S.D. (KOTA) – District 34 consists of Rapid City’s west side and parts of the Black Hills. It includes the famed Dinosaur Park and it borders along the historic Skyline Drive. Taffy Howard, running for reelection as the district’s incumbent Republican senator, is facing a challenge from Democratic candidate Michael Calabrese
Before running for State Senate in District 34 in 2024, Howard served three terms in the House of Representatives. In 2022, she launched a bid to challenge Rep. Dusty Johnson for his congressional seat. Howard said that concerns over data centers are one of the top issues she hears from her constituents.
“We don’t yet have a hyper scale data center in this state—but they want to come,” Howard said. “And I do believe we need to be prepared for that. And I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, I think our quality of life and our way of life here in South Dakota is worth more than any amount of money. So, we need to find that balance,” she said. “And I do believe the people have to come first—so their wishes or desires on this issue, has to come first.”
Howard said back-to-back state tax increases, combined with her frustration over legislators who campaigned as conservatives but didn’t vote that way in Pierre, led her to run for the state House.
“And I was so frustrated. We were a single income household; we couldn’t afford the increases that they were pushing on everyone. And I was approached at that time by a fellow legislator and asked if I would consider running for the state house.” Howard said. “I was tired of voting for people who said they were conservative, and they would go to Pierre, and they would not vote that way.”
Howard said putting people ahead of “corporate welfare” has guided her time in office, and she encouraged others to get involved in politics in whatever way fits them. She describes herself as a small business owner and Christian. Both she and her husband both served in the Air Force as dual active-duty military spouses. The pair met at Air Force ROTC at South Dakota State University, and the two have been married for 37 years. Howard credits her mom for being a source of inspiration for joining the service.
“When I was twelve, she was thirty-four years old—which was technically the oldest you could be to join the Army at that time,” Howard said. “She was a single mom trying to raise two girls and was struggling. I think she saw that as her only option to really provide a better life for us. So she joined the Army at 34, went through basic training. The other girls called her ‘mom’ as she was going through basic training.”
Howard said that military service has long been a tradition in her family, sharing that her grandfather served as well. “So in my family there’s a long history of military service—but I would say it was really my mom that inspired me,” she said. “Although, she was enlisted. And she did make sure to tell me: ‘if you go in, you’re going to go Air Force, and you’re going to be an officer.’ So she made sure I went to college and got my degree.”
Her fun fact: she loves running and went through Airborne school at Fort Benning, completing five jumps.
Michael Calabrese says he’s excited to be part of the growing tech sector in Rapid City. Calabrese’s day job is working for a local software company, but he also owns a record store with his wife. The pair moved to Rapid City in 2014 from Colorado. They were collecting records and building out their own personal music collection when they saw a record store for sale in Rapid City.
“We really hadn’t spent much time here, and didn’t have any connection to the Hills or South Dakota at large. But in our visit, we really enjoyed it,” Calabrese said. “We really saw the potential of Rapid City and saw it as a place we wanted to spend our life and raise a family in the future.”
Calabrese said they bought the record store, later relocated it downtown and have spent the past decade growing the business.
“We took that leap, and bought the record store. And have since grown it, and relocated to a different spot downtown,” Calabrese said. “And spent the last decade really growing our business, and hiring new employees, and building a foundation; planting a flag downtown Rapid City and have really enjoyed seeing the growth around us and all the new businesses that have sprouted up downtown to really create that ecosystem that we have here.”
Calabrese said that growth extends to the tech sector, where he also works.
“There’s a growing sector of the economy here that’s bringing in good jobs,” Calabrese said. “And the type of jobs that help to sustain and draw the right kind of attention to a community like Rapid City.”
Calabrese said attracting that kind of employment matters for the area’s workforce going forward.
“We have so much opportunity and I think it’s important to—in light of our low unemployment—to make sure that the jobs that we do bring to Rapid City are good high paying jobs and offer a career path to recent college grads and to young professionals in the area.” he said.
Calabrese said his fun fact is that he loves his family. He and his wife have a toddler; which he says can make it challenging to balance raising a young family as working professionals while also running for public office. He ran for Senate in District 32 to challenge longtime Republican incumbent Helene Duhamel before redistricting folded him into District 34.
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