FLAG: The state seal, centered on a light-blue field and encircled by a serrated sun, is surrounded by the words “South Dakota” above and “The Mount Rushmore State” below.

COAT OF ARMS: Beneath the state motto, the Missouri River winds between hills and plains; symbols representing mining (a smelting furnace and hills), commerce (a steamboat), and agriculture (a man plowing, cattle, and a field of corn) complete the scene.

MOTTO: Under God the People Rule.

SONG: “Hail, South Dakota.”

FLOWER: American Pasque (also called the May Day flower).

TREE: Black Hills spruce.

ANIMAL: Coyote.

BIRD: Chinese ring-necked pheasant.

FISH: Walleye.

INSECT: Honeybee.

GEM: Fairburn agate.

MINERAL: Rose quartz.

GRASS: Western wheatgrass.

LEGAL HOLIDAYS: New Year’s Day, 1 January; Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., 3rd Monday in January; Presidents’ Day, 3rd Monday in February; Memorial Day, last Monday in May; Independence Day, 4 July; Labor Day, 1st Monday in September; Native Americans’ Day, 2nd Monday in October; Veterans’ Day, 11 November; Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November; Christmas Day, 25 December.

TIME: 6 AM CST = noon GM; 5 AM MST = noon GMT.

1 Location and Size

Situated in the western north-central United States, South Dakota ranks 16th in size among the 50 states with a total area of 77,121 square miles (199,743 square kilometers), including 75,896 square miles (196,715 square kilometers) of land and 1,164 square miles (3,015 square kilometers) of inland water. It extends about 380 miles (610 kilometers) from east to west and 245 miles (394 kilometers) from north to south. The total boundary length of the state is 1,316 miles (2,118 kilometers).

2 Topography

The eastern two-fifths of South Dakota is prairie, while the western three-fifths falls within the Missouri Plateau. The High Plains extend into the south. The Black Hills, an extension of the Rocky Mountains, occupy part of the state’s western border. Harney Peak, at 7,242 feet (2,209 meters), is the highest point in the state. East of the southern Black Hills are the Badlands, a barren, eroded region with large fossil deposits. South Dakota’s lowest elevation, 966 feet (295 meters), is at Big Stone Lake, in the northeastern corner.

The Missouri River is controlled by four massive dams—Gavins Point, Fort Randall, Big Bend, and Oahe. Tributaries of the Missouri include the Grand, Cheyenne, Bad, Moreau, and White rivers in the west and the James, Vermillion, and Big Sioux in the east. Major lakes in the state include Traverse, Big Stone, Lewis and Clark, Francis Case, and Oahe.

3 Climate

South Dakota has an interior continental climate with hot summers, extremely cold winters, high winds, and periodic droughts. The normal temperatures are 12°f (-11°c) in January and 74°f (23°c) in July. The record low temperature is -58°f (-50°c), set at McIntosh on 17 February 1936. The record high, 120°f (49°c), was set at Gannvalley on 5 July 1936.

Normal annual precipitation ranges from less than 13 inches (33 centimeters) in the north-west

South Dakota Population Profile

Total population estimate in 2006:	781,919
Population change, 2000–06:	3.6%
Hispanic or Latino†:	1.9%
Population by race
One race:	98.5%
White:	88.0%
Black or African American:	0.8%
American Indian /Alaska Native:	8.4%
Asian:	0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander:	0.0%
Some other race:	0.6%
Two or more races:	1.6%

Population by Age Group

Major Cities by Population
City	Population	% change 2000–05
Notes: †A person of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race. NA indicates that data are not available.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey and Population Estimates. www.census.gov/ (accessed March 2007).
Sioux Falls	139,517	12.5
Rapid City	62,167	4.3
Aberdeen	24,098	-2.3
Watertown	20,265	0.1
Brookings	18,715	1.1
Mitchell	14,696	0.9
Pierre	14,052	1.3
Yankton	13,716	1.4
Huron	11,086	-6.8
Vermillion	9,964	2.0

to 25 inches (63 centimeters) in Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls also receives an average of 39.6 inches (100 centimeters) of snow per year.

