State of South Dakota
ORIGIN OF STATE NAME: The state was formerly the southern part of Dakota Territory; dakota is a Sioux word meaning "friend" or "ally."
NICKNAME: Mount Rushmore State; the Coyote State.
CAPITAL: Pierre.
ENTERED UNION: November 2, 1889 (40th).
SONG: "Hail, South Dakota."
MOTTO: Under God the People Rule.
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.
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.
OFFICIAL SEAL: The words "State of South Dakota. Great Seal. 1889" encircle the arms.
BIRD: Chinese ring-necked pheasant.
FISH: Walleye.
FLOWER: American Pasque (also called the May Day flower).
TREE: Black Hills spruce.
GEM: Fairburn agate.
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.
LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT
Situated in the western north-central United States, South Dakota ranks 16th in size among the 50 states.
The state has a total area of 77,121 sq mi (199,730 sq km), comprising 75,896 sq mi (196,715 sq km) of land and 1,164 sq mi (3,015 sq km) of inland water. Shaped roughly like a rectangle with irregular borders on the e and se, South Dakota extends about 380 mi (610 km) e-w and has a maximum n-s extension of 245 mi (394 km).
South Dakota is bordered on the n by North Dakota; on the e by Minnesota and Iowa (with the line in the ne passing through the Bois de Sioux River, Lake Traverse, and Big Stone Lake, and in the se through the Big Sioux River); on the s by Nebraska (with part of the line formed by the Missouri River and Lewis and Clark Lake); and on the w by Wyoming and Montana.
The total boundary length of South Dakota is 1,316 mi (2,118 km). The state's geographic center is in Hughes County, 8 mi (13 km) ne of Pierre. The geographic center of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, is at 44°58n, 103°46w, in Butte County, 17 mi (27 km) w of Castle Rock.
TOPOGRAPHY
The eastern two-fifths of South Dakota is prairie, belonging to the Central Lowlands. The western three-fifths falls within the Missouri Plateau, part of the Great Plains region; the High Plains extend into the southern fringes of the state. The Black Hills, an extension of the Rocky Mountains, occupy the southern half of the state's western border; the mountains, which tower about 4,000 ft (1,200 m) over the neighboring plains, include Harney Peak, at 7,242 ft (2,209 m) the highest point in the state. East of the southern Black Hills are the Badlands, a barren, eroded region with extensive fossil deposits. The mean elevation of the state is approximately 2,200 ft (671 m).
South Dakota's lowest elevation, 966 ft (295 m), is at Big Stone Lake, in the northeastern corner. Flowing south and southeast, the Missouri River cuts a huge swath through the heart of South Dakota before forming part of the southeastern boundary. 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. The Missouri River itself is controlled by four massive dams, Gavins Point, Ft. Randall, Big Bend, and Oahe, which provide water for irrigation, flood control, and hydroelectric power. Major lakes in the state include Traverse, Big Stone, Lewis and Clark, Francis Case, and Oahe.
CLIMATE
South Dakota has an interior continental climate, with hot summers, extremely cold winters, high winds, and periodic droughts. The normal January temperature is 12°f (11°c); the normal July temperature, 74°f (23°c). The record low temperature is 58°f (50°c), set at McIntosh on 17 February 1936; the record high, 120°f (49°c), at Gannvalley on 5 July 1936.
Normal annual precipitation averages about 25 in (63 cm) in Sioux Falls in the southeast, decreasing to less than 13 in (33 cm) in the northwest. Sioux Falls receives an average of 39.6 in (100 cm) of snow per year.
FLORA AND FAUNA
Oak, maple, beech, birch, hickory, and willow are all represented in South Dakota's forests while thickets of chokecherry, wild plum, gooseberry, and currant are found in the eastern part of the state. Pasqueflower (Anemone ludoviciana) is the state flower; other wild flowers are beardtongue, bluebell, and monkshood. No South Dakota plant species were listed as threatened or endangered as of April 2006.
Familiar native mammals are the coyote (the state animal), porcupine, raccoon, bobcat, buffalo, white-tailed and mule deer, 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, pike, bass, and perch are fished for sport.
Nearly 50% of the North American population of Franklin's gull have stopped at the site of the Sand Lake National Wildlife Refugee, which is also considered to be the world's largest nesting site for this bird. The site also serves as a nesting area for nearly 50% of the continental duck population.
In April 2006, the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed nine South Dakota animal species (vertebrates and invertebrates) as threatened or endangered, including the American burying beetle, whooping crane, Eskimo curlew, black-footed ferret, Topeka shiner, pallid sturgeon, least tern, and bald eagle.
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 in a customer-oriented manner that promotes economic development; conserves natural resources; helps municipalities, industry, and citizens comply with regulations; and protects public health and the environment.
There are about 1.8 million acres (728,434 hectares) of wetlands in the state, accounting for about 3.6% of the land area. The Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge, a freshwater cattail marsh, was designated as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 1998.
In 2003, 10.3 million pounds of toxic chemicals were released in the state. In 2003, South Dakota had 39 hazardous waste sites listed in the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) database, two of which, Ellsworth Air Force Base and Gilt Edge Mine, were on the National Priorities List as of 2006. In 2005, the EPA spent over $3 million through the Superfund program for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites in the state. The same year, federal EPA grants awarded to the state included $8.2 million for the drinking water state revolving fund and $5 million for the clean water revolving fund.
POPULATION
South Dakota ranked 46th in population in the United States with an estimated total of 775,933 in 2005, an increase of 2.8% since 2000. Between 1990 and 2000, South Dakota's population grew from 696,004 to 754,844, an increase of 8.5%. The population is projected to reach 796,954 by 2015 and 801,845 by 2025.
In 2004, the median age for South Dakotans was 37. In the same year, more than 24.8% of the populace was under the age of 18 while 14.2% was age 65 or older. The population density in 2004 was 10.2 persons per sq mi, making it the fifth most sparsely populated state in the nation.
Sioux Falls proper had an estimated 2004 population of 136,695. The Sioux Falls metropolitan area had an estimated population of 203,324. The Rapid City metropolitan area had an estimated 117,487 residents.
ETHNIC GROUPS
According to the 2000 census, South Dakota's population included some 62,283 American Indians, or 8.3% of the total state populationthe third-highest percentage among the 50 states. Many lived on the 5,099,000 acres (2,063,500 hectares) of Indian lands in 1982, but Rapid City also had a large Indian population. Among the state's largest reservations, with their populations as of 2000, are the Pine Ridge (15,521), Rosebud (10,469), and Cheyenne River (8,470) reservations. In 2004, 8.6% of the state's population was American Indian.
As of 2000, the black population was 4,685, up from 3,000 recorded in the 1990 census. The black population accounted for 0.8% of the state's total population in 2004. The estimated number of Asian residents was 4,378. In 2004, 0.7% of the population was Asian. Pacific Islanders numbered 261 in 2000. 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 Dakotans1.8% of the populationwere foreign born, up from 7,731 in 1990. In 2000, the number of Hispanics and Latinos was 10,903, or 1.4% of the population. In 2004, 2% of the state's population was of Hispanic or Latino origin, and 1.2% reported origin of two or more races.
