South Dakota:

South Dakota is governed under its 1889 constitution. The legislature consists of 35 senators and 70 representatives, all elected for two-year terms. The governor is elected for four years. William Janklow, a Republican who had previously held the office from 1979 to 1987, was elected governor in 1994 and reelected in 1998. He was succeeded by fellow Republican Mike Rounds, elected in 2002 and reelected four years later. In 2010 and 2014, Dennis Daugaard, and in 2018, Kristi Noem, both Republicans, were elected governor. Noem became the first woman to be elected to the office. The state sends one U.S. representative and two senators to the U.S. Congress and has three electoral votes.

Institutions of higher learning in South Dakota include Augustana Univ., at Sioux Falls; Northern State Univ., at Aberdeen; the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, at Rapid City; South Dakota State Univ., at Brookings; and the Univ. of South Dakota, at Vermillion.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Facts and Figures
• Geography
• Economy
• Government and Higher Education
• History
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography