• A new poll shows Toby Doeden with a slight lead over Dusty Johnson in the South Dakota Republican gubernatorial primary.
• The gap between Doeden and Johnson is within the poll’s 3.2 percentage point margin of error.
• One candidate needs 35% of the vote in the primary to avoid a runoff election.

A new poll shows Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden overtaking U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson in the race for the Republican nomination for governor of South Dakota, but the gap between the two is within the poll’s margin of error.

The poll commissioned by KELO-TV and conducted by Emerson College Polling in Boston shows Aberdeen businessman Doeden at 26%, Johnson at 23%, Gov. Larry Rhoden at 19% and state House Speaker Jon Hansen at 16%, with 15% of respondents undecided. The poll’s margin of error is 3.2 percentage points.

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The poll was conducted May 18-19. Emerson surveyed 452 registered Republicans in the state, including 432 who said they were either very or somewhat likely to vote.

March results from the same source were Johnson 28%, Doeden 18%, Rhoden 17%, Hansen 14% and 23% undecided.

Separately, South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy commissioned polls by Mason-Dixon Polling. Those results in April showed Johnson with 34% support, Hansen at 18%, and Rhoden and Doeden each at 17%, with 14% undecided.

In October, those same groups released results of Johnson 28%, Rhoden 27%, Doeden 15%, and Hanson 10%, with 21% undecided.

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The winner of the race needs 35% support in the June 2 primary election to advance to a Nov. 3 general election contest against presumptive Democratic nominee Dan Ahlers. If no Republican receives 35% support in the primary, the top two will advance to a runoff eight weeks later on July 28.

A 70-year-old woman has died after being struck by a bison while on a hiking trail in South Dakota’s Custer State Park.

The woman, who has not been identified, was hiking with her husband on the Grace Coolidge Trail in Custer State Park last week when they encountered a herd of about five bull bison, according to People, CBS affiliate KELO and the Pierre Capital Journal.

The Custer County Sheriff’s Office told the Capital Journal that the couple had paused about 450 metres from the animals and waited for them to continue up the trail. Once the couple reportedly continued hiking and came around a corner, they encountered the bison at a distance of around 45 metres, the outlet reports.

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The couple stopped again and then continued trailing the bison, but a bull eventually broke from the group and charged the woman, the Capital Journal reports.

A spokesperson for the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Department (GFP) told KELO that the woman was struck by the bison in the back and died from her injuries.

Global News has reached out to South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Department and Custer County Sheriff’s Office for further comment, but has not received a response.

GFP communications manager Nick Harrington told KELO that staff have moved the bison from the area and “are actively monitoring the animal’s behavior to ensure public safety and prevent future incidents.”

Harrington said that dry conditions have caused the bison to spread out throughout the park, which means visitors should remain aware of their surroundings while on the trails.

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“Hikers are encouraged to make noise as they are on the trails, be mindful when rounding corners or coming across a ridge, and to keep pets on a leash,” Harrington told the outlet.

“It’s important to remember that bison are wild animals and need to be treated as such. Visitors are reminded to keep their distance from all wild animals and safely enjoy both the trails and wildlife within the park,” he added.

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Park officials around the U.S. share frequent warnings not to get too close to wildlife while visiting national parks ahead of the busy summer season.

Last May, a Florida man was injured after he was charged and gored by a bison at Yellowstone National Park.

The 47-year-old, who had approached the bison, escaped with only minor injuries and was treated by emergency medical personnel, according to the National Park Service (NPS).

The National Park Service mandates that visitors stay at least 23 metres away from large animals like bison.

Bison are the largest mammals in North America, can reach speeds of up to 55 km/h when charging and are able to jump several feet.

Bison can be aggressive when people don’t give them enough space, park officials said in their statement, and have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other wild animal.

At least two people were gored by bison in 2024, including an 83-year-old South Carolina woman who was seriously injured.

The woman was near the Storm Point Trail at Yellowstone Lake in June 2024 when the bison lifted her about a foot off the ground with its horns, park officials said, adding that the bison was defending its space.

In April 2024, an Idaho man was arrested on alcohol and wildlife-related charges after he was accused of kicking a bison at Yellowstone National Park, sustaining minor injuries.

The man was arrested by park rangers, who transported him to a nearby medical facility before dropping him at a county detention centre.

Authorities were notified of the incident after a parkgoer reported seeing an individual “who harassed a herd of bison and kicked a bison in the leg” near Yellowstone’s west entrance, park officials wrote in a press release.

In July 2023, a Phoenix woman was gored by a bison at Yellowstone National Park, according to the National Park Service, leaving her with “significant injuries to her chest and abdomen.”

The woman was visiting Yellowstone and was walking with another person in a field near the Lake Lodge Cabins on the north shore of Lake Yellowstone when they came across two bison.

“Upon seeing them, the visitors turned to walk away from the bison,” the National Park Service stated, but one of the bison charged at them and gored the woman.

The woman was seriously injured and had to be transported by helicopter to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

—with files from The Associated Press

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Get ready to be inspired! The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO) is bringing the energy, insight, and expertise of our own team to the 2026 Rural Health Leaders Conference. Join us June 24–25, 2026, at our new location—the Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center in Pierre, South Dakota—for a dynamic event centered around this year’s theme: A Century Strong: Charting the Next Frontier of Rural Health.

This year’s conference delivers a powerful lineup of speakers and sessions designed to spark ideas, strengthen leadership, and shape the future of rural health care. Among the highlights are sessions led by SDAHO experts who are working every day to advance health care across our state.

State Advocacy UpdateTim Rave and Jacob ParsonsSDAHO’s advocacy team will provide a timely recap of the 2026 legislative session, along with updates on current advocacy efforts and emerging state policy priorities. Attendees will gain valuable insight into evolving reimbursement, funding, and policy developments—and what they mean for health care organizations across the continuum of care. (CE: NHA)

Partnering for Impact: How SDAHO’s Rural Health Initiatives Team Helps Healthcare Facilities SucceedBecky Heisinger, Michelle Jury, Loretta Bryan, Lindsay StromanThis session highlights how SDAHO’s Rural Health Initiatives (RHI) team partners with health care facilities statewide to support quality improvement, workforce development, opioid stigma reduction, and grant management success. Presenters will share how organizations can leverage available programs and funding while strengthening collaboration with SDAHO’s RHI team. (CE: NHA)

Important Deadline Reminder
A room block is available for conference attendees at the Ramkota Hotel, offering the convenience of staying just steps away from the event. Be sure to reserve your room soon—the room block closes May 24.

Ready to celebrate a century of strength and help chart the next frontier of rural health? Join us in Pierre and be part of the momentum. Click here to learn more and register today!