LANGUAGES
Despite hints given by such place-names as Dakota, Oahe, and Akaska, English has borrowed little from the language of the Sioux still living in South Dakota. Tepee is such a loanword, and tado (jerky) is heard near Pine Ridge. South Dakota English is transitional between the Northern and Midland dialects. Diffusion throughout the state is apparent, but many terms contrast along a curving line from the southeast to the northwest corner.
In 2000, 658,245 South Dakotans93.5% of the resident population five years of age or olderspoke only English at home.
The following table gives selected statistics from the 2000 Census for language spoken at home by persons five years old and over. The category "Other Native North American languages" includes Apache, Cherokee, Choctaw, Dakota, Keres, Pima, and Yupik. The category "Other Slavic languages" includes Czech, Slovak, and Ukrainian. The category "African languages" includes Amharic, Ibo, Twi, Yoruba, Bantu, Swahili, and Somali. The category "Scandinavian languages" includes Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish.
| LANGUAGE | NUMBER | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|
| Population 5 years and over | 703,820 | 100.0 |
| Speak only English | 658,245 | 93.5 |
| Speak a language other than English | 45,575 | 6.5 |
| Speak a language other than English | 45,575 | 6.5 |
| German | 13,422 | 1.9 |
| Other Native North American languages | 11,246 | 1.6 |
| Spanish or Spanish Creole | 10,052 | 1.4 |
| French (incl. Patois, Cajun) | 1,256 | 0.2 |
| Other Slavic languages | 1,055 | 0.1 |
| African languages | 1,042 | 0.1 |
| Standinavian languages | 1,024 | 0.1 |
| Serbo-Croatian | 573 | 0.1 |
| Chinese | 569 | 0.1 |
| Vietnamese | 553 | 0.1 |
| Tagalog | 457 | 0.1 |
| Russian | 411 | 0.1 |
| Arabic | 384 | 0.1 |
RELIGIONS
The largest single denomination in the state is the Roman Catholic Church, which had 154,772 adherents, in 2004. According to 2000 data, leading Protestant denominations were the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, with 121,871 adherents; the United Methodist Church, 37,280; and the Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod, 31,524. The Jewish population was estimated at 350 adherents. A few religious groups, though still relatively small in numbers, reported significant growth in membership since 1990. The Salvation Army grew from 732 members in 1990 to 2,804 in 2000, a difference of 283%. Likewise, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel grew from 466 adherents in 1990 to 1,518 in 2000, a difference of 225%. In the 2000 survey, about 242,950 people (32.3% of the population) were not counted as members of any religious organization. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported a membership of about 8,957 adherents in 32 congregations in 2006.
TRANSPORTATION
In 2003, a total of 1,940 mi (3,123 km) of railroad track was operated in South Dakota by nine railroads. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Soo Line were the state's two Class I rail-roads, operating a combined total of 937 mi (1,508 km) of track that same year. The remaining track was operated by nine other regional, local, or switching and terminal railroads. Freight was primarily coal and petroleum gas (terminating), and agricultural products (originating). As of 2006, there was no Amtrak passenger service in the state.
Public highways, streets, and roads covered 83,574 mi (134,554 km) in 2004 when the state had some 863,000 registered motor vehicles and 563,298 licensed drivers. In 2005, South Dakota had a total of 193 public and private-use aviation-related facilities. This included 159 airports, 33 heliports and one seaplane base. Joe Foss Field at Sioux Falls is the state's most active airport, with 333,338 passenger enplanements in 2004. South Dakota had 75 mi (120 km) of navigable inland waterways.
HISTORY
People have lived in what is now South Dakota for at least 25,000 years. The original inhabitants, who hunted in the northern Great Plains until about 5000 bc, were the first of a succession of nomadic groups, followed by a society of semisedentary mound builders. After them came the prehistoric forebears of the modern riverine groupsMandan, Hidatsa, and Arikarawho were found gathering, hunting, farming, and fishing along the upper Missouri River by the first European immigrants. These groups faced no challenge until the Sioux, driven from the Minnesota woodlands, began to move westward during the second quarter of the 18th century, expelling all other Native American groups form South Dakota by the mid-1830s.
Significant European penetration of South Dakota followed the Lewis and Clark expedition of 180406. White men came to assert US sovereignty, to negotiate Indian treaties, to "save Indian souls," and to traffic in hides and furs. Among the most important early merchants were Manuel Lisa, who pressed up the Missouri from St. Louis, and Pierre Chouteau Jr., whose offices in St. Louis dominated trade on both the upper Mississippi and upper Missouri rivers from 1825 until his death in 1865, by which time all major sources of hides and furs were exhausted, negotiations for Indian land titles were in progress, and surveyors were preparing ceded territories for non-Indian settlers.
The Dakota Territory, which included much of present-day Wyoming and Montana as well as North and south Dakota, was established in 1861, with headquarters first at Yankton (186183) and later at Bismarck (188389). 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 Indian reservations, established, after protracted negotiations and three wars with the Sioux, by Indian Office personnel. Five reservations were established west of the Missouri for the Teton and Yanktonai Sioux, and four reserves east of the Missouri for the Yankton and several Isanti Sioux tribes. Sovereignty was thus divided among Indian agents, state officials, and tribal leaders, a division that did not always make for efficient government. Through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, South Dakotans had limited economic opportunities, for they depended mainly on agriculture. Some 30,000 Sioux barely survived on farming and livestock production, supplemented by irregular government jobs and off-reservation employment. The 500,000 non-Indians lived mainly off cattle-feeding enterprises and small grain sales east of the Missouri, mineral production (especially gold) in the Black Hills, and various service industries at urban centers throughout South Dakota.
The period after World War I saw extensive road building, the establishment of a tourist industry, and efforts to subdue and harness the waters of the Missouri. Like other Americans, South Dakotans were helped through the drought and depression of the 1930s by federal aid. Non-Indians were assisted by food relief, various work-relief programs, and crop-marketing plans, while Indians enjoyed an array of federal programs often called the "Indian New Deal." The economic revival brought about by World War II persisted into the postwar era. Rural whites benefited from the mechanization of agriculture, dam construction along the Missouri, rural electrification, and arid-land reclamation. Federal programs were organized for reservation Indians, relocating them in urban centers where industrial jobs were available, establishing light industries in areas already heavily populated by Indians, and improving education and occupational opportunities on reservations.
Meanwhile, the Sioux continued to bring their historic grievances to public attention. For 70 days in 1973, some 200 armed Indians occupied Wounded Knee, on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where hundreds of Sioux had been killed by US cavalry 83 years earlier. In 1980, reviewing one of several land claims brought by the Sioux, the US Supreme Court upheld compensation of $105 million for land in the Black Hills taken from the Indians 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 Indians worsened during the 1980s after the federal government reduced job training programs, and conditions on reservations remained bad in the 1990s, with unemployment in some cases as high as 70%. By 2005, unemployment on the Pine Ridge Reservation, the nation's second-largest, hovered at 80%; life ex-pectancy for men was 48, and 52 for women. The alcoholism rate is the highest in the nation.
