My parents were farmers' kids from South Dakota. My dad was an engineer. I wanted to be responsible and major in something pragmatic.

I met my wife in South Dakota.

I grew up in the Midwest. I grew up in South Dakota.

I love whimsy. My mother was a word person, a real quipster. She was famous in the 1950s for being a contester in Utah: 25 words or less. My bicycle, our hi-fi... in 1959, she won $15,000 from Remington-Rand for writing about a shaver. She was a farm girl from South Dakota.

South Dakota is a great state because of its values, not because of dependence on government.

on a number of issues important to South Dakota.