Before addressing the Vermillion Rotary Club on Tuesday afternoon, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard spoke with SDPB's Jeremy Ludemann about several topics.
Political Future
Daugaard will deliver his last State of the State address on January 9th. He says he's planning to step away from political life once his term as South Dakota's chief executive expires.
"I do not foresee any circumstance under which I would pursue further political office. I have been in office 6 years as a state senator, 8 years as lieutenant governor, and it'll be 8 years as governor - so more than two decades. And, I'm ready to be out of the fish bowl. Linda and I raised the kids on the farm where I grew up, we still have our house there. We'll return back to that farm house where we raised the kids and we're looking forward to just enjoying life a little bit at a little slower pace and spending more time with our grand kids," Daugaard says.
Governor's Objectives
Daugaard says workforce development is a priority on his 2018 agenda. He says it's important for students to gain the skills employers want.
"Well, there is a place for all pathways to careers. Certainly, we need our youth to understand the breadth of different career tracks and the changing workplace we're having. There's a rapidly changing emphasis on technology," Daugaard says.
Daugaard says technological understanding is important for everyone entering the job market. He has chosen workforce development as a major focus during his tenure as chairman of the Western Governors' Association.
On Sexual Harassment
Members and staffers with the South Dakota Legislature will receive sexual harassment and code of conduct training in January.
The National Conference of State Legislatures is helping to coordinate the course at the beginning of the session.
Daugaard says most public employees and private sector workers know how to behave thanks to their parents, but he says not everyone follows expectations.
"There's always a few who you really need to put it right in their face, here are the rules that we expect in our workplace and those rules I know are being emphasized and employees are being reminded of in the legislature and we'll be doing the same thing in the executive branch as well," Daugaard says.
The legislative training comes after several allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and misconduct were reported.