In sharp contrast, the state economy as a whole showed strength under the direction of Republican Governor William Janklow, elected in 1978 and reelected in 1982 and, after an eight-year hiatus, in 1994. Janklow, noted for his strong opposition to Indian claims, developed the state's water resources, revived railroad transportation, and attracted new industry to South Dakota, including Citicorp, the largest bank-holding company in the United States, which set up a credit-card operation in Sioux Falls and bought controlling interest in the American State Bank of Rapid City. In the 1990s, farm income had risen; record corn and soybean yields were reported in 1994, in spite of major flooding the year before that resulted in parts of the state being declared disaster areas. Manufacturing also prospered, expanding by up to 10% each year in the early 1990s. Legalized casino gambling has become an important source of government revenue since it was authorized in 1989.
Although the state had budget problems in the early 2000s, they were not as severe as other states. Republican Governor Mike Rounds, elected in 2002, asked legislators in 2003 to increase state aid to schools by $15 million and to create a prescription drug program. He planned a full-scale review of the state department of education. By 2004, Rounds had passed a balanced state budget; reduced the structural deficit from $28 to $20 million; increased state aid for local public schools and public universities; created the Homestake Underground Laboratory project; and created a program to give sales tax on food relief to individuals within 150% of the poverty level.
In the early 2000s South Dakota was experiencing severe drought conditions; damaging drought conditions have ruined crops, kept grass from growing, and led ranchers to sell off their cattle. The Great Plains states by 2005 were projected to face wide-spread drought in the coming decades.
STATE GOVERNMENT
South Dakota is governed by the constitution of 1889, which had been amended 212 times by January 2005. The legislature consists of a 35-seat Senate and 70-seat House of Representatives; all members serve two-year terms. Convening every January, regular sessions are limited to 40 legislative days in odd-numbered years and 35 legislative days in even-numbered years. To run for the legislature, a person must be at least 21 years old, a US citizen, a qualified voter in their district, and must have resided in the state for at least two years prior to election. As of 2004 the legislative salary was $12,000 for two years.
Executives elected statewide are the governor and lieutenant governor (elected jointly), secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, the commissioner for school and public lands, who are all elected for four-year terms. (Voters also elect three public utility commissioners who serve six-year terms.) A candidate for governor must be a US citizen, at least 18 years old, and have been a resident of the state for at least two years. The governor is limited to serving two consecutive terms. As of December 2004, the governor's salary was $103,222.
A bill passed by the legislature becomes law if signed by the governor, if left unsigned by the governor for five days (including Sundays) while the legislature is in session (15 days, including Sundays, if has adjourned), or if passed over the governor's veto by two-thirds of the elected members of each house. Constitutional amendments may be proposed by the legislature with a majority vote in both houses. If the amendment is approved by a majority of voters during general elections, it becomes part of the constitution. Amendments may also be proposed by initiative (by petition of 10% of total votes for governor at last election).
Voters must be US citizens, at least 18 years old, and state residents. Restrictions apply to convicted felons and those declared mentally incompetent by the court.
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. Conservatism runs strong at the local level, although between the two world wars, populist groups gained a broad agrarian following. South Dakotans chose George Bush in 1988 and again in 1992, and in 1996 they gave Republican Bob Dole 46% of the vote. In 2000 and 2004, Republican George W. Bush received 60% of the vote to Democrat Al Gore's 38% (2000) and Democrat John Kerry's 38% (2004). In 2004 there were 502,000 registered voters. In 1998, 40% were Democratic, 48% Republican, and 12% unaffiliated or members of other parties. The state had three electoral votes in the 2004 presidential election.
In 1994 voters elected Republican William Janklow to the governor's office; Janklow had earlier served in that capacity for two terms, 197983 and 198387. He was reelected in 1998. Republican Mike Rounds was elected governor in 2002 (Janklow had reached his term limit). Janklow was elected South Dakota's US Representative in 2002, but was convicted of second-degree manslaughter for his involvement in a fatal accident with a motorcyclist. In 2004, Democrat Stephanie Herseth won election to represent the state in the US House of Representatives.
Democrat Thomas Daschle won a third term in the Senate in 1998, but was narrowly defeated in his bid for a fourth term by Republican John Thune in 2004. In 1996, South Dakota's US representative,
| South Dakota Presidential Vote by Major Political Parties, 19482004 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YEAR | ELECTORAL VOTE | S. DAKOTA WINNER | DEMOCRAT | REPUBLICAN |
| *Won US presidential election. | ||||
| **IND. candidate Ross Perot received 73,295 votes in 1992 and 31,250 votes in 1996. | ||||
| 1948 | 4 | Dewey (R) | 117,653 | 129,651 |
| 1952 | 4 | *Eisenhower (R) | 90,426 | 203,857 |
| 1956 | 4 | *Eisenhower (R) | 122,288 | 171,569 |
| 1960 | 4 | Nixon (R) | 128,070 | 178,417 |
| 1964 | 4 | *Johnson (D) | 163,010 | 130,108 |
| 1968 | 4 | *Nixon (R) | 118,023 | 149,841 |
| 1972 | 4 | *Nixon (R) | 139,945 | 166,476 |
| 1976 | 4 | Ford (R) | 147,068 | 151,505 |
| 1980 | 4 | *Reagan (R) | 103,855 | 198,343 |
| 1984 | 3 | *Reagan (R) | 116,113 | 200,267 |
| 1988 | 3 | *Bush (R) | 145,560 | 165,415 |
| 1992** | 3 | Bush (R) | 124,888 | 136,718 |
| 1996** | 3 | Dole (R) | 139,333 | 150,543 |
| 2000 | 3 | *Bush, G. W. (R) | 118,804 | 190,700 |
| 2004 | 3 | *Bush, G. W. (R) | 149,244 | 232,584 |
Democrat Tim Johnson, won the US Senate seat of Larry Pressler, who was seeking a fourth term; Johnson won re-election in 2002. There were 25 Republicans and 10 Democrats in the state Senate, and 46 Republicans and 19 Democrats in the state House in mid-2005.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
As of 2005, South Dakota had 66 counties, 308 municipal governments, 176 public school districts, and 376 special districts, most of them concerned with agricultural issues such as soil conservation. Typical county officials include a treasurer, auditor, state's attorney, sheriff, register of deeds, and clerk of courts. In 2002, there were 940 townships.
In 2005, local government accounted for about 30,149 full-time (or equivalent) employment positions.
STATE SERVICES
To address the continuing threat of terrorism and to work with the federal Department of Homeland Security, homeland security in South Dakota operates under the authority of the governor; a homeland security director is appointed to oversee the state's homeland security activities.
The Department of Education oversees all elementary, secondary, and vocational education programs. The Board of Regents oversees the higher education system.
The Department of Social Services administers a variety of welfare programs, the Department of Labor aids the unemployed and underemployed, and the Department of Human Services serves disabled South Dakotans. Special agencies within the executive branch include the Office of Tribal Government Relations, the Office of Economic Development, and the State Energy Office.
