Govs. Kristi Noem, Tim Walz share tradition of conflict between South Dakota, Minnesota executives

Taxes and business climate have been source of friction, debate between states for decades

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s criticism of her counterpart in Minnesota after Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris selected him to be her running mate opened a new chapter of conflict between the two states.

That conflict hasn’t been confined to Noem and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. It goes back decades, sometimes erupting into open exchanges between the states’ two chief executives. Other times relations have been icy or pretty non-existent – such as the relationship between South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard and Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton.

“They never had a lot of interaction,” said Tony Venhuizen, who served as chief of staff to Daugaard in his second term. Daugaard and Dayton’s two terms overlapped.

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