In this post we will looking at South Dakota a state and its territories, Its past and present governors and current House of representative’s members.
INTRODUCTION.
South Dakota is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large portion of the population with nine reservations currently in the state and have historically dominated the territory. South Dakota is the seventeenth largest by area, but the 5th least populous, and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. As the southern part of the former Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889, simultaneously with North Dakota. They are the 39th and 40th states admitted to the union; President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the statehood papers before signing them so that no one could tell which became a state first. Pierre is the state capital, and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 187,200, is South Dakota’s largest city. South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota (to the north), Minnesota (to the east), Iowa (to the southeast), Nebraska (to the south), Wyoming (to the west), and Montana (to the northwest). The state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as “East River” and “West River”. Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the state’s population, and the area’s fertile soil is used to grow a variety of crops. West of the Missouri River, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. Most of the Native American reservations are in West River. The Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, is in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is there. South Dakota has a temperate continental climate, with four distinct seasons and precipitation ranging from moderate in the east to semi-arid in the west. The state’s ecology features species typical of a North American grassland biome.
Humans have inhabited the area for several millennia, with the Sioux becoming dominant by the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, European-American settlement intensified after a gold rush in the Black Hills and the construction of railroads from the east. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of Indian wars, ending with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Key events in the 20th century included the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, increased federal spending during the 1940s and 1950s for agriculture and defense, and an industrialization of agriculture that has reduced family farming.
SOUTH DAKOTA TERRITORIES.
South Dakota is in the north-central United States, and is considered a part of the Midwest by the U.S. Census Bureau; it is also part of the Great Plains region. The culture, economy, and geography of western South Dakota have more in common with the West than the Midwest. South Dakota has a total area of 77,116 square miles (199,730 km2), making the state the 17th largest in the Union. Black Elk Peak, formerly named Harney Peak, with an elevation of 7,242 ft (2,207 m), is the state’s highest point, while the shoreline of Big Stone Lake is the lowest, with an elevation of 966 ft (294 m). South Dakota is bordered to the north by North Dakota; to the south by Nebraska; to the east by Iowa and Minnesota; and to the west by Wyoming and Montana. The geographical center of the U.S. is 17 miles (27 km) west of Castle Rock in Butte County. The North American continental pole of inaccessibility is between Allen and Kyle, 1,024 mi (1,648 km) from the nearest coastline. The Missouri River is the largest and longest river in the state. Other major South Dakota rivers include the Cheyenne, James, Big Sioux, and White Rivers. Eastern South Dakota has many natural lakes, mostly created by periods of glaciation. Additionally, dams on the Missouri River create four large reservoirs: Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case, and Lewis and Clark Lake. South Dakota can generally be divided into three regions: eastern South Dakota, western South Dakota, and the Black Hills. The Missouri River serves as a boundary in terms of geographic, social, and political differences between eastern and western South Dakota. The geography of the Black Hills, long considered sacred by Native Americans, differs from its surroundings to such an extent it can be considered separate from the rest of western South Dakota. At times the Black Hills are combined with the rest of western South Dakota, and people often refer to the resulting two regions divided by the Missouri River as West River and East River. Eastern South Dakota generally features higher precipitation and lower topography than the western part of the state. Smaller geographic regions of this area include the Coteau des Prairies, the Dissected till Plains, and the James River Valley. The Coteau des Prairies is a plateau bordered on the east by the Minnesota River Valley and on the west by the James River Basin. Further west, the James River Basin is mostly low, flat, highly eroded land, following the flow of the James River through South Dakota from north to south. The Dissected Till Plains, an area of rolling hills and fertile soil that covers much of Iowa and Nebraska, extends into the southeastern corner of South Dakota. Layers deposited during the Pleistocene epoch, starting around two million years ago, cover most of eastern South Dakota. These are the youngest rock and sediment layers in the state, the product of several successive periods of glaciation which deposited a large number of rocks and soil, known as till, over the area.
