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Pierre’s
First Order
° f Business
On Friday afternoons, pickup
trucks sit in the state Capitol parking lot loaded for outdoor
adventure, some with Labrador dogs in back wagging their
tails in anticipation of sniffing out pheasants. Elected offi-
cials and bureaucrats spotted whispering in Statehouse corridors are just as likely to be
discussing hunting, or where Missouri River fish are biting, as political gossip.
"It you live in Pierre, it’s almost a prerequisite that you own a pickup, a Labrador dog,
and a boat," says Toby Morris, who moved to South Dakota's capital city in 1997 to accept
a state government job. Now he can’t imagine living anywhere else, "because I fish nine
months a year. The other three are for hunting."
Few state capitals match Pierre (pop. 13,876) for geographic isolation and niral
lifestyle—qualities residents boast of at every opportunity.
Viewed from across rolling brown prairies, Pierre is a patch of green along the Mis
souri; horn that distant perspective the town’s structures, mostly one- and two-story build
ings, are hidden in the trees except for the towering Capitol dome. No interstate highway
links the capital city to the rest of the state, and getting to other towns of comparable size
means driving two-lane roads a couple hours through grain and cattle country.
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The town was named for Pierre Chouteau, a Frenchman who built a trading post
and fort just across the river in 1832, but visitors todav learn no one locally pronounces
Pierre like a Frenchman. It s said pier, like a platform for docking boats or fishing, and
that s entirely appropriate when you understand Pierre’s true character. Sure, state gov
ernment happens here, but pulling walleyes and northern pike from the river, and from
the vast waters behind Oahe Dam immediately north, always seems Pierre's first order
of business. Hunting pheasants, ducks, and grouse might be second, along with cater
ing to sportsmen from across the nation.
Pierre people "might be Republicans and Democrats Monday through Friday, but
we all get together on the water Saturday and Sunday," Morris says. "1 think that makes
Pierre a friendlier place than some people might guess a capital citv to lie.'
Teacher Frank Curnow agrees. “Even in election years, you don't hear much bad
mouthing of politicians, because these people are your neighbors in a small town," he
notes. You know them on a first-name basis, you re involved in community projects
with them, and it becomes natural to think you should be able to access top government
officials one-on-one.”
During the legislative session each winter, state Sen. Marguerite Kleven always
appreciates Pierre's welcoming ways. She drives to the capital from Sturgis, 175 miles
west, via lonely state Highway 34; there s not a single town of more than a few dozen
or so people between Sturgis and Pierre.
South Dakotans voted isolated Pierre their capital in 1890, a year after statehood,
citing its central location. Despite appearances on the map, rival towns unsuccessfully
argued that Pierre was hard to reach and had a reputation as a rowdy cowtown. In those
years, cowboys herded cattle from as far away as Montana to the west bank of the Mis
souri, and the animals were ferried across the water to Pierre and its stockyards on the
east bank. Fourteen saloons served cowboys celebrating the trail’s end, and those busi-
nesses gladly welcomed lawmakers, too.
The riverside stockyards are long gone
now, replaced by parks and a remarkable
system of walking and bicycling trails.
Pathways run along the river and over a
causeway to La Framboise Island, where the
sounds of cars and boats give way to the
kinds of bird calls Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark heard while passing through
in 1894. Another popular walk begins just
east of the Capitol building, winding along
side Capitol Lake, past memorials to sol
diers, policemen, firefighters, and other
South Dakota heroes.
“You see people walking at Capitol Lake
year-round,” says Twila Merkwan, who lives
nearby. “It’s a beautiful spot with flowers
and geese, but not everyone is walking for
recreation. Pierre’s small enough that lots of
people choose to go to work on foot.”
Paul Higlxx h aJneelami u riter in Spearfhh. S.D.
The Capitol towers over Pierre, S.D.
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