United States Senator Tim Johnson is finished with his Tour of Thanks. The retiring public servant has traveled to South Dakota communities meeting with people before his term ends in January. He ends the tour with a stop in Sioux Falls. Leaders of local organizations say Johnson is an instrumental part of the area’s success.
US Senator Tim Johnson leaves office this term after winning twelve consecutive elections from the time he first entered public service. Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether says Johnson’s wife and children dedicated themselves to the state and the country for decades.
"So election number 5 – 1986. Election number six – 1988. Election number seven – 1990. Election number eight – 1992. Election number nine – 1994. Cindy and I have only done two of these things," Huether says. "You cannot imagine the sacrifice, the impact that it has on your family, on your extended family, on your health and, at times, maybe even your faith."
Huether acknowledges projects in Sioux Falls Senator Tim Johnson supports, including a railyard relocation. A longtime South Dakota National Guard leader says Johnson helped save Ellsworth Airforce Base and supports military members. The executive director of the Lewis & Clark Rural Water System says Johnson hasn’t wavered in his support of the water pipeline for nearly 25 years.
Johnson says ending his career in politics is bittersweet.
"Thank you for guidance, your insights, and your passion – even when we disagreed. And over the course of my 28 years representing our state, I’d be shocked if there isn’t anyone who hasn’t disagreed with me on at least a few occasions. I know Barbara certainly has," Johnson says. "We’ve found ways to work together and put South Dakota interests first."
Other community leaders say Johnson’s support was critical to southeastern South Dakota projects and businesses. The Director of the USGS EROS Data Center says Johnson fought to get jobs in South Dakota and keep them at the world-renowned satellite imaging research center.
Johnson says he may be called a lame duck now but he plans to work for South Dakota’s priorities through the end of his term.
South Dakota’s senior United States Senator now has a pixel named in his honor thanks to leaders at EROS Data Center. One of the thank-you gestures local leaders offered Johnson came from Frank Kelly. He’s the director of the EROS Data Center. Kelly presented Johnson with framed images zoomed in to the pixel, which is about the size of a baseball infield.
"There’s one in the middle commemorated in red, and it sits over the University of South Dakota campus directly over the School of Law," Kelly says. "That pixel, as of today, has been renamed the Senator Tim Johnson Commemorative Pixel!"
Johnson also received a Lewis and Clark shirt in black and white, because the pipeline leader says the senator has never seen funding for the project as a grey area. The Mayor of Sioux Falls thanked Johnson for his service with a pen set so Johnson can write him about all of the things the mayor gets wrong.