LIST OF GOVERNORS OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
The governor of South Dakota is the head of government of the U.S. state of South Dakota. The current Governor is Republican Kristi Noem, serving since 2019. The Governor has the power to sign or veto laws, and to call the Legislative Assembly into emergency session. They have an ex officio South Dakota Governor’s Residence. The governor may only serve two terms consecutively, and becomes eligible for reelection after four years out of office. South Dakota is a strongly Republican state; only six Governors have not been members of that party and the governorship has been held by Republicans since 1979, the longest Republican streak and the longest overall streak of one party control in the country.
Governors of South Dakota
| # | Governor (birth and death) |
Took office | Left office | Party | City elected from | Lieutenant Governor | Notes | |||
| 1 | Arthur C. Mellette (1842–1896) |
March 22, 1889 | January 3, 1893 | Republican | Watertown | James H. Fletcher George H. Hoffman |
[2] | |||
| 2 | Charles H. Sheldon (1840–1898) |
January 3, 1893 | January 1, 1897 | Republican | Pierpont | Charles N. Herreid | ||||
| 3 | Andrew E. Lee (1847–1934) |
January 1, 1897 | January 8, 1901 | Populist | Vermillion | Daniel T. Hindman John T. Kean |
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| 4 | Charles N. Herreid (1857–1928) |
January 8, 1901 | January 3, 1905 | Republican | Eureka | George W. Snow | ||||
| 5 | Samuel H. Elrod (1856–1935) |
January 3, 1905 | January 8, 1907 | Republican | Clark | John E. McDougall | ||||
| 6 | Coe I. Crawford (1858–1944) |
January 8, 1907 | January 5, 1909 | Republican | Huron | Howard C. Shober | ||||
| 7 | Robert S. Vessey (1858–1929) |
January 5, 1909 | January 7, 1913 | Republican | Wessington Springs | Howard C. Shober Frank M. Byrne |
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| 8 | Frank M. Byrne (1858–1927) |
January 7, 1913 | January 2, 1917 | Republican | Faulkton | Edward Lincoln Abel Peter Norbeck |
[3] | |||
| 9 | Peter Norbeck (1870–1936) |
January 2, 1917 | January 4, 1921 | Republican | Redfield | William H. McMaster | ||||
| 10 | William H. McMaster (1877–1968) |
January 4, 1921 | January 6, 1925 | Republican | Yankton | Carl Gunderson | ||||
| 11 | Carl Gunderson (1864–1933) |
January 6, 1925 | January 4, 1927 | Republican | Mitchell | Alva Clark Forney | ||||
| 12 | William J. Bulow (1869–1960) |
January 4, 1927 | January 6, 1931 | Democratic | Beresford | Hyatt E. Covey (Republican) Clarence E. Coyne (Republican) John T. Grigsby (Democratic) |
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| 13 | Warren Green (1869–1945) |
January 6, 1931 | January 3, 1933 | Republican | Hazel | Odell K. Whitney | ||||
| 14 | Tom Berry (1879–1951) |
January 3, 1933 | January 5, 1937 | Democratic | Belvidere | Hans Ustrud Robert Peterson |
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| 15 | Leslie Jensen (1892–1964) |
January 5, 1937 | January 3, 1939 | Republican | Hot Springs | Donald McMurchie | ||||
| 16 | Harlan J. Bushfield (1882–1948) |
January 3, 1939 | January 5, 1943 | Republican | Miller | Donald McMurchie A. C. Miller |
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| 17 | Merrell Q. Sharpe (1888–1962) |
January 5, 1943 | January 7, 1947 | Republican | Kennebec | A. C. Miller Sioux K. Grigsby |
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| 18 | George T. Mickelson (1903–1965) |
January 7, 1947 | January 2, 1951 | Republican | Selby | Sioux K. Grigsby Rex A. Terry |
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| 19 | Sigurd Anderson (1904–1990) |
January 2, 1951 | January 4, 1955 | Republican | Webster | Rex A. Terry | ||||
| 20 | Joe Foss (1915–2003) |
January 4, 1955 | January 6, 1959 | Republican | Sioux Falls | L. Roy Houck | ||||
| 21 | Ralph Herseth (1909–1969) |
January 6, 1959 | January 3, 1961 | Democratic | Houghton | John F. Lindley | ||||
| 22 | Archie M. Gubbrud (1910–1987) |
January 3, 1961 | January 5, 1965 | Republican | Alcester | Joseph H. Bottum Nils Boe |
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| 23 | Nils Boe (1913–1992) |
January 5, 1965 | January 7, 1969 | Republican | Sioux Falls | Lem Overpeck | ||||
| 24 | Frank Farrar (1929–2021) |
January 7, 1969 | January 5, 1971 | Republican | Britton | James Abdnor | ||||
| 25 | Dick Kneip (1933–1987) |
January 5, 1971 | July 24, 1978 | Democratic | Salem | William Dougherty Harvey L. Wollman |
[4] | |||
| 26 | Harvey L. Wollman (b. 1935) |
July 24, 1978 | January 1, 1979 | Democratic | Hitchcock | Vacant | ||||
