Gov. Larry Rhoden's Inauguration Ceremony was Saturday, Feb. 8. Watch SDPB's coverage of the event above.
Gov. Rhoden's full inauguration address is below
Mr. Chief Justice, honorable members of the Supreme Court, Lt. Governor Venhuizen, senators, legislators, constitutional officers, family, friends, and my fellow South Dakotans:
Good afternoon! Before I begin, I want to thank our people for this honor. Our state is great because “Under God, the People Rule.” It is truly an honor to serve our people as Governor. And as a former Guardsman who served for six years, it is a great honor to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the South Dakota National Guard.
South Dakota has given so much to me and my family. I’m a fifth-generation South Dakotan on my mom’s side and a fourth-generation South Dakotan on my dad’s. My roots are in South Dakota – and I’m never leaving.
About a week ago, I was at Longhorn Steakhouse out in Rapid City. An older rancher walked up to my table and asked, “you Larry Rhoden?” I said, “Yes I am.” He said, “Well, it’s good to meet you. You built me a couple sets of branding irons a few years back, and they work great!” I can think of very few things that he could have said that would have made me feel better.
The truth is, we are all called to serve one another. Everything that we do for each other should be done to the best of our ability. If we work hard and put others first, things tend to work out. If we do a great job, it will stick with people. But we don’t do these jobs to be remembered. We do them because it’s right. Public service requires someone to step up and do the right thing on behalf of the people.
100 years ago, another governor gave his inaugural address to the South Dakota Legislature. Carl Gunderson had grown up a farmer. Before he became Governor, he served five terms in the South Dakota Senate, then as Lieutenant Governor for four years. Does that sound familiar to any of you? When he delivered his inaugural address, he spoke of many things that might be familiar to us. He talked about the ups and downs of agriculture; how property taxes are too high; how we need to find ways to make government more efficient. Some of the specifics are different today, but the basic needs facing our state are very much the same. I want to read you one paragraph from the end of his speech:
“The solution of South Dakota’s problems will not come through legislation. The tendency toward state and federal supervision, inspection, and regulation has resulted in a lessening of the spirit of self-reliance. We look to government for too much aid. We need a revival of the spirit of the ‘covered wagon.’ The spirit that traveled by covered wagon in the early sixties across the prairies of Iowa to the Dakotas; the spirit that made its home temporarily in the ‘dugout,’ the ‘sod shanty,’ and the log cabin along the streams. It was the spirit that came more to give, than to receive; the spirit that served humanity and the future of a great state.”
My goodness, those words still ring true today. That same spirit of the “covered wagon” brought my own family west to South Dakota more than 100 years ago. Through the generations, my family passed down that same spirit that “came more to give, than to receive.” Service runs strong in our veins. And it runs every bit as strong in the veins of my own children.
Governor Gunderson’s statue sits out in front of the Governor’s Residence. He’s sitting on a hay bale fixing a wagon wheel. He was a down-to-earth South Dakota man. And when his time serving as Governor was finished, he went back to farming.
Many of you probably didn’t know who Carl Gunderson was. And 100 years from now, folks might not remember who Larry Rhoden is. If we remember that, making the best decisions for our people suddenly becomes a lot easier.
I promise to be a Governor who remembers that the solution to our problems will not come through legislation. Rather, it will come from providing our people the opportunity to do right for their families. I promise to set a tone of civility and respect, and the example will start from the top. I pledge to govern with openness and responsiveness.
My focus will always be to keep South Dakota strong, safe, and free. I want to keep South Dakota strong – strong families, strong businesses, and strong institutions. I want to keep South Dakota safe – with low crime and respect for law enforcement. And I want to keep South Dakota free – freedom will continue to be our calling card as long as I am governor.
I will extend a renewed hand to everyone in our state: East River and West River; small towns and big cities; and yes, our tribal communities. I will be available to discuss the challenges that you face and how we can turn them into opportunities.
I believe that the distinction between challenges and opportunities is largely one of perspective. A challenge is many times an opportunity not yet recognized or realized. Whenever I have a task in front of me, I try not to look at it as an obstacle to be overcome. Rather, if I look at it as an opportunity to achieve something, the task at hand becomes a lot easier.
I want that same mindset to be the foundation of everything that we do during my administration. Five years ago, Governor Kristi Noem declared South Dakota “Open for Business.” That bold stand was put to the ultimate test during COVID. We overcame that challenge and turned it into South Dakota’s greatest opportunity. Now, I want to apply that same approach to all of our work.
I want to keep South Dakota “Open for Business.” But more than that, I want our state to be “Open for Opportunity.” That means opportunity for families to do what is best for their kids; opportunity for our communities to respond to whatever unique situations they’re facing; opportunity for kids graduating high school to go into whatever college or career field is right for them; opportunity for farmers to be able to keep earning a strong living so that they can pass that farm down to their kids; opportunity for every hard working South Dakotan to seek out better and higher paying jobs; opportunity for our businesses to keep growing at a tremendous rate.
When we protect opportunity in South Dakota, we pave the way for better jobs for my children and grandchildren – and yours. We create new educational opportunities that don’t pit this group against that group, but instead allow every child to succeed. We don’t build new prisons just to lock more people up; instead, we use those facilities as an opportunity to get people back on their feet and contributing to our society.
Opportunity is not limited by my vision, or even the vision of anyone in this Rotunda today. It is as broad as the South Dakota prairie and as high as Black Elk Peak. If we all link arms and pledge to chase down opportunities together, our state will be in pretty good shape. And if years from now, someone remembers the work that we did together, then that’s just a bonus.
I want to thank my family for giving me this opportunity to serve. I especially want to thank my wife, Sandy. She has been my most loyal supporter and chief confidant for almost 44 years. I would not be here today without her love and support. I want to thank the Good Lord for putting me in the position to serve as your Governor. And I want to thank the people of South Dakota. Thank you for trusting me with this honor. And thank you for celebrating with me and my family.
Thank you. May God bless you all. And may God continue to bless the great state of South Dakota.