4 Plants and Animals

Oak, maple, and beech are among the trees represented in South Dakota’s forests, while thickets of wild plum, gooseberry, and currant are found in the eastern part of the state. Pasqueflower (Anemone ludoviciana) is the state flower. Other wildflowers are bluebell and monkshood. No South Dakota plant species were listed as threatened or endangered in 2006.

Familiar native mammals include the coyote (the state animal), porcupine, buffalo, bobcat, white-tailed jackrabbit, and black-tailed prairie dog. Nearly 300 species of birds have been identified; the sage grouse, bobwhite quail, and ring-necked pheasant are leading game birds. Trout, catfish, and pike are fished for sport.

In 2006, the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed nine South Dakota animal species as threatened or endangered, including the American burying beetle, whooping crave, Eskimo curlew, black-footed ferret, Topeka shiner, pallid sturgeon, least tern, and bald eagle.

5 Environmental Protection

The mission of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the primary environmental agency in South Dakota, is to provide environmental services that promote economic development, conserves natural resources, ensures compliance with regulations,

South Dakota Population by Race

Census 2000 was the first national census in which the instructions to respondents said, “Mark one or more races.” This table shows the number of people who are of one, two, or three or more races. For those claiming two races, the number of people belonging to the various categories is listed. The U.S. government conducts a census of the population every ten years.

	Number	Percent
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000: Redistricting Data. Press release issued by the Redistricting Data Office. Washington, D.C., March, 2001. A dash (—) indicates that the percent is less than 0.1.
Total population	754,844	100.0
One race	744,688	98.7
Two races	9,708	1.3
White and Black or African American	1,173	0.2
White and American Indian/Alaska Native	5,181	0.7
White and Asian	1,162	0.2
White and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	94	—
White and some other race	1,162	0.2
Black or African American and American Indian/Alaska Native	289	—
Black or African American and Asian	66	—
Black or African American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	6	—
Black or African American and some other race	201	—
American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian	95	—
American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	38	—
American Indian/Alaska Native and some other race	104	—
Asian and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	66	—
Asian and some other race	66	—
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and some other race	5	—
Three or more races	448	0.1

and protects public health and the environment. In 2003, South Dakota had 39 hazardous waste sites listed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s database, two of which were on the National Priorities List as of 2006. The Sand Lake National Wildlife refuge, a freshwater cattail marsh, was designated as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 1998.

6 Population

In 2006, South Dakota ranked 46th in the United States in population with an estimated total of 781,919 residents. The population is projected to reach 801,845 by 2025. The average population density in 2004 was 10.2 persons per square mile (3.9 persons per square kilometer), one of the most sparsely populated of all the states. The median age in 2004 was 37 years. In 2005, about 14% of all residents were 65 or older while 25% were 18 and younger.

The leading cities as of 2005 were Sioux Falls, with an estimated 139,517 residents, and Rapid City, with 62,167.

7 Ethnic Groups

According to the 2000 census, South Dakota had 62,283 Native American residents. The black American population was 4,685. The estimated number of Asian residents was 4,378. Pacific Islanders numbered 261. The number of Hispanics and Latinos was 10,903, or 1.4% of the population.

Of the South Dakotans who reported at least one specific ancestry in the 2000 census, 307,309 listed German, 115,292 Norwegian, 78,481 Irish, 53,2141 English, and 35,655 Dutch. In the same year, 13,495 South Dakotans (1.8% of the population) were foreign born.

As of 2006, estimates indicated that 8.4% of the population was Native American and 1.9% was Hispanic or Latino.

8 Languages

South Dakota English combines the Northern and Midland dialects. In 2000, 93.5% of the resident population five years of age or older spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home and the number of speakers included German, 13,422; various Native American languages, 11,246; and Spanish, 10,052.