| 27 | Bill Janklow (1939–2012) |
January 1, 1979 | January 6, 1987 | Republican | Flandreau | Lowell C. Hansen II | ||||
| 28 | George S. Mickelson (1941–1993) |
January 6, 1987 | April 19, 1993 | Republican | Brookings | Walter Dale Miller | [5] | |||
| 29 | Walter Dale Miller (1925–2015) |
April 19, 1993 | January 7, 1995 | Republican | New Underwood | Steve T. Kirby | ||||
| 30 | Bill Janklow (1939–2012) |
January 7, 1995 | January 7, 2003 | Republican | Brandon | Carole Hillard | ||||
| 31 | Mike Rounds (b. 1954) |
January 7, 2003 | January 8, 2011 | Republican | Pierre | Dennis Daugaard | ||||
| 32 | Dennis Daugaard (b. 1953) |
January 8, 2011 | January 5, 2019 | Republican | Garretson | Matt Michels | ||||
| 33 | Kristi Noem (b. 1971) |
January 5, 2019 | Incumbent[6] | Republican | Castlewood | Larry Rhoden |
MEMBERS OF REPRESENTATIVES TO THE U.S. HOUSE FROM SOUTH DAKOTA
The following is an alphabetical list of members of the United States House of Representatives from the state of South Dakota. For chronological tables of members of both houses of the United States Congress from the state (through the present day), see United States congressional delegations from South Dakota. The list of names should be complete (as of January 3, 2019), but other data may be incomplete. It includes members who have represented only the state both past and present, as the Dakota Territory encompassed in addition North Dakota, and parts of present-day Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
List of representatives
| Member | Party | Years | District | Notes |
| James Abdnor | Republican | January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1981 | 2nd | Elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Retired to run for U.S. senator. |
| James Abourezk | Democratic | January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1973 | 2nd | Elected in 1970. Retired to run for U.S. senator. |
| E. Y. Berry | Republican | January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1971 | 2nd | Elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Retired. |
| Charles H. Burke | Republican | March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1907 | At-large | Elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Lost renomination to Hall. |
| March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1913 | At-large | Elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910 Redistricted to the 1st district. |
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| March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1915 | 2nd | Redistricted from the at-large district and re-elected in 1912 Retired to run for U.S. senator. |
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| Francis Case | Republican | January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1951 | 2nd | Elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Retired to run for U.S. senator. |
| Charles A. Christopherson | Republican | March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1933 | 1st | Elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Lost re-election to Hildebrandt. |
| Tom Daschle | Democratic | January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1983 | 1st | Elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Redistricted to the at-large district. |
| January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987 | At-large | Redistricted from the 1st district and re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. |
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| Frank E. Denholm | Democratic | January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1975 | 1st | Elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Lost re-election to Pressler. |
| Charles H. Dillon | Republican | March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1919 | 1st | Elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Lost renomination to Christopherson. |
| John Rankin Gamble | Republican | March 4, 1891 – August 14, 1891 | At-large | Elected in 1890. Died. |
| Robert J. Gamble | Republican | March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897 | At-large | Elected in 1894. Lost re-election to Knowles. |
| March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1901 | Elected in 1898. Retired to run for U.S. senator. |
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| Harry L. Gandy | Democratic | March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1921 | 3rd | Elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Lost re-election to Williamson. |
