PIERRE, S.D. – A longtime South Dakota lawman has been appointed to the state Legislature.
Gov. Kristi Noem has tapped Mike Walsh to serve in the South Dakota Senate, filling the District 35 seat vacated last year by former Sen. Jessica Castleberry.
Walsh spent decades in the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Offices, serving in various roles that included captain and polygraph examiner before moving to the Black Hills following his retirement from there.
Since retiring from the sheriff’s office in Minnehaha, Walsh has served as South Dakota Fraternal Order of Police president and owns a polygraph examiners business based in Rapid City.
Walsh’s appointment rounds out the last of two vacancies Noem was tasked with filling. On Saturday, the Governor appointed former House lawmaker Kristin Conzet to a position created when Rep. Jess Olson resigned last year.
