by Joe | Aug 20, 2026 | Political/government
South Dakota’s closed primary system has turned Republican registration into something other than a measure of political identity. The state now has 329,769 registered Republicans, 53% of all registered voters. Are 53% of South Dakotans really Republicans?...
by Joe | Aug 10, 2026 | Local History, Political/government
The Legislature Doesn’t Trust South Dakota Voters This November, South Dakotans will once again be asked whether they want to give up some of their own power. Amendment L would require future constitutional amendments to receive 60% of the vote instead of the...
by Joe | Jul 30, 2026 | Political/government
South Dakota’s Republican runoff for governor produced an unexpected experiment in election reform. Thousands of Democrats and independent voters changed their registrations so they could participate in the Republican primary. They didn’t suddenly become...
by Joe | Jul 20, 2026 | Local History, Political/government
Thirty-two years ago, Sioux Falls made one of the most important political decisions in its history. By a margin of just 156 votes, residents approved a new home rule charter that replaced the city’s commission form of government with the mayor-council system we...
by Joe | Jul 7, 2026 | Kirby Family History, Political/government
It began with an unexpected phone call from the downtown Sioux Falls library. A librarian had received an inquiry from a researcher on the East Coast looking for information about a long-dead Sioux Falls attorney: my great-grandfather, Joe Kirby. Knowing I had become...
by Joe | Jun 24, 2026 | Political/government
Sioux Falls voters went to the polls on June 2 to elect a new mayor and fill four city council seats. Yet only one of those five races was actually decided that day. The other four required runoff elections three weeks later. And in the runoff, the mayor’s race...