| Oscar S. Gifford | Republican | November 2, 1889 – March 3, 1891 | At-large | Elected in 1889. Lost renomination to J.R. Gamble. |
| Philo Hall | Republican | March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1909 | At-large | Elected in 1906. Lost renomination to Burke. |
| Stephanie Herseth Sandlin | Democratic | June 3, 2004 – January 3, 2011 | At-large | Elected to finish Janklow’s term. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Lost re-election to Noem. |
| Fred H. Hildebrandt | Democratic | March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1939 | 1st | Elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Retired to run for U.S. senator. |
| Bill Janklow | Republican | January 3, 2003 – January 20, 2004 | At-large | Elected in 2002. Resigned when convicted of vehicular manslaughter. |
| Dusty Johnson | Republican | January 3, 2019 – Present | At-large | Elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. |
| Royal C. Johnson | Republican | March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1933 | 2nd | Elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Lost re-election to Werner. |
| Tim Johnson | Democratic | January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1997 | At-large | Elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. |
| John L. Jolley | Republican | December 7, 1891 – March 3, 1893 | At-large | Elected to finish John Rankin Gamble’s term. Retired. |
| John Edward Kelley | Populist | March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1899 | At-large | Elected in 1896. Lost re-election to Burke. |
| Freeman T. Knowles | Populist | March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1899 | At-large | Elected in 1896. Lost re-election to R.J. Gamble. |
| Harold O. Lovre | Republican | January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1957 | 1st | Elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Lost re-election to McGovern. |
| William V. Lucas | Republican | March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895 | At-large | Elected in 1892. Lost renomination to R.J. Gamble. |
| Eben Martin | Republican | March 4, 1901 – March 3, 1907 | At-large | Elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. |
| June 26, 1908 – March 3, 1913 | Elected to finish Parker’s term. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Redistricted to the 3rd district. |
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| March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1915 | 3rd | Redistricted from the at-large district and re-elected in 1912. Retired. |
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| George McGovern | Democratic | January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1961 | 1st | Elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Retired to run for U.S. senator. |
| Karl E. Mundt | Republican | January 3, 1939 – December 30, 1948 | 1st | Elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Retired to run for U.S. senator and then resigned when appointed to the seat. |
| Kristi Noem | Republican | January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2019 | At-large | Elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Retired to run for Governor of South Dakota. |
| William H. Parker | Republican | March 4, 1907 – June 26, 1908 | At-large | Elected in 1906. Died. |
| John Pickler | Republican | November 2, 1889 – March 3, 1897 | At-large | Elected in 1889. Re-elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. Retired. |
| Larry Pressler | Republican | January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979 | 1st | Elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Retired to run for U.S. senator. |
| Ben Reifel | Republican | January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1971 | 1st | Elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Retired. |
| Clint Roberts | Republican | January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1983 | 2nd | Elected in 1980. Redistricted to the at-large district and lost re-election to Daschle. |
| John Thune | Republican | January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003 | At-large | Elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. |
| Theodore B. Werner | Democratic | March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1937 | 2nd | Elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Lost re-election to Case. |
| William Williamson | Republican | March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1933 | 3rd | Elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Redistricted to the 2nd district and lost renomination to Johnson. |