JUDICIAL SYSTEM
South Dakota has a supreme court with five justices, and eight circuit courts with 167 judges. All are elected on a nonpartisan ballot with staggered eight-year terms.
As of 31 December 2004, a total of 3,095 prisoners were held in South Dakota's state and federal prisons, an increase from 3,026 of 2.3% from the previous year. As of year-end 2004, a total of 292 inmates were female, up from 269 or 8.6% from the year before. Among sentenced prisoners (one year or more), South Dakota had an incarceration rate of 399 per 100,000 population in 2004.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, South Dakota in 2004, had a violent crime rate (murder/nonnegligent manslaughter; forcible rape; robbery; aggravated assault) of 171.5 reported incidents per 100,000 population, or a total of 1,322 reported incidents. Crimes against property (burglary; larceny/theft; and motor vehicle theft) in that same year totaled 14,905 reported incidents or 1,933.5 reported incidents per 100,000 people. Although South Dakota has a death penalty, in which lethal injection is the sole method of execution, the state has not carried out an execution since 1930, when only one inmate was executed. As of 1 January 2006, South Dakota had four inmates on death row.
In 2003, South Dakota spent $19,976,389 on homeland security, an average of $25 per state resident.
ARMED FORCES
In 2004, there were 3,698 active duty military personnel and 1,161 civilian personnel stationed in South Dakota, almost all of whom were at Ellsworth Air Force Base, near Rapid City, the state's only defense installation. South Dakota firms received more than $236 million in federal defense contracts in 2004. Defense Department payroll outlays totaled $396 million.
In 2003, 73,400 veterans were living in the state, including 9,765 from World War II; 9,865 from the Korean conflict; 21,938 from the Vietnam era; and 11,678 from the Persian Gulf War. In 2004, the Veterans Administration expended more than $299 million in pensions, medical assistance, and other major veterans' benefits.
As of 31 October 2004, the South Dakota Highway Patrol employed 150 full-time sworn officers.
MIGRATION
Since the 1930s, more people have left South Dakota than have settled in the state. Between 1940 and 1990, the net loss from migration amounted to almost 340,000. In 1980, the urban population stood at 46.4%, but had grown to equal the rural population (at 50%) by 1990. Between 1990 and 1998, South Dakota had net gains of 6,000 in domestic migration and 4,000 in international migration. In 1998, the state admitted 356 foreign immigrants. Between 1990 and 1998, the state's overall population increased 6.1%. In the period 200005, net international migration was 3,957 and net internal migration was 735, for a net gain of 3,222 people.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL COOPERATION
South Dakota participates in the Belle Fourche River Compact (with Wyoming), the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact, and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, among other organizations; there are, in addition, boundary compacts with Minnesota and Nebraska. In fiscal year 2005, South Dakota received $1.010 billion in federal grants, an estimated $1.101 billion in fiscal year 2006, and an estimated $1.097 billion in fiscal year 2007.
ECONOMY
Agriculture has traditionally dominated South Dakota's economy. Grains and livestock have been the main farm products, and processed foods and farm equipment the leading manufactured items. However, since 1970, forty four of South Dakota's 67 counties have lost population, and for five these counties, the rate of depopulation accelerated during the 1990s. The prolonged drought affecting many western states helped to reduce the state's corn production by 10% and soybean production 6% in 2002, disrupted cattle production, and worsened the winter of 20022003. The historically important mining sector was contributing less than 1% of total state product in 2001. South Dakota's tax free environment was designed in part to attract high-technology, financial, and manufacturing investments during the 1990s. Manufacturing output grew at a substantial 16.9% from 1997 to 2000, but then plummeted 10% in the recession year of 2001, reducing manufacturing's share of gross state product from about 13% to 11.3%. The strongest growth in output has been in various services sectors. Coming into the 21st century (1997 to 2001), output from fi-nancial services increased 42.6%, while government services rose 29.4%, general services by 28.7% and wholesale and retail trade by 21.4%.
In 2004, South Dakota's gross state product (GSP) was $29.386 billion, of which manufacturing (durable and nondurable goods) accounted for the largest share at $3.181 billion or 10.8% of GSP, followed by health care and social assistance at $2.501 billion (8.5% of GSP), and the real estate sector at $2.237 billion (7.6% of GSP). In that same year, there were an estimated 72,949 small businesses in South Dakota. Of the 23,713 businesses that had employees, an estimated total of 22,958 or 96.8% were small companies. An estimated 1,691 new businesses were established in the state in 2004, up 26.4% from the year before. Business terminations that same year came to 2,251, up 18.5% from 2003. There were 108 business bankruptcies in 2004, down 1.8% from the previous year. In 2005, the state's personal bankruptcy (Chapter 7 and Chapter 13) filing rate was 360 filings per 100,000 people, ranking South Dakota 43rd in the nation.
INCOME
In 2005 South Dakota had a gross state product (GSP) of $31 billion which accounted for 0.3% of the nation's gross domestic product and placed the state at number 47 in highest GSP among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 2004 South Dakota had a per capita personal income (PCPI) of $30,209. This ranked 32nd in the United States and was 91% of the national average of $33,050. The 19942004 average annual growth rate of PCPI was 4.5%. South Dakota had a total personal income (TPI) of $23,279,500,000, which ranked 47th in the United States and reflected an increase of 4.6% from 2003. The 19942004 average annual growth rate of TPI was 5.1%. Earnings of persons employed in South Dakota increased from $16,303,502,000 in 2003 to $17,156,459,000 in 2004, an increase of 5.2%. The 200304 national change was 6.3%.
The US Census Bureau reports that the three-year average median household income for 200204 in 2004 dollars was $40,518 compared to a national average of $44,473. During the same period an estimated 12.5% of the population was below the poverty line as compared to 12.4% nationwide.
LABOR
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in April 2006 the seasonally adjusted civilian labor force in South Dakota 432,500, with approximately 13,000 workers unemployed, yielding an unemployment rate of 3%, compared to the national average of 4.7% for the same period. Preliminary data for the same period placed nonfarm employment at 398,700. Since the beginning of the BLS data series in 1976, the highest unemployment rate recorded in South Dakota was 5.9% in October 1982. The historical low was 2.4% in March 2000. Preliminary nonfarm employment data by occupation for April 2006 showed that approximately 5.7% of the labor force was employed in construction; 10.4% 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. Data were unavailable for professional and business services.
The US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2005, a total of 21,000 of South Dakota's 350,000 employed wage and salary workers were formal members of a union. This represented 5.9% of those so employed, down slightly from 6% in 2004, and below the national average of 12%. Overall in 2005, a total of 29,000 workers (8.2%) in South Dakota were covered by a union or employee association contract, which includes those workers who reported no union affiliation. South Dakota is one of 22 states with a right-to-work law.
As of 1 March 2006, South Dakota had a state-mandated minimum wage rate of $5.15 per hour. In 2004, women in the state accounted for 48% of the employed civilian labor force.
