Eldon Eugene Nygaard is an American politician who served as a member of both houses of the

South Dakota Legislature The South Dakota State Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of South Dakota. It is a bicameral legislative body, consisting of the South Dakota Senate, which has 35 members, and the South Dakota House of Representatives, whic ...

Early life and career

Eldon Nygaard was born April 17, 1946 in

Viborg, South Dakota Viborg (; ) is a city in Turner County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 814 at the 2020 census. History Founded by Danish Americans, the city is named after the Danish city of Viborg. The area was first settled by Danish mig ...

and raised on a farm near that city. He is a member of the

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United S ...

. Nygaard saw service in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

with the

11th Armored Cavalry Regiment The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Blackhorse Regiment") is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a mul ...

. He retired as a Army Aviator with the rank of

Chief Warrant Officer 4 In the United States Armed Forces, the ranks of warrant officer (U.S. uniformed services pay grades, grades W‑1 to W‑5; see ''Ranks and insignia of NATO, NATO: WO1–WO5'') are rated as officers above all non-commissioned officers, Officer ...

. . He earned a bachelor of business administration from the

University of Nebraska Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kn ...

in 1972 and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

degree from

Marquette University Law School Marquette University Law School is the law school of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of two law schools in Wisconsin and the only private law school in the state. Founded in 1892 as the Milwaukee Law Class, MULS is hou ...

in 1976. He taught political science at the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship univ ...

. In 1993, Eldon retired to the farm where he was raised near

. Three years later, he established Valiant Vineyards, the first vineyard in South Dakota.

Political career

In the 2006 general election, he was elected to represent the 17th district, which included

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay part ...

and

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turnin ...

counties. During the 86th South Dakota Legislature, Nygaard served as a member of the Committee on Health and Human Services and the Committee on Commerce. During the 87th Legislature, Nygaard was elevated to serve as one of the Democratic Caucus' whips and continued his service on the Commerce and Health and Human Services committees. In 2010, Democratic incumbent

Ben Nesselhuf Benjamin J. 'BJ, Ben' Nesselhuf is a former Democratic member of the South Dakota Senate, BJ formerly represented the 17th district from 2004 to 2010. Previously he was a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2001 through 200 ...

vacated his seat and ran for

South Dakota Secretary of State The secretary of state of South Dakota is an elected constitutional officer of the U.S. state of South Dakota. The current secretary of state is Monae Johnson. Divisions The secretary of state's office is composed of three divisions: *ThBus ...

. Nygaard defeated Republican candidate Terri Jorgenson for the seat. Shortly after his election to the state senate as a Democrat, Nygaard joined the Republican Party. In the Senate, he served as Vice Chair of the Commerce & Energy Committee and served as a member on the Commerce Committee, Judiciary Committee, and Taxation Committee. In the 2012 general election, Nygaard did not seek reeelection. He was succeeded in the 17th district by

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

Post-political career

As of 2017, he is president of the South Dakota Wineries Association, a trade association for wineries.

References

External links

South Dakota Legislature – Eldon Nygaard
official SD House website
Project Vote Smart – Representative Eldon E. Nygaard (SD)
profile *''Follow the Money'' – Eldon E Nygaard
20082006
campaign contributions 1946 births Living people People from Viborg, South Dakota United States Army aviators United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War University of Nebraska Omaha alumni Marquette University Law School alumni South Dakota Democrats Members of the South Dakota House of Representatives South Dakota Republicans South Dakota state senators People from Vermillion, South Dakota Native American state legislators in South Dakota {{SouthDakota-politician-stub