The Libertarian Party of South Dakota had one of our best years in 2021 with more events, more fundraising and continued growth in membership. We wanted to highlight some of the events that were held over the course of the year.
The year started with our annual convention that took place Saturday March 20th at the Clubhouse Hotel & Suites in Sioux Falls. At the convention we elected new officers to serve from 2021-2023.
- Greg Baldwin – Chair
- Collin Duprel – Vice Chair
- Ashley Strand – Secretary
- Daryl Root – Treasurer
- Devin Saxon – Communication Director
- Steve Minogue – Membership Director
- Kent Wilsey – West River Coordinator
- Tracey Quint – Sioux River Coordinator
- Adam Jewell – East River Coordinator
We had a couple great guest speakers at the convention including Christopher Thrasher and keynote speaker Caryn Ann Harlos. You can relive all the action and listen to speeches here.
The first event right after convention this Spring was hosted by the Minnehaha County Libertarian Party. It was the annual Earth Day cleanup of the Big Sioux River April 24th in Sioux Falls.
“Had a wonderful opportunity today to volunteer and clean up some of the pollution by the Sioux River. Glad to help our community out and show what people can do as a community, without government help.”
Corgan Larson, Minnehaha County LP Chair
Our next event was a fun one we called “Frisbee Golf for Freedom” June 19th at Tuthill Park in Sioux Falls. It was also part of Juneteenth Celebrations the LP held across the country.
Our biggest event of the year was in July when the annual Liberty Conference Freedomfest was held in Rapid City this year instead of the usual Las Vegas. The conference was held July 21st – 24th at The Monument. The Libertarian Party of South Dakota had in our biased opinion the best booth at the Conference. Led by the awesome raffle we held during the event, items included a Citadel 12 Gauge Shotgun and Custom Bowie Knife. The shotgun was courtesy of John Stolle of Sturgis Honey and the Bowie Knife was donated by Region 6 Representative John Phillips Jr. Together these items raised over $2400 for LPSD.
“The Freedom keeper I won in South Dakota finally arrived!!
A huge thank you and shootout to Collin Duprel, the Libertarian Party of South Dakota, Strurgis Guns and Trailhead Guns for making this process a pleasant one.”
Theresa Burt, Winner of Citadel Shotgun & better half of Wyoming State House Rep, Marshal Burt
The newly organized Black Hills Libertarians also hosted a meet & greet event during freedomfest on Friday July 24th at the Wobbly Bobby in downtown Rapid City. A who’s who of big name Libertarians came out to the event to support the LPSD. You really missed out if you missed that event!
The Libertarian Party of South Dakota in conjunction with Camp Ridger Seasonings took part in a Rib Contest during the Clay County Fair August 14th in Vermillion. Unfortunately we did not win however we placed a respectable 3rd in the contest. The Ribs were then sold as a community fundraiser to benefit the local 4-H following the contest.
The next event was our 3rd Annual end of summer BBQ called “Freedom Feast” , held September 11th at the Palisades State Park. This family friendly event was a great time as always with lots of outdoor activities, camping and good food! If you have never been to Freedom Feast before you are definitely missing out, but don’t worry you can catch the next one in about 9 months!
Our next two events came about when Anthony Welti brought his Be Free: Road to Liberty tour through South Dakota. The first event was hosted by the Black Hills Libertarians and took place September 29th at Murphy’s Pub & Grill in Rapid City. The 2nd event was a last minute addition the next day September 30th in Sioux Falls on his way to events in Minnesota.
Our final event in 2021 was a petition signing event held October 24th at the Jones 421 building in downtown Sioux Falls. The event was to help gather signatures to put recreational marijuana back on the ballot this November.
2021 was a great year for the Libertarian Party of South Dakota, with record fundraising efforts and continuing our growth in Membership well after the 2020 election cycle. We were able to grow by 10% between December 2020 through December 2021. We look forward to seeing what 2022 brings for the Party!
Upcoming Events for the Libertarian Party of South Dakota include:
- Special Membership Meeting (online) Sunday March 20th , this meeting is to select delegates to the National Convention in Reno NV at the end of May
- LPSD Annual State Convention Saturday April 23rd @ the Arrowwood Resort & Convention Center in Chamberlain SD
More details to come soon so keep an eye on the website.
Thank you to everyone who helped with these great events this year, everyone who came out to an event and all those wonderful individuals who registered Libertarian this year!