9 Religions

The largest single denomination in the state is the Roman Catholic Church, with 154,772 adherents in 2004. According to 2000 data, leading Protestant denominations were the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, with 121,871; the United Methodist Church, 37,280; and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, 31,524. The Jewish population was estimated at 350 adherents. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported a membership of about 8,957 adherents in 2006. About 242,950 people (32.3% of the population) were not counted as members of any religious organization in 2000.

10 Transportation

In 2003, 1,940 miles (3,123 kilometers) of railroad track were operated in South Dakota by nine railroads. The Burlington Northern/Santa Fe (BNSF) and Soo Line were Class I railroads in operation the same year. Their freight was primarily agricultural products (originating) and coal and petroleum gas (terminating).

Public highways, streets, and roads covered 83,574 miles (134,554 kilometers) in 2004 when the state had 863,000 registered motor vehicles and 563,298 licensed drivers. There were 159

airports in 2005, of which Joe Foss Field at Sioux Falls is the most active with 333,338 passenger enplanements in 2004.

11 History

The Sioux, driven from the Minnesota woodlands, began to move westward during the second quarter of the 18th century, forcing all other Native American groups out of South Dakota by the mid-1830s. Significant European penetration of South Dakota followed the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804–06. White men came to claim US sovereignty, negotiate Native American treaties, and conduct trade in hides and furs.

The Dakota Territory, which included much of present-day Wyoming and Montana as well as North and South Dakota, was established in 1861. The territory was reduced to just the Dakotas in 1868. Six years later, a gold rush brought thousands of prospectors and settlers to the Black Hills. South Dakota emerged as a state in 1889, with the capital in Pierre. Included within the state were nine Native American reservations, established after lengthy negotiations and three wars with the Sioux.

State Development Through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, South Dakotans, dependent mainly on agriculture, had limited economic opportunities. Some 30,000 Sioux barely survived on farming and livestock production, supplemented by irregular government jobs and off-reservation employment. The 500,000 non-Native Americans lived mainly off cattle-feeding

enterprises and modest grain sales, mineral production (especially gold), and employment in South Dakota’s cities.

The period after World War I saw extensive road-building, the establishment of a tourist industry, and efforts to harness the waters of the Missouri. Like other Americans, South Dakotans were helped through the drought and depression of the 1930s by federal aid. The economic revival brought about by World War II lasted into the postwar era. The mechanization of agriculture, dam construction along the Missouri, and reclamation of desert land all helped the rural economy. Federal programs were also organized for Native Americans on the reservations.

For 70 days in 1973, some 200 armed Sioux occupied Wounded Knee, on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where hundreds of Sioux had been killed by the US cavalry 83 years earlier. In 1980, the US Supreme Court upheld compensation of $105 million for land in the Black Hills taken by the federal government in 1877. But members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) opposed this settlement and demanded the return of the Black Hills to the Sioux.

The economic plight of South Dakota’s Native Americans worsened during the 1980s after the federal government reduced job training programs. Conditions on the reservations remained bad in the 1990s, with unemployment in some cases as high as 70%. In contrast, the overall state economy showed strength in the 1980s and 1990s through the development of the state’s water resources, the revival of railroad transportation, and with the development of new industry in South Dakota. Casino gambling became legal in South Dakota in 1989, and it has become a significant source of revenue for this state in the years since.

Although the state had budget problems in the early 2000s, they were not as severe as in other states. However, South Dakota began experiencing severe drought conditions at this time and widespread droughts were predicted for the Great Plains states beyond 2005. In 2005, unemployment on the Pine Ridge Reservation was at 80%,

12 State Government

South Dakota’s legislature consists of a 35-seat senate and 70-seat house of representatives, all of whose members serve two-year terms. Chief executive officials include the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer, all elected for four-year terms. A bill becomes law if passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, if left unsigned by the governor for five days while the legislature is in session, or if passed over the governor’s veto by two-thirds of the members of each house.

As of 2004, the legislative salary was $12,000 for two years and the governor’s salary was $103,222.

