Gov. Kristi Noem has filled the state’s last remaining legislative vacancy.
Marine Corps veteran, longtime former law officer and current small business owner Mike Walsh will fill the District 35 state Senate seat left open by the departure of Jessica Castleberry. District 35 includes the far eastern side of Rapid City and most of Box Elder.
Castleberry resigned last year in light of news she’d accepted federal COVID relief funding for her child care business after voting on legislation that set up the program and gave the state the authority to spend the money. She is now paying back about $500,000 to the state in monthly installments. Former Rep. Jess Olson, also a Rapid City-area lawmaker from District 34, resigned shortly after Castleberry for health reasons.
Noem decided not to fill the seats until the state Supreme Court offered an advisory opinion on the extent of the state constitution’s prohibition on conflicts of interest, which meant that two seats went unfilled in the state Capitol for more than half of the 2024 legislative session.