SCOUTING YESTERDAY | Regents' return marked turning point in South Dakota's college evolution

This week in South Dakota history: April 4-10

State Normal School, Madison, S.D. Photo: Dakota State University

The South Dakota Supreme Court ruled April 6, 1925, that John Johnson should be reinstated to his seat on the Board of Regents, settling a dispute over whether he was finishing someone else’s term or serving his own. While the case may have seemed like a personal win at the time, Johnson’s return came amid a wave of efforts to redefine the role of South Dakota’s normal schools — a fight that would continue across courtrooms, legislative chambers and even the ballot box throughout the next decade.

Johnson was appointed by Gov. Peter Norbeck in 1921. Two years later, Gov. Carl Gunderson removed Johnson from the position, proposing he had been appointed to finish former regent Thomas Potwin’s term following Potwin’s resignation. When Johnson’s appointment was approved, two other seats on the board were open and it was one of those seats, Johnson argued, that he had been appointed to.

SCOUTING YESTERDAY | Three killed in Black Hills munitions bunker explosion 75 years ago