Governor #27: William John Janklow

Pierre, South Dakota

In office 1979-1987, 1995-2003

Bill Janklow, a self-described juvenile delinquent and high school dropout, served as governor of South Dakota for longer than anyone else, 16 years. He reinstated capital punishment in the state, abolished its Department of Environmental Protection, and used prisoners to wire South Dakota's schools for internet access. In the 1982 election he won 71 percent of the vote, the greatest landslide in South Dakota gubernatorial history.

Janklow's statue, by Lee Leuning and Sherri Treeby, shows him wearing a highway patrol jacket with a bullhorn in his hand. He was known to personally lead disaster rescue efforts in the aftermath of the state's all-too-frequent blizzards, floods, fires, and tornadoes.