PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — There was a time when newly-sworn-in South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden was in awe to have had an interaction with the governor of South Dakota.
“I thought, ‘Wow, the governor of South Dakota just held the door open for me so I could get into the capitol,” Rhoden said Wednesday in an interview with KELOLAND News, his first sit-down interview since becoming governor.
That memory featured former Gov. Bill Janklow, but 2025 brings an entirely different era with the buck now stopping at Rhoden. The new governor describes himself as fairly “direct” as well as “blunt,” and he says his predecessor in the office, Kristi Noem, might even be more so. Rhoden commented Wednesday on what differentiates his administration from Noem’s.
“I would say just leadership style, mostly,” Rhoden said. “Politically we’re very aligned, and I think obviously the circumstances that we’re both in will make our administrations look very different. She developed this national profile, and she used that profile to benefit South Dakota.”
And that profile brings with it another difference.
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“It also kind of put her in a different trajectory than what I’m going to be on,” Rhoden said. “I don’t have to worry about doing Fox News interviews every night.”
One of the themes of Rhoden’s first public address to the legislature on Tuesday was a call for courtesy in the political arena.
Santella: “How do you foster that civility?”
“I think the answer’s simple: you lead by example,” Rhoden said. “And our office, that’s why I held the offer open that I’m going to be easy to find.”
And regarding specific legislation, he lists the state penitentiary’s aged condition among his priorities.
“I think if the legislators that are, still have questions, they need to make a trip to the penitentiary and get the tour that I did,” Rhoden said.
Rhoden, however, does not share where he stands on another hot-button issue: the use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines.
“For me, I’m going to stay out of the fray ’til I see what they’re coming up with and what hits my desk,” Rhoden said.
Whichever directions these different discussions take, Rhoden says his attention is on the ongoing legislative session and not any decision about running in 2026 to stay in the governor’s office.
“I think after session I’m going to get serious about making that decision,” Rhoden said. “I think time’s getting ripe in the spring. But I want to be single-minded and clear and not have a lot of distractions through session.”