13 Political Parties

For the most part, South Dakota has voted Republican in presidential elections, even when native-son George McGovern was the Democratic candidate in 1972. South Dakotans chose George H. W. Bush in 1988 and again in 1992. In the 2000 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 60% of the vote and Democrat Al Gore collected 38%. In

South Dakota Governors: 1889–2007

1889–1893	Arthur Calvin Millette	Republican
1893–1897	Charles Henry Sheldon	Republican
1897–1901	Andrew Erickson Lee	Populist
1901–1905	Charles Nelson Herreid	Republican
1905–1907	Samuel Harrison Elrod	Republican
1907–1909	Coe Isaac Crawford	Republican
1909–1913	Robert Scadden Vessey	Republican
1913–1917	Frank Michael Byrne	Republican
1917–1921	Peter Norbeck	Republican
1921–1925	William Henry McMaster	Republican
1925–1927	Carl Gunderson	Republican
1927–1931	William John Bulow	Democrat
1931–1933	Warren Everett Green	Republican
1933–1937	Thomas Matthew Berry	Democrat
1937–1939	Leslie Jensen	Republican
1939–1943	Harlan John Bushfield	Republican
1943–1947	Merrell Quentin Sharpe	Republican
1947–1951	George Theodore Mickelson	Republican
1951–1955	Sigurd Anderson	Republican
1955–1959	Joseph Jacob Foss	Republican
1959–1961	Ralph E. Herseth	Democrat
1961–1965	Archie M. Gubbrud	Republican
1965–1969	Nils Andreas Boe	Republican
1969–1971	Frank Leroy Farrar	Republican
1971–1978	Richard Francis Kneip	Democrat
1978–1979	Harvey L. Wollman	Democrat
1979–1987	William John Janklow	Republican
1987–1993	George Speaker Mickelson	Republican
1993–1995	Walter Dale Miller	Republican
1995–2003	William John Janklow	Republican
2003–	Mike Rounds	Republican

2004, Bush again received 60% of the vote while Democrat John Kerry won 38%.

Democrat Tim Johnson won a US Senate seat in 1996 and was reelected in 2002, Republican John Thune won a US Senate seat in 2004, narrowly defeating democrat Thomas Daschle, who had served in the seat for three terms. Democrat Stephanie Herseth won reelection to represent the state in the US House of Representatives in 2006.

Republican Mike Rounds was elected governor in 2002 and reelected in 2006. Following the 2006 elections, there were 15 Democrats and 20 Republicans in the state senate and 50 Republicans and 20 Democrats in the state house. Seventeen women were elected to the state legislature in 2006, or 16.2%.

14 Local Government

As of 2005, South Dakota had 66 counties, 308 municipalities, 176 public school districts, and 376 special districts. In 2002, there were 940 townships. Typical county officials include a treasurer, an auditor, a state’s attorney, a sheriff, a register of deeds, and a clerk of courts.

15 Judicial System

South Dakota has a supreme court with five justices, and eight circuit courts with 167 judges. The state’s violent crime rate in 2004 was 171.5 reported incidents per 100,000 persons. Crimes against property were reported at a rate of about 1,933.5 incidents per 100,000 people. In December 2004, there were 3,095 inmates in state and federal prisons. South Dakota imposes the death penalty but had only executed one person since 1930 (as of mid-2006). In January 2006, there were four persons on death row.

16 Migration

Since the 1930s, more people have left South Dakota than have settled in the state. Between 1990 and 1998, South Dakota had net gains of 6,000 in domestic migration and 4,000 in international migration. In the period 1995–2000, about 72,548 people moved into the state and 85,016 moved out, for a net loss of 12,468, many of whom moved to Minnesota. For the period 2000–05, net international migration was 3,957 and net internal migration was -735 for a net gain of 3,222 people.

17 Economy

Agriculture dominates South Dakota’s economy. Grains and livestock are the main farm products, and processed foods and farm equipment are leading manufactured items. Mining and tourism have also been important. The prolonged drought affecting many western states in the early 2000s has caused the state’s corn production to drop 10% and disrupted cattle production. South Dakota is, however, witnessing growth in various services sectors.