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 and their values during 2004 were hay, 6.87 million tons, $421.2 million; wheat, 128.6 million bushels, $416.9 million; corn for grain, 539.5 million bushels, $890.2 million; soybeans, 140.1 million bushels, $693.4 million; oats, 13.9 million bushels, $18.8 million; and barley, 3.1 million bushels, $6.3 million. In 2004, South Dakota ranked fifth among states in hay production, sixth in corn for grain as well as wheat, and seventh in grain sorghum.
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
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 lb (13.7 million kg) of sheep and lambs, 152.7 million lb (69.4 million kg) of turkeys, 761 million eggs, and 1.7 million lb (0.8 million kg) of chickens. Dairy farmers produced nearly 1.33 billion lb (0.6 billion kg) of milk from around 82,000 milk cows in the same year.
FISHING
Virtually all fishing is recreational. The state manages the maintenance of 5 million angler days of recreation per year. 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 four state hatcheries.
FORESTRY
In terms of geography and forests, east meets west in South Dakota in a rather dramatic way. The Prairie Plains in the east gradually give way to the grasslands of the Great Plains in the west as elevation increases by some 1,500 ft (450 m) between the Minnesota border and Rapid City.
The forests in the Plains regions are primarily associated with water-reservoirs, lakes, and the dominating Missouri River and its major tributaries such as the Cheyenne, Big White, Moreau, Grand, and Bad rivers. 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 forestselm, ash, basswood, and so forth. In the far western portion of the state and spilling over into northeastern Wyoming are the Black Hills. The forests in the Black Hills and at higher elevations west of the 103rd meridian to the southeast and north of the "Hills" are typically "western," consisting principally of ponderosa pine. About 90% of the forestland in South Dakota occurs west of the 103rd meridian, 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. The Black Hills and Custer National Forests administer about 90% of the public forestland. The rest is under the jurisdiction of the State and the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Most of the state-owned land is in the Custer State Park. East of Rapid City the 226,300 acres (91,500 hectares) of forestland is primarily privately owned.
Nonreserved 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, 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; 675,000 acres (273,000 hectares) of this area is found in national forests. 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. Less than one-fifth of the state's timberland has the potential to produce greater than 50 cu ft (1.42 cu m) per acre per year. However, this is not to say that the state's timberland, and in particular the Black Hills area, has not been a good timber producer. The Black Hills have, for nearly a century, been successfully producing and supplying sawlogs, fuelwood, pulpwood, posts, and poles.
MINING
According to preliminary data from the US Geological Survey (USGS), the estimated value of nonfuel mineral production by South Dakota in 2003 was $206 million, a decrease from 2002 of about 4.5%.
According to the preliminary data for 2003, by descending order of value, portland cement, construction sand and gravel, crushed stone, granite dimension stone, gypsum and common clays were the state's top nonfuel minerals. Collectively, these six commodity sectors accounted for around 81% of all nonfuel mineral output, by value. By volume, South Dakota in 2003, was the nation's second leading producer of granite dimension stone. The state also ranked fourth in mica, seventh in gold and feldspar, and 10th in dimension stone.
Preliminary data for 2003 showed that construction sand and gravel production totaled 13 million metric tons, with a value of $52.6 million, while crushed stone output that year, came to 6.7 million metric tons, with a value of $33.5 million.
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.
ENERGY AND POWER
As of 2003, South Dakota had 72 electrical power service providers, of which 35 were publicly owned and 30 were cooperatives. Of the remainder, six were investor owned, and one was federally operated. As of that same year there were 400,234 retail customers. Of that total, 212,384 received their power from investor-owned service providers. Cooperatives accounted for 132,379 customers, while publicly owned providers had 55,453 customers. There were 18 federal customers.
Total net summer generating capability by the state's electrical generating plants in 2003 stood at 2.690 million kW, with total production that same year at 7.943 billion kWh. Of the total amount generated, 99.5% came from electric utilities, with the remainder coming from independent producers and combined heat and power service providers. The largest portion of all electric power generated, 4.276 billion kWh (53.8%), came from hydroelectric plants, with coal-fired plants in second place at 3.431 billion kWh (43.2%) and natural gas fueled plants in third at 176.024 billion kWh (2.2%). Other renewable power sources and petroleum fired plants accounted for the remaining generation.
South Dakota has very modest fossil-fuel resources. As of 2004, the state had proven crude oil reserves of under 1% of all proven US reserves, while output that same year averaged 4,000 barrels per day. Including federal offshore domains, the state that year ranked 25th (24th excluding federal offshore) in production among the 31 producing states. In 2004 South Dakota had 148 producing oil wells and accounted for less than 1% of all US production. The state has no oil refineries.
In 2004, South Dakota had 61 producing natural gas and gas condensate wells. In 2003 (the latest year for which data was available), marketed gas production (all gas produced excluding gas used for repressuring, vented and flared, and nonhydrocarbon gases removed) totaled 1.103 billion cu ft (.031 billion cu m). There was no data on the state's proven reserves of natural gas.
South Dakota also has lignite reserves of 366,100,000 tons.
INDUSTRY
According to the US Census Bureau's Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM) for 2004, South Dakota's manufacturing sector covered some 11 product subsectors. The shipment value of all products manufactured in the state that same year was $12.083 billion. Of that total, computer and electronic equipment product manufacturing accounted for the largest share at $3.556 billion. It was followed by food manufacturing at $2.708 billion; miscellaneous manufacturing at $1.239 billion; machinery manufacturing at $1.104 billion; and transportation equipment manufacturing at $607.207 million.
In 2004, a total of 37,469 people in South Dakota were employed in the state's manufacturing sector, according to the ASM. Of that total, 28,628 were actual production workers. In terms of total employment, the food manufacturing industry accounted for the largest portion of all manufacturing employees at 7,257, with 6,136 actual production workers. It was followed by miscellaneous manufacturing at 4,778 employees (3,158 actual production workers); machinery manufacturing at 4,698 employees (3,369 actual production workers); fabricated metal product manufacturing at 3,537 employees (2,676 actual production workers); and computer and electronic product manufacturing with 3,262 employees (2,594 actual production workers).
ASM data for 2004 showed that South Dakota's manufacturing sector paid $1.222 billion in wages. Of that amount, the food manufacturing sector accounted for the largest share at $211.705 million. It was followed by machinery manufacturing at $176.672 million; miscellaneous manufacturing at $146.375 million; fabricated metal product manufacturing at $127.931 million; and computer and electronic product manufacturing at $107.559 million.
COMMERCE
According to the 2002 Census of Wholesale Trade, South Dakota's wholesale trade sector had sales that year totaling $7.8 billion from 1,329 establishments. Wholesalers of durable goods accounted for 690 establishments, followed by nondurable goods wholesalers at 565 and electronic markets, agents, and brokers accounting for 74 establishments. Sales by durable goods wholesalers in 2002 totaled $2.5 billion, while wholesalers of nondurable goods saw sales of $3.5 billion. Electronic markets, agents, and brokers in the wholesale trade industry had sales of $1.7 billion.
