Governor visits DSU on Opportunity Tour
April 17, 2025
Governor Larry Rhoden’s community visit series, the Open for Opportunity Tours, stopped in Madison and Dakota State on April 17.
This effort allows Rhoden and his team to highlight their economic development efforts, learn specific needs, and find opportunities with communities around South Dakota.
On his agenda at DSU were tours of the Madison Cyber Labs, The Beacom Institute of Technology, and the Beacom PREMIER Athletics Complex. Rhoden said he is really enjoying his time traveling across the state, saying that an impressive amount of information has been gleaned through these visits.
His time at DSU included a unique opportunity for a Dakota State student, Basbo Ayelazono. She is a computer science major with a biology minor, and is the editor of the school newspaper, The Trojan Times.
When she was invited to interview the Governor for the newspaper, she was surprised and a little nervous, but “I knew that if I did not take the opportunity when I had the chance, I might never get another one.”
It turned out to be an awesome opportunity, she added, and “I was glad to be able to do it,” because this story helps her reach her goal at the paper.
“I like to contribute to helping people know more about events taking place on campus,” she said. The topics she addressed -- the recent tuition increase and retention rates with jobs – are topics she knows will be of interest to the student readers.
In addition to her academic studies, her time as editor of the paper will be an important addition to her resume. “And I will definitely include that I interviewed the Governor of South Dakota.”