In 2004, an estimated 1,691 new businesses were established while 2,251 businesses were closed.

18 Income

In 2005, South Dakota had a gross state product (GSP) of $31 billion, ranking 47th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. In 2004, South Dakota ranked 32nd among the 50 states and the District of Columbia with a per capita (per person) income of $30,209; the national average was $33,050. The average median annual household income for 2002–04, was $40,518 compared to the national average of $44,473. For the same period, 12.5% of the population lived below the federal poverty level, compared to the national average of 12.4%.

19 Industry

Food and related products, machinery, computer equipment, and printing and publishing together account for much of South Dakota’s manufacturing employment. The total value of

South Dakota Presidential Vote by Major Political Parties, 1948–2004

YEAR	SOUTH DAKOTA WINNER	DEMOCRAT	REPUBLICAN
* Won US presidential election.
** Independent candidate Ross Perot received 73,295 votes in 1992 and 31,150 votes in 1996.
1948	Dewey (R)	117,653	129,651
1952	*Eisenhower (R)	90,426	203,857
1956	*Eisenhower (R)	122,288	171,569
1960	Nixon (R)	128,070	178,417
1964	*Johnson (D)	163,010	130,108
1968	*Nixon (R)	118,023	149,841
1972	*Nixon (R)	139,945	166,476
1976	Ford (R)	147,068	151,505
1980	*Reagan (R)	103,855	198,343
1984	*Reagan (R)	116,113	200,267
1988	*Bush (R)	145,560	165,415
1992**	Bush (R)	124,888	136,718
1996**	Dole (R)	139,333	150,543
2000	*Bush, G. W. (R)	118,804	190,700
2004	*Bush, G. W. (R)	149,244	232,584

manufactured shipments in 2004 was $12 billion. South Dakota hosts the corporate headquarters of the Fortune 500 company, Gateway 2000.

20 Labor

In April 2006, the labor force in South Dakota numbered 432,500, with approximately 13,000 workers unemployed, yielding an unemployment rate of 3%, compared to the national average of 4.7%. In 2006, 5.7% of the labor force was employed in construction; 10% in manufacturing; 19.9% in trade, transportation, and public utilities; 7.3% in financial activities; 14.7% in education and health services; 10.7% in leisure and hospitality services, and 18.9% in government.

In 2005, some 21,000 of South Dakota’s 350,000 employed wage and salary workers were members of unions, representing 5.9% of those so employed. The national average was 12%.

21 Agriculture

South Dakota ranked 19th among the 50 states in 2005 in agricultural income, with receipts of $4.8 billion. In 2004, there were an estimated 31,600 farms and ranches in the state, covering about 43.8 million acres (17.7 million hectares).

Leading crops in 2004 were hay (6.87 million tons), wheat (128.6 million bushels), corn for grain (539.5 million bushels), soybeans, oats, and barley. That year, South Dakota ranked fifth among the states for hay production and sixth for corn for grain and wheat.

22 Domesticated Animals

The livestock industry is of great importance in South Dakota, particularly in the High Plains. In 2005, the state had an estimated 3.7 million cattle and calves, valued at around $3.8 billion. During 2004, there were 1.3 million hogs and pigs, valued at $146.3 million. In 2003, the state produced 30.1 million pounds (13.7 million kilograms) of sheep and lambs, 152.7 million pounds (69.4 million kilograms) of turkeys, 761 million eggs, and 1.7 million pounds (800,000 kilograms) of chickens. Dairy farmers produced nearly 1.33 billion pounds (600 million kilograms) of milk from about 82,000 milk cows in the same year.

23 Fishing

Virtually all fishing is recreational. In 2004, South Dakota issued 206,349 sport fishing licenses. The D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery, established in 1896 (formerly Spearfish National Fish Hatchery), is one of the oldest operating hatcheries in the country. The facility primarily produces trout to stock the Black Hills region of the state. The Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery raises endangered pallid sturgeon and paddlefish. There are a total of four state hatcheries.

