could land the state in a lawsuit.
The senator said it’s a pattern from the executive branch, and one that prevents lawmakers with oversight authority from doing their jobs.
“We need some sort of resolution to this, because this is the answer we always get. It’s occurred in the past when we’ve had controversial matters before this committee,” Wheeler said. “Officials say ‘there’s pending litigation, there’s a threat of litigation,’ therefore there’s no response.”
The committee voted 7-2 to support subpoenas for Houdyshell and Rosa Yaeger, director of the Revenue Department’s Motor Vehicle Division. A subpoena is a legal order requiring someone to offer testimony or produce evidence.
The subpoenas would need approval from the Legislature’s Executive Board.
Lawmakers tried and failed in 2023 to pass a bill that would have granted subpoena powers to the audit committee without that additional step.
The Executive Board is unlikely to be a hurdle in this situation, said its chairman, Watertown Republican Sen. Lee Schoenbeck. He told South Dakota Searchlight he intends to call a meeting for Oct. 29 to discuss the subpoenas.
“I’m going to honor the will of the audit committee,” Schoenbeck said, adding that he’d expect the board’s membership to agree to the subpoenas.
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Revenue Department concerns
The Revenue Department’s Motor Vehicle Division has been the focus of legislators since this summer, in light of the behavior of now-deceased former employee Sandra O’Day. O’Day worked for the division for decades. After her death, her family found suspicious financial records that ultimately led the state Division of Criminal Investigation to discover that O’Day had created 13 fake vehicle titles. She’d used them to secure loans, and Attorney General Marty Jackley said earlier this month that the banks victimized by her failure to repay those loans could file lawsuits against the state seeking damages.
Jackley’s latest statements came during a press conference Oct. 9, at which he announced criminal complaints against two other former Revenue Department employees. Lynne Hunsley is facing seven counts for allegedly falsifying a vehicle title, in part to avoid excise taxes, and Danielle Degenstein faces a misdemeanor charge for allegedly notarizing the phony title and for her failure to come clean to law enforcement when confronted.
“I do want to start with a little caveat,” Houdyshell said in the opening seconds of his committee appearance Monday. “Due to pending criminal proceedings and the threat of potential civil litigation, and at the advice of the attorney general, we’re going to be limited as to what questions we can answer today.”
A new system for vehicle and driver licensing in South Dakota should help prevent the kind of criminal behavior uncovered over the summer, he said. The department has also implemented a mandatory ethics training for employees, and has signaled its plans to hire an internal control officer.
That last move mirrors one from the state Department of Social Services. That agency also came under scrutiny recently for the alleged behavior of one of its former employees.
Lonna Carroll allegedly embezzled $1.8 million from the state by creating and approving fraudulent financial support orders for children from 2010 through 2023. Carroll’s jury trial is set to begin in December.
After about 10 minutes of public testimony Monday, Houdyshell and the committee members retired to a closed, executive session.
Closed doors, closed mouths
Sen. Wheeler launched into an explanation of his reasons for wanting subpoenas shortly after the committee reconvened for its public meeting.
The audit committee is supposed to get answers to questions on agency operations, Wheeler said, and it can hold sessions outside the public eye if necessary.
It’s not reasonable to expect lawmakers on the committee to sit on their hands for months or longer, he said, before attending to the business of oversight because of potential legal proceedings.
“We have to find a way for us to be able to do our job at the same time the judicial branch does its job,” Wheeler said. “I think that’s what this route allows us to do.”
Jackley announces charges against state employees, proposes anti-corruption bill
Sen. Tim Reed, R-Brookings, wondered what might stop departmental representatives from stonewalling in the face of a subpoena and citing the same rules for public statements from lawyers.
A subpoena could be challenged or modified in court, Wheeler said. If the Legislature’s subpoenas survive a challenge and departmental employees still don’t answer questions, he said, “it’s actually a matter of contempt, which is in itself a class two misdemeanor.”
The two committee members who opposed the subpoenas each expressed doubts prior to the vote. Rep. Drew Peterson, R-Salem, asked Houdyshell if the department intends to wait until every legal matter is finished before explaining new internal controls.
“We cannot delve into the details in this forum until any of the potential litigation has been resolved,” Houdyshell said.
Sen. Dean Wink, R-Howes, suggested the potential to influence the courts is something that justifies waiting for answers.
“I don’t think the Legislature has the authority to supersede the legal process in this situation,” Wink said.
Sen. Jean Hunhoff, R-Yankton, said if all the audit committee can do is nod yes when a department head says “trust us, we’ve got it under control,” committee members may as well stay home.
“It’s not that I don’t trust people, but I don’t trust people anymore,” Hunhoff said. “There’s too many things that have happened in the last couple of months.”
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A tornado watch has been issued for much of central and eastern South Dakota as forecasters warn conditions are favorable for tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds Wednesday evening.
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center issued the watch at 4:05 p.m. CDT, and it will remain in effect until 11 p.m. It includes dozens of counties across central and eastern South Dakota, as well as parts of southeastern North Dakota and western Minnesota.
Forecasters expect thunderstorms to develop along and ahead of a cold front moving southeast across the Dakotas. The strongest storms could become supercells capable of producing all severe weather hazards.
The severe weather threat is expected to continue Thursday, when another round of strong to severe thunderstorms could develop across parts of South Dakota. Large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes will again be possible.
What are expected impacts of South Dakota storms?
Storms that remain isolated could produce tornadoes and very large hail before merging into a line of thunderstorms later in the evening, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Once storms organize into a line, damaging winds are expected to become the main threat, although brief tornadoes and hail will remain possible.
The National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls said portions of southeastern South Dakota face a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather Wednesday evening. Atmospheric conditions include high instability, increasing wind shear and abundant moisture, creating an environment supportive of severe thunderstorms.
In addition to severe weather, some areas could receive heavy rainfall. Most locations are expected to receive between a quarter-inch and three-quarters of an inch of rain, although isolated areas could see more than an inch. Widespread flooding is not expected, but localized flooding could occur in areas that recently received heavy rainfall.
Where will storms hit in South Dakota?
Storms are expected to develop in central South Dakota between late afternoon and early evening before moving east through the night. Forecasters expect the strongest storms to reach the Interstate 29 corridor between about 10 p.m. and midnight.
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Brandi D. Addison covers weather across the United States as the Weather Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. She can be reached at baddison@gannett.com.
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.
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