Here’s a blast from the past. Former South Dakota lawmaker Dave Laustsen won election this year to a city council seat in Doylestown, Pennsylivania.
Laustsen, D-Aberdeen, served 11 sessions in the South Dakota Legislature, eight in the House and three in the Senate, before resigning in August 1987 to attend law school at Temple University in Philadelphia. He owned radio stations in Aberdeen before deciding to make a career change. After law school he worked for a state commission on organized crime in Pennsylvania, until it was de-funded. That led him into private practice, where he handles personal bankruptcies. Jean Laustsen, his wife, is a long-time producer at local Fox TV station.
Dave was part of one of the strongest delegations in modern times while he was in the Legislature from Brown County. He was part of the bipartisan team that included Sen. Peg Lamont, R-Aberdeen; Rep. Steve Cutler, R-Claremont; Rep. Bud Wood, R-Warner; Rep. Joe Barnett, R-Aberdeen; and Rep. Lars Herseth, D-Houghton. The New York Yankees couldn’t have beaten them. It was fun to talk with Dave by phone Monday. He passed along a hello to Bill Janklow, who was governor for two terms while Laustsen was in the Legislature.
