South Dakota Town Hall Report Delivered to Members of Congress
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- 19 hours ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 44 minutes ago
Dell Rapids, SD – Today, Nikki Gronli, former USDA Rural Development state director, announced that the South Dakota town hall report has been delivered to South Dakota’s Members of Congress. Copies of the 40-page report were mailed to their Washington, DC, offices and delivered to the Sioux Falls offices of all three elected officials.
“I went on the road and visited four South Dakota communities to listen to South Dakotans and bring their concerns to our Members of Congress. I invited everyone to join us, regardless of their party affiliation. Every town hall was over capacity, showing the need for these events,” Gronli said.
Gronli was inspired by organizations like Common Grounds, whose members visited local congressional offices to request town halls, and by the number of town hall requests she read on social media.
“During my time with the Biden administration, I did a lot of listening and working with rural communities to overcome challenges. Witnessing the dismantling of so many programs that South Dakotans rely on, I knew someone needed to listen and provide the real-world implications to our elected officials. I cannot guarantee the senators and our representative will listen, but I can provide them with real stories of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, students, parents, retirees, farmers, teachers, and veterans that we met with. Their voices matter.”
Due to the success and momentum of the first four events, more town halls will be announced soon. “Eight more communities have requested town halls, so I’m looking at those. Specific topics rose to the top. The coming town halls will be focused on agriculture, Medicaid and Medicare, and veteran programs impacted by DOGE cuts,” Gronli said. “These areas of concern rose to the top, and the people get to inspire the future conversations.”
The town halls included various panelists: Julian Beaudion, business owner and retired state highway patrol officer; Zach Ducheneaux, rancher and former USDA FSA Administrator; Reynold Nesiba, professor and economist; and Mohamed Mohamed, college student and elected student leader.
“Expect to see more South Dakota leaders as panelists. I will continue hosting, when possible, but the coalition being built continues to expand, and I see more people getting involved as we cover the state.”