24 Forestry

The forests in the Plains regions are primarily associated with water reservoirs, lakes, and the dominating Missouri River and its major tributaries. Collectively these forests make up only 10% of the total forestland in the state and consist primarily of tree species associated with the eastern hardwood forests, such as elm, ash, and basswood. The forests in the Black Hills and at higher elevations in the west, southeast and north of the “Hills” are typically “western,” consisting primarily of ponderosa pine. About 90% of the forestland in South Dakota is in the west and most of it is in the Black Hills. Three counties, Pennington, Lawrence, and Custer, account for most of the state’s forest area, which totals roughly 1,620,000 acres (656,000 million hectares).

The public sector owns 66% of South Dakota’s forestland. Nonreserve timberland is the primary component of the state’s forestland and occupies 1,511,000 acres (612,000 hectares). Woodland covers an additional 23,000 acres (9,300 hectares). Of the forestland, only 1% contained primarily in national parks is reserved from harvesting wood products. Ponderosa pine is the state’s predominant species. The second most predominant species is the bottomland hardwood group (elm/ash).

Sawtimber stands occupy 964,700 acres (390,400 hectares), which is more than half the total forested area. Poletimber stands account for a fifth of the timberland base and sapling and seedling stands account for an additional 118,700 acres (48,000 hectares) of timberland. South Dakota’s timberland is not very productive when compared to other western states. For nearly a century, however, the Black Hills have been successfully producing and supplying sawlogs, fuelwood, pulpwood, posts, and poles.

25 Mining

The estimated value of mineral production for South Dakota in 2003 was $206 million. Portland cement was the leading commodity by value, followed by construction sand and gravel, crushed stone, and granite dimension stone. In 2003, South Dakota ranked second in the nation for production volume of granite dimension stone. The state also ranked fourth in mica production and seventh in gold production.

South Dakota quarries produced 13 million metric tons of construction sand and gravel in 2003 and 6.7 million metric tons of crushed stone. Milbank granite, a dark- to medium-red granite found in the northeastern part of the state, has been quarried continuously since 1907 and is the major source of dimension stone in the state.

26 Energy and Power

In 2003, South Dakota produced 7.9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. Over 53% of the power output came from hydroelectric sources and over 43% from coal-fired plants. Natural gas fueled plants accounted for the rest. South Dakota has very modest fossil-fuel resources. As of 2004, crude oil output was about 4,000 barrels per day. In 2003, market gas production totaled 1.1 billion cubic feet (31 million cubic meters). South Dakota has lignite reserves of about 366 million tons.

27 Commerce

Wholesale sales totaled $7.8 billion in 2002 and retail sales were $9.6 billion. Gasoline stations were the leading type of retail establishments. The state’s exports were valued at $941.4 million in 2005, ranking the state at 48th in the nation.

28 Public Finance

The governor must submit the annual budget to the state legislature by 1 December. The legislature may amend the budget at will, but the governor has an item veto. The fiscal year begins 1 July and ends June 30.

The revenues for 2004 were $3.8 billion. Expenditures were $2.9 billion. The largest general expenditures were for education ($875 million), public welfare ($694 million), and highways ($417 million). The outstanding debt was $2.6 billion, or $3,389.19 per capita (per person).

29 Taxation

South Dakota has no personal income tax and no state level property taxes. There is a state sales and use tax of 4%. Local taxes on sales can reach as much as 2%. Selective taxes are also levied on gasoline sales, tobacco products, and other items.

The state collected $1.1 billion in taxes in 2005, of which 56% came from the general sales tax, 25.4% from selective sales taxes, 4.4% from corporate taxes, and 14.1% from other taxes. In 2005, South Dakota ranked last among the states in terms of per capita tax burden, which amounted to about $1,430 per person. The national average was $2,192 per person.

