Gladys Pyle was the first woman elected to the S.D. House, the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate, and the first woman to address a national political convention. Pyle was born in Huron, South Dakota in 1890. She attended Huron College, earned a degree, and taught school in Miller, Wessington, and Huron. Pyle's father had been a South Dakota attorney general and her mother, Mamie, had been very active in the women's suffrage movement. (South Dakota women were granted voting rights in 1918, a

Hubert H. Humphrey was one of the most prominent politicians and policy-makers in the United States from the mid-1940s until his death in 1978. Humphrey was born in Wallace, South Dakota in 1911 and attended high school in Doland, where his father owned a pharmacy. During the 1930s, Humphrey Sr. moved the business from Doland to Huron. Hubert earned a pharmacy degree and helped run the family business. But being a pharmacist was not what Hubert Humphrey wanted to do. In 1937, he moved to

Chuck Gemar was born in Yankton and graduated from Scotland high school in 1973. He was accepted into the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he earned an engineering degree in 1979. Gemar was attached to the 24th Combat Aviation unit as an Assistant Flight Operations Officer and Flight Platoon Leader. In 1985, Gemar was accepted into NASA's astronaut program. He flew on three space shuttle missions - 1990, 1991, and 1994. He retired from NASA in 1998. Chuck Anderson interviewed

Jim McKinney came to South Dakota State University in 1975 and was SDSU's band director from 1983 until his retirement in 2009. Hundreds and more likely thousands of student musicians followed McKinney's lead in concerts and other performances in South Dakota and around the nation. Chuck Anderson interviewed McKinney in November of 1992. They talked about filling the ranks of SDSU's large marching band, "The Pride of the Dakotas." Students seeking music scholarships must perform well in

Charles "Chuck" Isakson (1917-1997), a Webster native and longtime Huron resident, was among some 50 South Dakotans who survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He told his story to a gathering at the Huron Elks Club in 1993. Chuck Anderson, Huron radio personality and host, recorded and preserved the speech. Isakson was serving with the 19th Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, a large Army garrison in the middle of the island of Oahu. Schofield

Radio host Chuck Anderson traveled to Joe Foss's Scottsdale, Arizona home in 1996 for an interview with one of the most famous and accomplished South Dakotans ever. Very few people achieve as much as Joe Foss did in his lifetime. After the death of his father in 1933, Foss had to take over the family farm near Sioux Falls. He was still in high school and was suddenly responsible for taking care of his mother and younger siblings. His younger brother eventually took over, allowing Foss to

Amy Burnett is one of the best South Dakota basketball players ever. Burnett grew up in Huron and led Huron High to a class AA State Championship in 1989, her junior season. The team took third place during Burnett's senior year but she set a state tournament scoring record with 86 points over three games. She also lettered in volleyball and track. Burnett went on to play NCAA Division One basketball at the University of Wyoming. In her junior and senior years, she led the Western Athletic

While many bookworms spend their time cocooned in public libraries and bookstores searching for the next great story, George Hall had only to walk through his own front door. Surrounded by over 1000 books, Hall claimed the nation’s largest private collection of written material on South Dakota, including county and city histories, books exploring Native American topics, and over 100 volumes on the Black Hills. Hall has even written a few of his own books, including Kingsbury County: 120 years of

The South Dakota State Fair is different every year and yet it never really changes. It's a capstone experience for hundreds of 4-H kids earning ribbons by showcasing their skills - from photography to poultry to pickles. The State Fair is midway food like corn dogs and funnel cakes. It's demonstrations of super-sharp but amazingly affordable cutlery, the latest in farm machinery, and so many other (mostly) useful things. It's carnival rides and games and the mingled smells of popcorn, sheep,

Singer, actor, and teacher Joseph Mahowald graduated from Huron High School in 1977. He went on to study music and voice at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, graduating Magna Cum Laude. By 1987 he was working on Broadway as a member of the original cast of 'Les Miserables.' Mahowald now lists dozens of musical and other roles on his resume , including "Mr. Hart," the lead male character in a touring production of "9 to 5." (Dabney Coleman played the part in the 1980