Former Senator and Minority Whip John McIntyre has passed away, according to an obituary posted by the Miller funeral home in Sioux Falls. The District 12 Democrat was 94. According to the obituary:
John R. McIntyre, a cherished resident of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, peacefully passed away on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at Ava’s Hospice House, surrounded by his loving family. He was 94 years old.
and..
John served on numerous boards and committees, including the SDEA Board of Directors and as President of the South Dakota Counseling Association. He was also the President of his local chapter of “Phi Delta Kappa” and the Regional Director for the American Counseling Association. His selfless contributions were recognized with the “Marvin Kemp Award” for service to the state of South Dakota and the Sioux Falls Education “Human and Civil Rights” award. His commitment to his community was evident as he served on the church council, taught at Axtell Park Middle School, and represented his constituents in the South Dakota Legislature for four years, both in the House and the Senate.
As noted by the Legislative Research Council as taken from the Blue Book..
John was a very good and decent man.
Indeed, he was.
Interesting fact about John McIntyre is that he and Hal Wick tied in two consecutive elections for the House! There’s a published Supreme Court case, and also a law review article on it. Ron Parsons wrote the law review piece. Both are great readings on elections, recounts, and the interpretation of our state constitution on those issues.
I was just going to point that out, Lee. I am not so sure that was not the last time the election produced this result. As I recall, the South Dakota Supreme Court held the House had the responsibility to judge the qualifications of its members. Accordingly, once the House was gaveled in and its members sworn, the first order of business was to decide whether Hal Wick of John McIntyre would be sworn in.
The whole thing must have had several members, especially the Speaker, Pro Tem, and other ranking members cracking the spines of Mason’s Manual.
I think this was broadcast live on SDPB and it was great drama for a procedure nerd like me. People got to experience the well-known rule of the legislature that a member must be on the floor to vote and if a member is on the floor that member MUST vote. Rep. Caitlin Collier of Vermillion, who was clearly present on the House floor refused to cast a vote as some form of protest of the unevenly divided House deciding the election. When directed to vote, or else, by the Speaker, Rep. Collier chose “else.” The Speaker had no choice but to direct the Sergeant at Arms to escort Rep. Collier from the floor.
Trust me folks, that sounds way more dramatic than an episode of Cops, but it was all quite civil and if you are familiar with the awesome people who serve as the respective chambers’ sergeants at arms, you’ll know use of force training is not a requirement of the job.
Stories aside, John was a great guy and an earnest legislator. Of course those were days when we all spent less time fighting with each other on a personal basis, regardless of whether we agreed on the issues or potential solutions.
Turns out you don’t have to agree with, or even respect other people, to work alongside with them in an effort to move forward for the benefit of all.
Remember when our elected officials were like this and not white supremacists living in their mom’s basement with no business OR civic experience?
Pepperidge farm remembers…