In the 2002 Census of Retail Trade, South Dakota was listed as having 4,249 retail establishments with sales of $9.6 billion. The leading types of retail businesses by number of establishments were: gasoline stations (678); motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts dealers tied with building material/garden equipment and supplies dealers (523 each); miscellaneous store retailers (522); and food and beverage stores (484). In terms of sales, motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts dealers accounted for the largest share of retail sales at $2.3 billion, followed by nonstore retailers at $1.29 billion; general merchandise stores at $1.26 billion; and gasoline stations at $1.1 billion. A total of 49,152 people were employed by the retail sector in South Dakota that year.
South Dakota's foreign exports in 2005 totaled $941.4 million, ranking the state 48th in the nation.
CONSUMER PROTECTION
The Division of Consumer Protection of the Office of the Attorney General enforces South Dakota's Deceptive Trade Practices Act, prosecutes cases of fraud and other illegal activities, and registers Charitable Solicitation organizations and Buying Clubs. Disputes are mediated between consumers and businesses. The Division also distributes consumer education materials, aids in the preparation of consumer related legislation, takes part in multi-jurisdictional actions with other state or federal law enforcement agencies, and advises consumers of complaints that are on file against specific companies.
When dealing with consumer protection issues, the state's Attorney General's Office can initiate civil and criminal proceedings; represent the state before state and federal regulatory agencies; administer consumer protection and education programs; handle formal consumer complaints; and exercise broad subpoena powers. In antitrust actions, the Attorney General's Office can act on behalf of those consumers who are incapable of acting on their own; initiate damage actions on behalf of the state in state courts; and initiate criminal proceedings. However, the state's Attorney General's Office cannot represent counties, cities and other governmental entities in recovering civil damages under state or federal law.
The offices of Division of Consumer Affairs are located in Pierre.
BANKING
As of June 2005, South Dakota had 91 insured banks, savings and loans, and saving banks, and 55 federally chartered credit unions (CUs). Excluding the CUs, the Sioux Falls market area accounted for the largest portion of the state's financial institution deposits in 2004, at $32.171 billion and ranked second in the number of financial institutions, at 32. The Sioux City market area, which includes portions of Nebraska and Iowa, ranked first in the number of financial institutions with 34, and second in deposits, at $2.051 billion. As of June 2005, CUs accounted for only 0.4% of all assets held by all financial institutions in the state, or some $1.525 billion. Banks, savings and loans, and savings banks collectively accounted for the remaining 99.6% or $433.470 billion in assets held.
Regulation of South Dakota's state-chartered banks and other state-chartered financial institutions is the responsibility of the state's Division of Banking.
INSURANCE
In 2004 there were 514,000 individual life insurance policies worth over $43.8 billion were in force in South Dakota; total value for all categories of life insurance (individual, group, and credit) was over $59.3 billion. The average coverage amount is $85,300 per policy holder. Death benefits paid that year totaled $160.8 million.
As of 2003, there were 20 property and casualty and one life and health insurance company domiciled in the state. In 2004, direct premiums for property and casualty insurance totaled over $1.4 billion. That year, there were 2,997 flood insurance policies in force in the state, with a total value of $364 million.
In 2004, 52% of state residents held employment-based health insurance policies, 9% held individual policies, and 25% were covered under Medicare and Medicaid; 12% of residents were uninsured. In 2003, employee contributions for employment-based health coverage averaged at 23% for single coverage and 27% for family coverage. The state offers an 18-month health benefits expansion program for small-firm employees in connection with the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA, 1986), a health insurance program for those who lose employment-based coverage due to termination or reduction of work hours.
In 2003, there were 627,527 auto insurance policies in effect for private passenger cars. Required minimum coverage includes bodily injury liability of up to $25,000 per individual and $20,000 for all persons injured in an accident, as well as property damage liability of $25,000. Uninsured motorist coverage is also required. In 2003, the average expenditure per vehicle for insurance coverage was $563.18, which ranked as the second-lowest average in the nation (before North Dakota).
SECURITIES
There are no securities exchanges in South Dakota. In 2005, there were 110 personal financial advisers employed in the state and 360 securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents. In 2004, there were over 12 publicly traded companies within the state, with over four NASDAQ companies (including Daktronics and HF Financial Corp), two NYSE listings (Black Hills Corp. and North Western Corp.), and one AMEX listing (The Credit Store).
PUBLIC FINANCE
The governor must submit the annual budget to the state legislature by 1 December. The fiscal year begins the following 1 July. The legislature may amend the budget at will, but the governor has a line item veto.
Fiscal year 2006 general funds were estimated at $1.0 billion for resources and $1.0 billion for expenditures. In 2004, federal government grants to South Dakota were $1.6 billion.
In the fiscal year 2007 federal budget, South Dakota was slated to receive $9.7 million in State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) funds (a 23% increase over 2006) to help provide health coverage to low-income, uninsured children who do not qualify for Medicaid. The state was also to receive $4.6 million for the HOME Investment Partnership Program to help South Dakota fund a wide range of activities that build, buy, or rehabilitate affordable housing for rent or homeownership, or provide direct rental assistance to low-income people; this was a 12% increase over fiscal year 2006. An addition $32 million was earmarked toward completion of the Mni Wiconi Rural Water Project, designed to provide a clean, reliable water supply to rural areas of South Dakota, including some of the poorest Native American communities in the country; and another $21 million (a $4 million increase over fiscal year 2006) for ongoing construction of the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System, which will bring high quality water to rural areas of South Dakota, as well as to the city of Sioux Falls.
TAXATION
In 2005, South Dakota collected $1,110 million in tax revenues or $1,430 per capita, which placed it 50th among the 50 states in per capita tax burden. The national average was $2,192 per capita. Sales taxes accounted for 56.0% of the total; selective sales taxes, 25.4%; corporate income taxes, 4.4%; and other taxes, 14.1%.
As of 1 January 2006, South Dakota had no state income tax, a distinction it shared with Wyoming, Washington, Nevada, Florida, Texas and Alaska.
In 2004, local property taxes amounted to $705,183,000, or $915 per capita. South Dakota has no state level property taxes. The per capita amount ranks the state 32nd nationally.
South Dakota taxes retail sales at a rate of 4%. In addition to the state tax, local taxes on retail sales can reach as much as 2%, making for a potential total tax on retail sales of 6%. Food purchased for consumption off-premises is taxable, although an income tax credit is allowed to offset sales tax on food. The tax on cigarettes is 53 cents per pack, which ranks 37th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. South Dakota taxes gasoline at 22 cents per gallon. This is in addition to the 18.4 cents per gallon federal tax on gasoline.
According to the Tax Foundation, for every federal tax dollar sent to Washington in 2004, South Dakota citizens received $1.49 in federal spending, which ranks the state 10th nationally.
