Governor appoints Rapid City businesswoman to state Senate

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Gov. Kristi Noem has appointed a Rapid City businesswoman to fill a vacant Senate seat for the 2020 legislative session.

Noem named Jessica Castleberry on Tuesday to take the seat that opened when Republican Lyndi DiSanto resigned in November.

Castleberry runs several preschools in Rapid City and is an instructor at Black Hills State University. She serves on the Rapid City Area Schools Strategic Planning Committee and was previously president of the South Dakota Association for the Education of Young Children.

Noem called Castleberry “an accomplished businesswoman and a proven public servant.”