The annual Cracker Barrel was held on Presidents Day, Feb. 17^th, at Redfield Depot. State legislatures were available to hear the concerns of residents. In attendance were Sen. David Wheeler, District 22; Rep. Lana Greenfield, District 22; Rep. Kevin Van Diepen, District 22; Sen. Carl Perry, District 3; Rep. Al Novstrup, District 3; and Rep. Kent Roe, District 4.

The depot was filled with interested residents. Some had specific topics in mind. Others were there to listen. The meeting began with the legislators introducing themselves.

Van Diepen, Roe, Wheeler and Novstrup

Chris Fischer

Sen. Wheeler’s committee involvement included Government Operations and Audit, Judiciary, Local Government, Select Committee on the Nomination for Lieutenant Governor, Transportation, Code Commission, and Government Operations and Audit. He was involved with several bills, including SB 177, which would provide a tax refund for data centers.

Rep. Greenfield’s committees included Commerce and Energy, as well as Education, of which she was chosen as chair. Her bill involvement included SC 804, which would honor school administrators, as well as HB 1052, which would ban a carbon oxide pipeline from using eminent domain.

Rep. Van Diepen’s committees included Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Local Government. His bills included SB 120, which would add poultry producer to the Animal Industry Board, as well as HJR 5001, which would put an amendment affecting Medicaid on the next ballot.

Sen. Perry was named Assistant Majority Leader. His committee involvement included Commerce and Energy, Health and Human Services, Legislative Procedure, Joint Legislative Procedure, State Affairs (as Vice Chair), and Retirement Laws. His bill involvement included HB 1061, which would bar a health provider form restricting a parent or guardian to certain health information of a minor; HJR 5006, which would affect ballot initiatives. Failed initiatives would have to be put on hold until after the next election, then could be brought up again for the same thin. He co-sponsored dozens of bills, including HB 1009, which would create educational empowerment accounts.

Rep. Novstrup’s committies included Appropriations, Joint Appropriations, and Revenue Projection Subcommittee. His bill involvement included HB 1055, which would amend medical marijuana certification, HB 1233, which would provide children with hearing aids, and SCR 606, which expressed concern over a carbon oxide pipeline’s potential to be used as a WMD. He also co-sponsored several bills.

Rep. Roe’s committees included Taxation, and Transportation. His bills included SB 14, which would amend rules for agricultural production facilities. He co-sponsored several bills, including HJR 5001, which would affect Medicaid, as well as HB 1050, which would enable municipalities to levy a new tax in order to fund capital improvement projects.

Topics raised by audience members included: eminent domain and carbon oxide pipelines; the men’s prison project; HB 1165 and its effect on elevator operators; control over some rural roads being taken away from townships and given to the county; nation-wide dissolution of the Department of Education; problems with the State of South Dakota One Stop buildings, which put several state agencies in one location; 911 call centers; due process; appropriate use of funds; and education funding.

The legislators also spoke on data centers; the difficulty in find enough employees for teaching and other caring fields; economic development; taxes; and infrastructure updates that would need to be made in order to attract new businesses (such as data centers) to come to South Dakota. One legislator stated that he was against the anti-eminent domain bill because it focused solely on carbon oxide pipelines.

The nonpartisan event was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. Larry Nielsen of the Spink County Republicans served as moderator. Many concerns were raised by residents. The meeting did not devolve into shouting like it did in 2024. Several residents’ voices were heard. The audience politely listened as others spoke. After the meeting, one resident wasn’t quite sure if anything had been resolved. He did feel, however, that he’d learned something from the discourse.