South Dakota
Reversal of US energy agenda sparks friction between states
Changes to climate policy under President Donald Trump’s administration have sharpened Upper Midwest debates about the reliability of renewable energy and the separation of state and federal interests.
One point of agreement is that winning the White House means controlling the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a federal regulatory body that maintains and enforces environmental laws.
Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to run the EPA, has announced plans to dramatically reduce staff and reverse policies from the Joe Biden administration involving the oversight of coal-fired power plants, oil and gas development and water quality standards.
The deregulation is of keen interest to energy officials in Republican-led South Dakota and heavily Democratic Minnesota, where differences in climate policy have sparked border clashes over how pushing clean energy to reduce carbon emissions impacts the electrical grid.
The Minnesota Legislature passed a law in 2023 requiring all electric utilities in the state to produce only carbon-free energy by 2040 using sources like solar, wind, hydroelectric and nuclear power.
That law was an offshoot of Biden administration EPA rules requiring coal plants operating beyond 2039 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2032, which critics saw as shutting down the industry.
Zeldin’s agency has rolled back those rules, inspired by Trump’s March 17 declaration on social media that he is “authorizing my Administration to immediately begin producing Energy with BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN COAL.”
Erin Woodiel / Argus Leader
Chris Nelson, a Republican member of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, said reversing coal plant regulations is good news for South Dakota and other states focused on the sustainability of the electricity grid and avoiding blackouts.
“The math didn’t add up with those greenhouse gas limitation rules,” Nelson told News Watch. “They simply could not replace all of those plants quickly enough (with other energy sources) to maintain reliability of the grid. So the Trump administration rolling back those particularly damaging rules was very helpful.”
Xcel Energy to retire coal plants by 2030
Not everyone shares that opinion.
The EPA’s actions face court challenges as clean-energy groups navigate federal and state environmental laws in a changing legal landscape.
The U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down the landmark 1984 Chevron “deference” doctrine, which required courts to defer to reasonable agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes.
Those interpretations are now up to the courts to decide. Democratic-leaning states are forging ahead with climate-based policies regardless of EPA rollbacks, using utility regulation as a tool to keep energy companies in line.
Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy, whose 3.7 million electrical customers include about 100,000 South Dakotans, is sticking with a plan to retire its coal-fired power plants by 2030 as part of an integrated resource plan approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in February in accordance with state law.
The plan includes replacing coal with “wind, solar and storage solutions” while also building a new natural gas plant in 2028 as a way to address capacity needs.
Natural gas, which replaced coal as the nation’s largest energy source in 2016, emits about half as much carbon dioxide as coal, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
SD 9th in energy consumption per capita
The Xcel announcement came despite criticism from the South Dakota PUC, which questioned the company’s ability to pivot from fossil fuels at that pace without compromising reliability and affordability for customers.
South Dakota ranks ninth among U.S. states in energy consumption per capita, with 34% of households using electricity to heat their homes during frequently harsh winters. Nearly half (48%) use natural gas, with propane at 14%.
The PUC’s concerns were laid out in a 2024 letter to Xcel signed by Republican commissioners Nelson, Gary Hanson and Kristie Fiegen.
“Evidence is mounting that the premature closures … will elevate the risk of electricity outages particularly in tight load hours, including hours of extreme cold and extreme heat, as well as those hours when wind generation is low,” the letter stated. “These events are likely to pose a threat to life and property.”
‘We’re the tail trying the wag the dog’
Xcel’s decision to close coal plants despite South Dakota PUC warnings shows the challenge of trying to influence policy involving companies under the sway of different state laws and consumer interests.
“One of the difficulties we have is that South Dakota represents 5% to 6% of Xcel’s entire system,” said Nelson. “We are literally the tail trying to wag the dog on some of these decisions.”
Some utility companies are advocating a more measured pace on clean energy. Minnesota’s PUC clashed with Otter Tail Power over its decision to amend its long-range plan to push back closures of coal plants – including Big Stone near Milbank, in northeast South Dakota – until at least 2040.
The Minnesota PUC approved Otter Tail’s resource plan last summer after concessions that included the company no longer using its North Dakota-based Coyote Station plant for Minnesota customers beyond 2031.
Will wind energy policy hurt South Dakota?
Despite leaning on fossil fuels to keep the lights on in extreme conditions, South Dakota has harnessed the state’s wind power as an alternative energy source.
In 2023, South Dakota’s wind energy production accounted for more than half (55%) of the state’s in-state net power generation, a larger share than in all other states except Iowa, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The state’s other primary power sources include hydroelectric (21%), natural gas (14%) and coal (9%). Solar was less than 1% of the power generated (0.3%).
(Photo: Argus Leader)
Increased wind energy production nationally runs counter to the direction of the EPA and Trump, who has criticized the efficiency of turbines and told supporters that “we’re not going to do the wind thing” at a rally shortly after taking office.
So far, the administration’s actions are aimed at offshore wind development, which rely on access to federal waters. It’s not clear how the EPA’s actions will impact South Dakota’s 24 active wind farms, which provide tax revenue and job creation for local communities.
“The actions that we’ve seen the administration take thus far as it relates to wind have been exclusively related to offshore wind projects,” said Nelson. “We’ve not seen any indication that there’s going to be any activity for turbines that might be located in South Dakota.”
— The Associated Press contributed to this story, which was produced by South Dakota News Watch.
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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