Preparations To Honor Janklow At SD Capitol

PIERRE, SD - In the next 48 hours, former South Dakota Governor Bill Janklow will be remembered by people across the state.

The four-term governor and former Congressman died Thursday from inoperable brain cancer.

The capitol will be closed until 7 a.m. Tuesday, when Janklow's body will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda.

The viewing will go until 11 a.m. Then the capitol will be shut down until 12:30 p.m. so crews can set up for Janklow's public memorial service at the capitol at 1 p.m.

Capitol crews are getting the rotunda ready for a man who walked these halls for 16 years.

"In a circumstance like this, everyone is willing to help. They all understand and they all jumped right in," Mike Mueller with the South Dakota Bureau of Administration said.

Planners are using their experience from past inaugurations and Governor George Mickelson's funeral to plan Janklow's memorial.

"When it comes to this, it's really my honor to do one more project for him," Mueller said.

Mueller worked for Janklow as his deputy press secretary for six years. He's leading the planning efforts and says time has been a challenge.

"When it comes to an inaugural, we begin planning those even before the governor is elected, before we even know who we're planning an inaugural for. This was four days, which in a way makes it feel like a Bill Janklow project," Mueller said.

But Mueller says his core group of 15 planners has really been working hard over the past four days to do everything they can to make sure Janklow is honored in the best way possible.

"We really try to pay attention to the details. We realize that it's a very sensitive time, and a somber occasion, and so we're trying to be very careful about those considerations considering the circumstances," Mueller said.

The viewing will be from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Capitol Rotunda, but if you are not in the building by 10:30 a.m., you will not get in.

The public memorial starts at 1 p.m. Tuesday. Governor Dennis Daugaard, former state legislator Lars Herseth, former Supreme Court Justice Judith Meierhenry and current Supreme Court Justice Steven Zinter all expect to offer remembrances during the service.

You can watch the memorial service during special coverage live on KELO-TV and on the Live Coverage page at KELOLAND.com.