Today C-SPAN released its fourth presidential historians survey. The survey follows C-SPAN’s earlier surveys of presidential greatness, which were run…
Trail of Governors gallery
The Trail of Governors in Pierre was initiated in 2011, with its first statues unveiled in 2012. This slideshow includes…
Sheldon, Crawford and Gunderson join Trail of Governors
This morning, the Trail of Governors unveiled new statues of Charles H. Sheldon, 2nd Governor of South Dakota; Carl Gunderson,…
2021 Trail of Governors preview
This Friday, the Trail of Governors in Pierre will unveil and place three new statues. The unveiling is at 10…
On the lookout for biographies of SD governors
Biographies of South Dakota governors admittedly fill a niche-market. They are unlikely to sell millions of copies like John Adams, win…
W. J. Bulow’s autobiography in print
This week, South Dakota History published its Spring 2021 edition. The edition is made up almost entirely of a 20,000…
Humphrey’s politics started in South Dakota
Hubert H. Humphrey Jr. is a well-known figure in American history. The liberal Minnesota icon first gained national prominence when,…
Term Limits and Dick Kneip
When South Dakota became a state in 1889, the state constitution included no term limits on the Governor or on…
Historic milestones Biden achieves
Every election offers a new opportunity for “firsts” and other milestones. Four years ago, this blog wrote about the many milestones…
Janklow and Oswald
The previous post, about Dakota Territorial Governor William Howard’s brush with the Lincoln assassination, reminded me of a fascinating story…
Howard and Lincoln
William A. Howard is little-remembered today but he very nearly was a witness to one the most pivotal events in…
Party floor leaders in the SD Legislature
This post was originally written in November 2018 and was revised following the caucus leadership elections in November 2020, and…
Farewell to Justin Cronin
Former state legislator Justin Cronin of Gettysburg died yesterday, much too soon, at the age of 40. Cronin had served…
Presidential comebacks
Americans living today have never seen a former president seek a return to the Oval Office. The two-term limit is…
Women reach all-time high as SD Legislature most Republican in decades
The 2020 election results are in and, as expected, Republicans have maintained control of both the State Senate and the…
A big win for Dusty Johnson
To no one’s great surprise, first-term Congressman Dusty Johnson, a Republican, was easily reelected on Tuesday night. Johnson, after all,…
Mike Rounds on a historic path
Mike Rounds was reelected to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, handily winning a second term against Democratic challenger Dan Ahlers.…
2020 Election Preview
This Tuesday, November 3 is Election Day. Every election makes history, and this blog has written several blog posts looking…
Partisan control of the South Dakota State Legislature
This is an update of a post written prior to the 2016 general election. It was updated prior to the…
Mike Rounds and the biggest U.S. Senate wins
Update: Unofficial election results indicate that Rounds was reelected with 65.7% of the vote, placing him fifth all-time among U.S.…
Will Trump keep the Rushmore State red?
This is an update of a post written prior to the 2016 election. Unofficial election results indicate Trump/Pence carried South…
Will the SD GOP winning streak continue in 2020?
This is an update of a post that was written prior to the 2018 general election. The 2020 election marks…
Jean Hunhoff the SD Legislature’s longest-serving woman
Updated to reflect results of the 2020, 2022 and 2024 general elections – the article now assumes that those elected…
Ironman Farrar sets another record
Frank Farrar, who was Governor of South Dakota from 1969-71, has in the years since become known for completing triathlons…
Mark Meierhenry exits the scene
Former Attorney General Mark Meierhenry died on July 29, 2020. Meierhenry was a colorful figure in South Dakota’s political history.…
Presidential visits to Rushmore
On July 3, President Donald J. Trump visited Mount Rushmore to attend an Independence Day program that will feature fireworks…
More Tributes to John E. Miller
Dr. John E. Miller’s death on May 1 is being felt across the South Dakota history community. Several nice articles…
Jon Lauck remembers John Miller
Jon Lauck wrote the following and posted it on his Facebook page. With his permission I am posting it here…
In memory of John E. Miller
Dr. John E. Miller died today at age 75. Dr. Miller was a longtime professor of history at South Dakota…
Will Dusty be unopposed in November?
(Post updated May 13, 2020 to reflect filing deadlines.) Pending the result of the June Republican primary, Congressman Dusty Johnson…
“First Lady Gown Collection” to add the state’s first “First Gentleman”
A longstanding feature of the South Dakota State Capitol is the “First Lady Gown Collection.” The collection, which features a…
Remembering Deb Bowman
Deb Bowman passed away early on Tuesday morning, September 17, 2019. Deb succumbed to Stage IV lung cancer. She had…
Should Beadle and Ward represent SD in Statuary Hall?
Overview of National Statuary Hall The National Statuary Hall collection was established in 1864, when Congress invited each state to…
When Archie Gubbrud did “Candid Camera”
Following last week’s Trail of Governors unveiling, a friend reminded me of Archie Gubbrud’s unusual appearance on Candid Camera. Gubbrud, who…
New Trail of Governors statues unveiled
Statues of Govs. Samuel H. Elrod, Archie Gubbrud, and Dennis Daugaard joined the Trail of Governors today. Gov. Elrod’s statue,…
Dennis Daugaard: Trail of Governors Class of 2019
On Friday, June 14, 2019, the Trail of Governors unveiled three new statues: Samuel H. Elrod, Archie Gubbrud, and Dennis Daugaard.…
Archie Gubbrud: Trail of Governors Class of 2019
On Friday, June 14, 2019, the Trail of Governors unveiled three new statues: Samuel H. Elrod, Archie Gubbrud, and Dennis Daugaard.…
Samuel H. Elrod: Trail of Governors Class of 2019
On Friday, June 14, 2019, the Trail of Governors unveiled three new statues: Samuel H. Elrod, Archie Gubbrud, and Dennis Daugaard.…
Presidential Greatness
President’s Day is a day to consider the history of the forty-four men who have served as President of the…
Gallery of Governor’s Signatures
Recently, Gov. Kristi Noem signed her first bill as governor. A governor’s signature can have significant legal effect. With the…
Gov. Kristi Noem and the Next Generation
Congratulations to Kristi Noem, who was sworn in on January 5, 2019 as the 33rd Governor of South Dakota. Governor Noem’s…
Governors after leaving office
On January 5, 2019, Gov. Dennis Daugaard will leave office as his successor, Kristi Noem, is sworn in as South…
Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s portrait unveiled
The official portrait of Dennis Daugaard, the 32nd Governor of South Dakota, was unveiled this afternoon at the State Capitol.…
Governor’s portrait collection
The South Dakota State Capitol features portraits of all thirty-two governors, from Arthur C. Mellette to Dennis Daugaard. These photographs…
Noem is SD’s first female governor
Kristi Lynn Noem has been elected the 33rd Governor of South Dakota. The Hamlin County Republican and her running mate,…
Turner County is SD GOV bellwether
During the primary, this blog identified Beadle and Davison counties as the best bellwethers for a Republican gubernatorial primary. That…
Mike O’Connor dies
Michael J. O’Connor of Brandon died on October 24, 2018. O’Connor served in the State House of Representatives from 1971-72,…
MAPS! (of general elections for SD Governor)
Updated to include a map of the 2022 general election. This site’s Online Almanac now includes county maps of every…
South Dakota state symbols
Updated 2022. South Dakota has a number of symbols that represent our culture and traditions. You can find them all…
Closest elections for South Dakota governor
This post has been updated to include the results of the 2018 election. The closest gubernatorial election in South Dakota history…
SoDak Governors 