Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden announced Friday he’s seeking nominations for a new lawmaker to represent District 22 in eastern South Dakota after he appointed Sen. David Wheeler, R-Huron, to serve as a judge in the state’s Third Circuit.
District 22 includes Beadle, Spink and part of Clark counties. Wheeler was serving his third term as a state senator after he was first elected in 2020. He served as chair of the Senate Commerce and Energy Committee this session and vice chair of the Government Operations and Audit Committee and the State Affairs Committee. He was also a member of the Judiciary and Legislative Procedure committees.
Wheeler will replace retiring Judge Greg Stoltenburg. The Third Circuit consists of the counties of Beadle, Brookings, Clark, Codington, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin, Hand, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Lake, Miner, Moody and Sanborn.
“As a judge, it will be my job to apply the law fairly and equally,” Wheeler said in a news release, “without regard for politics or personal beliefs.”
Rhoden said he believes Wheeler will “represent the judicial branch with the same integrity, work ethic, and passion that he did in the Senate.”
Wheeler earned his bachelor’s, master’s and law degrees from the University of South Dakota before returning to his hometown of Huron. He is married with three children and a partner at the Blue, Wheeler and Banks law firm.