30 Health

In 2005, the infant mortality rate was 7.3 per 1,000 live births. The crude death rate was 9.3 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2003. As of 2004, about 20.3% of all residents were smokers. As of 2002, death rates for major causes of death (per 100,000 resident population) included heart disease, 254.5; cancer, 205.2; cerebrovascular diseases, 68.1; chronic lower respiratory diseases, 50.3; and diabetes, 25.6. The death rate for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was unavailable that year. In 2004, the reported acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) cases rate was at about 1,6 per 100,000, which was one of the lowest in the country.

South Dakota’s 50 community hospitals had 4,400 beds in 2003. There were 217 physicians per 100,000 residents in 2004 and 1,165 nurses per 100,000 in 2005. In 2004, there were a total of 345 dentists in the state. The average expense for hospital care was $747 per inpatient day in 2003. In 2004, about 12% of South Dakota’s residents were uninsured.

31 Housing

In 2004, there were an estimated 342,620 housing units, of which 300,629 were occupied; 69.1% were owner-occupied. About 65.7% of all units were single-family, detached homes. Utility gas was the most common energy source for heating. It was estimated that 12,506 units lacked telephone service, 1,386 lacked complete plumbing facilities, and 1,550 lacked complete kitchen facilities. The average household size was 2.47 people.

In 2004, 5,800 new privately owned housing units were authorized for construction. The median home value was $95,523. The median monthly cost for mortgage owners was $952, while renters paid a median of $493 per month.

32 Education

As of 2004, some 87.5% of South Dakotans 25 years of age or older were high school graduates and 25.5% had four or more years of college.

Total public school enrollment was estimated at 128,000 in fall 2002. Expenditures for public education in 2003/04 were estimated at $1 billion. Enrollment in private schools in fall 2003 was 10,817.

As of fall 2002, there were 47,751 students enrolled in college or graduate school. In 2005, South Dakota had 26 degree-granting institutions. There are eight state-supported colleges and universities, of which the largest are the University of South Dakota and South Dakota State University. The South Dakota School of the Deaf and the South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired are also sponsored by the state. In addition, the state has 12 private institutions of higher education.

33 Arts

Artworks and handicrafts are displayed at the Dacotah Prairie Museum (Aberdeen), South Dakota Art Center (Brookings), Sioux Indian Museum and Crafts Center (Rapid City), Civic Fine Arts Association (Sioux Falls), Cultural Heritage Center (Pierre), and W. H. Over Museum (Vermillion). Several tribal councils present annual cultural and arts events or pow-wows.

Symphony orchestras include the South Dakota Symphony in Sioux Falls and the Rapid City Symphony Orchestra. The Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Society sponsors an annual festival. There are at least ten municipal band organizations across the state. Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Pierre all have theater groups. The annual Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant in DeSmit includes outdoor performances as well as activities to recreate pioneer history.

The South Dakota Arts Council, located at Pierre, and the South Dakota Humanities Council, at Brookings, aid and coordinate arts and humanities activities throughout the state. The state has approximately 350 arts associations and 40 local arts groups.

In 2005, South Dakota arts organizations received six grants totaling $665,800 from the National Endowment for the Arts. The same year, the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded four grants totaling $507,560 for state programs.

34 Libraries and Museums

In 2001, South Dakota had 126 public library systems with 145 libraries and a combined book and serial publication stock of 2.83 million volumes. Combined circulation was about 4.7 million. Leading collections, each with more than 100,000 volumes, were those of South Dakota State University (Brookings), Northern State College and Alexander Mitchell Library (Aberdeen), Augustana College (Sioux Falls), the University of South Dakota (Vermillion), the South Dakota State Library (Pierre), and the Sioux Falls and Rapid City public libraries.

South Dakota has 81 museums and historic sites, including the Cultural Heritage Museum (Pierre), Siouxland Heritage Museums and Delbridge Museum of Natural History (Sioux Falls), and the Shrine to Music Museum (Vermillion). Badlands National Park and Wind Cave National Park also display interesting exhibits.

35 Communications

In 2004, 93.6% of South Dakota’s occupied housing units had telephones. The same year, there were about 382,906 wireless phone subscribers. In 2003, 62.1% of all households had a personal computer and 53.6% had access to the Internet. Some 8,919 Internet domain names were registered in the state by the year 2000.

In 2005, there were 65 major radio stations (21 AM, 44 FM) and 16 major television stations.

36 Press

In 2006, South Dakota had six morning newspapers, five evening papers, and four Sunday papers. Leading newspapers included the Rapid City Journal, mornings 29,696, Sundays 34,222; and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, mornings 53,395, and Sundays 75,014.

37 Tourism, Travel & Recreation

Tourism is the state’s largest industry. Travelers spent an estimated $809 million in South Dakota in 2005. The travel industry accounts for 33,100 jobs across the state.

Most of the state’s tourist attractions lie west of the Missouri River, especially in the Black Hills region. Mount Rushmore National Memorial consists of the heads of four US presidents—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln—carved in granite in the mountainside. Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument are also in the Black Hills region. Just to the east is Badlands National Monument, consisting of fossil beds and eroded cliffs almost bare of vegetation. Visitors can also tour the childhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the popular Little House on the Prairie series of books.

38 Sports

There are no major league professional sports teams in South Dakota. The Sioux Falls Canaries are a minor league baseball club playing in the independent Northern League. Sioux Falls also hosts a minor league hockey team. The University of South Dakota Coyotes and the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State both compete in the North Central Conference.

Skiing and hiking are popular in the Black Hills. Other annual sporting events include the Black Hills Motorcycle Classic in Sturgis and many rodeos, including the Days of ’76 in Deadwood.

39 Famous South Dakotans

The only South Dakotan to win high elective office was Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978), a native of Wallace. After rising to power in Minnesota Democratic politics, he served as a US senator for 16 years before becoming vice president under Lyndon Johnson during 1965–69.

Other outstanding federal officeholders from South Dakota were Newton Edmunds (1819–1908), second governor of the Dakota Territory; Charles Henry Burke (b.New York, 1861–1944), who as commissioner of Indian Affairs improved education and healthcare for Native Americans. The son of a German-American father and a Brulé Native American mother, Benjamin Reifel (1906–1990) was the first Native American elected to Congress from South Dakota. He later served as the last US commissioner of Indian Affairs. George McGovern (b.1922) served in the US Senate from 1963 through 1980. An early opponent of the war in Vietnam, he ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1972.

Associated with South Dakota are several distinguished Native American leaders. Among them were Red Cloud (Mahpiua Luta, b.Nebraska 1822–1909), an Oglala warrior; Sitting Bull (1834–1890), the well known leader of the tribal army that crushed George Custer’s Seventh US Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Big Horn (1876) in Montana; and Crazy Horse (1849?–1877), an Oglala chief who also fought at Little Big Horn. Russell Means (b.1940) is noted for his activity in the American Indian Movement and the Libertarian Party.

Ernest Orlando Lawrence (1901–1958), the state’s only Nobel Prize winner, received the physics award in 1939 for the invention of the

cyclotron. The business leader with the greatest personal influence on South Dakota’s history was Pierre Chouteau, Jr. (b.Missouri, 1789–1865), a fur trader after whom the state capital is named.

South Dakota artists include George Catlin (b.Pennsylvania, 1796–1872); Harvey Dunn (1884–1952); and Oscar Howe (1915–1983). Gutzon Borglum (b.Idaho, 1871–1941) carved the faces on Mount Rushmore. The state’s two leading writers are Ole Edvart Rõlvaag (b.Norway, 1876–1931), author of Giants in the Earth and other novels; and Frederick Manfred (b.Iowa, 1912–1994), a Minnesota resident who served as writer-in-residence at the University of South Dakota and has used the state as a setting for many of his novels. Native American Billy Mills (b.1938), winner of the Olympic gold medal in the 10,000-meter run, was born in Pine Ridge. Football Hall-of-Famer Norm van Brocklin (b.1926) was born in Eagle Butte.