ECONOMIC POLICY
Efforts to attract industry to South Dakota and to broaden the state's economic base are under the jurisdiction of the Governor's
| South DakotaState Government Finances | ||
|---|---|---|
| (Dollar amounts in thousands Per capita amounts in dollars.) | ||
| AMOUNT | PER CAPITA | |
| Abbreviations and symbols: - zero or rounds to zero; (NA) not available; (X) not applicable. | ||
| source: U.S. Census Bureau, Governments Division, 2004 Survey of State Government Finances, January 2006. | ||
| Total Revenue | 3,863,621 | 5,011.18 |
| General revenue | 2,906,921 | 3,770.33 |
| Intergovernmental revenue | 1,239,324 | 1,607.42 |
| Taxes | 1,062,722 | 1,378.37 |
| General sales | 586,389 | 760.56 |
| Selective sales | 278,873 | 361.70 |
| License taxes | 138,877 | 180.13 |
| Individual income tax | - | - |
| Corporate income tax | 47,108 | 61.10 |
| Other taxes | 11,475 | 14.88 |
| Current charges | 209,524 | 271.76 |
| Miscellaneous general revenue | 395,351 | 512.78 |
| Utility revenue | - | - |
| Liquor store revenue | - | - |
| Insurance trust revenue | 956,700 | 1,240.86 |
| Total expenditure | 2,989,366 | 3,877.26 |
| Intergovernmental expenditure | 576,215 | 747.36 |
| Direct expenditure | 2,413,151 | 3,129.90 |
| Current operation | 1,602,276 | 2,078.18 |
| Capital outlay | 410,762 | 532.77 |
| Insurance benefits and repayments | 257,703 | 334.25 |
| Assistance and subsidies | 43,768 | 56.77 |
| Interest on debt | 98,642 | 127.94 |
| Exhibit Salaries and wages | 488,804 | 633.99 |
| Total expenditure | 2,989,366 | 3,877.26 |
| General expenditure | 2,731,663 | 3,543.01 |
| Intergovernmental expenditure | 576,215 | 747.36 |
| Direct expenditure | 2,155,448 | 2,795.65 |
| General expenditures, by function: | ||
| Education | 875,238 | 1,135.20 |
| Public welfare | 694,152 | 900.33 |
| Hopsitals | 42,655 | 55.32 |
| Health | 93,611 | 121.42 |
| Highways | 417,467 | 541.46 |
| Police protection | 24,407 | 31.66 |
| Correction | 61,675 | 79.99 |
| Natural resources | 98,706 | 128.02 |
| Parks and recreation | 27,075 | 35.12 |
| Government administration | 110,392 | 143.18 |
| Interest on general debt | 98,642 | 127.94 |
| Other and unallocable | 187,643 | 243.38 |
| Utility expenditure | - | - |
| Liquor store expenditure | - | - |
| Insurance trust expenditure | 257,703 | 334.25 |
| Debt at end of fiscal year | 2,613,067 | 3,389.19 |
| Cash and security holdings | 9,467,630 | 12,279.68 |
Office of Economic Development. Among the advantages noted by the agency are the absence of corporate or personal income taxes, the low level of property taxes, the availability of community development corporations to finance construction of new facilities, various property tax relief measures, inventory tax exemptions, personal property tax exemptions, and a favorable labor climate in which work stoppages are few and union activity is limited by a right-to-work law. South Dakota is one of the few states to have enacted a statute of limitations on product liabilityin this case, six yearsa measure cited as further proof of the state's attempt to create an atmosphere conducive to manufacturing.
HEALTH
The infant mortality rate in October 2005 was estimated at 7.3 per 1,000 live births. The birth rate in 2003 was 14.4 per 1,000 population. The abortion rate stood at 5.5 per 1,000 women in 2000. In 2003, about 78.4% of pregnant woman received prenatal care beginning in the first trimester. In 2004, approximately 86% of children received routine immunizations before the age of three.
The crude death rate in 2003 was 9.3 deaths per 1,000 population. As of 2002, the death rates for major causes of death (per 100,000 resident population) were: heart disease, 254.5; cancer, 205.2; cerebrovascular diseases, 68.1; chronic lower respiratory diseases, 50.3; and diabetes, 25.6. The mortality rate from HIV infection was unavailable that year. In 2004, the reported AIDS case rate was at about 1.6 per 100,000 population, which was one of the lowest in the country. In 2002, about 58.2% of the population was considered overweight or obese. As of 2004, about 20.3% of state residents were smokers.
In 2003, South Dakota had 50 community hospitals with about 4,400 beds. There were about 103,000 patient admissions that year and 1,5 million outpatient visits. The average daily inpatient census was about 2,700 patients. The average cost per day for hospital care was $747. Also in 2003, there were about 113 certified nursing facilities in the state with 7,364 beds and an overall occupancy rate of about 92.4%. In 2004, it was estimated that about 72.1% of all state residents had received some type of dental care within the year. South Dakota had 217 physicians per 100,000 resident population in 2004 and 1,165 nurses per 100,000 in 2005. In 2004, there were a total of 345 dentists in the state.
About 16% of state residents were enrolled in Medicaid programs in 2003; 16% were enrolled in Medicare programs in 2004. Approximately 12% of the state population was uninsured in 2004. In 2003, state health care expenditures totaled $772,000.
SOCIAL WELFARE
In 2004, about 10,000 people received unemployment benefits, with the average weekly unemployment benefit at $205. In fiscal year 2005, the estimated average monthly participation in the food stamp program included about 56,095 persons (22,483 households); the average monthly benefit was about $91.33 per person. That year, the total of benefits paid through the state for the food stamp program was about $61.4 million.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the system of federal welfare assistance that officially replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in 1997, was reauthorized through the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. TANF is funded through federal block grants that are divided among the states based on an equation involving the number of recipients in each state. In 2004, the state TANF program had 6,000 recipients; state and federal expenditures on this TANF program totaled $19 million in fiscal year 2003.
In December 2004, Social Security benefits were paid to 139,770 South Dakota residents. This number included 90,220 retired workers, 15,560 widows and widowers, 13,960 disabled workers, 9,820 spouses, and 10,210 children. Social Security beneficiaries represented 18% of the total state population and 96.5% of the state's population age 65 and older. Retired workers received an average monthly payment of $878; widows and widowers, $859; disabled workers, $835; and spouses, $441. Payments for children of retired workers averaged $421 per month; children of deceased workers, $567; and children of disabled workers, $254. Federal Supplemental Security Income payments in December 2004 went to 12,469 South Dakota residents, averaging $353 a month. An additional $190,000 of state-administered supplemental payments were distributed to 3,641 residents.
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 had 2.47 members.
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. Renters paid a median of $493 per month. In September 2005, the state received grants of 680,000 from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for rural housing and economic development programs. For 2006, HUD allocated to the state over $6.6 million in community development block grants.
EDUCATION
As of 2004, 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.
The total enrollment for fall 2002 in South Dakota's public schools stood at 128,000. Of these, 87,000 attended schools from kindergarten through grade eight, and 41,000 attended high school. Approximately 84.9% of the students were white, 1.5% were black, 1.8% were Hispanic, 1% were Asian/Pacific Islander, and 10.7% were American Indian/Alaskan Native. Total enrollment was estimated at 126,000 in fall 2003 but expected to be 123,000 by fall 2014, a decline of 3.6% during the period 200214. Expenditures for public education in 2003/04 were estimated at $1 billion. There were 10,817 students enrolled in 95 private schools in fall 2003. Since 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has tested public school students nationwide. The resulting report, The Nation's Report Card, stated that in 2005, eighth graders in South Dakota scored 287 out of 500 in mathematics compared with the national average of 278.
