Voter apathy driving South Dakota’s anti-business faction to power, governor says

Article by: Jonathan Ellis
Original article: here

A small but vocal minority of activists are pushing an anti-economic development agenda in South Dakota, Gov. Larry Rhoden said Thursday, and they are succeeding because of voter apathy.

“They are very anti-economic development, so they get a lot of attention,” Rhoden said.

Some of them have ended up in the state Legislature, in part because of low voter turnout in Republican primaries, the governor said.

“The answer to this is to be engaged,” Rhoden said.

The governor was fielding a question during a town hall in Sioux Falls Thursday morning. The question centered on how Rhoden could create a pro-business environment when so many are against development. The questioner cited several examples of projects that faced anti-business headwinds, including a pork plant proposal in Sioux Falls, a jet fuel company that moved to North Dakota after facing hostility in South Dakota and a Rapid City amusement park.

Rhoden, who earlier this week announced his campaign to seek a full term as governor next year, has straddled the line at times between the populist faction and pro-business wing of the GOP. Earlier this year, he signed legislation banning carbon pipelines from using eminent domain, siding with private property rights. But he has also been supportive of economic development, including expanding energy resources to support data centers.

“I’ve been very clear in my messaging that we are open for business,” he said.

Thursday’s event was part town hall, part campaign rally. The governor and Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen spoke for about as long as they took questions. The campaign also used the town hall to launch its first campaign video, featuring Rhoden’s work ethic of “build it once, build it right.”

The event was also a window into how Rhoden plans to respond to rival candidates who are expected to have deeper pockets. Holding town halls and touring the state – he was headed to Watertown Thursday night to join a forum on property taxes – earns the campaign media coverage and public visibility.

A couple of people who addressed the governor didn’t ask questions but offered comments. One man told the governor he had been in law enforcement on the “looney” West Coast and came to South Dakota four years ago because of the George Floyd protests and Covid policies. He complimented Rhoden’s Operation: Prairie Thunder saturation law enforcement patrols, saying that when crime gets out of control, it can’t be stopped.

“This is a great idea,” he said. “We have to saturate the streets here to keep crime from getting out of control.”

Six of seven saturation patrols have been in Sioux Falls. Rhoden said Sioux Falls was doing a good job with crime, but Operation: Prairie Thunder has helped the city deal with crime that came with growth.

“Any time you have that kind of growth, you’re going to have more crime,” he said.

One woman who said she moved back to South Dakota after living in Iowa for decades asked Rhoden what the most pressing problems are for the state.

He responded that South Dakota has an issue with workforce shortages, but that’s a problem for most states. Despite workforce shortages – South Dakota has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country – businesses continue to locate in the state. That’s because people in South Dakota want to work, he said.

“We’ve got a form of government that helps business get started, and then gets out of the way,” he said.