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South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden’s opening message to the state: Please allow me to introduce myself — The South Dakota Standard

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South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden’s opening message to the state: Please allow me to introduce myself — The South Dakota Standard


This past week, I started out in a new job. After six years serving as your lieutenant governor, I had the opportunity to shorten my title. I’d like to take some time to share some things you might not know about me.

 I have a wonderful wife named Sandy who I have been married to for nearly 44 years. I wouldn’t be here today without her support and encouragement. Together, we have four sons, four daughters-in-law, and seven grandchildren: Jesse and Sarah and their children Ladd, Sully, and Gus; Cody and Liz and their children Tally and Josey; Reggie and Jennifer and their son Lincoln; and Tristen and Kalen and their daughter Birkin.

I’m a fifth-generation South Dakotan. My father’s grandfather, Allen Rhoden, came to a place in western South Dakota called Chalkbutte in 1907. My mother was a Murphy. Her family came west on horses and wagons and homesteaded in the Two Rivers area, about 20 miles west of Union Center. Some of the original foundations of my family’s homesteads still stand today.

My dad was named Allen after his grandfather. He and my mom, Mildred, raised five kids. My twin sister, Lorie, and I are the fourth and fifth. Mom and Dad taught us the importance of faith in Jesus Christ, and faith is still central in my life.

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My parents also taught us the value of work. Hard work is part of life on the ranch. Even today, I’m still happiest when I’m working with my hands. There’s value in working to create something from start to finish.

Service in the military has always been a big part of my family. My great-great-great grandfather came to America with General Lafayette to fight in the Revolutionary War, and his four brothers all died in the Revolution. My grandfather, John, served in World War I and fought in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. My dad served in World War II and fought at the Battle of the Bulge. Two of my brothers served in the Army, one of them in Vietnam. And my son Cody was a Black Hawk pilot.

So when I came of age, I signed up for the South Dakota National Guard and served for six years. As a former Guardsman, it is a great honor to serve as commander-in-chief of the South Dakota National Guard.

I’ve also been active in my community around Union Center. I’ve been a leader in our church. I served on the board at our local Cenex. For several years, I coached women’s softball and boys’ basketball. I still sing bass in a men’s quartet. And I served five years on the Meade County school board.

I got elected to the Legislature in 2001 and served there for 16 years, including in various leadership positions. In 2018, Kristi Noem asked me to be her running mate. We won that election and were reelected in 2022, so I served six years as her lieutenant governor before rising to the office of governor just a short time ago.

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I promise you that I am prepared for this job and understand the gravity of the responsibility that has been placed on me. Serving the people of South Dakota in this capacity will be the great honor of my life. I promise to lead with civility, openness, responsiveness, and the common-sense conservative values that have made South Dakota so great.

I would like to make one request of each of you. Please pray for me and for my family. We all work hard and try to do our best, but we are nothing without the help of the Good Lord.

Thank you. May God continue to bless the great state of South Dakota.

Larry Rhoden is the 34th governor of South Dakota.

Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons

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South Dakota

South Dakota Senate revives bill to expand powers for state auditor • South Dakota Searchlight

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South Dakota Senate revives bill to expand powers for state auditor • South Dakota Searchlight


The state Senate voted unanimously to grant the state auditor the right to access and investigate agency records on Thursday — 24 hours after shooting down the idea by a single vote. 

The Wednesday loss for Senate Bill 60 at the state Capitol in Pierre came amid confusion over a compromise amendment meant to appease the concerns of the governor’s office. The bill was introduced by Attorney General Marty Jackley and supported by Auditor Rich Sattgast. 

Several lawmakers said Wednesday from the Senate floor in Pierre that all three offices had agreed to remove the audit and investigatory authority of the auditor from the original bill, so as not to duplicate the work of the attorney general. 

Others signaled that such a move would defang the bill, and that they preferred the attorney general-supported version that cleared a Senate committee on Jan. 27.

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The auditor and attorney general sat in the gallery for the second round of debate on the bill Thursday. Jackley brought it to lawmakers at the start of session in the face of the myriad scandals involving former state employees.

  • Ex-Department of Social Services (DSS) employee Lonna Carroll is accused last July of embezzling $1.8 million from the state.
  • Former Department of Revenue employee Sandra O’Day allegedly created 13 fake vehicles to help her secure $400,000 in loans before her death last year. Two more former revenue department employees, Lynne Hunsley and Danielle Degenstein, were later charged for malfeasance.
  • Renee Strong faces felony charges for allegedly submitting falsified reports of food-service health inspections for the Department of Public Safety.
  • Former DSS employee Amalia Escalante Barrientos pleaded guilty last month to a misdemeanor for using a voucher intended for a foster family to buy groceries for herself.

Senate revives auditor authority bill

After the Senate voted to reconsider SB 60 on Thursday, Sen. Jim Mehlhaff, R-Pierre, moved an amendment similar to the one he’d spoken against the day before. There was “quite a bit of confusion” Wednesday about Jackley’s position on the compromise amendment, he said, but “this is very much supported by the attorney general,” as well as the governor’s office and auditor.

Currently, the state auditor doesn’t have the authority to access agency records and assess their financial and operational fidelity. In its original form, SB 60 empowered the auditor with access to the financial and internal records of state agencies for the purposes of conducting audits, and to conduct investigations.

The governor’s office had argued that an elected state auditor doesn’t necessarily have the professional expertise to conduct agency audits. There were also concerns about duplicating investigative efforts.

Thursday’s amendment still removed audit authority, but preserved access to records, as well as the ability to investigate financial transactions. In the event malfeasance or irregularities emerge, the auditor would report them to the attorney general.

Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, said he was pleased to see the state office-holders compromise with the legislature to ease their worries about the bill’s value as a bulwark against misconduct.

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“Do I still like the original bill? I do. Is this amendment, I think, a compromise we should move forward? I think it is,” Karr said.

Wednesday’s version of the bill died 17-18; Thursday’s iteration passed 35-0.

The Senate did vote Wednesday to advance another Jackley-backed transparency bill, Senate Bill 61, which seeks to strengthen the state’s internal control board. 

Senate Bill 60 now moves to the state House of Representatives.

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Obituary for Brad A. Anfinson at Miller Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory

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Obituary for Brad A. Anfinson at Miller Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory


Brad Allen Anfinson, aged 40, passed away on February 2, 2025, in Sioux Falls, SD. He was born on December 18, 1984, in Sioux Falls, SD, to Gregory and Cindy Osborne Anfinson. Visitation will be held on Saturday, February 8, 2025, from 4-7 PM at Miller Funeral Home Southside Chapel.



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Lawmakers decline to endorse Noem-backed state library funding cut, school safety grant program • South Dakota Searchlight

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Lawmakers decline to endorse Noem-backed state library funding cut, school safety grant program • South Dakota Searchlight


Former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s education priorities continue to face setbacks in the Legislature, including proposals to cut funding for the South Dakota State Library and to put $10 million toward school safety grants.

The House Education Committee voted Wednesday to move the two proposals to the legislative budget committee with “do not pass” recommendations.

It’s a battle over priorities in a tight budget year, said Yankton Republican Rep. Mike Stevens.

The same committee last week shot down a Governor’s Office-supported education savings account bill, which would have used $4 million in public funds to pay for a portion of private, online or homeschool instruction costs. Republican leaders plan to advance related legislation.

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South Dakota State Library

Noem had proposed cutting the State Library’s funding by about $1 million. The cut would lay off about a dozen employees and jeopardize programming and services local libraries depend on, several librarians told lawmakers at the Capitol in Pierre.

The Department of Education introduced a bill that would change the duties of the State Library to align expectations with Noem’s proposed budget cut.

Were it endorsed by lawmakers, the cut itself would be embedded in the state’s general appropriations bill, which is passed at the end of the legislative session.

State Library budget cut would hamstring local libraries, opponents say

Education Secretary Joseph Graves told lawmakers that key services would still be available if the funding cut were to take effect. That would include statewide training and technical assistance to libraries, Braille and talking book services for people who are blind and hard of hearing, and assistance with literacy programming and organization.

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Opponents told lawmakers they doubted such services would be feasible without continued funding. Librarians said they were concerned about losing statewide interlibrary loan services, shared database access and other services. Representatives of local governments said they worried they’d shoulder the financial burden to cover such services.

The committee voted unanimously to move the bill on to the legislative budget committee with a “do not pass” recommendation.

Sioux Falls Republican Rep. Amber Arlint added that she was worried cutting state funds for the library would mean replicating programs and costs elsewhere in the state.

“We all serve the same taxpayers,” Arlint said. “So to cut services to balance our state budget just to pass them onto a different set of taxes is absolutely absurd to me.”

School safety grant funding

Lawmakers on the committee also voted 11-4 against endorsing Noem’s proposed $10 million grant program for school security upgrades.

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Scott Rechtenbaugh, criminal justice service director with the state Department of Public Safety, said that although roughly 200 schools have completed safety assessments with the department’s School Safety Center since 2020, many don’t have funding to make recommended upgrades.

That jeopardizes student safety as school shootings continue nationwide and school safety threats increase in the state, he said. Rechtenbaugh reminded lawmakers of the 2015 Harrisburg High School shooting and a 2024 school threat in Winner. No one was killed in either event.

The grant would let the department distribute $2 million annually for surveillance cameras, panic buttons, doors and locks, fencing, gates, barriers and other security measures.

“I know there’s a lot of debate on, ‘Can we afford this?’” Rechtenbaugh said. “But my question is, ‘Can we afford not to?’”

The state Department of Education and the South Dakota Police Chiefs’ Association supported the bill. Dianna Miller, a lobbyist for the Large School Group, was the sole opponent.

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“I hope, I pray our budget and sales tax will increase and we do the things necessary to get through this year, and then maybe the program would be ripe for it,” Miller said. “But the fact of the matter is that right now is not the time.”

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