As of fall 2002, there were 47,751 students enrolled in college or graduate school; minority students comprised 10.2% of total postsecondary enrollment. 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 as well as the South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired are also state-supported. In addition, the state has 12 private institutions of higher education.
ARTS
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. In 2005, the South Dakota Arts Council and other South Dakota arts organizations received six grants totaling $665,800 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). In 2005, the National Endowment for the Humanities contributed $507,560 for four state projects. The state and various private sources also provided funding for the council's activities.
Artworks and handicrafts are displayed at the Dacotah Prairie Museum (Aberdeen), South Dakota Art Museum (Brookings), Sioux Indian Museum (Rapid City), Cultural Heritage Center (Pierre), and W. H. Over Museum (Vermillion). The state has nine tribal governments that present annual cultural arts events or powwows.
Symphony orchestras include the South Dakota Symphony in Sioux Falls and the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra in Rapid City. The Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Society sponsors an annual festival, JazzFest. The annual Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant in DeSmet includes outdoor performances as well as activities to recreate pioneer history.
LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS
In 2001, South Dakota had 126 public library systems, with a total of 145 libraries, of which there were 19 branches. For that same year, the systems had a combined total of 2,835,000 volumes of book and serial publications, and a total circulation of 4,773,000. The system also had 77,000 audio and 71,000 video items, 5,000 electronic format items (CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, and disks), and seven bookmobiles. 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. In 2001, operating income for the state's public library system totaled $14,988,000 and included $167,000 from federal sources, and $13,825,000 from local sources.
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.
COMMUNICATIONS
In 2004, 93.6% of South Dakota's occupied housing units had telephones. In addition, by June of that same year there were 382,906 mobile wireless telephone subscribers. In 2003, 62.1% of South Dakota households had a computer and 53.6% had Internet access. By June 2005, there were 61,856 high-speed lines in South Dakota, 51,283 residential and 10,573 for business. There were 65 major radio stations (21 AM, 44 FM) and 16 major television stations in 2005. Some 8,919 Internet domain names were registered in the state as of 2000.
PRESS
In 2002, 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, Sundays 75,014.
ORGANIZATIONS
In 2006, there were over 1,345 nonprofit organizations registered within the state, of which about 828 were registered as charitable, educational, or religious organizations. There are several organizations focusing on the local and national interests of Native Americans. These include the Association of Community Tribal Schools, the Association on American Indian Affairs, and the Lakota Student Alliance. The South Dakota State Historical Society and the South Dakota Arts Council are located in Pierre. There are a number of municipal and county historical societies and art councils as well. The USA Deaf Sports Federation is based in Sioux Falls. Environmental groups include the Keep South Dakota Green Association and the South Dakota Wildlife Federation. The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, a nationwide service organization, is based in Sioux Falls.
TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION
Tourism is the state's largest industry. Travelers spent an estimated $809 million in South Dakota in 2005, a 7.6% increase over 2004. The travel industry accounted for an estimated 33,100 jobs across the state that year.
Most of the state's tourist attractions lie west of the Missouri River, especially in the Black Hills region. Mt. Rushmore National Memorial consists of the heads of four US presidentsGeorge Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Rooseveltcarved 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, dig for dinosaurs in the Oligocene fossil beds, follow the Lewis and Clark trail, and visit more than 100 museums and cultural centers.
SPORTS
There are no major professional sports teams in South Dakota. However, the Sioux Falls Canaries are a minor league baseball club that plays in the American Association. Sioux Falls also is home to 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. Former Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills and Football Hall of Famer Norm van Brocklin are among those athletes born in South Dakota.
FAMOUS SOUTH DAKOTANS
The only South Dakotan to win high elective office was Hubert H. Humphrey (191178), a native of Wallace who, after rising to power in Minnesota Democratic politics, served as US senator for 16 years before becoming vice president under Lyndon Johnson (196569).
Other outstanding federal officeholders from South Dakota were Newton Edmunds (18191908), second governor of the Dakota Territory; Charles Henry Burke (b.New York, 18611944), who as commissioner of Indian affairs improved education and health care for Native Americans; and Vermillion-born Peter Norbeck (18701936), a Progressive Republican leader, first while governor (191721) and then as US senator until his death. The son of a German-American father and a Brulé Indian mother, Benjamin Reifel (19061990) was the first American Indian 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 Viet Nam, he ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1972.
Associated with South Dakota are several distinguished Indian leaders. Among them were Red Cloud (b.Nebraska 18221909), an Oglala warrior; Spotted Tail (b.Wyoming, 1833?1881), the Brulé chief who was a commanding figure on the Rosebud Reservation; Sitting Bull (183490), a Hunkpapa Sioux most famous as the main leader of the Indian 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.
Ernest Orlando Lawrence (190158), 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, 17891865), a fur trader after whom the state capital is named.
South Dakota artists include George Catlin (b.Pennsylvania, 17961872), Karl Bodmer (180993), Harvey Dunn (18841952), and Oscar Howe (191583). Gutzon Borglum (b.Idaho, 18711941) carved the faces on Mt. Rushmore. The state's two leading writers are Ole Edvart Rõlvaag (b.Norway, 18761931), author of Giants in the Earth and other novels, and Frederick Manfred (b.Iowa, 191294), 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.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Amerson, Robert. From the Hidewood: Memories of a Dakota Neighborhood. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1996.
Council of State Governments. The Book of the States, 2006 Edition. Lexington, Ky.: Council of State Governments, 2006.
Fiffer, Steve. Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought Over T. Rex Ever Found. New York: W. H. Freeman, 2000.
Hasselstrom, Linda M. Feels Like Far: A Rancher's Life on the Great Plains. New York: Lyons Press, 1999.
Nelson, Paula. The Prairie Winnows Out Its Own: The West River Country of South Dakota in the Years of Depression and Dust. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1996.
Preston, Thomas. Great Plains: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Vol. 4 in The Double Eagle Guide to 1,000 Great Western Recreation Destinations. Billings, Mont.: Discovery Publications, 2003.
Rees, Amanda (ed.). The Great Plains Region. Vol. 1 in The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004.
Robertson, Paul. The Power of the Land: Identity, Ethnicity, and Class among the Oglala Lakota. New York: Routledge, 2002.
Schell, Herbert Samuel. History of South Dakota. 4th ed. Pierre: South Dakota State Historical Society Press, 2004.
Thompson, Harry F. (gen. ed.). A New South Dakota History. Sioux Falls, S.Dak.: Center for Western Studies/Augustana College, 2005.
US Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, US Census Bureau. South Dakota, 2000. Summary Social, Economic, and Housing Characteristics: 2000 Census of Population and Housing. Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office, 2003.
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